doug smith training

Have you ever had a problem that seemed to be propelled by people's personalities? When it's hard to get along our problems can linger on. Here's what I do: take a breath, take nothing personally, and take charge of taking the next step. What would you do? It's possible to be wrong about the personalities involved in a problem AND it's also possible to be wrong about the problem, and when we're wrong about both we only complicate the problem. Take a breath -- maybe we're jumping to conclusions or distorting what we see. Take nothing personally -- even if it's your problem taking it personally will only complicate the issue. Take charge -- that problem won't go away on its own and that personality won't be any more friendly unless you build the rapport.  A centered problem solver detaches the problem from the personalities. -- doug smith 

Leaders do need a vision, a focus on where to go next, and they also need the pragmatic determination to get the work done now. Look ahead, but live right here. Your goal may loom ahead, while the work is right in front of you. -- doug smith  

Discipline gives us the power to do what we want to do -- and that comes from developing discipline by doing work we don't want to do... That might sound like a paradox but it's more like a matched pair. I'm not saying that we should do a lot of work that we don't like, but rather that sometimes within the work that we choose are tasks that we would not have chosen. Those necessary but unappealing tasks give us the opportunity to persist -- to stick to our goals because of and sometimes in spite of the details. Discipline. You can live without it, but you probably won't achieve your goals that way. -- doug smith

My late friend and fraternity brother, Jim Aker, a man of serious intellect and even more serious opinions, was an avid fisher. One time in Colorado, he was fishing with a mutual friend and confounded her with the concept of "catch and release." "If you catch it after all this work, shouldn't you keep it?" she asked. Jim just smiled. Nah, he probably had a lot to say about it. Achieving your goals is not fishing, and it certainly is not "catch and release" fishing but let's face it, sometimes you have to let go of a goal that's getting you nowhere. Pretending a goal matters is ending any chance that you'll achieve it. Make the goal important enough that you will apply the discipline you'll need to achieve it -- or let it go. -- doug smith  

How important is commitment to you? When someone tells you that they will do something, are you fine with a casual "maybe they will, maybe they won't" or are you looking for a true commitment? It's not always easy to find these days and yet it is more valuable than ever: commitment. If you want high performance results it takes commitment. If you want quality service for your customers it takes commitment. When there is an easy way out, people will find it unless they are committed to excellence. Everything is optional until you commit. -- doug smith  

  Have you ever found yourself in a light-hearted conversation and realized that it was becoming profound? Maybe you came up with new ideas. Maybe you collaborated on solving a problem. Talking can lead to great things. Casual conversations create connections that lead to better results. We simply work better when we get along. We don't need to agree - but we do need to connect. -- doug smith

  Quality of thinking is the core of control. Control your thoughts and you can control your words. Control your words and you can control your actions. Control your actions and you can control your results. It all starts with the quality of your thinking. -- doug smith

Get started and keep going.  Patience paired with persistency provides great power. -- doug smith  

We do have time for mistakes. We don't have time to ignore them. -- doug smith  

Great coaches check the score for cheating -- not to accuse but to develop discipline.  Remember, if you're willing to win at any costs the cost is too high. Great coaches develop more than performance because character is even more important than results. -- doug smith

Leaders need courage. They also need compassion. We can use our compassion to balance our courage, and use our courage to increase our compassion. Compassion is so vital we must never give up on it. No matter how angry we are, no matter how disappointed we feel, no matter how high the stakes -- stay with compassion. If it cannot be done with compassion, it should not be done. -- doug smith 

How do you feel about rules that are imposed on you? A new procedure, a different process, some change that feels awkward and unwelcome? Most people hate that sort of thing. That means that when we as leaders seek to make a change it's worth considering how many voices we've allowed into the conversation. Do people feel included? Are they likely to approve of some new restriction? It's harder to follow rules that you didn't approve. The best way to influence that challenge is to give people a voice, and, then listen. -- doug smith