doug smith training

Have you ever procrastinated on changing something that you knew needed to be changed? I sure have. I once worked with some producers who were consistently late in paying their premiums. I knew they were late, but for several months could not figure out how to remedy the situation. What if I upset the producer and they took their business someplace else. I wasn't happy about it, and neither was my boss. It was not the time to wait and see, it was the time to change the process. We did eventually, but not before the issue became a problem. Every problem points to a change that's been missed. Change delayed just gets in the way. -- 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

Money is important. High performance leaders must pay attention to money and how it effects their team. When you can, make sure that your team is positively impacting the larger organization's bottom line. That keeps you in the game. And -- there's more. Much more. What is it about your team's work is transformational? How much are you improving the lives of others? Is your team helping to create a better world? We can care about money and still be noble. We can focus on important areas such as service, helpfulness, safety, truth, happiness, heath, quality -- whatever it is that is there for your team to prosper, drive, and deliver on. The bottom line is not the only line worth measuring. It's not even the most important. Define your most important bottom line, and make money subordinate to that. -- doug smith