doug smith training

We never run out of ideas on how to create solutions to a problem, but we do have to stop long enough to try one to see if it works. Generate > Decide > Deploy Put those great ideas in motion! -- doug smith

What good are problems? Don't you find them aggravating? Don't you prefer straight paths to achieving your goals? And yet, there they are: problems standing in the way. Since they're there, why not make use of them? Since they're there, why not ask powerful questions that open up learning and identify new possibilities? Problems present platforms to ask powerful questions. So there's that. -- doug smith  

How long do you like to wait for what you want? The more certain I am about something, the less patient I am. I want what I want and I want it now. But that's not always the best idea. And it usually isn't even possible. Big ideas bring about resistance. Change isn't easy. When people and processes stand in our way, our first impulse is to break on thru. Let the strong survive. Let the resisters catch up or fall away. But -- results are important, and relationship are even more important. After working for many years I've discovered that results (good or bad) tend to be temporary. Relationships? That's up to us. We can do things that build trust (keep our word, consult others before deciding things that impact them, tell the truth) and sustain relationships, or we can take short-cuts that damage those we'd prefer to keep on our side. The trouble with revolutionary solutions to problems is that they break both things and people. And no matter how good the results

What should we do with six thousand years of problems and mistakes? Keep centered, keep solving, keep serving. -- doug smith 

Do you know how it feels when someone blames you for something you didn't do? It is irritating, isn't it? And, even if you DID do it (and of course, you didn't, did you?) blaming does not help. When there is a problem, the goal is to solve it -- not assign blame. Claiming that it belongs to someone else might push it away momentarily but guess what? Like a whirling boomerang it comes whizzing back.  Shifting a problem is not solving a problem, and when it comes back to you (and it will) it's worse. Why not get started solving the problem? -- doug smith

Pretending to solve a problem does not get it solved. Ignoring a problem does not get it solved. Complaining about a problem does not get it solved. It takes work to solve a problem. -- doug smith

Do you have a problem? Is it bothering you? Are you wondering what to do about it? I like to think about big problems as projects: set a goal, design a plan, act relentlessly on that plan, energize myself and others, and learn constantly. I don't always solve every problem. But it gets me started and I do solve most. Think of that problem as a project. A problem is just a project ready to begin. -- doug smith

Do you ever get attached to a problem? Oh, I have. A problem can get so close to you that you don't remember living without it. It can ease its way into the fabric of your life and your work and you develop so many work-arounds that it just seems to fill a void.  You don't need to fill that void. A problem is much easier to solve if you don't fall in love with it. Let go. Look forward. Set a goal. Get busy. -- doug smith

Situations, processes, designs, conditions, relationships -- so much up for grabs. Working together to solve a problem fixes far more than just the problem. Why not work together? -- doug smith

Does the way you look at a problem affect the problem? How does your own focus influence what happens in the process of solving a problem? What if we could think of someone who gives us a problem as a new collaborator? -- doug smith

Do you like surprises? When I was still young I learned the hard way that bosses usually do not like surprises. They are problems. They mess with the plan. Surprises take the status quo and rock it on its side. But sometimes the surprise does not cause the problem. Sometimes the surprise comes after the problem has already been working its messy distress under your awareness. The problem festers, flows, and then goes BOOM. Surprise! When a problem arises, watch out for surprises. What if instead of waiting for the surprise you dealt with the problem? -- doug smith

You never know how influential you might be until you try to expand your influence. You never know when the smallest problem solving step might lead to an evolution of ever expanding and more effective steps. You might think you know, you might not. Expand it. Grow it. Get to know people and work on that problem. When a problem is beyond your influence, build your influence. -- doug smith

The right perspective can put your problem down to size. maybe it's big, maybe it's not until you really see it you don't know what you've got -- doug smith

A problem is just an unfulfilled goal. -- doug smith

Problems tend to reveal your character. What you do, who you involve, who you impact, how you deliver -- it all speaks to the problem but more importantly, to your character. It's possible to solve a problem without creating another one. Do you? It's possible to achieve a goal without destroying someone else's goal. Is that your habit? How you solve problems tells the world all about you. Problems tend to reveal your character. -- doug smith

A problem is just an unfulfilled goal. -- doug smith I have a challenge for you. It's not that hard, but it does take practice. Here it is: instead of thinking of a problem as a problem, turn it into a goal. Instead of thinking about what is causing you unhappy results, focus on the results that you DO want and identify all of the ways to achieve those results. Turn that problem around. Make it a goal. A problem is just an unfulfilled goal. Take care of the goal, and say goodbye to the problem. -- doug smith

The problem with some problems is your adversary's failure to see it as a problem. -- doug smith Some problems are more like conflicts. The symptoms are clear, but the "problem" for you could be an "asset' for someone else. As long as someone is gaining from the situation, it's tough to convince them that there is a problem. When that happens, your adversary is not going to willingly change things. You'll need to show them how the status quo is not only unsatisfactory for you, but also contains a downside for them -- maybe not now, but eventually (and decisively.) And if you can't find that, you may need to create it - or live with the current situation. The problem with some problems is your adversary's failure to see it as a problem. Clear the fog for them. Show the pain. -- doug smith

A problem turned into a goal is already headed for a solution. -- doug smith

You haven't solved a problem if you've broken yourself in the process. Take care of the problem AND yourself. You'll be needed to solve more problems. -- doug smith

Problems don't break you - failure to solve them does. -- doug smith