Fertilized

Problems fertilize growth -- but at first all we feel is, well, fertilized on.

-- doug smith

Choose Learning and Growth

Problems are aggravating, inconvenient, and frustrating. High performance leaders -- successful supervisors -- build muscle around solving problems that comes from practice, application, and outright solving. One problem after another, solutions come from facing the problems head-on.

A problem could lead to frustration, OR it could lead to learning and growth.

Go with learning and growth.

-- doug smith

Be Careful of Paradox Attachment

You can embrace a paradox without making it your pet.

Observe. Learn. Release. Grow.

-- doug smith

Room to Grown

I suppose that if a problem is easy to solve that it isn't even a problem. Just solve it and be done with it. A problem like that is more like a decision than a problem.

We all have bigger problems than that, though. We all struggle at times to solve what feels like an unsolvable problems. Some problems truly can't be solved, and must then be managed. How can we tell the difference?

We need to ponder the possibilities. We need to change the problem into a goal and figure out how to bring that about. The difficulty is like a framework for building something we haven't thought of before. The problem stands there, a form waiting to redirect our notions of what is possible.

Tough or not, solvable or not, a problem creates a space for traction.

A problem you can't solve is give you room to grow.

Grow.

-- doug smith

Expand Your Possibilities

Have you ever considered something an insurmountable problem, only to years later wonder why it was ever a big deal?

We grow. We learn. We gain perspective.

What if that problem that is stumping you right now is one of perspective?

Part of the problem could be how you're looking at it.

Learn to see things differently and your possibilities expand.

-- Doug Smith

Keep Growing

If your problems are changing it could mean that you're growing.

It may feel uncomfortable. It may feel hard. It could be exactly what you need.

Keep growing.

-- Doug Smith

Growth Regardless

A centered problem solver grows and improves even if the problem is not solved.

-- Doug Smith

Learn From An Imperfect Solution

How does it feel when the solution that you've implemented doesn't quite work?

That frustrates me. All that work. All that thinking. And the solution is imperfect.

Well, guess what? Many solutions are imperfect. Maybe every solution that is available to you is imperfect. We do live in an imperfect world.

We can still benefit from imperfect solutions. We can still grow and learn from the results that we achieve, even when they are flawed or temporary.

Just because a problem doesn't stay solved doesn't mean that the solution wasn't valuable.

Maybe it served a short term end. Maybe it solved a key part of the problem. And maybe, just maybe, it's a way to learn and find our way to a better solution. Broken solutions lead to better solutions. Problems test and expand our creativity.

Centered problem solvers know that the problem solving is never done. Evolving solutions is part of the deal.

-- Doug Smith

Looking for a way to bring your team together to collaborate on some solutions? Are you curious about how to train your organization to solve problems with a centered, creative approach? Contact me here: doug@dougsmithtraining.com

Grow With It

Do you think that life has an inner sense of humor?

I do. It seems like some of my biggest problems are the points of leverage I need to get where I need to go. I would not choose to make it that way (who likes big problems?) and yet when I can clearly see the goal in the problem it moves me where I need to go.

Do you have a big problem that's driving you crazy? Are you challenged more than ever before? Is there a big problem that is on your mind all the time?

That big problem may be your best platform to grow.

Grow with it.

-- Doug Smith

Advance Your Learning

How is your growth cycle going? Are you learning the skills it takes to solve the problems you encounter -- and will encounter in the future?

Problems require us to advance our knowledge and expand our training.

What's your next area for training?

-- Douglas Brent Smith