Mandated national healthcare

means mandated

national poverty!

There is only one solution  to dealing with U.S. healthcare costs escalating faster than inflation:

Business competition through privatization on a state-by-state basis.

The sooner  the government gets this and takes REAL steps in this direction, the quicker we’re going to see healthcare that’s both meaningful and affordable! 

There’s no longer any doubt  about it. Just listen to the experts. Look into the heart and soul of your own business experience. Small business simply cannot survive the financial crush of a mandated, dictated, universal healthcare plan for all citizens!

If you own or operate a business,  and you are not all-out crusading for healthcare delivery through business competition and privatization on a state-by-state basis, you are living in fantasyland.

Your business will  positively surf into the poorhouse on the next big wave. You and your business have one chance to survive, and only one…

That single chance rests squarely on your shoulders. It may require you to take steps you’ve never taken before.

It requires you to  contact your elected representatives and tell them that you do NOT want dictated, mandated healthcare because it will break what’s left of the economy’s back, bankrupt small businesses everywhere, and lead to exceptionally LOW quality professional care.

After all, do you  really want some know-nothing politician from 2o States away dictating what doctors you can and can’t see for a sick or injured loved one, or for yourself?

Are you ready and willing to put your life decisions  in the hands of someone with no healthcare knowledge, and who doesn’t even understand the business of healthcare, and then –on top of all that– end up with an inferior, low-grade, poorly-trained care provider?

We have decision-makers who lack even basic business knowledge and experience but who are making business decisions about our healthcare that are impacting all of our lives.

We (all of us who own and operate our own businesses) need to barge into this  the same way we would if some unknowledgeable, inexperienced upstart arrived at our doorsteps tomorrow morning and tried to wrest control of our businesses from us.

These are,  after all, the circumstances that are in fact headed for our doorsteps right now.

Will YOU speak up  to protect what you have built and created and what is rightfully yours, or stand aside and let uninformed outsiders rush in to re-set your business stage with fantasy props and the underpinnings of bankruptcy?  Call. Write. Email. Today. 

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… not the “beaten” path,

nor the one “less taken”

     When the last time you took a brand new business path? A new product launch? A new line or service extension? A new revenue stream? A new employment position? A new set of objectives, strategies, tactics? A new mission statement? A new vision statement? A new business start up?

     Was it successful? Did you bite the dust? What did you learn from it? Did you manage to stir up a lot of excitement that produced no payoff? Did you drag your butt into the thing and be greeted with enthusiasm personified? Did you charge at it head down and get a concussion when that wall came at you from out of nowhere?

     As any jungle-dweller will readily attest, (and, yes, it IS a jungle out there!) taking a new path often requires the help of a machete and a whole lot of adrenaline. This means you may need to be ruthless as a fruit tree pruner in swinging that sword to create your path or passageway.

     Clinging to old practices won’t help you now anymore than a crank-up rotary dial phone and a ream of carbon paper (if you don’t know what either of these are, you are probably a reckless, young entrepreneur who doesn’t have any old practices to cling to anyway, and you might as well go zoom off to Facebook right now . . . or something).

     On the other hand, if you’re a bit older than the txtmsg generation and you’re a true entrepreneur who’s only willing to take reasonable risks, and you’re sincerely committed to launching a successful venture, OPEN YOUR MIND.

     Be receptive to all the people, places, and things that –until now– you would never have considered worthy of your time and attention. Why? Because some of the world’s greatest ideas… the ones that really put a new venture over the top… come from forcing yourself to think differently!

     A fleeting exposure to yoga, or a snorkeling or grocery-shopping trip, or an hour of playing on the floor with a baby or a puppy, or telling your least favorite brother-in-law that you love him! You’d be surprised at the doors that your open mind will open if you’ll just give it the chance!

     You’ve come this far, isn’t it worth a short experiment to put your brain in a completely opposite/foreign situation/environment –even for an hour– to see if something clicks that can put your venture over the top. Of course it is! Don’t cheat yourself of a great possibility. OPEN MINDS OPEN DOORS!          

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Does “Boardwalk Mentality”

Dominate Your Business?

     In a diner, I might expect it,  but I visited a doctor’s office today where a beautiful, large, flatscreen TV was broadcasting full volume coverage of the funeral of a man with a track-record of highly-questionable morals, who almost single-handedly was responsible for influencing  Federal Government leadership to wreck havoc on the entire US healthcare system.

     It seemed a strange backdrop  for a medical doctor… over-the-top accolades for a leading advocate of virtually dispensing with the entire spectrum of quality physician care. Are you so out of touch, doctor, that you think it just doesn’t matter what impressions you foster in your own waiting room?

     You surely never supported  the fanatical radical ideas that man nurtured, or you wouldn’t even be in practice, yet you choose to promote them to your patients? And don’t make the excuses that your receptionist picked the station. It’s your practice.

__________________________

     As a favor to a friend,  I recently gave a retailer a sample product to consider stocking. This product performed twice as effectively, lasted twice as long, and was twice as efficient, environmentally, as the product he presently sold. Oh, and it was half the price! He refused it.

     Did I mention that this product  also had no shipping costs because it was produced in the next town and that a percentage of the proceeds was kicked back to a community program that the retailer’s wife was engaged with? “No,” he said, “I don’t want it because it lasts too long, and I need repeat sales here so it’s better that the things people buy break down; then they have to come back for more!”

     Are YOU this out of touch?

__________________________

     When I taught business  at Ocean County College, near the famous boardwalks of Point Pleasant, Belmar, Seaside Heights, Asbury Park and Atlantic City, I used to refer to this out-of-touch kind of thinking as having a “Boardwalk Mentality.”

     Boardwalk stand owners  and operators fostered the attitude for years (and some, unfortunately, still do) that it’s okay to rip people off to get their money because –first of all, they’re on vacation and don’t really care how much they spend and –second, because those people will never be back again anyway, and even if they are, they won’t remember getting bilked.

     Obviously this kind of “screw the customer” thinking  doesn’t cut it anymore… neither does the suggestion of support for the antithesis of quality patient-care standards and your professional career, doctor!

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“Uh, let’s see, Beer Fest?

Chunkin’ Punkin?

Or 5-Mile Run?”

     You can’t even dream up  an event that some business isn’t sponsoring these days! And aren’t we all suckers for the fundraising solicitations of candy-bar-bearing cherubic-smiling Brownie troops, aluminum can-collecting T-ball teams and car-washing high school cheerleaders?

     And of course there’re  the church bake sales, fire department carnivals, VFW clambakes, and all the other terrific events that are the very fabric of small town America.

     How great is the temptation  to get behind everything that comes along? How special it feels to be the stuff that a community-minded business leader is made of? But you know what? Today more than ever, you need to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with your business and face (ta-ta-ta-ta, ta-ta!): reality!

     Sponsoring charities and community events  is a truly wonderful and charitable behavior and experience BUT… do not hesitate to focus whatever time, effort, money, products and services, and attention you contribute on situations that will have some return on your investment! 

     If you’re going to give money away,  make it count for yourself as well as the recipient. You worked hard to earn it. There’s nothing wrong with your business getting some recognition in the process.

     Ack! That’s a terrible thing to suggest,  you may say. But, no. It’s a realistic thing to say, and here’s why:

     If you want to quietly  and anonymously plunk a thousand bucks into a deserving cause that has nothing whatsoever to do with your business or your customers or your employees or your suppliers, or your community you might as well be throwing it out the window!

     If you want to do that  for a cause that does have some business-related value, you might as well be throwing it out the window! And if you throw enough out the window, you put your business in jeopardy.

GIVE FROM YOUR HEART BUT USE YOUR BRAIN TO PICK THE CIRCUMSTANCES.

     The more you contribute  to situations that help enhance your business name and posture, the more loyalty and sales you’ll build so the more you can be in a position to donate more! It’s called “Enlightened Self-Interest”! If you find that each year, more and more groups and organizations seem to be chasing after your support and it’s getting too draining:

     Establish an annual budget  (with a sidecar emergency fund) and stick to it; direct latecomer solicitors to put their dibs in earlier next year because your budget is all appropriated. This doesn’t mean you’re a scrooge.

     It means you’re being smart  about what you choose to support and the amounts that won’t cripple your business so that you can make your contributions be more productive for your business so you can increase your budget next year.

     The other step  that many business owners take is to establish a private non-profit foundation specifically for the purpose of screening and awarding and managing charitable and community contributions. Many of these entities even conduct their own fundraising programs to support needy organization causes and events.              

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Has your brain been

thunder-struck?

     We’ve all heard  and probably used the term “Brainstorming” a few times, but when did you last use a formalized “Brainstorming” process? Did you know that the more rigidly structured approach you use, the more free-flowing and better the brainstorming results?

     I’ve probably  run 500 formal brainstorming sessions, and all have produced great results. Here’s my version of a “recipe” I follow. Print it out. Use it. It works!

[Adapted from the Pfeiffer and Jones University Associates Handbook of Structured Experiences for Human Relations Training, Volume III (Revised)].  

     THE GOALS: 

     1)  To generate an extensive number of innovative thoughts or ideas, or solutions to a problem, by suspending criticism and judgment and evaluation.

     2)  To develop skills in creative thinking and problem-solving.

     Group Size:  Any number of small groups (best if composed of 5-6 participants each). Time Required:  Approximately one hour total. Materials:  White board or newsprint pad with markers for each group; stopwatch; bell. Physical Setting:  Movable chairs for all participants. Warm-up Activity:  In 2 minutes –without talking– make something out of one double newspaper page, or one lump of modeling clay; follow with quick show ‘n tell.

     THE PROCESS: 

     1)  The facilitator has each group form a circle and select a secretary, then provides each secretary with markers and board or newsprint pad, and asks each to record every idea generated by the group.

     2)  The facilitator states the following rules: 

• A)  There will be NO criticism, no judgments, and no evaluations during the brainstorming phase of the activity.
• B)  Far-fetched ideas are encouraged because they often trigger more practical ones.
• C)  Many ideas are desirable.

     3)  The facilitator announces that participants are to imagine being cast ashore on a desert island with absolutely nothing but a belt, then tells the group they have 15 minutes by the stopwatch to come up with as many ideas as they can in answer to the question: What can be done with the belt? (Other objects can be substituted– a flashlight / a rope / an oar / a corkscrew– and props, e.g., an actual belt, can often enhance the discussion)

     4)  After 15 minutes, the facilitator rings the bell, and tells the group(s) that the ban on criticism / judgments / evaluations is over, and directs the group(s) to evaluate their ideas and select the best –most feasible– ones. With multiple groups, each group’s “best” list can be shared, then all involved can explore ways to combine “best” ideas. The final (combined) list is posted and participants are asked to rank-order them for practical usefulness.

REPEAT THE ENTIRE PROCESS WITH A REAL BUSINESS PROBLEM OR NEED SITUATION. This can be done on-the-spot, the next day, next week, or periodically. The more disciplined the facilitator is in requiring adherence to guidelines, the better the results that can be expected.  So go beat your brains in, if the storm didn’t already get to you! 

# # #  

“Papa needs a new pair

of shoes!”

Stop rolling the dice  with your business! When your car tires go bad, you somehow afford to get new ones. When your feet start scraping the pavement (hopefully before that!), you figure out a way to get new shoes.

But these are steps you take  (I know, it’s a cute segue, but no pun intended) on your own because you’ve (sorry for this) been around the block with bad tires and shoes (probably when you were in high school?) and you have enough common sense to know when it’s time to get replacements.

Who tells you  when it’s time to replace all or part of your business foundation?  Your accountant? Your customers? Your employees? Your suppliers? Your Mother? Are you open and receptive to their input? Do you make it difficult for others to offer up their opinions about your business?

     Are you  a business hardhead?

     Sometimes,  you know, it just makes sense to be pro-active and get broken stuff fixed before having to face a parkway breakdown at rush hour, before heading into a major meeting with your shoe-bottom flopping, before the competitor down the street puts out a better quality product with better service at a cheaper price (now there’s a nightmare!).

     Hardheads  think the above situations are solved by improvising. So what? they might say, tires go and car breaks down? I’ll just hitch-hike! The shoe deal? Hey, duct tape works wonders, or, okay, Gorilla Glue. And the better/cheaper guy? No problem! A lotta people will pay more for less; you just gotta trick ’em!

     NOPE!  Not only will hardheads lose their shirts, and probably their farms, they simply won’t survive. Period.

     First of all, TRUE entrepreneurs take ONLY reasonable risks.  They don’t roll dice. Very few ever even buy a lottery ticket. BEFORE tires go, shoes wear, or business foundations crumble,  TRUE entrepreneurs take action  –not the Scotch Tape and rubber bands quick-fix variety.  They improvise but they don’t downgrade.  They may find or make a better deal for tires or new shoes, but they won’t de-value the quality.

And guess what? TRUE entrepreneurs ASK others for feedback continually.   They WANT to know what and how to adjust their product and service offerings to better satisfy market demands.

Are you taking the time  to ask those around you, especially customers and employees, what they think about what you sell, and how you sell? It needs to be as much a part of your daily routine as brushing your teeth… or gluing your shoes back together!

# # #  

When paper planes

fly like the wind…

     This is NOT  about being on one knee with a ring in your pocket in front of the girl of your dreams! This is NOT  about responding to some ridiculous government or academialand RFP, where you’re dealing with people who –and I don’t mean this arrogantly; it’s just a fact– have no clue about the real world of business.

     This is NOT  about adhering to RFP rules and restrictions (that only those with enormous self-restraint and no imagination will succeed at accommodating). This is about  my contention that most proposals worth their salt will fly best as a single-page paper plane!

     You’re not so sure?  When’s the last time you got a 10 or 20 or 30-page proposal to lift off? It was a nose dive into the floor, right? This is a BlackBerry/TXTMSG/WIFI/IPOD world we’re in. Twitter Tweeters do it in 140 characters!

     So stop  re-writing War & Peace to answer every request and pose an offer to every prospect!

     Let me  roll my sleeves up and put it this way (and, yes, I know it’s not a real word!):

CONCISER IS BETTER!

     Three or four one-page  proposals of some kind every week will land you more and better quality clients, jobs, accounts, projects, sales, interviews, than one 8-10 page proposal every two weeks.

     Leave the fancy binder  and tabs and Introductions and Addendum and Exhibit 2a-3 junk for the floundering corporate giant managers and lawyers and investor solicitations and business plans and R&D studies and ROI assessments.  

     You’re a small business  seeking new customers, clients, patients, associates, referrers, sales reps, suppliers, product or service sales, increased website traffic, locations, business or branding launch… seek it in one page!

     David Balasco,  the famous theatre producer, used to tell sales reps to write what they wanted on the back of a business card and if he was interested, they could meet with him. Nearly no one ever rose to the occasion.

     Of course in those days,  people didn’t think in headlines, but the point is that WHEN you can get to the point promptly, you will increase your odds for success. If you own or manage a small business, don’t try to act too big! Keep your proposals short and sweet. If prospects are reputable and want to know more, they’ll ask! If they don’t, they’re not worth your time.

     And time,  after all, is all you really have, and you have less every minute of each day.

# # #  

A Propensity for Cantankerosity

     Not only have hard economic times  wrought hard times for business, they’ve also turned a lot of previously pleasant customers into snot-nosed, demanding, arrogant, cranky brats! In their worrisome preoccupation with getting the most value for their dollar, many customers have become much more demanding and unreasonable.

     The bad, low-trust reputations  of big-business bankers and automakers —underscored by the sea of incompetency that’s home to government administrators and politicians who haven’t a shred of business experience or know-how— have trickled down to a point where beat-up consumers are distrusting even the small, local supermarket and neighborhood newsstand.

     The manager of an upscale hotel,  who is as honest and customer-attentive as anyone who’s ever walked, reports his Guests have been getting increased service and complaining more. Service demands on the hotel’s already high-performance-level staff have no direct bearing on  accommodations, amenities, or services.

• One man created an uproar because he parked under a tree overnight and ended up with sap on his windshield. The staff spent an hour trying to clean off the sap, but their efforts weren’t sufficient or quick enough for the man’s liking. He left in a barrage of complaints and threats.
• A visiting couple made a ruckus over not having enough to do because it rained so much during their stay. Their access to movie selections, spa, fully stocked library and fully-equipped game room, plus endless nearby attractions was apparently not sufficient.

     A local farmer  tells me people are taking thirteen ears of corn and paying for twelve.      

     A retailer  known for offering discounted merchandise, much of it with minimal markup has been besieged lately with customers looking to make price deals below his costs.

     Yes, there are many examples  of the new consumer pushiness, but the bottom line remains unchanged for business owners and managers:

     The Customer Is ALWAYS Right!

     Unless physical harm  is represented, or someone is clearly breaking the law (unfortunately, it’s not worth the phone call to sic the police on someone who’s stolen one ear of corn!), you and your people have to suck it up and cater to the cantankerous.

     Like it or not,  we have to accept that it’s all part of the change of life on this planet that’s surfaced with the bad global economy. There is really only one solution if you expect to stay in business today and tomorrow: “KILL ‘EM WITH KINDNESS!” 

# # #  

Whaddayou, a head case?

You think business is 

in cruise control?

     Are you on some other planet?  I heard someone say today that he thought business was holding steady and that this economic slump would be over soon. Those of you who know me know I am the eternal optimist. I always believe that –no matter what the odds–  things will work out for the best, and soon!

     But, this economy is out of control.  It’s one thing to think and act confidently and to believe in yourself and in what you’re capable of accomplishing. But it’s quite another to think that everything’s going to move out of your way as you stride forward. That’s like saying you’re a great swimmer so the tsunami that’s coming is no big deal.

     Sorry to have to be the messenger  (please don’t shoot!), but REALITY is that things are NOT going to move out of your way just because you have self-confidence. In today’s economy, you need a whole lot more than that. You need innovation, perseverance, and integrity.

• INNOVATION. If you are not coming up with a clear, new idea (SOME idea; it doesn’t have to be Earth-shattering), and seeing that idea all the way through to implementation EVERY WEEK, your business is not likely to survive another year!

• PERSEVERANCE. If you are not determinedly and tenaciously driving your business forward on a DAY-TO-DAY basis, your business is not likely to survive another month! 

• INTEGRITY. If you are not demonstrating HIGH TRUST evidence of integrity (doing the right thing even when nobody is looking) in EVERY business dealing you have every single hour of every single day, your business is not likely to survive another week!   

     Well,  here’s the good news:

     ALL OF IT–Innovation, Perseverance, Integrity– is a CHOICE!  You can choose to practice all three of these important qualities every day… every day! You simply need to make your mind up that self-confidence alone, without direction, accomplishes nothing. 

     But you can make  the conscious choice to make self-confidence work FOR you, right now by exercising innovation, perseverance and integrity in your very next encounter with an employee, customer, vendor, referrer, delivery or maintenance person, and the next human being you meet…and every one thereafter!  

     Right now!

     How hard is that?  As hard as you choose to make it!

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Hal@Businessworks.US   302.933.0116

Open Minds Open Doors

Many thanks for your visit and God Bless You.

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

Listening skills alone 

do not a good boss make!

     Just when you thought  you were doing a great job of  communicating because you’ve been working so hard at listening better and more actively and more attentively, along comes this snot-nose blog writer to tell you that you’re only halfway there!

     Careful listening is a wonderful thing,  and it gets you to the fifty-yard line every time. But if you’re not taking ACTION on what you hear from your staff and associates, and if you’re not giving the source of the ideas and information due credit, touchdowns are not in your future!

     You’ve heard about  criticize in private and praise in public? Well you can’t do too much (genuine) praise of good ideas, good behavior, good attempts (even when they fail!), good attitudes, good productivity, good referrals and networking, good overall performance.

     If your response to this  is to off-handedly toss a mumbled “Yeah, right!” on the table, you need to seriously question if you are getting too old too fast. When was the last time you were the object of some one’s sincere praise? How did it feel? What action did it prompt?

     Every time you can  express appreciation for innovative, success-driven thinking and behavior, and of course in public, you are fostering more positive thinking and action by that individual, and by everyone else around. Trophies, plaques and certificates are nice, but there’s nothing like an on-the-spot exuberant compliment and accreditation, a pat on the back.

     Small, frequent on-the-spot rewards  for a job well done (or well-attempted) have always served to motivate and encourage repeat positive performance better and much more effectively than any other form of “attaboy” treatment.

     Pulling an employee  (not physically, I should probably mention!) from her work station to thank her for a great effort in front of whoever is there (customers, other staffers, vendors, passerby, delivery people) and treating her at that moment to coffee, or lunch or a walk around the block will generate more positiveness than annual award dinners and golf outings.

     Spontaneity counts!    

     Nurturing  company-wide opportunities to contribute counts!

The feeling that one’s opinion counts in the grand scheme of things provides an enhanced sense of self-worth, and people who feel good about themselves because of the work they do, will in turn feel good about the employer who makes this possible.”

—Martin Yate from KEEPING THE BEST And Other Thoughts on Building a Super Competitive Workforce 

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Hal@Businessworks.US 302.933.0116

Open Minds Open Doors

Make today a GREAT day for someone!