Find Peaceful Solutions

Have you ever been involved in solving a problem only to feel like the solution created about as much conflict as it solved?

The best solution is not always the fastest. We need to consider everyone involved. If our solution creates hardship for some of our constituents, they are likely to resist it. We can create more problems with a partial solution than we solve.

If there's no peace in the solution then it's not a solution.

Solutions that create more tension, more stress, and more conflict are temporary. They push the problem aside momentarily but it always comes back tougher and more resistant to change.

Find peace. Find mutually beneficial outcomes. Solve those problems in ways that the solutions persist.

What's your idea of peace?

-- Doug Smith

Front Range Leadership: High performance leadership training

doug smith training: how to achieve your goals

You're An Artist

Do you consider yourself an artist?

I'm often astounded at how many wonderfully creative young people forget to stay creative as they get older. Why do people stop drawing? Why do people stop singing? Why do people stop playing?

When we leave artistic gaps in our lives those voids are filled with content we may not have chosen. When we stop creating art we lose a part of ourselves that is meant to help with our happiness. Trying to solve problems without bringing out our inner artist is likely to doom us to rather pedestrian solutions.

We can do better than that.

We can stay creative. We can play. We can keep drawing, painting, collaging, sculpting, dancing, singing...we can keep our inner artist alive and help it thrive.

The art of problem solving is in staying curious, creative, and open to change.

The art of living is keeping our inner artist alive.

What wonderfully creative act can you play with today?

Go ahead. See how much it helps you in your centered problem solving!

-- Doug Smith

Front Range Leadership: High performance leadership training

doug smith training: how to achieve your goals

The Larger Community

Our problems serve as reminders that we are part of a larger community.

Within that community are people who impact our problems, who cause our problems, who feel our problems, and who sometimes suffer from our problems. Working together collaboratively we can solve those problems in ways that keep us individually centered and community focused.

Any other way? Any way that does not consider our community risks being a partial or flawed solution.

Let's keep the larger community in mind.

-- Doug Smith

Front Range Leadership: High performance leadership training

doug smith training: how to achieve your goals

Avoid the Emotional Attachment

Do you ever get emotionally attached to a problem?

I do. I'm not proud of it and I'm working on stopping it but sometimes a problem gets under my skin. Sometimes a problem wraps me up into an emotional ball that now gives me a second problem to deal with.

You can get mad at that flat tire and change it or you can just simply change it. The choice is yours.

Why not solve a problem before you get emotionally attached?

It will go faster and think of all that energy you will save.

-- Doug Smith

Front Range Leadership: High performance leadership training

doug smith training: how to achieve your goals

Our Own Problems

Can you solve my problem for me?

Probably not. And, you probably don't want to. Yet we often think that we can solve someone else's problems.

We can help. We can teach. We can provide an environment that makes problem solving possible. But, very seldom can we solve someone else's problem.

You can help me solve my problem, but I'm going to need to do it on my own.

To come up with the true root cause. To develop the best strategies for finding the solution. For selecting the solution. And, (most importantly) to implement the solutions for achieving my goal.

You can't do that for me -- or anyone else.

We can help, but we must involve the people who feel the pain of the problem in order to solve that problem.

It's both a relief, and a new level of responsibility. Are you ready?

-- Douglas Brent Smith

Front Range Leadership: High Performance Leadership Training

doug smith training: how to achieve your goals