doug smith training

Did Milgram get it wrong? This video raises some intriguing questions that are relevant to our studies of high performance leadership. It raises issues around obedience, control, leadership, followership, context, and even evil. Watch the video (17:49) and then reflect on the questions below. Reflection and Discussion Questions: What meaning regarding obedience have people commonly concluded based on Milgram's  research? What are the factors in play that effect the participant's willingness to continue with the experiment, even though it appeared to be inflicting pain? How did the context of the experiment effect the outcomes? What additional information was mentioned in the video that we don't usually hear about when it comes to this famous experiment? What is the surprising conclusion to this research when examined thru the lens of this talk? Given the circumstances as you understand them, would you have continued to administer the shocks past the poi

Do people need to earn your respect? Some people do believe that it is necessary to prove yourself worthy of respect before someone should grant you respect. What's the problem with that? When we put ourselves into the position of judge we also open the door wider to being judged. Can people tell when you respect them?  Undoubtably. We seem to have an inner radar that differentiates respect from disrespect -- or worse, disregard. We can tell, and we care. Deeply. Whatever a person has done in the past that we might question, it is still possible to treat them with respect. Kindness, compassion, even love know no limits. Respecting someone does not mean that you agree with everything that they've ever done -- or even with what they are  doing or saying right now. Respect means that you treat them with human dignity, fairness, compassion, and honor. I know that it can be tough to show respect in the heat of an argument or when someone is not acting in a likable manne

Silence in your anger gives it time to heal. -- doug smith

Are your team members ever angry with you? Whether you are a creative artist, a business person, a not-for-profit consultant...whatever -- when we are doing important, passionate work we will sometimes generate anger. It might be unexpected. It might be provoked. People get angry. Anger can cloud our understanding. We can disagree. We disagree every day with some one (and sometimes it feels like half the world!) The better path, better than getting upset, is to clarify. If we disagree, we can figure out how to understand. Unless we understand, all the anger in the world is wasted energy. High performance leaders find ways to disagree respectfully while staying open to new possibilities. Ever been wrong? I'm wrong at least once a day. Disagreeing with my truth is often useful. Getting angry at it seldom is. -- doug smith

Creativity, like leadership, requires us to stretch. To be at our most creative we must grow. Since we are surrounded by limitations, that can cause some discomfort. Which boundaries should we cross? Which lines are mental and which are metal? How do we create without getting hurt (or worse, hurting?) I'm not sure. Maybe that's the wrong question. Maybe the question is -- what limits should we ignore today? What limits should we buck against and stretch? If a limit is telling you that you are NOT creative -- ignore it. If a limit is telling you that you cannot grow -- defy it. If a limit is telling you that the world doesn't need your creativity -- laugh it off. The world needs you. The world needs your creativity. The world needs you at your creative best. The creative life pushes against limits. Keep pushing. -- doug smith

We are about as creative as we want to be. We may know people who seem much more creative. We may situations when we ourselves felt more creative. Still, creative is a choice. How you live your life is also a choice. Why not choose a creative life? Creative in what you do and how you do it. Creative in how you think. Creative in how you solve problems and achieve your goals. Creative. The creative life is a choice that you make. Let's make that choice. -- doug smith

It's easy to get distracted. Screens call out to us everywhere. Even a once peaceful wait in a reception area is now punctuated by a wide-screen TV. Heads down, we miss opportunities. Eyes locked on a screen, we miss the people around us. That screen might spark a little creativity in you but most of the time it might also be standing in the way. Let your mind wander. Pay attention to your surroundings. Let nature spark a little creativity in you. Flow with that creativity and give it your full attention. Not just a second, not just a moment, but your full attention. Creative notions have a habit of dissipating if we don't focus on them, pay attention to them, keep them alive. The creative life is not a part-time creative swipe. The creative life is rich, deep, and full AND very jealous of screen time. It would rather have you spend time being creative. The creative life wants your full attention. How are you doing with that? Creative Actions Take a wa

Everyone needs a little affirmation once in a while. Here are some quick creative affirmations for you. Creativity is my middle name! When my friends think of me they no doubt think of me as being creative I can develop my creativity in a million ways My creativity is unlimited! -- now, go create something wonderful! -- doug smith

You deserve a day of creativity -- and you are well-equips to bring it on! These are for you: I know creativity when I see it because I am filled with creativity! However creative I have ever been has been just enough and now I can do more! I can create on my own and I can create in collaboration -- my creativity is my choice. No one can EVER talk me out of my creativity! Creative stuff is about to happen! -- great for you! Now go get creative! -- doug smith

The creative life shakes hands with your better self, your happy self, your complete yet untapped potential self - a quick and colorful and powerful entity of sensational art. Living, walking, breathing creativity in the moment, in all moments, for ourselves, and for everyone. -- doug smith

Do you still draw? All of us draw when we're kids. Some better than others but all with imagination and enthusiasm. My first sketches were yellow wax pencils (designed for writing on glass) on black photo-album paper. Not brilliant. Not representational. But I still remember the moment of fun and abandon. Draw something today. Draw it with total abandon. Let your tool decide, let your hand go wild, draw something. Drawing something with open up a part of your creativity that will serve you well wherever you need it. And, don't you need it right now? -- doug smith

Have you ever been fooled into following what you thought was your creative muse only to discover that it was an excuse for bad behavior? There's nothing about anti-social or criminal behavior -- nothing -- that makes a person creative. It's possible to feel a sense of excitement from danger that may feel like a burst of creativity, but don't be fooled. Your true creative muse, your resident inner artist, the creator within the creator, would never do harm intentionally in the name of artistic license or creative freedom. We are all creative, we are all valuable, we must all take care to take care of each other.  Thrills, selfish inclinations, and power seeking sinfulness can all mask as a creative impulse but they are poor imitators indeed. Artists can easily differentiate these imitators from their real muse when they take the time to assess, and then apply, and then live by a set of noble values. The creative muse in not a thing, or an impulse, or even a spirit. Th