Dr. Earl R. Smith II
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
Dr-Smith.com
I was recently watching one of those Sunday Morning programs. You know, the kind that always has a soft-squishy piece as part of its presentation. This time that piece was focused on people and their pets. The ‘reporter’ interviewed a series of people whose lives seemed to be focused on non-human companions. One after another they talked about their pets as if they were people. Continue reading “Less Substantial Friendships” »
Dr. Earl R. Smith II
Managing Partner, The Federal Circle
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
Dr-Smith.com
One of the most difficult challenges in any coaching engagement is helping a client come to terms with the implications of behaviors that are blindly habitual or unconsidered. It doesn’t have to be a big issue. Sometimes it is a small thing that is done without thinking. At other times there is an anger or resentment driving the behavior. But the net effect is the same. Self-sabotaging of possibilities. Continue reading “Coaching Breakthrough – Coming to Terms” »
Dr. Earl R. Smith II
Managing Partner, The Federal Circle
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
Dr-Smith.com
This series of articles will focus on ‘eureka moments’. Over the years I have had many. Most came with the help of mentors and coaches. Building teams and businesses can present many opportunities to stub your toe and learn great lessons from the experience. You can learn how important it is to fail on the way to success. Continue reading “Coaching Breakthroughs – Eureka Moments” »
Dr. Earl R. Smith II
Managing Partner, The Federal Circle
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
Dr-Smith.com
I was having drinks with a friend a couple of weeks back when the conversation took a strange turn. As a matter of background, I have known him for a couple of decades, considered him a valued friend and someone who thought before he spoke. We were discussing alternative energy and the likely way forward. What set me back was his insistence that there was no future other than through existing technologies. Continue reading “Orthodoxy or Optimism?” »
Dr. Earl R. Smith II
Managing Partner, The Federal Circle
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
Dr-Smith.com
In a recent piece – Fighting The Wrong Battles – I suggested that much time and energy was wasted in fighting the wrong battles. That article generated quite a few responses. They varied from agreement through incredulity to outright disagreement. I suggested that most of the ‘battles’ that we wage are really straw men – distractions from the challenges that we ought to face. Continue reading “Finding The Right Battles” »
Dr. Earl R. Smith II
Managing Partner, The Federal Circle
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
Dr-Smith.com
That’s how the old saying starts off. The rest makes a distinction between ‘what I can’t and can change’. Wisdom, it is posited, is knowing the difference – accepting what can’t be changed and changing what can. Clear enough as it is but these is a wrinkle – an oversight – that most people routinely make – one that flies in the face of such ‘wisdom’. They focus almost exclusively on what can’t be changed. Continue reading ““Grant me the wisdom …”” »
Dr. Earl R. Smith II
Managing Partner, The Federal Circle
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
Dr-Smith.com
I recently took a client who came to me through a good friend. She – his friend – was concerned for him and wanted me to help him if I could. Years ago, they had founded a company together and built it up to the point that another, larger company had decided that they just had to have it. The cash out was very good and both of them took off with their respective families for an extended and well-earned vacation. Continue reading “Running On Empty” »
Dr. Earl R. Smith II
Managing Partner, The Federal Circle
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
Dr-Smith.com
Some of my coaching engagements focus on the personal tendencies of my clients. Those journeys take us into very personal areas; many of which have been either avoided or ignored for many years. One of the most productive assaults centers around a tendency that is ubiquitous among humans – enabled by the human capacity for selective memory. Continue reading “Reason Why or Thinking How?” »
Dr. Earl R. Smith II
Managing Partner, The Federal Circle
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
www.Dr-Smith.com
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It was during one of the first coaching sessions with a new client that the following exchange occurred: Continue reading “Knowing What Matters” »
Dr. Earl R. Smith II
Managing Partner, The Federal Circle
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
Dr-Smith.com
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The last decade has seen a major shift in attitude towards executive coaching. Ten years ago the most likely engagement would have been with a client who was having serious problems. Organizations tended to hire executive coaches when one or more of their people was either having or causing serious problems. Many would wait until things had progressed to such a state that damage control was the only option. In those days, executive coaches were, more often than not, crisis managers. But things have really changed. Continue reading “Executive Coaching Means Putting Your Key People on Their A-Game” »
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