Watch where you’re going,

YOU’RE 70+ YEARS OLD?

There goes your past. Here comes your future. But
it’s only this very minute —this very split second
as you read this sentence— that counts!
Popular observations about your age:

YOU’RE 70+ YEARS OLD

God Bless You! You’re still alive and pretending to be younger . . . probably 50-60. Occasionally, you might even make believe that you’re in the 30-40 age bracket (though, depending on activity levels involved, that can readily get you in trouble, like cut, bumped, bruised, or thrown out of a bar, an airplane or someone’s bedroom!).

Bottom line is that you have at long last arrived at the point where no one can tell you much of anything that you don’t already know from experience.

Well, okay, you may be a little slow on the uptake when it comes to storing your pdf files on the cloud or testing the new contact lens that takes photos when you blink (something like 1 blink for yes and 2 blinks for no and 3 blinks to snap a picture of what you’re looking at that you’re not supposed to be looking at. Hmmm, and that could spell trouble with a capital “T”!). Anyway, who knows what’s next in tech? You can bet the farm that the answer to that is: No one older than fifty years younger than you, right?

So here you are: 70+ and you have no doubts about what you don’t know. You’re still working at something or you wouldn’t be around. Life is not a breeze, but waking up every day is certainly a gift you want to make the most of — especially after all that work just to get from the bed to the bathroom!

And you are, after all, happy and productive, yes?

Interesting isn’t it, that being at the happiest and most productive place in the world—“here and now”—is most often shared by people under 7 and over 70? Most everyone in between spends all those other years worrying about the future which hasn’t come yet (and may never!) or dwelling on the past which is over (and can’t be changed). But then, you already know that, right?

Here’s how I figure it: AGE only matters when you choose for it to matter. We made a lot of choices to get here. And whether it’s been easy, hard, or in between, it all comes back to choices we make and have made—conscious or unconscious, but always our choices lead the way.

So, just choose to make it easy! Choose to make whatever work you still do work for you, to be happy and healthy and rewarding for you and all those who surround you. Is that too hard? Well, it’s simple if you choose for it to be simple. Besides, what’s the alternative? You stop working and then you die of retirement? Not a great choice.

REALITY IN LIFE AND BUSINESS:
Now is the only time!
How thankful are you to be who you are,
headed where you’re headed?

CHECK BACK TO THE LAST 5 POSTS BEFORE THIS FOR THE
COMPLETE “AGE SERIES” [20-30, 30-40, 40-50, 50-60, and 60-70]
~~~ NEXT WEEK: A SPECIAL CHRISTMAS MESSAGE!
# # #
Hal@BusinessWorks.US or 931.854.0474 or comment below

OPEN MINDS OPEN DOORS

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You!

Make today a GREAT Day for someone!

YOU’RE 60-70 YEARS OLD?

There goes your past. Here comes your future. But
it’s only this very minute —this very split second
as you read this sentence— that counts!

Popular observations about your age:

YOU’RE 60-70 YEARS OLD
Ah, now you’re cookin’, Baby! True smartness sets in and you learn to appreciate the idea that life is too short to be hanging around with time-wasting junk. That includes other people who are hell-bent on draining your brain and emotional storage bank with their tales of physical ailments, surgical procedures, and drug regimens.

Business life begins at 60! Go get busy! Invent something! Write a book! Play senior softball! Coach something. Find a local youth organization you can work with. And there’s nothing like moving to or visiting a college town to keep you feeling young! Pull up stakes and git outta Dodge! If you’re married, do another honeymoon. If you’re single, and still searching for love in all the wrong places (like bars!), gussy yourself up and check out stuff like www.NeedTaGetMeARedHotSeniorLover.com (Just kidding. Sorry, it’s not a real site!)

One good thing that’s predictable once you hit into the 60-70 age group: You say “screw it!” more.

Oh, and—after trying endless formulas, products, and treatments to no avail—you let your hair and wrinkles grow wherever the hell they want to. You look lovingly at grandchildren, but have a keenly developed zero-tolerance for temper tantrums and the soiled diapers that you once handled with aplomb, finesse, dedication and necessity.

Reluctantly, you look for the bright side of facing the eventual need to downsize your living quarters and aspirations. Your kids talk with you like they think you’re seven years old. You are either attending church services more or less. You are paying too much attention to politics, the news, and nail fungus!

Here’s the whole enchilada: Be thankful to be who you are and to be headed forward on your path. You’ve made it this far and you ain’t gonna quit nohow!

REALITY IN LIFE AND BUSINESS:
Now is the only time!
How thankful are you to be who you are,
headed where you’re headed?

WATCH THIS BLOG NEXT WEDNESDAY

FOR HAL’s 70+ AGE COMMENTARY

# # #

Hal@BusinessWorks.US  or 931.854.0474 or comment below

OPEN MINDS OPEN DOORS

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You!

Make today a GREAT Day for someone!

YOU’RE 50-60 YEARS OLD?

There goes your past. Here comes your future. But
it’s only this very minute —this very split second
as you read this sentence— that counts!

Popular observations about your age:

YOU’RE 50-60 YEARS OLD

Congratulations! You’ve finally learned some stuff. You know better, for example, than to think you’re so omnipotently brilliant and untouchable—not weak by any means (you did after all get this far!)—you’ve simply become more realistic.

Realistic is good. More realistic is even better. At 50-60, you start going to church more than just weddings, funerals, Christmas and Passover, and you’ve given up worrying about your hair.

Your business enterprise is shaky but working (after learning from a handful of failures) as usual — and you live for your annual vacation, your spouse, and your offspring. Your new puppy just chewed up your tax returns, but that truck you always wanted is now in your driveway . . . and who knows? Ray Kroc was 57 years-old when he launched McDonald’s! Makes you think of trading in those daily nuts and healthy fruit for a drippy fat burger and those fries (Ah yes, the fries!) . . . am I right?

Yup! And, at long last, you’ve come to the point of accepting the reality that you may actually be a bit on the stupid side when it comes to home and car repairs, budgeting and bank account management, or selling yourself to get customers. You’ve no doubt figured out how to apply all the gems you learned in your school studies of Tree-Hugging, Trigonometry, and Global Warming to market your line of new improved toilet plungers.

Oh, and this is not even to mention your half-century (whoops! Sorry to mention that) of accumulated street-smarts that have prompted you to realize that you can be easily clobbered by a 20-something who cuts you off in traffic and that your best defense is to keep your middle finger in your pocket. Your love affair dreams have narrowed to a handful of gorgeous TV superstars and a neighbor with 9 children and 17 grandchildren swarming over the house, porch, yard and driveway 24/7. Oh, well . . .

REALITY IN LIFE AND BUSINESS:
Now is the only time!
How thankful are you to be who you are,
headed where you’re headed?

WATCH THIS BLOG NEXT WEEK FOR MORE
  AGE COMMENTARY~~~~ NEXT WEEK: 60-70
# # #
Hal@BusinessWorks.US or 931.854.0474 or comment below

OPEN MINDS OPEN DOORS

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You!

Make today a GREAT Day for someone!

YOU’RE 40-50 YEARS OLD?

There goes your past. Here comes your future. But
it’s only this minute—this very split second as you
read this sentence—that counts!

Popular observations about your age:

YOU’RE 40-50 YEARS’ OLD

Now you’re getting serious about life. You cut your hair and consider the economies of a wig vs. hair transplants vs. shaving your head. You buy your first wrinkle cream and think about Botox. It doesn’t take more than a backache or two to realize you’re no longer the superwoman / superman you thought you were, but you will no doubt continue trying to prove otherwise—switching perhaps to “softer athletics” like pinball, slot machine pulls, darts, bathtub backstroke, and computer solitaire.

You’re still haunted by being covered with lettuce, smothered in mayonnaise and stuck like a pickle in the middle of the parents/kids sandwich . . . trying to break through the crust and please the whole world as you get chewed first on one side and then on the other. You probably thought you were over the hill when you were thirty, but now, well, “It’s the real thing!” . . . You worry more.

When you lose a close friend or family member, it gives you cause to pause. You rethink your job, church, life, love, yourself as well as where the hell you’re going, and how long it’s taking to get there. Retirement planning? Nah! That’s a long way off.

Earning a decent living has turned out to be harder than you ever imagined. Maybe you should do that year-with-a-yogi-mountaintop-meditation deal? Marriage or roommate relations get rocky. Your own or parent health issues command the stage center spotlight.  Healthcare insurance options suck! You sleep less. You start eating more yogurt and granola, but struggle with the booze, coffee, anything chocolate, bread and butter. Sometimes you feel like you’re playing football on a chess board. Try answering this: “What Sport Is Your Business?”

Having your own small business is looking more attractive. You decide to test the waters with a weekend garage-based product business or bedroom-based consulting service. The startup costs are staggering. You consider seeking investors or a rich partner. Somewhere you learn that when two partners agree on everything, one is not needed. Two investors you speak with want 65% of your business. No way! Way! No way! Way! No way! You go it alone and sweat it out. Welcome to entrepreneurship! Are you spontaneous enough?

REALITY IN LIFE AND BUSINESS:
Now is the only time!
How thankful are you to be who you are,
headed where you’re headed?

WATCH THIS BLOG  FOR THE NEXT 3 WEEKS
FOR YOUR AGE COMMENTARY~~~ NEXT WEEK: 50-60
# # #

Hal@BusinessWorks.US   or 931.854.0474 or comment below

OPEN MINDS OPEN DOORS

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You!

Make today a GREAT Day for someone!

YOU’RE 30-40 YEARS’ OLD?

There goes your past. Here comes your future. But
it’s only this minute—this very split second as you
read this sentence—that counts!

Popular observations about your age:

YOU’RE 30-40 YEARS’ OLD

It’s inconceivable that those under 30 consider you older than dirt, so you do everything mentally and physically possible to prove yourself otherwise. You get a little achy-breaky once in awhile, but–after all–you still feel invincible enough to beat yourself to a pulp on the athletic field, go cliff-climbing, hang-gliding, whitewater rafting, buy a horse, and race jet skis. Maybe you’re a late bloomer, but you fall in and out of love 15 more times, then soul-mate with one of your original 25, from when you were (aaaaah!) in your twenties.

You gloat at being able to buy your first house, then quickly realize—as nasty things go wrong that require hiring contractors—that you’re in over your head. But now, for the first time, you at least have your own neighbors and your own on-the-job friends (and a soul-mate) to commiserate with. You try a couple of churches. You drink a lot of fancy-brand beer.

If you weren’t having young children and old parents when you were 20-30, you’ve probably got both now, and you feel like you’re in the middle of a sandwich, ready to be eaten up by stress and time pressures, especially with so fewer opportunities for self-indulgence. Getting your fingers burned and knuckles rapped as you learn the politics of career pursuit, you think about starting your own business. You Google a lot.

Approaching 40, you own up to the fact that maybe you don’t actually know as much as you thought you did when you were ten years younger. You trade your Camaro for a minivan to get the kids to baseball, soccer, dance lessons, Cub Scouts, Brownies, fast-food spots. You love your spouse, but the minivan . . . Your smartphone keeps you connected to the world, but you somehow still feel disconnected. The kids anchor you to living in the present. These years are all about making and spending money, getting promoted, researching startups.

In your heart, you know there’s hope for you yet. It’s true. Just choose it. Oh, and hang in there, Kiddo! Time Heals.

Business Life Reality: Now is the only time!
How thankful are you to be who you are,
headed where you’re headed?

# # #

WATCH THIS BLOG THE NEXT 4 WEDNESDAYS FOR

YOUR AGE COMMENTARY~~~ NEXT WEEK: 40-50
# # #

Hal@BusinessWorks.US or 931.854.0474 or comment below

OPEN MINDS OPEN DOORS

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You!

Make today a GREAT Day for someone!

STOP THE NEWS!

                                    
I want to get off!

You deserve a break today, and not because

of some hamburger company! You just do.

CONSIDER:

If it isn’t bad enough dealing with your boss, your in-laws, your whining friend, your outta-control kids (or dog!), your popped button, indigestion, and scraping what you stepped in today—off your shoes, in front of smirking passerby, with your (never-used-anymore-for-writing anyway) ballpoint pen . . . If all that’s not bad enough, you got news media!

So now all you masochists seeking pleasure from having your butts dragged through global gutters, can add yet another layer of daily upsets and aggravations to your personal shoulders —the whole damn rest of the world! Go ahead: BE ATLAS! See if anybody cares.

You think it doesn’t matter how much news you see or hear every day? (That was a short question.) Now you no doubt think I’m going to beat up on your psyche for all the reasons you fidget at work and don’t sleep at night. But, no. There’s just another question coming.

This one’s a long, take-a-breath-in-the-middle question: Does a minute (a second even) ever pass without seeing or hearing some modelesque-looking or vocabularied-up (no ers, ahs, ums, or duhs) nudnick with an earpiece who’s being told what to say, how fast to say it and where to stand . . . you know, someone who’s somberly rattling out (or yelling, as in the case of higher-paid, more famous nudnicks) every minutia of detail about world and neighborhood threats to life, limb, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? Whew! That was long, wasn’t it?

You better believe this: If it’s not terrorism glaring through ski-masks, or paying the price for cavalier attitudes about the seriousness of Ebola, or the ineptness of the VA , the CDC, the WH and Congress, or war zone updates on bombings and surprise WMD cache findings, it’s body counts, student demonstrations, racially-charged bullet exchanges, the stock market, Shark Tank, some athlete run-a muck, or insufferable Hollywood-type feigning make-believe insults.

If it’s not any of those things, it’s fictitious global-warming and severe weather (the great standby for upsetting news), the neighbor’s trash blowing across your yard, or your empty wallet, refrigerator, or gas tank.

Don’t let it be your empty HEAD!

Feel like you’re juggling seagulls?

Want to lighten yourself up?

Do the following for one week

(if you dare!)

I absolutely guarantee it will change your life for the better. But you have to be willing to take the risk. What’s to lose, stress?

1. JUST BREATHE— Take some nice deep ones—as often as you can remember to each day.

2. TURN OFF THE WACKO (TV, RADIO, AND ONLINE) NEWS REPORTS – If something major happens that will engulf your life, you’ll know it; someone will come running to pound on your door and give you the scoop!

3. THROW AWAY ALL THOSE NUT-CASE NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES YOU READ— Toss ‘em under the bus! Better yet, let them pile up somewhere (not at your door!) for the week and when you get back to them, you’ll be startled to see that nothing has changed . . . just names, places, amounts, severity, intentions.

4. TURN OFF YOUR TEXT AND EMAIL BOMBARDMENT— “Smokeless tobacco,” “Death-by-milk class action lawsuits,” and “37 ways to paint your garage floor” will all still be clogging up your in-boxes a week from now anyway. Besides it’s rejuvenating to delete hundreds at a time!

5. TAKE A HOT SHOWER. SIT. TALK TO YOURSELF. READ A BOOK— Comedy or love stories beat news-related drama.

6. PICK OR BUY YOURSELF FLOWERS. PAY MORE ATTENTION TO NATURE.

7. TAKE MORE WALKS. SMILE MORE. CURSE LESS. SPEND MORE “FAMILY TIME.”

8. BE THANKFUL FOR WHAT YOU HAVE. AND MAYBE EVEN TRY CHURCH AGAIN.

And no, it’s not irresponsible,

or global withdrawal, or pretending all’s well.

It’s a break. You need one. It’s a choice.

Do something about it.

You won’t believe the difference in just one week!

# # #

 Hal@BusinessWorks.US or 931.854.0474 or comment below

You’re on the threshold

of a presentation.

Are you “overkill” ready?

I once worked for an “overkill” boss. It took me awhile to figure this out because he constantly gave me the impression he thought I wasn’t up to snuff with reality, until I discovered that he was simply an OCD  poster boy . . .

“Did you key up the audio so it’s loud enough for those with hearing disorders? Is it timed to come on just as I say ‘New campaign’? Is there a crisp, clean unused legal pad and new pen with keyboard access in front of every chair at the meeting table? Who’s escorting them into the room?

“You’re wearing pinstripes, right? And plain dark suit? No crazy neckties. And kill that erring! Did you check the thermostat? You’re sure the agenda board is 100% perfect and visible from every seat? Their limo is ordered? What time’s their flight? Lunch arrangements? What about lunch arrangements? “

Of course that was just the beginning of his diatribe checklist. He would go on to the exact type and amount and freshness of the tuna salad and bread and veggies and dip and chips and cheese and crackers and fruit, and juice and soda to be served. “What’s the dessert? Who’s making it? Have you tried it?” and on and on. You’d have thought our ad agency sales pitch was a White House attempt at negotiating a global war peace treaty. “WHO,” he would always ask, “is in your pocket?”

BUT WAS HE WRONG?

I’d be interested in your thoughts, but I can tell you this much: While I never became the fanatic he was, I learned to respect the value of being fully prepared ahead of every client and potential client interface — in person, on the phone, and on the computer screen. While I agree that his cage-rattling directives were often excessive, over-the-top, I have come to realize that –in fact– he had a point: You can never be TOO prepared!

And perhaps most important: being fully prepared –including having some contingency plans– helps build self-confidence as well. Why? Because it leaves your mind clear to deal with the person(s) in front of you and adapt to he/her/them and/or the circumstances. If you’re not fully prepared, you may be too preoccupied with fumbling to notice nonverbal responses or room temperature or your own agenda . Sales, remember, are made in “the here and now“!

What is business (and professional practice) all about after all? The customer/client/patient/prospect . . . RIGHT? What else could it possibly be about? So if you think on this a minute or two –or a lifetime’s worth– you will undoubtedly come to the conclusion that your entire career existence is dependent on your’s and your organization’s abilities to attract and keep, and grow your customer base. What else is there?

Even if you work for a nonprofit, and think you exist to make the world a better place, you’ll never succeed without developing a base of supporters. So how does one maximize the odds of attracting and keeping and growing a support base of any kind? With as accurate and perfect and communicative a presentation as possible at every opportunity you get to make a point. You need not become an OCD basket case or a pushy salesperson to make this happen.

You must quite simply put yourself in your audience’s (of one or one million) proverbial shoes and present information at his/her/their level wrapped around expressed needs and interests. Oh, and that can ONLY happen if you listen carefully (at least 80% of the time) to what each and all of them have to say. If you’re unsure or can’t feasibly do this, hire a firm that will do it for you with surveys or focus groups or whatever methods work for your industry or profession.

Otherwise, you’re you’ll find yourself

working inside a box 

that you’ll never learn to think out of!

Need more of a call-to-action? Click here:  86400

Healthcare Leadership Can Mean

Only One Thing… and it’s NOT

Obamacare or “Lean” Management

Thirty years of healthcare and medical practice-development have led me to conclude that some doctors, many therapists and most nurses get it! They understand that healthcare and healthcare leadership is personal, professional and passionate.

Sadly, a great many healthcare business executives and a good number of providers have sidetracked themselves into thinking that HEALTHCARE is all about slogans, smiling doctor billboards, malpractice insurance fees and reimbursement battles.

Reckless opinionated media “reporting” has drawn healthcare providers and business managers into a tangle of confusion. Talking heads thrive on using every opportunity to convolute issues, stir up doubt, be confrontational, and aggrandize politicians who support their network bosses and stockholders. It’s all a game, and we the people are losing.

Increasingly, government political (and more quietly, insurance company) empty suits are playing God. They are continually trying to convince the world that they are answering the call for qualified healthcare leadership. They, after all, proclaim to know more than we do about what diagnostic, treatment, and doctor choice decisions are best for each of us and our families.

They can live in Nevada and pretend to understand what healthcare is about in New Jersey or Tennessee or Maine. I don’t think so! They’re just protecting their own political profiles, pursuits and plans. And many top healthcare executives simply add fuel to the fire by talking and acting like healthcare is simply a maze of administrative or operational management techniques, methods, or styles that they alone have the answers to.

Well, guess what? Reality Check:

HEALTHCARE IS ABOUT PEOPLE!

You’re healthy, you want to stay healthy. You’re sick, you want to get healthy. That’s it! What part of “get and stay healthy” is so hard to understand?

What are all these other hocus-pocus theories, political scams, new tech apps, insurance deals, Congressional posturing, and media “findings” but diversionary tactics? Is it or is it not “dancing around the issues” in an attempt to look good, or to make money, or to win votes . . . instead of just sitting down and solving the damn problem?

Healthcare professionals justifiably rely heavily on emerging technology and associated improvements in methodologies like the “Lean” management fad. But (and this is a big but) . . . BUT these are only tools. In the wrong hands, even a hammer can miss driving nails.

The bottom line is that leadership in healthcare

means stepping up to more than a diagnostic or

treatment provider role. It means having an

Advocacy Attitude . . . being on the patient’s side!

Imagine if every encounter a patient or patient family had with a healthcare provider could be –as was recently noted here in exemplary fashion by Sloan Kettering Cancer Institute provider and provider support staffers– a remarkable, high-five, bend-over-backwards experience . . . professional providers and caregivers acting like advocates on behalf of each patient and family!

Imagine if every patient and patient family could be trained in advance of every provider diagnostic or treatment exam to better manage anxiety. My best guess is that 3-4 minutes of every doctor exam are consumed with getting the patient to relax. With a 12-minute per patient insurance company limit imposed on the doctor in order to be reimbursed, that leaves 8-9 minutes to diagnose or treat . . . none of which ordinarily go well when distress is present. This is not rocket science. It is not a Madison Avenue branding campaign. It is not politics. It is reality.

Done correctly, these solutions cost nothing but initial investments in time and energy and perhaps some coaching. What’s the expected result? More accurate diagnostic readings and better receptivity to treatments. Happier patients and patient families (whose testimonials to others increase volume and referrals), improved staff teamwork, happier provider and staff and their families (who benefit from “take home” method values). Even happier insurance providers.

So, if skills, training and experience are all present, the “tipping point” factor comes full circle back to, yes, bedside manners!

It’s the “CARE” in HEALTHCARE!

# # #

Healthcare Pros STILL

Flushing Money Down the Drain!

Thanks for your visit. We have recently relocated to Cookeville Tennessee (between Nashville and Knoxville), home of Tennessee Tech University. Return here often for new posts in this series for Doctorpreneurs©and Healthcare professionals.

Why not just open the window and throw your money out? Why bother spending it on meaningless, confused thinking about marketing? Why keep feeding the nonperformance of media, mobile apps, direct mail magazines and newsletters, social media and, oh yes, outdoor advertising? Can we look at this open-mindedly?

The business and sports worlds have fed your fires since childhood that you must be competitive at all costs in order to win… that’s 100% false for healthcare professionals! In fact, many healthcare pros have marketing success expectations as unrealistic as imagining that a heart attack can be treated with a BandAid®

REALITY: No one “buys” billboards with smiling doctor faces (or, even worse, the recent trend toward somber looks!). Most people are not so stupid as to think that hospital “magazines” and “newsletters” with feature (dressed-up PR) stories are interesting or meaningful enough to be worth reading. My guess is that –other than the few and far between genuine healthcare educational mailing pieces– most of these exorbitantly expensive items go straight to the recycle pail. All this nonsense came and went thirty years ago. [Interesting how America’s healthcare institutions are accelerating these feeble old-fashioned attempts at marketing. Is it some kind of knee-jerk attempt to cope with the Obamacare muddle?]

BOTTOM LINE: No one cares! The public simply doesn’t care how great hospitals, doctors, therapists (or any professionals for that matter) think they are! Healthcare consumers may have more (and more personal) issues on the line than other kinds of consumers, but they really and truly only care about the same thing that every consumer cares most about: What’s in it for me? Period.

So if you’ve read this far, perhaps it would be useful to explore and reassess your current “marketing” practices, and decide if your money could be better spent on strengthening patient, patient family, and referral network relations. If you’re looking for a role model institution, consider the Sloan Kettering Cancer Center… you’ll find no shallow representations of professional skills… “Treatment” is their specialty, and it applies to everyone who enters their doors. Oh, and guess what? The only expense is training and training maintenance time.

Marketing –if it’s done right– might sometimes succeed at building brand loyalty for some products and services in some markets and marketplaces. But when the two end-results people seek most from healthcare professionals are 1) Reassurance and 2) Trust, it’s not likely either will ever be achieved with empty images or promises.

Doctorpreneurs© Copyright Hal Alpiar, 1994. All rights reserved.

BandAid® is a Registered Trademark of the Johnson & Johnson Company

 # # #