Earl R. Smith II's Blog, page 57

Extending Your Reach

If I am faced with the option of coaching someone who is too cautious or someone who is too rash, I inevitably choose the former. There are a number of reasons for this but the most important is that progress always comes faster when working with a client who is learning to gradually put more pressure on the accelerator.

The Fabric of Friendship

Earl R Smith II, PhD DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com Dr-Smith.com The other day I was leading a discussion focused on the ways that the digital revolution was impacting relationships. The group of eighteen were evenly divided between those under thirty and those over – with two in the latter group over sixty. About a half hour into the [...]

Entrepreneur? What the hell is that?

Earl R Smith II, PhD DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com Dr-Smith.com Last week I could not even spell entrepreneur now I are one! One of the traps that self-identified entrepreneurs find themselves in comes as a result of a combination of a misunderstanding of the word entrepreneur and a lack of self-knowledge. I’d like to focus on each in turn. [...]

Planning is not Implementation

Earl R Smith II, PhD DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com Dr-Smith.com Both strategic and tactical planning and implementation are part science and part art. Like a hammer or a football, the intellectualization of their function and purpose does not make a person adept – let alone effective – in using them. Both require extended experience and careful attention to [...]

Branding: Tending the Front Door

Earl R Smith II, PhD DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com Dr-Smith.com As the old saw goes ‘you never get a second chance to make a first impression’. I am often amazed at how much time and polish people spend on their so called ‘elevator speech’ and then how casually they present themselves, their interests and their company during a [...]

Testing the Waters – Managing First Meetings

Earl R Smith II, PhD DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com Dr-Smith.com I’ve recently written a couple of articles focusing on the dynamics of initial meetings. They have drawn a pile of emails – mostly war stories about lost potential and illusions that never became real. Thanks to all of you who took the time to write. A writer’s most [...]

The ‘Completeness Doctrine’

Earl R Smith II, PhD DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com Dr-Smith.com A while back I was having drinks with a friend who has been involved in coaching senior executives for several decades. During the course of that conversation he offered an interesting and challenging question: “Why is it that some executives find it so difficult to change behaviors in [...]

The Wisdom of Yoda

Earl R Smith II, PhD DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com Dr-Smith.com “Try not. Do or do not, there is no try.” Yoda A significant part of my mentoring practice is focused on a clients’ personal growth. Even when the executive mentoring engagement is centered on the company, the client and I spend a lot of time working on improving [...]

Mentoring Engagements – The First Steps

Earl R Smith II, PhD DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com Dr-Smith.com Initial meetings in any mentoring engagement set the tone and tenor for the rest of the engagement. Getting it right has a great impact on how the work is going to go and how successful the engagement will be. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ During my years working as a mentor I [...]

Do I Deserve a Mentor?

Earl R Smith II, PhD DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com Dr-Smith.com My mentoring practice frequently brings me into contact with people with huge amounts of untapped potential who are being stymied by self-limiting behavior. Over the years probably two-thirds of my initial conversations with potential mentoring clients have begun with a focus on whether or not the individual sees [...]