Earl R. Smith II's Blog, page 72
November 11, 2014
State of Affairs and Investors
Dr. Earl R. Smith II DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com Dr-Smith.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Understanding where the other person is coming from radically increases the probability that you will understand what they are trying to say to you. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I recently met with a young entrepreneur – let’s call him X – well, to be technically accurate, a wannabe entrepreneur – [...]
Mistakes You Can Make When Presenting to Investors – Part One
Dr. Earl R. Smith II DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com Dr-Smith.com Over the years I have sat in on dozens of presentations to investors. In this series I would like to describe some of the mistakes that are made and suggest ways that you might avoid them. Clearly, one of the most important factors in the success of any [...]
November 8, 2014
Just Couldn’t Bring Himself …
Dr. Earl R. Smith II DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com Dr-Smith.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The deer in the headlights – we all know the story – the car rounds the bend on a dark night – the deer stands frozen in the glare and cannot move even as its death approaches. Humans sometimes act this way – and sometimes with similar [...]
The Other Side of the Coin
Dr. Earl R. Smith II DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com Dr-Smith.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Self-knowledge is the crucial component of self-improvement. How can you improve what you don’t understand? Of course, the other side of that coin is ‘what you don’t understand can cause you great harm. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Perfectionist: During a recent coaching engagement, I came to realize that a [...]
The Human Side of a Management Style
Dr. Earl R. Smith II DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com Dr-Smith.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I’m not sure if it was because of Mr. Spock or Dr. Spock but there is a generation of managers and business leaders out there who seem to have great difficulty being human. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I was asked the other day what I thought about a particular person’s [...]
Situational Awareness
Dr. Earl R. Smith II DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com Dr-Smith.com It’s such a simple idea – knowing what is going on around you. So why are people often so bad at it? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I sometimes call it situational awareness – particularly when I am trying to teach somebody about what they have missed by paying less attention that [...]
Coaching Breakthrough – Seeing What Was Not Seen
Dr. Earl R. Smith II DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com Dr-Smith.com How often have you suddenly realized that what others clearly saw missed? It happens to all of us and is particularly unsettling when it is something of importance. I encounter this kind of situation regularly in my coaching engagements. They present a particular challenge that most coaches miss [...]
The Goal of Coaching
Dr. Earl R. Smith II DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com Dr-Smith.com During a recent discussion with CEOs, the question of coaching came up. Most of the people participating had employed coaches at one time or another. In the majority of cases, they had sought out and engaged their coaches on their own. Only in two cases had stakeholders insisted [...]
Coaching Breakthrough – Cognitive Dissonance
Dr. Earl R. Smith II DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com Dr-Smith.com Cognitive dissonance is an uncomfortable feeling caused by holding conflicting ideas simultaneously. The theory of cognitive dissonance proposes that people have a motivational drive to reduce dissonance. They do this by changing their attitudes, beliefs, and actions. Dissonance is also reduced by justifying, blaming, and denying. It is [...]
Improve Your Leadership Skills – Part One
Dr. Earl R. Smith II DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com Dr-Smith.com Good leadership is always part nature and part nurture. Whether you are aware of it or not, you are continually leading yourself and others. The question is “how good are you at it?” The good news is that, with focus and effort, you can improve your leadership skills [...]
