Category Archives: Ethics

Shit Happens – Figure It Out!

brian smith-pld, Coaching, Entrepreneurship, Ethics, Leadership Development, Management, Management Training, Mentorship, Personal Development, Professional development, Reformed Control Freak, Self-Help, Teacher, Uncategorized

Shit happens – figure it out. I love that quote from Tony Gareri. It spoke to me because most things never go exactly as planned. Too many obstacles can get in your way and throw you off course. You can’t control what’s out of your control, but you can decide how to react. Shit happens – it’s called life. You can either step over the shit or step in it. You pick. You can either let it ruin your day and torpedo your plans – or you can learn from it and use it to learn the lesson it’s trying to teach you and begin again. This time, a little wiser and a little more informed.

“A positive attitude gives you power over your circumstances instead of your circumstances having power over you. ” – Joyce Meyer.

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company, a church, or a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past. We cannot change the fact that people will act a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. We can only play on the one string we have, which is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you. We are in charge of our attitudes. Wise words with remembering by Charles Swindell.

“The bend in the road is not the end of the road unless you fail to make the turn.” – A. Kane.

Do you walk around thinking your cup is half-full or half-empty? I think my cup is half-full. I choose to see the positives in everything that happens to me as a learning opportunity. Even the negative things that happen to you, and trust me, there will be plenty of them, are positives if you look at them from another point of view. It helps if you believe everything happens to you for a reason. Whatever happens today is preparing you for what will happen tomorrow.

“Some people want it to happen., some wish it would happen, and others make it happen. ” M.J.

I am, without a doubt, the most optimistic person you will ever meet. Besides being an eternal optimist, I’m also a realist. I do have my Dr. Phil moments of clarity. I know that I can’t control everything that happens around me. But I know I can control how I react in any situation. In that space between stimulus and response that Dr. Covey talks about and what Dr. Viktor Frankl knows to be true from his experiences, I know I must react in a way that will get me what I want. I know that shit happens, and I will figure it out. You can figure your shit out, too.

Copyright (c) 2023. Brian Smith – Power Link Dynamics. Not to be reproduced without permission. To learn more about Brian and what he can do for you and your organization, visit his website – https://briansmithpld.com.

Think it, Act it, Become it. You Are Whoever You Think You Are

brian smith-pld, Coaching, Entrepreneurship, Ethics, Leadership Development, Management, Mentorship, Personal Development, Personality Types, Professional development, Reformed Control Freak, Self-Help, small business owner, Soft-Skills Training, Teacher, Uncategorized

Your internal dialogue has everything to do with the image you project externally. You are whoever you think you are – it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you think you can – or can’t – you’re usually right. If you feel you can’t, you’re beating yourself before you even start. David believed he could defeat Goliath. He had confidence in his ability to get the job done. Great managers and leaders aren’t born – they’re made. You need to believe in yourself and have confidence in your ability to be a great manager or leader

Worth Remembering … “Dress how you want to be addressed.” – Unknown

Image is everything. How we dress and present ourselves projects what we think of ourselves and who we are. People will judge you based on how you look and how you behave. I knew within 20 seconds of an interview if I was going to hire the person or no. Was it fair? No, I let my unconsciours bias influence my perception, and I may have missed the opportunity to employ a star performer – but our gut feelings and intuition are right more often than they are wrong. Being a great manager or leader is looking and acting the part.

Worth Remembering … ” I don’t want to be liked. I want to be respected because if you like me, you can throw me away too quickly. If you respect me, you may not like what I have to say, but you’ll say I respect that.” – Ray Lewis

Awe and respect are two completely different thngs. We all have a fundamental need to be liked and accepted – Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Some people need to be liked more than others. The danger for managers and leaders is wanting to be liked rather than respected. You aren’t participating in a popularity contest. I didn’t like everyone I worked with, and I knew everyone didn’t like me. And trust me; everyone won’t like you. But you can’t let wanting to be liked rather than respected get in the way of making decissions that not everyone will agree with. Being a great manager or leader is about making decisions based on what is the right thing to do.

Worth Remembering … “Fear and self-doubt have always been the greatest enemies of human potential.” Brian Tracey

Imposter syndrome. We all feel insecure and unsure of ourselves at times. We all have self-doubt – especially if we are doing something we’re uncertain of or doing it for the first time. No one wants to look silly or make a mistake. If we had a choice, most of us would rather back into the future instead of turning around and facing challenges head-on. We take comfort in the familiar. The error is not in taking action – the error is in inaction. Not everyone will agree on the direction you’re heading and the changes you make. Great managers and leaders are agents of change.

Think it, act it, become it. You are whover you think you are.

Copyright (c) 2022. Brian Smith – Power Link Dynamics. Not to be reproduced without permission. To find out more about Brian and what he can do for you and your organization visit – https://briansmithpld.com or email Brian directly. – brian@briansmithpld.com

We Need Leaders Who We Can Trust & Believe In

brian smith-pld, Coaching, Customer Service, Enduring Principles, Entrepreneurship, Ethics, Leadership Development, Management, Mentorship, Personal Development, Personal Values, Professional development, Reformed Control Freak, Self-Help, small business owner, Teacher, Uncategorized

What does it say about the world we live in when we question the honesty and integrity of the people in leadership positions both in government and the private sector? What does it say about the world we live in when governments need to pass laws requiring Chief Executive Officers and Chief Financial Officers of Corporations to sign off on their company’s financial results? And if found to be false, they can face criminal prosecution. Now – more than ever, we need leaders who we can trust and believe in.

Worth Remembering … “Leaders walk their talk; in true leaders, there is no gap between the theories they espouse, and their practice.” – Warren Bennis

What does it say about a leader if they behave one way in public and behave a different way behind closed doors? Does that mean there are two kinds of ethics: business and personal? If there are two kinds of ethics, does that mean it’s ok to lie, cheat and con your customers and employees, but not your family and friends? At times, it must get confusing for leaders to remember what hat they’re supposed to be wearing.

Worth Remembering … “In organizations where people trust and believe in each other, they don’t get into regulating and coercing behaviours. They don’t need a policy for every mistake. People in these trusting environments respond with enormous commitment and creativity.” – Walter Wriston.

What are ethical or unethical behaviours? How should a true leader behave? True leaders keep their word and honour their commitments. True leaders don’t just promise to stick up for people and have their back – they do it. True leaders don’t just preach fairness; they practice it. And they don’t just counsel others about honesty and integrity; they live it every day, both in public and behind closed doors. What they say and their actions are congruent. They are the same. You can’t be ethical some of the time – you must be ethical all the time. You can’t be ethical at home and not at work or vice versa. You’re either ethical, or you’re not. We need leaders who we can trust and believe in.

Copyright (c) 2022. Brian Smith – Power Link Dynamics. Brian has been recognized as one of the Top 200 Biggest Voices in Leadership to Follow in 2022. To find out more about Brian and what he can do for you visit, https://briansmithpld.com

Trust is a Two-Way Street

brian smith-pld, Coaching, Enduring Principles, Ethics, Leadership Development, Management, Mentorship, Personal Development, Personal Values, Professional development, Reformed Control Freak, Self-Help, Soft-Skills Training, Teacher, Uncategorized

Sometimes you need others to take a leap of faith. Without establishing trust, you’ll have little chance of getting people to come along. If they trust you , they will follow you. If they trust you, they’ll believe that you have their best interest in mind. If they trust you, they’ll know that you aren’t setting them up to fail. Just because you’ve been given a title doesn’t automatically mean they will trust you. Managers and leaders need to earn their trust.

Are you looking to establish trust? Start here

Keep Your Word. Your word is your bond. What ever you say you’re going to do – do it. If they can’t trust what you say – they won’t trust you at all.

Be Honest and Transparent. Tell them the truth – always. If they catch you in a lie – you’ll never regain their trust.

Admit You Don’t Have all the Answers. It’s ok if you don’t have all the answers. However, you need to know who and where to go to to get them.

Communicate Often. Let them know how they are doing – good or bad. It’s important to keep them in the loop. You can’t communicate too much.

Admit When You’ve Made a Mistake. We all make mistakes. Take ownership, learn from them, apologize, and move on.

Resist The Urge to Micro-Manage. A leader’s roll is to teach them what they need to know and then get out of their way and let them do it.

Be True to Your Own Set of Values. Don’t compromize your own set of values. Be true to who you are. Integrity is more than just a word.

Walter Wriston, the former Chairman and CEO of Citicorp, understood that in organizations where people trust and believe in each other, they don’t need to get into regulating and coercing behaviours. They don’t need a policy for every mistake. People in these trusting environments respond with enormous commitment and creativity. Walter Wriston understood that trust is a two-way street.

Copyright (c) 2020. Brian Smith – Power Link Dynamics. Not to be reproduced without permission. To find out more about Brian and what he can do for you and your organization visit https://briansmithpld.com.