Skip to main content

Posts

Work On Your Top 3 Goals

Do you work on your top three goals every day? I'm working to get better at this: creating focus on the three most important goals every day. Not just having the goals in front of me but doing something to move them forward. Our top three goals need our attention and energy every day. Not just when we feel like it. Not just when someone reminds us. Not just when we don't have any other choice. Every day. I'll work on that today. How about you? -- Doug Smith

Take Your Goals Seriously

How many unachieved goals have you left behind? I'm not judging because I've left plenty of goals behind. Some deserved to be left behind. Some goals never made sense and never got the energy they needed to be achieved. But some -- some goals that were supposed to be important to me withered on the vine until they became untenable, unachievable, inedible. Don't you hate it when that happens? Treat your goals seriously and they'll payoff. Ignore them and well, they won't. What's your choice today? -- Doug Smith

Reduce Violence

Would you like to see a much less violent world? While that is a monumental task and probably too big for any one of us, there's no reason to do nothing. There are things that we could do to reduce the violence in the world. The only thing stopping us from moving forward on these things is our willingness. Let's take a first step. Here are some ideas: Reduce violence: let's not put anymore guns in move ads. Ever. Reduce violence: for every movie death, show the funeral (this is not my idea but I don't remember who proposed it -- I do think it would reduce the shootings in films) Reduce violence: no more pre-emptive attacks. Ever. Reduce violence: make weapons the only thing that's forbidden to cross borders. Reduce violence: teach a balanced view of history. That's a start. What ideas do you have? -- Douglas Brent Smith

Back Yourself Up

Do you rely on an online platform to hold your content, your ideas, your opinions? Are you counting on it always being there? It's easy to rely on a resource that seems plentiful, easy, and even free. Easy, but not safe. Platforms come and go. Platforms change without asking us, sometimes taking the convenience, facility, or economy away. That's aggravating and you know what? It's sure to happen. I've been sharing ideas on training for a long time, and I've seen big changes or disappearance from some of my favorite platforms. I thought they'd be there. I counted on their archives. I didn't have to budget for their expense. But the changed, and I've at times had to scramble to rearrange my records. Some ideas and articles I've been able to adjust and change to other storage areas, but some have literally disappeared with no record of having ever existed, no matter how much work they were or how proud I was of them. For example, I contributed tons

Speaking The Truth

Are you telling the truth? Don't you feel like asking that sometimes when the person you are talking to seems to be spinning the truth? Sometimes we are so close to our version of the truth that we fail to see it could be only our version of the truth. It might not be true at all -- certainly not for others. The best way around that is to stay curious. Stay curious about what other people say. Stay curious about what we say. Even stay curious about what we think. Every idea we clutch in our tight little hands comes to us filtered by factors we've forgotten about long ago: culture, ego, gender, parenting, schooling, experience, ethnicity...so many details strained thru lenses we don't even know are there. Let's work a little more to stay curious. Sometimes we're so good at spinning the truth that we don't even know it's not true anymore. That's not helpful or useful. It doesn't have to take long but it does take some serious mindful awaren

Centered Leaders Develop Resilience

Do you bounce back after making a mistake? We must. If we are truly growing, truly taking chances, truly making a difference we will make mistakes. I've made plenty in my days in the world - little ones like not talking to someone right away who enters a room and big ones like missing what a client really wants out of an event. I've learned from each and every mistake and would like to think that I'm better because of them. But at the time, don't they hurt? Yes. Centered leaders develop the resilience and flexibility to overcome mistakes. What will you do to develop more of that resilience today? -- Doug Smith

On Time Is A Sign of Respect

Do you show up on time? How do you feel when you're in charge of something and people choose NOT to show up on time? Not everyone - some people respect you enough and your work to show up on time. But what about those who make other choices? What about those who have de-prioritized your event? Yesterday I facilitated a training program on time management. Some people thought it was funny to say "I don't have time for time management." That's OK. I get it. Managing time is hard. It's a challenge in today's world of multi-tasking and parallel meetings. And yet, tossing the blame onto others won't manage your activities for you, will it? Not only were some people late for my time management workshop - some didn't show up until after lunch, when it was more than half over. Then, they wondered why they didn't find what they needed. Learning is an investment. Learning is a discipline. Managing time is all about managing yourself, and having t