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Turning Potential Into Results

Books can’t give you experience

By Camille Smith / May 10, 2018

I adore books. My shelves are filled with titles that promise insights about leadership, coaching, human dynamics, strategy, compassion, values.  After madly highlighting these work-related books in my effort to absorb their wisdom (and thus become wiser myself), I take a break and read fiction.  As it often happens in these non-work readings, the Ah-Ha…

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Leader: Are you a Dropper-Offer or Developer?

By Camille Smith / April 29, 2018

We ask others to do things for us all the time – things we don’t want to do, things we don’t have the time to do, and things we couldn’t do even if we had the time.  We drop our suits at the dry cleaners, our car at the garage, and our kids at school.…

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These times are our times

By Camille Smith / January 12, 2018

I’ve been trying to write a super-duper, kick-off-the-year message that would inspire you in your quest to make your unique contribution and be your best self at work and at home. I’ve been coming up blank.  Writing something about the January-ness of it all – a new beginning, out with the old/in with the new,…

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When our self-talk comes out of another’s mouth

By Camille Smith / September 9, 2017

Channel surfing on Sunday, I stumbled upon the show “Off Camera with Sam Jones”.  Off Camera is hosted by director/photographer Sam Jones who created the show out of his passion for the long form conversational interview, and as a way to share his conversations with a myriad of artists, actors, musicians, directors, skateboarders, photographers, and writers…

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Lions and Tigers and Liars, Oh My!

By Camille Smith / July 30, 2017

We’ve been lying as long as we’ve had language. Research shows that a child’s ability to bend the truth is a developmental milestone, much like walking and talking.  While our noses don’t grow like Pinocchio’s when we lie, research shows a person’s nose can “heat up” when they lie. Liars populate our literature (Gatsby; Lady…

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Don’t be bored: Gather clues!

By Camille Smith / October 12, 2015

When I was a kid (and not damming up Yellow Creek), my brother and I played two board games, Monopoly and Clue. My brother liked (and usually won) Monopoly which probably paid off in his role as a VC. Clue was my favorite. I liked it because I was good at making educated guesses. Nothing…

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Leaders Come From All Parts of the Orchard

By Camille Smith / August 20, 2015

People who want to be leaders often ask me: “Do I have the right personality to lead?” My answer: There’s no personality type that designates someone a leader. This doesn’t mean you ignore your personality, preferences and foibles. It means you become aware of them so you can lead yourself first, then others. To gain…

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Stop Putting up with the Glare

By Camille Smith / July 7, 2015

Client story: An employee wanted to move to another workspace because the extreme glare on her desk made it hard for her to work. She was convinced that the glare was coming from a newly painted office building outside her window. To try and solve the problem herself, she put a row of plants on…

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Jack and the OpportunityStalk

By Camille Smith / May 21, 2015

Ding-Dong Every now and then, we get unwanted solicitations at home – magnets advertising tree cutting services tossed on our driveway, pamphlets promising salvation slipped under our mat, volunteers ringing the bell requesting a donation. We toss the ads in the trash and flip a coin to determine if we’ll answer the door. A recent…

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Got complaints? Replace whines with action!

By Camille Smith / April 14, 2015

When a friend’s birthday approaches, I sort through my stash of cards for one that’s appropriate. For the last 6 years (OK, maybe 10), I’ve rejected the same 5 birthday cards. What I thought was funny when I bought them, isn’t funny anymore. The cards in the No pile include an old gal hiking up…

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