Recently my Toastmaster friend Jim gave a speech on Reticence and asked us the question, “what happened to it?” He did a great job of showing how it has apparently
disappeared as he shared the story of the flight where the lady (a stranger) next to him told the story of her urinary tract infection. Yuck. Or the other gentleman who asked him about the
military’s “Don’t ask don’t tell” policy, and then proceeded to regale Jim with the …
I was recently reading in Health Leaders Magazine about Kadlec Medical Center, a community hospital in the Northwest. What struck me about the story was the counterintuitive approach the CEO took in
turning the hospital around. As the story went, in the 1990’s the hospital experienced significant financial challenges. Initially, they struggled and reacted in the usual ways by cutting expenses
and staff.
Eventually, they found they could no longer staff the number of beds that they were licensed to fill. …
We are trained to eliminate the phrase. “I don’t know from a very early age.” In school when they called on you, you needed to know the answer. When you are
working through your career, the boss doesn’t like hearing I don’t know. And yet, when we eliminate that phrase from our vocabulary and hence our thinking we can no longer know. It is a bit of
a paradox.
Think about this, If …
I was having a conversation with a colleague the other day. He was telling me about how they had switched suppliers of outsourced customer service. And then he
shared the frustration.
With his old supplier, when he received a customer complaint they would play a recording of the call. In some cases the call would be fine. In others my friend would suggest that the rep get some
re-training. When completed they supplier would call to say the rep is coming back …
When making a sales call or presentation, how do you respond when people ask you, how you do what you do, or how you help others”? Do you say something
like:
We outperform the industry average, OR we average a 16.94% recovery rate and that out performs the industry average as reported by
the ACA by almost 70%.
Which response leaves you wanting to know more?
I am …
I am reading the book, War Fighting, published by the United States Marine Corp, in 1989. I was struck by the following phrase, “Leaders should develop unit
cohesion and esprit and the self-confidence of individuals within the unit. In this environment, a Marine’s unwillingness to violate the respect and trust of peers can overcome personal
fear.”
This speaks to the value of Culture in an organization. When there is a strong culture, …
