doug smith training

When you need service, do you really want it to feel like a chore to the person providing that service? Do you flinch just a little after a "thank you" when the other person says "no problem"? I'm glad it wasn't a bother. I do wish it had a little heart in it. Maybe even a little fun. The best jobs at their peak appear to be fun for those observing. "How interesting!" "How magnificent!" "How effortless!" and yes, "How fun!." The best service feels more like play.  Instead of the all-too-common "no problem" what if we said a heart-filled, fun-boosted "my pleasure!" And, don't lie about it, make it fun. -- doug smith  

  "I don't know..." "What don't you know?" "If any of this makes sense..." "You doubt the merit of the work?" "The work, the mission, the whole thing..." Doubt is natural. It's part of any important mission. Without doubt, how can you be sure? But, doubt can be paralyzing and stop the work. Doubt can be self-fulfilling. If you are sure about your purpose, if you are sure about your mission, there is work to be done. Let doubt spark action instead of resistance.  -- doug smith

Are you a hands-on leader? Do you get involved in the work of the work? How much time do you spend "in the trenches" whatever your field is, working like the rest of your crew? Ideas flow. Communication improves. Morale mysteriously grows. And... Some of our best thinking is done with our hands.  If you're blessed with hands that work, keep them working. -- doug smith

"It's called work for a reason." "Your motivation comes on Friday -- it's called a paycheck." "Are you going to complain about it or are you going to work hard enough to get promoted?" Does any of that sound old school to you? Do you bristle at the idea of down-playing motivation in your work? Or, maybe a better question is "how do you feel about your work?" I've never had a job that I didn't hate at first. Not because the work was bad (although honestly, sometimes it was) but because I hadn't yet connected with the job. Until I could find the joy in the work, the work was tough. There is joy in any job. While no job is perfect, every job includes our own feelings and what we bring to the work. If you can't find the joy in the job, maybe it IS time to find another job -- but don't be too surprised if that one is also disappointing. Work is work as long as you see it that way, and as a means to an end, the ends are limi

How hard should we work? How much does it matter? Work as though your work will make a difference and it will. To you, to others, to your organization, to the world. -- doug smith  

Have you ever gotten stuck pondering the nature of things and wondering about all that work in front of you? Why do it now? What does it matter? Is anyone paying attention? Performance isn't everything but it sure does pay the bills. Be the poster for productivity, the best example your team members can think of for getting things done, and they'll get more done to. If that's what you get paid to do...it's up to you to come thru. -- doug smith

Sometimes the work is hard. Challenges force us to get creative, to muscle up and make a difference. Hard work feels harder when it's resisted. Instead of resisting, dig in, get deep, get done. -- doug smith  

Jobs are a balance of learning and repetition. We forge new ground and we walk on well-worn territory. The routine wears us down, even when it's necessary.  High performance leaders show the value of a well practiced, skillfully executed job routine. Discipline in work comes from the extra effort of pushing thru when the task is due. Maybe you did it before, maybe you'll do it again -- give it all you've got right now. Someone is watching. -- doug smith 

Have you ever noticed someone acting as if they had a magic wand. They wait, they delay, they avoid doing work that clearly needs doing, as if some kind of miracle could rescue them. As a strategy, that's not going to work. When we've got a problem to solve and work to be done, hoping for a miracle will only create disappointment. We might as well resolve ourselves to doing the work. There's no such thing as magic. -- doug smith

  Have you ever imagined something so much or so strongly that you believe it's happened, even when it hasn't?  Like a dream, a creative endeavor takes on a quiet life of its own. We see it. We feel it. We're sure we did our work to make it happen.  But if we didn't do the work, it didn't happen. That's why some  writers will not talk about a piece they're working on: if they talk about it too much, it already feels complete, and it's NOT. Our minds are wonderful, and sometimes they're funny. We can do that with "facts" as well. Our own inner bias convinces us that a particular view is true, even in the face of contrary evidence. We see that all over these days. What we imagine to be true sometimes gets in the way of what is actually true. It's the job of a true high performance leader to know the truth, to tell the truth, and to lead with the truth. Leaders who don't, don't deserve to be leaders.  -- doug smith

  Have you ever found yourself involved in a mission that feels disconnected from who you really are? It happens far too often. We start by chasing a dream, get distracted by chasing money, and get misdirected by a mission that makes no sense for who we are. Maybe it's the company's mission. Maybe it's your own mission that got lost in the fog of survival. We sometimes face a decision: keep working that mission, or listen to our heart. If your mission is forcing you into actions that make you uncomfortable from a values standpoint, you've likely reached a decision point. If your character and values can't survive your mission, abandon the mission. It's both difficult and simple. Simple in that it tells you what you already know, and difficult because the work still wants to be done, your boss still needs you to comply, your organization has already decided for you. You decide. It's your decision.  -- doug smith  

Every job, no matter how glamorous, has work you'd have to push yourself to do and details you'd find uncomfortable. Do the noble work that your work requires without complaining and then you won't have anything to complain about. -- doug smith  

Are you happy? As tough as times can get, are you happy within those times? We don't ask for the times we are given, we are given the choice of how to respond. How are you responding? Are you doing the work that matters, that matters to others as well as to you?  Something that I've learned from working over forty years is that the work that I do always (yes, always) has opportunity for joy. I didn't grow up to be a basketball star, or a rock star, or a movie star. But, I've been blessed to have been given meaningful work that makes a difference for other people. What I've learned is that when my work serves others, it serves me best.  That makes me happy.  What if what makes you happy is what makes other people happy, too?  Do that. -- doug smith