doug smith training

Where we sit changes our perspective, and that changes everything. -- Doug Smith

Red Center Vortex You don't need a goal to get thru a fire but it might keep you from getting burned. -- Doug Smith

Are You Evolving? We don't always evolve painlessly. Evolve anyway. -- Doug Smith

Beams Afoot As much as we wish for that creative spark, some people are afraid of the flames. Let creativity help you conquer your fear. -- Doug Smith

Planet Waves People don't always recognize creativity and may wonder what the heck you're doing.  Tell them. -- Doug Smith

Centered Blue Bolts Our natural condition is centered. It's the distractions that pull us away. -- Doug Smith

Training in action -- another successful workshop!

Sometimes the answer to a problem is that we've picked the right goal. I like to ask myself, "is that goal creative enough to solve the problem?" -- Doug Smith

Never doubt your own creativity, even if others do. -- Doug Smith

Sometimes you can change yourself by changing your goal. -- Doug Smith

The rejection of our creative work says nothing about its value. Not everyone will get it. We won't all understand. It can take many iterations, many attempts, even many years for people to embrace the creative output that we produce. It's still valuable. Hold onto your creativity and then let it go -- let it go INTO your work. Let it go INTO your life. Let it go INTO your soul. Rejection is just a point of view. -- Doug Smith

The creative problem solver in you always has more solutions than you need. -- Doug Smith

Just for today, add a creative flair to something that is usually routine. -- Doug Smith

Creativity + discipline = power. -- Doug Smith

Find the place where you are the most creative and go there regularly. -- Doug Smith

Creativity evaporates fear. -- Doug Smith

Hidden within every problem is a creative solution. -- Doug Smith

Our creative best makes everything else better. -- Doug Smith

How would you define creativity? Some people see it as a flash of inspiration. It's the appearance of a wonderful and mysterious muse. Suddenly great and beautiful things happen. For others, it's not like that at all. Why wait for the muse? Sometimes the muse is fickle and hard to find. We need creativity all of the time. We can't wait for brilliant flashes of insight. We need to conjure up that magic ourselves. Creativity is not just inspiration -- it's also dedication and hard work. Put in the work. Watch the magic happen. -- Doug Smith

The genius inside you knows how to find you. -- Doug Smith

You don't HAVE to build a team, but it won't build itself... -- Doug Smith

Creativity likes it when you sneak up on it. -- Doug Smith

Noble goals are not easily discouraged. -- Doug Smith

Want to increase the power of your goals? Make them more creative. -- Doug Smith

It's sometimes hard to let go of a goal, but if it's not serving you, let it go. -- Doug Smith

What if everyone were completely clear and open about their goals? Imagine working with no hidden agendas. -- Doug Smith

Goals give direction. The work is up to you. -- Doug Smith

Have you noticed that even when you have a truly sensible solution to a problem that you can encounter resistance to change? Why do some people resist making things better? Why wouldn't they want to solve that problem? Most problems have someone or something invested in the status quo. It works for them. They're getting something out of it. Even when it's a problem for someone else -- until you identify the payoff to the status quo, solving it may prove to be difficult. A great solution does more than solve the problem -- it does no harm. -- Doug Smith

Have you ever seen someone who is so flexible that it's hard to know where they stand? There have been times when I felt that way myself. It feels free, but then limits because it's so hard to make a decision. How do you choose? What's best? I've since learned that it helps in making decisions to rely on a solid set of values, a strong sense of purpose, and a committed set of goals. Everything else, from projects to past times, falls in line with those three things. When you add your sense of faith to your values (or as one of your values) it becomes much easier to see when it's necessary to be flexible and when it's necessary to remain firm. High performance leaders maintain flexibility without losing focus.  They know when to be flexible and when to be firm. How about you? -- Doug Smith

How big of a deal is stress in your life? We all endure a certain amount of stress. Depending on what's going on in your work and in your life, you may be going thru more stress than you want. Not all stress is bad (setting an ambitious goal, for example, adds a kind of good stress) but too much stress can slow you down. How much of your stress are you choosing? Certainly, not all of your stress, but could you admit that some of it is the result of you doing too much worrying, or waiting too long to work on that big goal, or taking what the boss said too personally, or procrastinating when you knew the deadline was going to be tough? You know as well as anyone else the answer to what to do about the stress you cause yourself: let it go. Stop it. Relax, breathe, focus, and then get to work. When we do that, when we control the stress that we can control, when we choose "no" to a piece of self-selected stress, it makes handling the tough unchosen stress much, much e

Our limitations are meant to spark our grown. -- Doug Smith

Memorizing your goals will help you achieve them. Too obvious to mention? Maybe. But what if you're working on some goals right now that you can't remember? That makes it tough to get any traction, doesn't it? We all do it sometimes. It's another obstacle to achieving those goals that need not exist. Memorize your goals. Those that you don't remember might not belong on your list. -- Doug Smith

A goal that is too long to remember can feel too complicated to complete. -- Doug Smith

Your team's mission should determine what kind of team you build. -- Doug Smith

Successful supervisors set high performance standards and collaborate on accountability. -- Doug Smith

Communicating effectively is a skill AND a choice. The skill takes practice and training. The choice takes intention based on values and character. We aren't born gifted communicators -- we develop or not. How are you developing your communication skills? -- Doug Smith

What do the people on your project teams get out of working on your project teams? I'm not talking about money. I mean attention, growth, opportunity. Are you making your projects the coolest possible things your people could be working on? Do they look forward to each meeting, each task, each opportunity? Is each project encounter a new creative possibility? What are you offering your project teams that they can't get anywhere else? Elevate your project teams by increasing the level of creativity. Try new things. Value new ideas. Get wild and crazy in your brainstorms.  When you find that and deliver, your teams will do whatever it takes to complete the project. Isn't that what you want? -- Doug Smith

How do you begin a project? Are your goals clear? Is the goal of the project an ART goal (action word, results, time)? Have you involved the right people? Getting a project started correctly is critical to its success. A slow start or a poor start or an uncertain start will hobble your project from the very, well, start. Launch your project with enthusiasm by getting it started with these key components: - An ART goal - A group of people who are interested in the ART goal - A real problem that your ART goal solves - Focus, dedication, commitment, and creativity What else would you include? -- Doug Smith Bring our workshop "Creative Project Management" to your location to get your projects started right.

Your goals are your guideposts. Pick well, work hard, keep going. -- Doug Smith

Do you ever feel like you're doing it all? There is no end to how much work is available for a front line supervisor. The temptation is to do everything you can to make sure that all the work gets done, even if you do it yourself. It doesn't have to be that way. Share the love. Share the work. Match meaningful work to people who will enjoy it. Delegate everyday. Successful supervisors share responsibility. -- Doug Smith

Shorter goals equal faster results. -- Doug Smith