doug smith training

  We live in a difficult world, in difficult times. It's easy to focus on the negative. It's tempting to become discouraged. We can't solve every problem or fix every situation.  Still. There is so much good, so many blessings, so many things to be grateful for. Why not start there?  Take a deep breath while you contemplate something or someone you are grateful for. Pause and...repeat. -- doug smith

If you're a new supervisor don't expect to have it all figured out. No one has it all figured out. -- doug smith

When people suspect you of lying you've got some truth to tell. Where's the doubt? Where's the suspicion? Where's the pattern of distrust emerging? Not everyone can even hear the truth, but we have a leadership option to tell it. And, maybe even more importantly, we have the need and responsibility to explore our truth before proclaiming it. What if we're wrong? What if our "truth" is incomplete? What if the delivery of our "truth" smells like lies? When people suspect you of lying -- it's worth checking to see if they could be right. -- doug smith

What you don't change changes anyway. Why not choose?  Take charge now. -- doug smith  

  The most important thing about a problem is what strengths we use to solve it.  Problems always build strengths -- either yours, or the problem's. You decide. Maybe it's an old strength that you can rely on. Maybe it's a muscle you know how to flex. Or, just maybe it's a new strength that you are developing. Keep flexing. -- doug smith

Who have you helped achieve a goal today? What if we could achieve our own goals faster by first helping others to achieve their goals? What if our greatest capacity-builder was to serve? Some of the people who have helped me the most (maybe all?) are people who I was fortunate enough to work with and help. It is NOT a quid pro quo situation -- we don't do favors just to receive favors (oh, I know that some people do but that's not what I recommend here,) we serve because in serving we grow. In serving we expand. In serving we build relationships that are resilient and strong. The payoff is not certain. The payoff is not immediate. But, the payoff is worth it. And, even if it wasn't -- there's no satisfaction quite like that of helping someone else to achieve and important goal. Who can you help to achieve a goal today?  -- doug smith

Thriving leaders play to their level and then level-up. There's always more to learn and there is always room for improvement. Level up. -- doug smith

You can let a goal lead you but you must still lead the goal. Every good plan needs relentless action to succeed. -- doug smith

The world has always been competitive and it does a leader no good to pretend otherwise. Compete. -- doug smith  

Do you sometimes think that it's easier to do something yourself, rather than get someone else to do it? Do you get things done no matter what? It's comforting, to be able to take control. It's also a trap. Every time I try to do it all myself I learn that I probably shouldn't try to do it all myself. Get the help you need. You'll be glad that you did. -- doug smith  

The goal is only as good as the plan, the plan is only as good as the actions, the actions are only as good as the motivation, and the motivation is determined by quality of character, Work on the "who" while you do what you do. -- doug smith  

The sooner we stop blaming the world for who we are the faster we can become who we want to be. What if we started right now? -- doug smith  

Every goal is an opportunity to improve your life and your character. Because if you improve your life without improving your character, it can all easily fall away. I try to ask myself "who else is this goal good for in addition to me?" and if the answer is "no one" it's not a goal I have any energy for. Help yourself by helping others and the help never ends. Help yourself at the expense of others and the resistance is unrelenting. How about this as a humble suggestion for a goal: Serve others as we grow I know it's not too specific but as a guideline it has great potential. What do you think? -- doug smith  

If your big goals is really a series of twenty-five little goals, the sooner you get started on those little goals the sooner those goals will add up to that one big goal. -- doug smith

  I've been in business long enough to see a boatload of decisions made based on money. Will it help profits, will it reduce expenses, will it keep us afloat? What if there's something deeper? What if there's a meaning that can't be deciphered using dollars? What if by finding that meaning the significance of the dollars fades away? Just because it's always about the money doesn't mean that it's all about the money at all. There is always much more... -- doug smith

  Perfection is a direction, not a destination. -- doug smith

Find meaning in this moment. That's where the meaning is. -- doug smith 

  Is it annoying when someone brings you a problem? Sometimes they catch us by surprise. Usually, it's in the middle of something else that's already important. There it is, a problem. We could resist. We could avoid. Or, we could engage. It's up to us. Think of someone who brings you a problem as a new collaborator. -- doug smith

  Are you bumping up against tradition? As leaders we are often breaking barriers. We're constantly knocking down walls. Sometimes, we're stepping on toes. We change things because that's what leaders do but it does matter how we change. Are we graceful, or clumsy? Are we considerate, or brutal? Are we deliberate, or chaotic? Change is necessary because it's where growth happens. Doing that change we can forget about or even demolish tradition. "If it mattered we'd keep it," right? It matters. How we handle tradition tells our team how we will eventually handle each and every one of them. What has been placed there before us has been trusted to us. We can improve it, always. Must we ever destroy it? Seldom. Ignore tradition and you'll lose stability.  Lost stability and there's no telling where you'll end up. We can drive change and still honor tradition. That means learning more about both. -- doug smith

How many people have tried to sell you stuff today? Six? Sixteen? Sixty-six? It's a lot, isn't it? Some days it feels as if everything is a sales pitch. Buy this, try that, sign-up for freemium but get ready to pay. It's good for you, it's what you need, it will bring you friends and fun. I know, I know, I know. We're all in sales. I sell stuff, too. I do better if people sign up for my courses. I make more money when customers supplement their learning by buying materials from me. I sell, I sell, so who am I to tell? I get so weary of people trying to sell me things that I almost stop selling things myself. But, I do find myself selling less these days. I'm not criticizing sales. I have a son who is an absolute ace at selling insurance and he does very well, and well -- people DO need insurance. It meets a need. But, we don't think about it, we don't address the need, unless someone tells us about it. Unless someone sells us something. How do we make pe