Centered Selves

When we are off center it impacts our results.

Our solutions will seem 0ff-center as long as we are.

Let's start by centering ourselves. Restoring confidence. Maintaining balance.

Centered problem solving requires centered selves.

-- doug smith

Pause With Uncertainty

Leaders and others strain under the weight of not knowing. The tension of transition that is uncertain can feel unbearable. We want answers. We want decisions. We want to move ahead.

I've learned to pause. If there is a moment to breathe, take it. If there is time to make a decision, make it -- clearly and unemotionally.

Speed is wonderful, until it isn't. Going too fast and over a cliff is, well, going too fast.

Can you endure the tension of uncertainty long enough to discover objective truth?

It's not obvious. It's not easy. It's just best.

-- doug smith

 

Obvious?

The best leaders solve more problems than they cause. That may be more obvious than common.

-- doug smith

Decisions and Solutions

The decisions you make during problem solving are as important as the solutions you develop, even if they do not lead to solutions.

Decisions around relationships, around results, around permanence and transition. 

Do you want everyone to be better off because of the resolution of the problem, or do you just want a quick fix?

Do you value how people respond to your efforts? Do you really know more about the impact and urgency of the situation than the people who will be most affected by your solutions?

Decide carefully. You know that, and I know that, but sometimes we do forget, don't we?

-- doug smith

 

Dig Deeper

It's the inner workings where the problems are the most persistent.

It takes longer to dig deeper. 

Dig deeper.

-- doug smith

 

First, the Agreement

We need to agree on the problem before we can agree on the solution.

-- doug smith

A Quote from James Clear

 "When you ignore a problem that is small enough to handle, it often grows into a problem too big to manage."

-- James Clear

Source: https://jamesclear.com/3-2-1/july-16-2026

What's Possible

Problems that seem unsolvable at the micro-level may be manageable at their macro-level.

Check your perspective. Gauge your distance. Focus on what is possible. 

Ask the questions you'd ask about any mystery. What's going on? How did we get here? Where do we want to go?

What other questions do you ask in order to move from impossible to possible?

-- doug smith