High Performance Leadership

  Now would be a good time to be here. -- doug smith

The world has always been competitive and it does a leader no good to pretend otherwise. Compete. -- doug smith

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

Thinkers need doers to get stuff done. Ideas without actions go nowhere. Think, and act. -- doug smith  

  Stay open to possibilities -- the ones that surprise you may please you the most. -- doug smith

Are some life lessons harder on you than others? The hardest of course are those that damage you -- falling victim and learning not to be a victim, getting dominated and either building strength or embracing servitude -- lessons that we don't necessarily choose because they choose us. A lesson that chose me was this: people seldom keep their promises. Even the people I have felt the closest to have broken promises. Even people who swore on legal oaths (and yes, even on a Bible) have broken promises. And, of course, I have broken promises. Hard lessons all.  Why do we break our promises? Because they are so very hard to keep. They bind us. They restrict us. They surrender us to the word and well-being of another or others and as a result it feels as if our own freedom diminishes. We just aren't wired to give that stuff up easily. But we sure do promise it easily. People make promises they have no earthly chance of keeping and often no conscious intention of keeping. That's a...

Do you ever get lost? Before GPS, I spent way too much time being lost. It wasn't that I was too proud to ask for directions, it's that whenever I did I would get directions that weren't right. Even people who have lived in a place their whole lives can get their directions wrong. Well, what about maps? I find maps more useful, although GPS has definitely spoiled me. But maps can become outdated. Maps can be damaged. And sometimes, maps can even be deceptive. That's a bit like following bad advice: it just gets you lost. Lots of people will give you advice. Lots of well-meaning people will provide you directions with how your life should go and what your work should look like. Whether or not you trust those directions depends largely on your relationship.  Leaders take the time to build relationships. High performance leaders test their assumptions, check their directions, and pay attention to the landscape, because these days things change fast. The right directions ca...