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Turning Potential Into Results

D.I.Y. Decision-Making

By Camille Smith / September 9, 2019

Have you ever assembled something from IKEA? You grab the Allen wrench, lay out the instructions and begin. Then, voila! YOU did it! You are so proud of it, even if the bottom drawer needs to be wiggled to shut. Still, it’s beautiful. Damn, you’re good. At work, have you ever completed a project? You assemble…

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Mirror, Mirror … in my head

By Camille Smith / April 3, 2019

On a recent family outing to Santa Cruz’s Museum of Art and History, I played in front of a mirror designed to distort.  One side of the mirror gave me super long, thin legs. The other side showed me shorter, rounder. I jumped back and forth to see  different images. Walking away from the mirror’s…

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Don’t let length limit depth

By Camille Smith / March 10, 2019

In a recent workshop coaching people to successfully transition from peer to supervisor, I was asked, “Why did you go into teaching?” I thought, then answered “I don’t know.” My professional-self (the self that mimics the conventional wisdom of what I “should” do and say) was shouting inside “Make something up!” My Self-self (the Self…

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Conflict: A bug or a feature?

By Camille Smith / February 17, 2019

There’s an assumption that conflict always involves anger and is always negative.  That friction – opposing views, misunderstandings, differences of opinion – between people is to be avoided at all costs. The trouble is that avoiding friction in our relationships is not cost-free. Avoiding friction often erodes and diminishes the very relationship that we seek…

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Can you help me with my homework?

By Camille Smith / October 3, 2018

(I know you just got a blog from me yesterday, I hope this post won’t be bothersome.) 3 months ago, 2 colleagues invited me to take an online workshop they’d design. Near the end of the workshop, Everyone A Leader, we were asked to create and then share with other participants a statement about what…

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Express Yourself

By Camille Smith / October 2, 2018

Work is one of the ways we express ourselves in life. My thanks to Leslie Tucker of Roundstone International, Inc. I’ve worked with Leslie and always been amazed at her insights and brilliance.  Most of this blog is directly from her recent posting; I added the action steps. Watch her video about the opportunity that work is…

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Listening beyond the “snap”

By Camille Smith / September 4, 2018

It happened last week.  On my way to a meeting, I discovered I was driving without my license. My knee-jerk reactions: stomach drops, hands clench the wheel, eyes dart looking for the coppers. My thoughts: Do I have time to go get it?  I forgot my cell, too. What if my client calls me along the…

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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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