doug smith training

  Ask yourself what you'd be willing to trade to achieve your biggest goal -- you may need to make that trade. I'm not saying that you should. That's up to you. A goal is just a goal and not your entire life. But, if it's really important to you, are you treating it as if it IS that important? Are you designing a plan? Are you acting relentlessly on that plan? Are you learning constantly? Big goals mean big commitments. -- doug smith

The only unachievable goal is the one without a plan. -- doug smith

Are you prepared? Whatever goal you are working on, have you prepared and designed a plan to get there? It takes a strategy. It takes selecting the tools you need, the tasks you need, and finding the help you need to reach your goals - whatever they are. Want to improve your communication skills? Plan who to talk with. Want to improve your leadership skills? Plan what you will change and who can be on your team to help you change. Want to improve your productivity? Plan how to make better use of your time by doing things faster, better, and smarter. None of your goals can be achieved accidentally. There is no magic, only work. What's your plan? What's your strategy? -- doug smith

This video uses a similar process to one that I share in my workshops. The video is around 12 minutes long but can save you hours of toil and trouble in your future problem solving sessions. I like that they call it a jam. As a musician, I can relate to the collaborative tools used, even though much of it is in silence (which, incidentally, gives your quiet and reflective team members equal footing.) Each of the steps is described in writing, and there's another link to the video here . You'll need lots of sticky notes, whiteboard space, dots (two sizes) and markers. Always have extra markers whenever you use dry-erase markers because you don't want to run dry. I recommend reaching agreements at the beginning on moving forward without taking anything personally, respecting each other, and following directions from the facilitator because this is a rapid process and any hurt feelings or excited debate will just slow you down.  There's a great use of one of m...

"Constant and determined effort breaks down all resistance and sweeps away all obstacles." -- Claude M. Bristol I enjoy designing a plan to achieve a goal. Listing the tasks, estimating the times, scheduling them - that all appeals to my analytical side. Then comes the hard part: getting it done. But it's not really hard. It's one step at a time. One movement, one action, one call, one  thing . At - a - time. Design a cool, appealing plan. And then, most importantly, act relentlessly on your plan. As Larry the Cable Guy says, "get -er done!" -- Doug Smith

"Great things are done by a series of small things brought together." -- Vincent Van Gogh A big project can seem overwhelming. Our aspirations can seem too big. Our expectations are frequently recalibrate by what seems like a tough reality. Instead of looking at the big, big, too-big-to-achieve goal, what if we looked at what David Allen calls "the next actionable step"? What if we, as Brian Tracy advised, "chunk it down"? Do one thing. Do the next thing. And keep going. I find it useful to project from when I need to finish something and then spread the little tasks out on a plan to accomplish the big thing. The Big Thing is just a series of little things. And little things don't scare me a bit. How about you? -- Doug Smith

Do you get a lingering sense of emptiness from an unachieved goal? When the goal is important, I really need to achieve it. Otherwise, there's a nagging sense of the incomplete. It tugs, it pulls, it drags me down. Why set a goal if not to achieve it? A goal unachieved leaves an empty spot to fill. Fill that spot. Achieve that goal. Then move on to the next noble and exciting goal. Not happening? Maybe the problem is in the design of your plan. When our goal is compelling we need a plan carefully designed to get done what needs to get done to achieve that goal. Design that plan, then work it. Act relentlessly on your plan, and your goal is yours to achieve. What lingering goal needs your attention? Maybe it's the plan. -- Doug Smith