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‘Twas The Night Before Enlightenment
December 14, 2018 | Communication, Employee Recognition, Leadership, Teamwork, Trust
Photo by sea turtle on Flickr I wrote this a few of years ago, and I hope you enjoy reading it this holiday season! ''Twas the night before Christmas, all had left for the holiday break. But I was at the office stirring, for rarely a break did I take. How could I rest, with a business to run? If I am not here, nothing gets done. With profits at a record low, and turnover at an all-time high, Unless I improved in 2018, my business and dream would surely die. If only my employees were loyal and engaged in…
Your Government Business Plan: How to Get Started–and Why Now is the Time
November 29, 2018 | Business Development, Government
It was March 2004. Our community had lost two of its three largest employers within one year of each other. Even for something as essential as health care, when people have no insurance and they have to choose between making the mortgage payment and a doctor's visit, the mortgage payment wins. We had to have a new line of business, and fast or cuts including my job were inevitable. A large Request for Proposal (RFP) for primary care and clinic management services with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) was just released for competition. Winning this opportunity would solve a…
Did We Respond or React?
October 16, 2018 | Communication, Leadership, Trust
Photo by aaron gilson on Flickr One of Merriam-Webster's definitions for the word "react" is "to act in opposition to a force or influence." One of Merriam-Webster's definitions for the word "respond" is "to say something in return." Given these definitions and some of my experiences, here is what I have learned: Along with the spoken message, reacting involves some type of behavior. It could be defensiveness, manipulation, passive-aggressiveness, or rage. Reacting comes from someone who is either angry or scared or both. Often, that feeling of anger or fear is triggered by the message being heard, and usually, this is…
Every Workplace Needs Standards of Behavior
October 4, 2016 | Communication, Teamwork
Photo by f3nd1 on Flickr During a time of unprecedented growth at our company, we decided that we as the senior leaders must be the ones that drive the culture. WE needed to define the "why" at our company and more importantly define the standards of behavior that help to support the "why". If neither the "why" nor the behaviors were defined by us, they would still be defined by others, but they may not be consistent with the senior leaders values. A company standards of behavior which is created by senior leadership in collaboration with other company employees helps define the values that support…
You’ve Been Promoted To Supervisor. Now What?
May 18, 2016 | Communication, Leadership, Trust
Photo by David Blackwell on Flickr Your boss quit. Management has promoted you to supervisor. Please check out my short video about what to do when you have been promoted from a non-leadership position to your first one as a leader. https://youtu.be/EGu1e84mNYw What would you say in your first conversation with your direct reports after you had been promoted?
Managers Can Apply Nursing Principles To Leadership
May 12, 2016 | Communication, Leadership, Trust
Photo by OnCall team on Flickr Since entering into the healthcare market over a decade ago, more than one person/organization has told me the importance of hourly rounding on patients in the hospital setting. Hourly rounding can address trips to the restroom, pain assessment, and simple needs such as drinks and food. Studies have shown that it reduces patient falls which are very dangerous for patients and very expensive for hospitals. The same can be said too for rounding on employees. Rounding on employees at the very least on a quarterly basis gives employees an opportunity to communicate with their…
Procrastination-Everybody’s Doing It (and here’s how not to)
April 28, 2016 | Leadership, Self Help, Time Management
Written by Steven J. Hanley, PhD and Rich Earnest In fact, we just did. This post has been sitting on our to-do list for months. We all put off our responsibilities for another day. Some reasons are more acceptable than others. An impromptu family gathering because Aunt Trudy is in town seems like a reasonable excuse; binge watching House of Cards all weekend, not so much. There are also many less obvious reasons we procrastinate. Feelings of inadequacy, low self-esteem, guilt, depression, anxiety, or even an unconscious need to punish or sabotage ourselves can all play a role. These psychological factors…
Truth: Not Just a Question of Morals or Ethics
March 16, 2016 | Leadership, Trust
Written by Steven J. Hanley, PhD and Rich Earnest Photo by KlearNØDE on Flickr The main character in Edgar Allen Poe’s macabre short story “The Tell-Tale Heart” tried fruitlessly to keep a dark secret from the police: that he had murdered, dismembered, and hid a man’s body under the planks of his floor at home. While being interviewed by the police he initially feigns ignorance. Ultimately, the truth gets the better of him and he cracks with a near delusional confession. Will telling an occasional lie in your day to day professional or personal life make you go crazy? Probably not.…
Employee Feedback: Sugar-Coated or Bad Medicine?
February 1, 2016 | Communication, Employee Recognition, Leadership
Photo by Ramchandran Maharajapuram on Flickr I have to admit the title of this article forced me to listen to "Bad Medicine" by Bon Jovi and the song is still in my head (People younger than 40, YouTube it. Yes. Bon Jovi used to wear spandex and had big long hair). I have seen at least 2 articles in the Wall Street Journal which state in one way or another we should lessen the amount of negative feedback we give employees. The links can be found below: The Trouble with Grading Employees Everything is Awesome! Why You Can't Tell Your…
Keep it Simple with Your New Year Recommitments
January 10, 2016 | Leadership, Self Help
Photo by Brett Jordan on Flickr How many times have we heard the phrase, "Keep it Simple"? It's usually followed by another word, stupid, but I thought it better to be more polite in this post. Business leaders, coaches, parents, and teachers have all said this phrase. I think it can also apply to our New Year Recommitments we have made. With one week already passed in 2016, how are you doing? I want to spend more time with my wife and kids, exercise more, produce more content, make more sales contacts.....the list goes on. The phrase, "Keep it Simple", pertains to…
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MYTH: Doing business with the government does not rely on relationships and does not require any marketing. All that is required finding opportunities on web sites and responding with quotes/proposals.
