doug smith training

Everybody wants something. Some people seem to want everything, or at least everything that interferes with what we want. That's a problem. And when what causes us a problem turns out to be an advantage, a benefit, a payoff...for someone else the problem is compounded.  If your problem is someone else's benefit don't expect them to help you solve it. Find another way to provide the benefit first, and then maybe they'll listen. -- doug smith

Do your team members tell you when they have a problem? Not a personal problem (good heavens, that's not for you!) but rather a performance problem. Something is blocking their performance, standing in the way, inhibiting their ability to deliver first class work. They should let you know. You should listen.  There is no shame in sharing team problems -- they focus us on the be best opportunities for progress. We won't solve every problem that way, but the ones that we do solve not only fix the problem but also build the relationship. As a leader, isn't that what you want? -- doug smith

Working collaboratively to solve a problem does take longer but helps us avoid our hard-wired and burdensome bias for broken answers. Working together we see might slow down the process but we extend the positive results. -- doug smith   

Find the benefit to solving a problem and you're likely to solve it faster. Go for the gold, before your problem gets old. -- 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

Centered problem solvers are not discouraged by solutions that did not work. Next! -- 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

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

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

Problems keep us sharp as long as we don't keep them in the dark. -- 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

Have you ever gotten frustrated while looking for the solution to a problem? It's not just common, we should probably expect it. If it was easy, it wouldn't be a problem, would it? Maybe we just need to keep thinking. Maybe we just need to quietly identify possibilities. What if the best answer to your problem hasn't been thought of yet? The answer, even if it's just "manage the outcomes and make peace with the problem" is likely there. Keep digging. -- 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

Sometimes resistance to a goal is evidence of its need. Listen to resistance, analyze its source, create a faster path, and surge forward with a solution. -- doug smith

Front line leaders either know that they can't hide or they soon learn it the hard way. You can't hide, and you can't hide your problems. Performance problems, attendance problems, quality problems, morale problems, skill problems, motivation problems...nearly any and every team has more than its share. Why should yours be any different. Pay attention. Talk about it. Get your team to collaborate. Find the root causes. Explore possibilities. Solve those problems. Everyone knows when a supervisor is ignoring a problem. ...and there's no payoff to ignoring a problem. The payoff is in the solution. Solve those supervisory problems. -- doug smith

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

A problem left to its own tends to grow. See the light. Find the solution. Fix that problem. That's what high performance leaders do. -- doug Smith

Do you ever avoid talking about a problem? I have. Many times. Truthfully, too many times. And you know what? The problems didn't get better on their own. High performance leaders need to talk with their team members about any problems occurring in the team. What we hear won't always be pleasing, but what we don't hear doesn't go away on its own. We should talk about it. You can't fix everything by talking about it, but you can't fix anything unless you do. Talk about it. -- 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