doug smith training

Be careful of letting good intentions create bad problems. Actions matter. -- doug smith

What could go wrong? When you're working on an important goal, it's worth asking that question. The journey toward achieving that goal could be littered with little problems, big problems, nasty problems. Things come up. What's your risk strategy for dealing with those problems when they do? Do you have a plan B? (which in this case might be another goal, perhaps calibrated a little lower.) Do you have help in the wings ready to rescue you if you need it? Expect problems, because expecting no problems is a problem. Problems come whether you like it or not. -- doug smith

I suppose that if a problem is easy to solve that it isn't even a problem. Just solve it and be done with it. A problem like that is more like a decision than a problem. We all have bigger problems than that, though. We all struggle at times to solve what feels like an unsolvable problems. Some problems truly can't be solved, and must then be managed. How can we tell the difference? We need to ponder the possibilities. We need to change the problem into a goal and figure out how to bring that about. The difficulty is like a framework for building something we haven't thought of before. The problem stands there, a form waiting to redirect our notions of what is possible. Tough or not, solvable or not, a problem creates a space for traction. A problem you can't solve is give you room to grow. Grow. -- doug smith Leadership Call to Action Create a list of three problems you have not been able to solve. Next to each problem, write the one leadership ski

Are you ever tempted to major in the minors? Do you ever find yourself working diligently on things that barely matter? It's happened to me -- a whole day spent answering and reading email. A whole day perseverating over one slide or one learning activity. A night in a new city spent revising the 50th draft of a program I'm already doing. Instead, let's focus on making things better. Let's tackle the big problems, before they make all the little cares obsolete. Big problems need not be ignored. We dare only to tackle them before they bury us. Reform banking. Stabilize climate change. Feed the hungry. House the poor. Eliminate exploitation and inequality. Which problem concerns you the most? What ideas do you have about solving that problem? -- Doug Smith