High Performance Leadership

  I wouldn't expect everyone to be an artist any more than I would expect everyone to be a plumber. But we all need water, and we all need art. Find the art in leadership, and your leadership strength will grow. -- doug smith

  Others might fear your creativity, but you don't need to. Stay courageous, stay creative, stay compassionate, stay clear. Sing your song no matter who listens! -- doug smith

  Looking for signs of life? Seeking better workers? Building a better team? The creative impulse is the purest sign of life. Your team members are showing you how they like to create -- are you paying attention? -- doug smith

  Given a choice between creative and selective, go with creative every time. Life loves possibilities. Keep the doors open and the path becomes clear. -- doug smith

  Every effort to snuff out creativity gives birth to more creativity. Improvisation wins when plans let you down. -- doug smith

  What will be missing from the world if you don't create it? That's all the sign you need to go ahead. Put your creative coat on and get moving! -- doug smith

  A useful question: what would be an even more creative way to make this better? -- doug smith

  Creativity prods us to dig deeper than we've ever dug before. Dig deep. Deeper. Deeper still. -- doug smith

  If you paint, paint a lot. If you write, write constantly. If you sing, sing everywhere. Creativity thrives in the doing. -- doug smith

Do you envy people who seem to be naturally gifted? They seem so comfortable in their craft that the work is invisible and all that remains is the gift, the talent, the performance? While the raw material may well be a gift, the actual deliverable is the result of hard work. Musicians must practice. Actors must rehearse. Athletes must work out. There are so many talented people working as hard as they can right now that no-one gets to slack off and shine. The stakes are too high, the field is too crowded. The good news is that as crowded as the field is, there is room for everyone. All it takes is work. Hard work. Creative inspiration isn't magic -- it comes from hard work. Note to self: do the work. -- doug smith

You might have to repeat your best ideas a few times before anyone understands them. -- Doug Smith

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

It takes creative people to solve problems creatively. -- Doug Smith