doug smith training

Situations, processes, designs, conditions, relationships -- so much up for grabs. Working together to solve a problem fixes far more than just the problem. Why not work together? -- doug smith

Are your goals worth your time? Find a goal that makes you tingle with anticipation. That's the kind of goal that's worth your time. -- doug smith

Do you get stuff done? At the end of the day, isn't that what leaders are paid to do? Oh sure, to do that means you must communicate effectively, build cohesive teams, solve problems, and improve performance. That's all part of the job. But mainly the job of leadership is to get stuff done.  High performance leaders find reasons, and ways, to get things done. How are you doing? -- doug smith

It's not easy for me to admit when I'm wrong. It's even harder if I don't see that I am, yet somehow...later on, my perspective shifts and I see what the other person must have been seeing differently. That's one reason I've learned to pause before defending a message. I'm still working on it. We usually do have a moment to pause and think thru our response. What if you are wrong?  When we are wrong and we admit it, we can usually recover the damage that might have been done. We can, with dignity and respect, restore the relationship to what it was before we said what was wrong. It's a big if, it's a might if, and it's an if worth considering. It hurts to admit you're wrong, yet when you're wrong it hurts more NOT to. -- doug smith

When faced with a series of choices, how do you decide? Do you allow your goals to provide you with a sense of direction?  Well-written, strongly considered goals do not waste your time - they save you valuable decision-making moments by fixing your direction. Faced with a dozen doors, any one of which could be (and would be) fascinating, you choose the door in the direction of your goal.  That's why it's so important to take your time about your goals. To head consistently in the right direction, to make the best choices, let your goals be your guide. The most powerful goals are nonnegotiable. The time to negotiate your goals is before you commit to them. Once the commitment is there, act relentlessly on your goal.  -- doug smith

We are all deeply flawed people constantly choosing between improving or deceiving.  You are not fooled when you improve. No one else is fooled when you don't. -- doug smith

If someone wanted to discuss a problem with you right now, what would you say?  Some days, I just don't have room for any more problems, how about you? Some days I just want to get thru and get some work done. How about you? Some days, though, there is an opportunity to talk about what's going on and if that opportunity passes, it's gone forever. I remember a long car ride up the mountains to Breckinridge, Colorado one Valentine's Day when a problem (or hand-full of problems) unfolded a great opportunity to talk. For reasons still unknown to me, I could not talk. The words would not come. My body language didn't communicate what I was thinking and (perhaps) what I was thinking was too sad to say. I don't know. I wish that I did. What I didn't know at the time was that moment, during those steep climbs, there was an opportunity to resolve problems and that opportunity would never come again so freely, so safely, and so sincerely. It faded away. It was still a