Earnest Consulting Group

‘Twas The Night Before Christmas – Business Edition

December 14, 2018 | Communication, Employee Recognition, Leadership, Teamwork, Trust

Photo by sea turtle on Flickr ''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. Never resting, always doing. Not having fun, and burnout ensuing. With engagement low, and turnover high, Unless attitudes changed, my dream would surely die. If only my people were loyal and engaged in their responsibilities, And showed behaviors like teamwork, instead of showing their hostilities. For a change, I took a look at myself, and for the first time I did see, That the problem wasn't my employees,…

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…

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…

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.…

Video Blog – Peer Interviewing

July 31, 2015 | Communication, Leadership, Trust

Want to lower turnover and build trust with your current employees? Include them in the hiring process with peer interviewing! [embed]https://youtu.be/eeo7sHSRFdU[/embed]

Work Environment Does Make A Positive Difference

July 29, 2015 | Communication, Employee Recognition, Trust

Photo by tifotter on Flickr When employees do not have the correct tools to do a job, they find "work arounds" to keep things moving. I have heard stories about nurse's using coffee makers to generate hot water to bathe patients because their facilities did not generate enough. I have seen workers shovel large amounts of gravel by hand for multiple days because the company's one payloader was broke down. Employees also clean their own work areas and empty their own trash because custodial services do not complete their tasks and management does not address the issue. I have seen crazy things done to a copier…

We’ve Always Done It That Way

July 9, 2015 | Leadership, Teamwork, Trust

Photo by Shannon Dizmang on Flickr How many times have we heard that? I am sure this was a common phrase at Polaroid and probably led to their demise. The great companies...the ones that have survived for more than a decade or two do not allow this to be part of their lexicon. IBM for instance could have said the phrase, "We've always done it that way", when their main frame business began to dwindle. They tried a few different business lines and kept trying until they found their new niche. To my knowledge, I don't even think they do much in…

At What Point is the “Human Element” Needed? (Part 2) – Explosive Growth

June 10, 2015 | Communication, Leadership, Trust

Photo by LHG Creative Photography on Flickr This the second post in a 3 part series regarding establishing a point where the human element in a business or organization. If you have not read the first post, it can be found here. If a company has not established its "human element" at its inception, a key time to examine establishing it would be in the midst of explosive growth. This situation/opportunity is a critical crossroads where we should address these soft initiatives that can make a good company great. In late 2009 Ambulatory Care Solutions (ACS), a company that I helped found, doubled in…