doug smith training

Wouldn't it be great if there were one absolute answer to every problem? What if there were one universal tool that would always serve us, one magnificent process to problem solving forever and for always? There are many great problem solving processes. There are many great approaches to leadership. Styles change, tools grow, people evolve. One single answer seldom does the trick. That unsolved problem just might need a combination of solutions. Dig them up. Look them over. Try them again. Put them together like the pieces of an elaborate puzzle or the moves in an intricate game. There is an answer there. You just might have to fuse a few together. -- Doug Smith Front Range Leadership:  Training Supervisors for Success  doug smith training:  how to achieve your goals

Are you happy with your goals? I've seen people fall into a trap sometimes: they want to be happy, and yet they set goals that don't create happiness. That kind of disconnect is not only unproductive, it's unnecessary. Every job I've ever had (and if you've been in any of my workshops, you know I've had a few) has included parts I didn't care for, and yet in my goals I always directed my actions toward creating mutual success for the organization and for my own sense of happiness. Sell more merchandise? Sure, while creating useful customer experiences. Reduce expenses? I can do that - without laying people off and without hurting service. Train the entire workforce in a compliance program that's poorly designed? Absolutely, just let me set a goal of making it both interactive and inspirational and I'll be completely energized. Align those goals you need to set with the organizational mission and strategic goals, of course. That's the price

What are you good at? Really, really good at? What can you do that is absolutely wonderful? How many people know about that? Here's a tricky trick - how do you do your best, give your best, and let other people know about it without letting your ego take over? We have many essential leadership skills to choose from. I find it useful to think of these five essential leadership core strengths as a place to start: Clarity - know exactly what our purpose is and setting clear goals to live that purpose. Courage - speaking and acting assertively without getting aggressive. Creative - discovering and expanding our possibilities Compassion - caring about and for others Centering - staying mindful, in the moment, flexible, and able to use whatever core skill we need You're really good at one of those. Better than most. It's your core leadership strength. Bringing that core leadership strength to work with your team is doing it a wonderful service. The world needs wha

What do you do with your crazy ideas? When things are going their best I find that I let my crazy ideas in for a visit. I let them rise to the occasion. Instead of dismissing them as crazy (and some truly are and when they are can go harmlessly away) I entertain them. Give them tea and biscuits. Find a way to let them stay. Crazy ideas like: what if I could solve that silly problem by sharing it with my biggest competition? what if that collage became a picture to inspire my logo? what if my closest friend was actually standing in my way? what if my greatest fear was my biggest opportunity? What crazy ideas occur to you on a recurring basis? Could they be worth some more attention? A useful idea may sound crazy at first. Give it some room to breathe. Give it some space to grow. Entertain those crazy ideas for long enough to know if they really are crazy - or perhaps just plain creative enough to make a positive difference. What's your crazy idea of the day

Are you stuck? Is there a goal running away from you or hiding? Could it be time for your creativity to emerge full speed ahead? I like to think that the answer I can't find is simply the answer I haven't found yet. It's still a possibility. It's still out there, awaiting discovery. It's still available, looking for the open door. There is no shortage of possibilities. We just have to find them. What are you doing to look? How are you seeking the answers? What are you doing today to find the possibilities? -- Doug Smith Front Range Leadership:  Training Supervisors for Success  doug smith training:  how to achieve your goals

Do you have goals that you just aren't making progress on? Did you, as many of us do, write great goals with all good intentions only to let them sit idle, unfinished and unachieved? That's not cause to be ashamed because it happens. It's not a reason to punish ourselves. But, it is a reason to redirect our energy toward achieving what we set out to do. It's a little alarm that says "hey, buddy, get moving!" Not having goals is surrender. Not achieving your goals is surrender. You are meant for more than that. Don't surrender! What's the next step on your best goal? What can you do on it today? -- Doug Smith Need help with your goals? Attend or schedule a session of our webinar How To Achieve Your Goals and see how we can work together to achieve your goals.

Are you truly ready to achieve your goals? Do you have the resources, the team, the initiative, the energy to achieve even your toughest of goals? Or, are there problems standing in the way? Problems are not a bad thing. Yes, they are annoying. Yes, they can be energy draining. Yes, they get in our way. But they are paths to creativity. They are reasons for compassion. They are motivators for courage. And they are barometers for clarity. Figure out what you need to solve and then get started. If the goal is important, the problem is just a way to get there creatively. Sometimes we need to solve our problems before we can achieve our goals. Maybe today's one of those days... -- Doug Smith doug smith training:  how to achieve your goals Front Range Leadership:  Training Supervisors for Success

Do you have a problem that won't go away on its own? Have you scheduled time to solve it? I've made the mistakes of pretending that a problem will simply vanish on its own. Maybe it will solve itself. Maybe if I wait long enough it won't be a problem anymore. What do you think of that as a goal achieving strategy? It's not the most consistently winning approach. Your goal has problems. If its big enough, ambitious enough, creative enough - it's got problems. You know it. Your team knows it. Maybe even your customers know it. How will you solve it? Even if everyone knows about a problem someone needs to schedule time to solve it. It takes discipline. It takes initiative. It takes giving the problem what it's asking for: time and attention. What problem can you schedule time to solve today? -- Doug Smith doug smith training:  how to achieve your goals Front Range Leadership:  Training Supervisors for Success

Do you have a particular problem standing in the way of your most important goal? It would be unusual if you didn't. Whenever I think I have a really important goal, some equally big problem is likely to emerge to stop it. We either face our biggest problems, or we let them win. We either figure out how to eliminate what stands in the way (or mitigate it, reduce it, modify it, or take advantage of it) or our goal remains undone. Undone is not for you. Undone is frustrating and counter-productive. Instead, let's use that problem to grow. Finding a problem provides permission to grow. It's a natural way of communicating to us that we're going to need to improve something to get to the next level. We're going to need to grow. And, since we need to grow anyway to remain living and dynamic, why not grow in response to the needs of our goal? Once we've set the right goal no problem should stand in its way. But, we might need to solve that problem first. Ho

Do your plans keep changing? Mine do, but I like to think of that as evolving. As much as I enjoy planning and want to own a solid plan, it will no doubt change. It's in the working of that plan that it changes.  It's in the learning from the feedback we get while we work our creative best that the plan becomes more firm, more formidable, more successful. We'll make mistakes. We'll make changes. Sometimes, we'll even lose sleep. But by relentlessly working our plan our plan becomes more flexible, not less. We learn better ways of doing things. We approach perfection without getting stalled by not achieving it. It's all a work in progress. Adjust, move forward, and adjust some more. It's a beautiful dance we choreograph as we go. How's your plan going? -- Doug Smith doug smith training: how to achieve your goals Front Range Leadership: Training Supervisors for Success