doug smith training

  Where does communication start? Before any meaningful message can be shared, before any agreement can be reached, communication starts with connection. Finding a way to share something in common with someone else. Turning toward someone and taking the chance of seeing, hearing, feeling who they are in this moment of time. Communication starts with connection. Connect, and the possibilities are limitless. -- doug smith

  Ever hear a piece of advice and think "yeah, that's a hard no..."? Or how about this -- ever offer someone a piece of excellent advice and watch them completely ignore it? Advice is funny like that. It's not good advice if nobody takes it. -- doug smith

  It's easy to set a goal and then start working on it before figuring out why. It does make sense to start working on a goal. Great ideas without action are meaningless. It's also worth checking to make sure that the massive effort you're about to make is worth it. It is worth asking if a goal is good for you, good for others, and good for some higher cause. If it's yes to all three, it's a goal worth working hard on. -- doug smith

  Problems are not usually fun. It may sound funny to say that they could be. But, what if they could be fun? I don't know how to solve every problem but there is fun in the learning. Don't ask me why, just give it a try... -- doug smith

   One of my busy days last week was devoted to a workshop on Managing Conflict. We enjoyed many great conversations and as usual, there wasn't enough time available to resolve every conflict. Some we'll just need to learn to manage. Universally expressed was a dislike of drama at work. That is both expected, and odd for me to consider. There its SO much drama at work.  We're drawn to drama. We create drama. We thrive on the adrenaline rush of drama even as it depletes and wears us down. Hey, we can relax. We can breathe. We can pause. Even though we are drawn to drama it usually tears us apart. What if instead we found ways to tie ourselves together? What if instead of drama, we found a positive connection? Seems worth trying... -- doug smith

  It's easier to make a problem worse than it is to solve it, so evaluate your solution carefully. -- doug smith

Think of all the goals you've already achieved and know that you've got what it takes to achieve even more. All you need is to get started. -- doug smith  

  We're too big to feel too small. We're too small to control it all. What if everything is a collaboration? -- doug smith

What is it like to jump to solutions? It's deciding before evaluating. It's picking the first thing that sounds right. It's doing anything to cut the tension of dealing with a problem. It may not be your best choice. It's easier to make a problem worse than it is to solve it so evaluate your solution carefully. Will it make things better? Will it prevent harm? Will it please the people effected?  Jump to solutions? Not so fast. Breathe. Evaluate. Select. -- doug smith

Mirror, mirror on the wall Who's the happiest of them all? Could that be you? Could you be the happiest you could possibly be? There are circumstances beyond our control and events we'd never endorse but happiness is largely a by-product of your point of view. Don't believe it? Try it. Predict your own happiness if only for today.  Predicting happiness can be self-fulfilling. Suddenly there you are. Happy. -- doug smith

  How often do you participate in some refresher training? Those skills you acquired may be doing fine and yet as time goes on we smooth over the edges of our sharpness and take unexpected shortcuts that costs us quality. Refresh, re-learn, re-discover, re-apply: it's an important part of leadership development. We don't remember everything we learn, which makes refresher training so vital. Which of your skills could use a bit of refresh? -- doug smith

  Problems are not always caused by mistakes. Sometimes they're caused by good intentions. While it is great to begin with good intentions, what we do still matters more than what we intend. If a leader creates an unfair atmosphere out of the intention to help one particular team member, that could be a problem. If a leader intends to build a high performance team and yet supports without ever challenging team members, that could be a problem. Good intentions are not enough. Right actions matter more. -- doug smith