doug smith training

Change, while necessary, can also provoke fear. Solving problems requires change.  Given a choice, it's easy to shy away from the fear of change. We hold onto our problems when change causes fear. Stay centered, manage those emotions, and reach for courage instead of fear. What if you DID solve that problem by changing the process, the situation, or the interpersonal dynamics? You can. Fear might just be the excitement you feel from the shift of the solution. -- doug smith 

  The best, most reliable leaders make ethical choices. You may have discovered, though, that people do define ethical in many different ways. For some, if it's right for the it must be ethical, even when it is not right for someone else. We do need a better standard. As leaders we serve best when we do no harm. Any leadership that produces victims is poor leadership headed for long term failure.  If you have to ask if something is ethical you probably already know the answer. Just imaging how you would feel if you were not given the choice.  -- doug smith

  Have you ever felt a sudden change that you did not approve of? Maybe your company decides that you have reduced hours. Or, maybe your boss decides that the promotion you were counting on is best given to someone else. Change is like a dance we did not choose the music to. Change is like an invitation to a party filled with strangers. Change rocks our world, and only sometimes makes it better. How are you using change to makes things better? Good luck is a change you can approve of. Bad luck is a change that you do not approve of, but that happens anyway. Change basically does not care what you think. The choice is still up to you. Which next change gives you positive choices? Where is your best choice? -- doug smith

How do you look at problems? Do you see them as annoyances, or do you recognize the challenge? The way you look at your problems determines what you do with them. You could be annoyed -- or you could solve a challenge. It's your choice. -- doug smith  

  When you have a choice, how do you decide? Do you consider the long-term impact? Do you think about the affect on other people?  Sometimes the significance of a choice emerges long after the choice is available. We learn later how important the choice was. What if we could figure that out before it was too late? -- doug smith

Are you facing any difficult choices? Every time we figure out the choices, the ground shifts and the mood changes. We weigh evidence against evidence, idea against idea, and constantly refresh the goal.  Of course it will change. We're going, changing, shifting creatures, all in search of better ways to do what we already do and new ways to do something better. We have so many choices and we also have so many strategies available to pursue those choices. Is it dog eat dog? Is it one great collective? Is it something else? How do we know when our high ground is high enough? How do we know if our ethical foundation is strong enough to withstand the winds of temptation and opportunity that assail us? We do our best. We keep learning. And we choose wisely. When we can choose love, we can choose wisely. Choose love. -- doug smith