DOCTORS, THERAPISTS,

PRACTICE MANAGERS

 HOSPITAL EXECUTIVES

. . . ARE NOT

CORPORATE MUCKITY-MUCKS

You and your practice or facility are not likely to be a Fortune 500 corporate entity. So there’s no need to pretend being a marketing guru.

In fact, if you are feeling even a little bit over your head with marketing, you’re likely to be wasting money, time, and energy!

Maybe you’re unearthing a monster budget expense at the behest and/or persuasion of some big-time marketing company, PR firm or ad agency you’re working with or thinking of hiring? It can often feel (and be real) that such entities are simply throwing away your money to create a mumbo-jumbo branding program aimed at earning an award for themselves.

If you’re working with or considering  “experts” who are trying or promising to “position” you as the brightest star in the heavens . . . you may want to re-think it with a dose of reality.

Reality? Yes, you are a healthcare provider. That makes you an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs challenge the system. In healthcare, they use (or retain) innovative thinking to establish, re-establish and upgrade the authenticity of themselves and the “saleability” of their services, careers, investments, and reputations.

You can accomplish this with: much less expense of money, the same expense of time, and sometimes greater expense of energy. Oh, and –by the way– having and practicing a sense of entrepreneurial reality tends to get far better value and results than engaging one of the “big-time-expert” groups noted above.

Just to be sure we’re on the same page here, I’m talking about –specifically– how to increase patient volume, how to stimulate patient and patient-family loyalty, and how to strengthen referral bases, channels, and networks without having to bet the farm!. Is that what you’re looking to accomplish?

Stay with me on the next few weekly blog posts and I’ll tell you HOW… or call or email me (info below) if you can’t wait!

Let’s start with the idea that what truly “sells” people is to be entirely focused on them and not on ourselves. Chest-beating, posturing messages about how great you think you are and smiling-face billboards, ads, and Facebook pages –regardless of expense involved– make no difference whatsoever. In fact, they often do the opposite… annoy, antagonize, create doubt and distrust, and send the people you’re trying to reach galloping off to your quiet competitors.

So do you have to be “quiet”? No, but you do need to be your authentic self. You do you need to be more conscious of the training and talent and experience gifts you deliver in your vital societal role as a healer and healthcare provider. Because THAT is your best marketing!

Is that hard? Of course, especially given the volatility, misdirection, intrusiveness, and mismanagement of government agencies, insurance companies, and today’s Obamacare circus, but –in the end– difficulty (as most entrepreneurs learn) is a choice.

There is much more coming to you at this blog in the hands-on, specific-how-to-steps departments in the days ahead. So, do return for more on how to get started and how to re-start.

In the meantime . . .

CHECK THIS disarmingly true, insightful post

at www.HealthcareTalentTransformation.com  

by David Lee Scher, MD, titled:

“Five Ways Physicians Can Change Patient Behavior“

 # # #

“Got here safe & sound, Y’all!”

AND STILL UNPACKING AND SETTING UP NEW OFFICES . . .

GUESS WHERE?????  Email your guess: Hal@Businessworks.US  (“New Office” in Subject Line) Winning guesses entered in drawing for a FREE first edition signed copy of HIGH TIDE fictionalized account of America’s biggest drug deal! See www.HighTideNow.com

Thank you for your visit.

If you’re new to this blog, please mark your calendar to return on April 16th for the beginning of Tax Return Recovery, and to help kickoff an exciting new series of posts you won’t find anywhere else!

If you’ve been visiting here regularly since the birth of my blog in April, 2008 (and now closing in on 1500 posts), thank you even extra!

You, especially, will want to return April 16th to see what’s in store for innovative, spirited business and healthcare professionals. You’ll get  proven new ways of thinking to boost your sales and make the most of your leadership skills — for profit and nonprofit businesses and professions alike. You’ll get coaching that works in the office and meeting room, on the phone and on paper, on the smartphone and the computer. You will get specific how-tos for building and enhancing your leadership posture in your industry, your marketplace, and your community.

When you return here April 16th, you will get the beginning of an input stream that no one else dares to share . . . on ways to feel better about your SELF (no product or service sales pitches, no lectures, no gimmicks). You’ll get ways to be encouraged, ways to make a difference with your career and family pursuits, ways to rise above the clutter.

You’ll get solid substance based on more years of experience than you probably are old. Not just passive observations, you’ll get frontline/hands-on experience with over 2,000 business consulting and return engagements AND with more than 20,000 students and management training participants. PLUS –as incredible as it’s always been–it will be free on this blog. Try it. You’ll like it. Send your friends.

In the meantime, to better serve our Entrepreneurial Clients (Including Business Startups, SalesPropreneurs©, Doctorpreneurs© and Corporate Entrepreneurs©), BUSINESSWORKS.US and TheWriterWorks.com, LLC will be in the process of relocating to another State. You’ll get the details as soon as we’re settled. In the meantime, Happy Spring!

See you the day after taxes!!!

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Dear Boss: Do you know HOW and

WHEN to cover for someone?

If you’re reading this, my guess is the odds are you find it reassuring to hear that someone’s “got your back!” But let’s get real. That expression means a lot in life-or-death and potentially hazardous situations – no doubt about it! Thankfully, however, most of us are not putting our lives on the line every day as in police, fire and military combat.

So having someone “cover your back” is hardly of value in day-to-day business or family life. For most of us, reality dictates that no one else can really protect your interests except you!

If you want to make sure a job gets done that you are responsible for, either do it yourself or monitor progress to make sure the person you asked to do it, does it! Remember, we can delegate authority to get things done, but we cannot delegate responsibility for getting things done.

Does every assignment or request have to be a leap of faith? No, but until those involved have proven consistently that they can act responsibly, it’s a leap of faith, and how much of a leap depends on the sense of balance, trust, and intuition we practice. And there is no excuse for not checking up, following up, soliciting feedback.

Corporate accountability procedures make delegation slightly easier and more comfortable feeling than handing off tasks tends to be for entrepreneurs and in many family settings . . . and especially in family businesses. Q: When does a delegator step in and take charge, take back, or take over? A: When ultimate responsibility is on the line.

Oh, and not doing something the same way the delegator does something is not grounds for divorce, separation, or interference. In fact, the best leaders are those who see departures from their personal methods and techniques as opportunities to learn – possibly a better way to do something, or gain better input necessary to teach a better way.

But be careful here. “Better” is subjective. “Better” is not always quicker, or more thorough, or more efficient. THIS is one place where knowing when and when not to exercise leadership judgment comes into play.

WHEN DELEGATING – 5 SUGGESTIONS

1) Be observant – Keep things safe!

2) Withhold judgment pending seeing the results, but don’t hesitate to step in if you see evidence of physical, emotional or customer service hazard around the corner.

3) Suggest changes in process carefully and specifically – Criticize behavior or method or technique, NOT THE PERSON – Criticize in private and praise in public!

4) Don’t give a “Got your back!” attitude to someone else. Simply teach by example.  

5) Remember whose ultimate responsibility is on the line!

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WANT TO BE MORE OF A LEADER?

TALK AND WRITE LIKE A LEADER.

Over 30 years of writing and training business, industry,

healthcare, and academic leadership have taught me

some important words I now share with you . . .

People who regularly incorporate the use of the following kinds of words in their daily conversations and written messages stand tall among the most successful of worldclass leaders.

This magic pack of words is just for openers. You need to be willing to raise your own consciousness about whether the words you use every day are helping you perform to the best of your own leadership ability. This list can, in other words,  get you started. But only you can decide what works best for you and your personal leadership comfort zone.

The point is: Take a couple of minutes to review this list, think about it and assess yourself. If you can change some words you may presently be emphasizing that are not helping you perform, change them! It’s your choice.

Opportunity. Becoming. Challenge. Team. Can. Forward. Focus. Here and Now. Let’s. How? What will it take? Go! Do I understand you correctly to mean . . .? Us. We. Our. Fun. Enjoy! Together. For example. Passion. Try. Enthusiasm. Empathy. Customer. Diagram.  Innovation. Client. Partner. Listening. Self-esteem. Service. Needs. Desires. Learning. Facts. Exciting. God. Illuminating. Choice. Value. Timing.  Self-confidence. Trust. Authenticity. Genuineness. Objectives. Goals. Strategies. Tactics. Specific.  Flexible. Realistic. Ignite. Timeline. Activate. Boost. Stimulate. Care. Compassion. Spark. Consistency. Measure. Hustle. Effort. Reward. Share. Accurate. Recognition. Implement. Respond. Energy. Responsive. Responsible. Behavior. Spirit. Assist. Invigorate. Results. Invest. Humility. Grace. Please. Thank you. Respect.  Grow. Patient. Happiness. Family.

# # #

When Followers Lead Leaders

You think only a weak leader would step aside when followers close rank and try to take over? Maybe you’ve seen too many wild-eyed-pirate-and-rats-desertion-of-sinking-ship themed movies. You may want to revisit your thinking because in a lot more than some cases, stepping aside is an indication of truly superior and truly successful leadership!

There are probably as many avenues to leadership roles as there are leaders, yet none of them reflects the inherent strength-of-leadership qualities of authenticity and transparency as –like raising world-class children— being able to move confidently out of the way when followers (or your kids) take up the flag and charge forward with it.

No one ever said that being a parent or playing a parental role in business and professional practice development would be easy. In fact, parenting of any kind may well be among the hardest of life challenges. On the heels of committing to the ongoing practice of nurturing and investing in self-responsibility, personal and career parenting is certainly job one.

Why would self-development come first? Because if you cannot be true to yourself, you cannot be true to others. If you don’t know and aren’t continually searching out what makes you tick, you can’t possibly be in a position or mindset to lead others. If you don’t value your self and appreciate your own strengths and weaknesses, how can you measure and guide others?

When followers lead leaders, it may be because the leaders have faltered or it may be because the leaders have thrived on showing the way, on lighting the path, on motivating others to see that light AND the path, and on stepping out and onto it.

Weak leaders work at keeping followers following.

Truly great leaders

inspire followers to become leaders.

Which are you? Which are you becoming? Where are you aiming? What’s your target? Your goal? Your objective? How will you get there? The more you help others to grow as leaders, the more you grow as a leader. And since all of this swirls around what you think and how you behave, it’s worth remembering that thoughts and behaviors are a choice.

# # #

Yada, Yada, Yada,

 Blah, Blah, Blah…

Odds are that your best leadership response to other people’s yackity-yack is probably NOT:  yeah, yeah, yeah!

When someone who follows your lead is being busy saying nothing (hmmm, sound familiar?), try taking the person off to the side — or into a private setting — and explain that you want to share the value of some of what you’ve learned from successful sales leaders.

Start by noting that virtually EVERY exchange we have with others EVERY day –both on the job and off– constitutes an attempt to sell SOME thing.

Yes, “EVERY” and yes, “SOME.”

Think about it before jumping down my throat with some condemnation for using “ALL OR NOTHING” language. Before you throw exceptions at me, take a minute to dissect them. Odds are you’ll discover that at least one individual in every interaction has a mission to sell her or his self, or ideas, or products or services, or brands, or affections, or . . .

Here’s what the world’s most successful salespeople know and practice: LISTEN 80% of the time and TALK 20% of the time. Maybe not easy, but it IS simple. And it works! This behavior breeds success in all walks of life with all kinds of circumstances where we seek to make a sale or an impression or gain trust or show understanding.

By disciplining ourselves to listen more carefully to those we are charged with the responsibility to lead, and by being more selective and economical with what we have to say to others, we are also becoming more productive with time and energy spent.

When we can save time and energy by communicating more accurately and productively, we are getting a better handle on what others want and need and suggest, and we are saving on wasted time and energy costs and lost opportunities.

But don’t stop there!

Talking less and listening more does NOT mean talking less and HEARING more. Active listening is an acquired skill that involves open body language (no arms, legs, ankles, wrists, hands, fingers crossed and no peering over the top of your glasses), paraphrasing and asking for examples and diagrams, and nonverbal (e.g., head nodding) as well as verbal acknowledgements.

It means paying attention, staying focused, not allowing distractions. Easy stuff? No. Hardly ever is it easy. Active-listening communication is more work and it takes longer. Ah, but you simply can’t compare the success-level results you’ll get with the productivity (or lack of) that accompanies the typical 80% talking communications that surround our daily lives.

# # #

Your PEOPLE are your

  most important asset.

Do you think your organization’s product or service inventories are the most valuable assets to protect and nurture? You may want to re-visit where you and your organization/business/professional practice/group/ department/team would be without those who comprise the entity that makes you a leader:  your followers, your people.

Failure to recognize this truism is at your own peril.

Often those who work for and with us can –by virtue of the choices they make– unwittingly draw us into the flames they ignite. And leaders often end up compounding issues that arise by adding more bad choices –like throwing gasoline onto the fire. Victims of circumstance? Rarely.

Victims of failure to nurture and challenge and publically reward and frequently appreciate and reassure is more like it. Laziness and slacking off is more like it. So too is getting too big for one’s leadership britches!

Leadership is a fulltime function and minimizing bad choices is job one.

When leaders fully appreciate and frequently celebrate the performances of those who follow, they are ensuring renewal and continuance of loyalty and perseverance. This is the stuff that has built empires and won wars. The world’s most successful leaders know that the single most important craving that human beings have is for recognition, reassurance, and trust.

Seeking recognition, reassurance and trust is the conscious or unconscious pursuit of practically all human beings in virtually every circumstance of life, and –in addition to employees, associates, staffs, and teammates– this includes the vast majority of all physician and healthcare service patients — even those who go to emergency rooms!

It is our nature as people to look for ongoing approval, reassurance, and trust — a sense that we are performing okay, that we are okay, and that we will be okay.

This does not translate to everyone being neurotic or for leaders having to be shrinks, or having to pat everyone on the head and love every follower. Great leadership is not always transparent!

It translates to the need for leaders to appreciate basic human instincts and directly address them with actions and words by communicating directly, with authenticity and genuineness — instead of ignoring, patronizing or pandering, and beating around the bush. Remember poison ivy often grows around bushes!

 # # #

 SUCCESS IS THE JOURNEY

. . . NOT THE DESTINATION. 

 It’s entrepreneurial leadership, not the goal!

Losers lack it. Winners exude it. Ask the successful people you know. They will tell you that the most sensible route to organizational success is one that engages and focuses on the passionate pursuit of “here and now” present-moment thinking, instead of dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. VOILA! “Entrepreneurial Leadership.”

Do you sometimes wonder what Barnes & Noble is thinking on it’s way to the Borders graveyard by insisting on following an archaic business model that is completely out of touch with today’s technology and marketplace? Do you wonder why the Post Office’s solution to high expenses is to close on Saturdays, lay off employees and pull in pick-up boxes off the sidewalks?

And why does a nonprofit charity mail out fundraiser letters with “2013 Supporter” car magnets that literally fade to invisibility after a day in the sun? What makes the rampant “GOTCHA” greed of so many cable TV, insurance and telephone service providers completely override the wishes and best interests of the customers they serve?

The answer to these –and any other examples you may be prompted to think about– is the same. It is wrapped around societal acceptance of the need to pursue “the end result” at all costs. It is mired deep in the thinking that popularizes “analysis paralysis” as a characterization. It is the antithesis of innovation, and of entrepreneurial thinking and leadership.

“But winning is the American way!,” you may say. Indeed it is. But just because it’s the most desirable mantra for sports and military performances, doesn’t mean it’s the right way for business or life. If anything, it’s probably as far off base as any guideline could be. No business or life flourishes when it is completely devoted to reaching the goal line. None.

Think about it. When you’re running a race and concentrating on the finish line, you stop paying attention to what’s happening at the present moment right in front of you, right under your feet, and -SMASH!- you trip and fall on your face.  Competitors of course will hop over and around you. Winners pay attention to each step AS they take each step.

Entrepreneurial leaders nurture and thrive on the present moment. Something doesn’t work? They don’t analyze the malfunction to death. They simply adjust it and keep moving forward, and adjust it again and again in the process of constantly moving forward (vs. analyzing instant and slow motion replays again and again and going nowhere)!

Entrepreneurial leaders don’t worry about goals. They have goals, but they simply pursue them by staying tuned in to where they are, each step of the way. Like any malfunction, if the goal isn’t being reached as planned or hoped for, they adjust it. Inflexible or unrealistic, or nonspecific goals are as totally meaningless as wishes.

It’s HOW you do what you do each day that determines success. HOW do you handle staying on top of the process and the interactions? Isn’t that hard? Of course it is. The challenge is to be forever on the alert to opportunities, and that’s impossible for those who are thinking or worrying too much about where they’re headed, and for those lost in the clouds of constantly re-hashing where things have been.

Successful entrepreneurial leaders are also HAPPY leaders because they function as much of the time as possible in the present, here-and-now moment. And, like success, happiness is also “The Journey”! Do you make an effort to function each day in the here-and-now present moment as much as possible? Try it. You’ll like it.

# # #

STOP

“Thinking

   Like A Leader”!

“Thinking like a leader” may get you some pats on the back. Perhaps a few “Hey, Man, he really thinks like a leader!” comments. But leaders who are serious about the pursuit of their missions and the exercising of leadership to motivate others to get where they’re going, are those who are completely invested in BEING leaders.

BEING a leader means getting results through others instead of thinking or talking about getting results.

Of course leaders need to plan. But having a plan is like getting your foot in the door. Worrying about which way to go once you’re inside, doesn’t make the mission happen. Taking steps does. And as a true entrepreneur would respond, if the first few steps aren’t working, take steps in a different direction . . . and then again.

You will almost always get where you’re going faster by moving than if you were to sit still and analyze each direction because the momentum alone will fuel your pursuit. Not happy with that, huh? You don’t like thrashing your way through the jungle just to find out you missed the path? You need your analytical fix?

Okay, go for it, but limit it and target it to make the most of where you’ve been. After all:

HOW ARE YOU GOING

TO GET WHERE YOU’RE GOING

IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHERE YOU’VE BEEN? 

Make it a quick review (not analysis paralysis!). The relevant past is useful to every leader because it can be an invaluable tool for learning from past mistakes and past success, true? So do it. Review it. Then take it –like a football game handoff– and run! The past is over and will not change. And dwelling on the past is a waste of the present.

What’s the rush? Motivating others takes momentum which requires timely and accurate communications. Timely and accurate communications dissolve rapidly when too much time and attention is devoted to past and future thinking. But both gather speed as the leader sparks and ignites. BEING an effective leader means taking action and teaching by example.

“Thoughts” I am told by psychologist friends, are “Things.” But “Things” are not “Actions.”

Leaders Act.

 # # #

So, you think you know

who you are, huh? Really?

Entrepreneurial Leaders are responsive (instead of reactive). They take reasonable risks (which means they don’t bet the farm, or even buy lottery tickets!). They are goal-driven, but focus more on the steps to reach the goal. When something doesn’t work, they make adjustments and try again (vs. corporate/government thinking that produces analysis paralysis!)

Guess what the number one ingredient is in entrepreneurial leadership — any kind, any level (from running a company to running a work crew or department, to running a family or sports team)? It’s knowing yourself. Your SELF. Because unless you know what makes YOU tick, you can never know what makes others tick.

When you don’t know what makes others tick, you’ll never be able to communicate clearly with them . . . because they do NOT think like you think even if you think they do. They don’t. You are unique. No one else has your brain. No one else can reach inside your brain and control it because every one of your behaviors is your choice!

So, are you still with me? If that little bit of awareness is true for you, it is equally true for each person who follows you. To be truly effective as an entrepreneurial leader (as opposed to a robotic leader!), doesn’t mean you have to be a shrink. It means you have to accept that everyone does not think like you, and you need to do your best to figure out what makes them tick.

Just because you may think you’ve “been around the block a few times,” that you’ve “been there, done that and got the t-shirt” doesn’t mean you can dismiss the need to keep learning about yourself and others because these are different times. What worked for you before is not likely to work again for you without some kind of adjustment.

The place to start adjusting, then, is with how, when, and where you absorb new information. Just as you and your life are constantly changing (even, and usually, when you least expect it or are aware of it), so too are the lives of those who look to you for guidance. I’m not suggesting you become a Google-aholic psych student. Just keep yourself alert. Observe. Listen.

Keeping up with all of that is challenging. But isn’t that why you took the job or accepted the responsibility in the first place?

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