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By Kenneth Kaufman
In February, U.S. inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index grew 7.9% year-over-year, the highest increase in four decades. The factors influencing the current inflationary environment are many and interconnected, including supply chain disruptions, infusions of stimulus money, pent-up demand for goods and services, and more recently, the war in Ukraine and the resulting economic sanctions for Russia. And while the entire global economy has been affected by the current inflationary period, the challenges facing U.S. healthcare providers are particularly pronounced. Many of the household items that have risen in price—from gasoline to food prices—are likely to stabilize and even decline with time. Unfortunately for hospitals, however, skyrocketing labor costs will likely result in a sustained structural reset of their expense base—at least until the emergence of offsetting workflow restructuring or technology solutions. In February, hospitals’ labor expense per adjusted discharge rose a staggering 32% from February 2020, immediately prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, and was 15.3% up from February 2021, according to the most recent Kaufman Hall National Hospital Flash Report. Beyond rising salaries, hospitals are also faced with shortages of all types of workers in multiple departments—from nursing to environmental services. With U.S. unemployment rates nearing all-time lows, hospitals must now aggressively compete with every employer in their communities for entry-level workers. Some economists predict worker shortages and related higher costs will persist for decades to come. And in contrast to similar positions in other industries, even entry-level healthcare workers require significant training before they are prepared to work in a hospital. The very nature of hospital employment is also shifting rapidly. In February, the median contract labor expense as a proportion of U.S. hospitals’ overall labor expense in U.S. hospitals reached approximately 12%—up from roughly 2% as recently as October 2020, according to Kaufman Hall data. And while many hospitals may view travel nursing primarily in terms of cost, it’s possible that a sizeable percentage of the nursing workforce—including younger Millennial and Generation Z workers—will prefer the lifestyle flexibility of travel nursing for years to come. In all likelihood, the current workforce challenges will require a new set of solutions to complement efforts to increase productivity and optimize a given hospital or health system’s workforce. The current combination of broader macroeconomic pressures and workforce shortages with the specific inflationary pressure in the healthcare workforce has created a perfect inflationary storm. More than ever in the past, hospital leaders must be able to develop a clear organizational point of view about the near-term and then systemic implications of inflation and other macroeconomic forces. If an organization believes we are in a long-term expense restructuring cycle, that will suggest one set of resource management decisions. If an organization believes that inflationary pressures will be more muted or short-term, that would suggest a different set of decisions. For example, if an organization is contemplating the need to issue additional debt, and if the organization believes inflation will be long-term, the organization should move as quickly as possible to issue fixed-rate debt to defend against the prospect of rising interest rates. On the other hand, if an organization believes that inflation will be temporary, it could be more deliberate about issuing debt and might assess structuring options that trade the possibility of lower cost for the retention of interest rate risk. Moving forward, hospital financial planning exercises should include a careful assessment of what the future might hold for their organizations and the broader industry climate, including:
While some of those pressures may ease with time, rising labor costs and ongoing workforce shortages indicate a lasting, structural change in expenses is in the offing. Hospitals seeking to remain resilient through this perfect inflationary storm must be able to clearly assess the broader macroeconomic forces influencing their organizations, integrate those assessments with their existing financial planning frameworks, and allocate resources accordingly to protect their organizations from future shocks. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success!
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By Steve Gilliland
It was a funny scene at my local health club yesterday. Two acquaintances got on adjoining treadmills, programmed the machines, but then started talking. One of the women pulled out the ubiquitous cell phone and scrolled through pictures. I couldn’t quite tell from a distance, but the banter seemed to be about a baby. Then another image, then another. After standing still for fifteen minutes while they talked, they stepped off their treadmills and walked away. I am all for family and baby pictures, but it was clear they were so distracted with conversation and sharing photos that they neglected their exercise. Procrastination Recently, I have become fascinated with the topic of distraction. My take is a little different, but distraction is robbing many of us of our happiness. The women on the treadmill are lovely people, I am sure, but they weren’t sharing late-breaking news or vital information, but pictures that were taken days or weeks before. In doing so, they both abandoned their original intention, their focus, which was to get a little exercise. Distraction, of course, is one aspect of procrastination, postponing what we need to do to get to a goal to have momentary pleasure. The problem is getting worse, not better. Author N. Agnihorti recently wrote a book on the subject entitled Procrasdemon – The Artist’s Guide to Liberation From Procrastination. The word he coined is defined as “Procrasdemon is fighting hard to feed off of distractions and pleasures.” It is a demon. Of course, the fight to feed off of every distraction and “pleasure” is hardly limited to painters, writers or any other type of artist. It affects everyone who has a goal in mind and the happiness that reaching that goal can bring. Whether a person is striving to complete a college degree, polishing up and then sending off resumes, or finishing the building of that shed, becoming distracted over and then over again will block any happiness that comes from completing a task. The silliest part is that we won’t remember the distraction, but we will not forget the goal we didn’t reach. Detrimental Whether we want to define distraction as an interruption in our day or a demon that constantly takes us away from starting, let alone finishing, the goal we set out to accomplish, it is hardly harmless. The problem with allowing our lives to get distracted by one thing or another is that it becomes the usual way — so many great people with noble ambitions fall by the wayside. It is easier now, more than ever, to get distracted. How many of us get distracted by our cell phones while people are trying to tell us something important? How often do we check our email rather than focusing on work? There is an additional skirmish within the battle to keep from being distracted. Of course, many of our devices have been designed to side-track us and often to sell us stuff or to track us or even to gain information on us. We can get endlessly distracted with enticing advertising, sensational headlines and a gazillion videos that have often been recycled a thousand times before. It’s A Mindset I go back to the two nice women on the treadmills. Would the world have come to an end had one of them said, “I would love seeing the baby pictures. Let me work out for twenty minutes first.” It sets a boundary and also establishes a friendly acknowledgment that a goal is in mind. Many years ago, I heard a story from Japan about a famous professor and his pupil. For weeks, the teacher had been waiting for a letter from his son and his wife (this was in the age of snail mail!). They were coming for a visit from America with his new grandbaby, and he and his wife were very excited about the prospect. The professor and his student had finished the lesson and were sharing light conversation. The postman knocked on his door with a special delivery letter from America. The professor took the letter, lovingly placed it on his desk, and continued his conversation. He did not open the letter until he had seen two more students that day and went home and shared its contents with his wife. The professor did not allow himself to become distracted, preferring to defer that pleasure until he had completed his goals of giving his students the undivided attention they deserved and his wife the respect of sharing the good news. There is an elegance and a beauty in completing a task despite the conflict and pressures of distraction. To be sure, many great works have been accomplished by those with a committed mindset. Still, I sadly wonder about the never-fulfilled journeys due to unnecessary side trips and silly distractions long forgotten. Your results are the product of either personal focus or personal distractions. The choice is yours. Feed your focus. Starve your distractions. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Mary Kelly
Distractions are everywhere, and leaders know they need good habits that ground them in what is most important. Being productive seems to be more difficult when people are thinking about taking vacations and traveling. Incorporate these habits into your regular routines to stay focused on what is most important.
Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Roger Crawford. This was originally published on Roger's blog.
Strengthening your resilience is like strengthening your muscles. Both can be accomplished with a program of regular stretching and exercises. Attitude stretching requires no special clothing or expensive equipment, just awareness. Here are nine keys to improving your resilience: 1. Believe Success is Possible. Resilient thinking is the foundation of resilience. Even if you weren’t “born resilient,” you can learn to reframe negative events into positive challenges, giving yourself extra energy and endurance. Start by paying attention to how you talk to yourself each day. 2. Flex Your Humor Muscles. Flexibility is essential for controlling stress, increasing business opportunities, improving personal relationships, and dealing with change. How can you limber up? Let go of the immobilizing perfectionism and give yourself permission to notice the genuine humor that is all around you, and you will automatically increase your flexibility and vitality. 3. Bank on Your Past. Draw strength and inspiration from what you’ve done and what has happened to you. We’re often told, “Don’t look back” and “Don’t dwell on the past,” but when you know what to recall and use the information positively, you can tap some of your most valuable assets. 4. Stay Hungry. The most basic human instinct is a powerful tool for maintaining resilience. Learn the difference between money and true wealth, and where and how to direct your hunger for knowledge, adventure, and positive personal relationships. 5. Use All Your Resources. Make a realistic inventory of your assets. As you compile your catalog, you’ll discover some surprising and important skills and resources that you never realized you had. 6. Seize Responsibility. Decide what you can control. Then take responsibility for it. What an important life skill, yet unresilient people fail to grasp it, and feel overwhelmed much of the time. When you learn how to these two decisive steps, you put yourself in control, no matter what life throws at you. 7. Harness the Power of Purpose. Having clear goals and an action plan to reach them is absolutely mandatory for success. “The Five E’s of Goal Setting” in chapter 7 of my book How High Can You Bounce, will show you an efficient new way to plan and achieve. 8. Develop Your Inborn Leadership. Everything you say and do affects the resilience of others. No matter who you are or what position you hold at the moment, you become a powerful leader at work, at home, and in your community when you learn to share your resilience. 9. Embrace Challenges. Learn the difference between planning and preparation, and how the resilient prepare for life’s many challenges. Even when fate delivers an unexpected blow, you’ll be able to draw on your storehouse of resilience to identify the new and exciting opportunities that await you. Each of the nine chapters of my book show strategies for acquiring one of these nine skills. You’ll learn how to stay in optimal mental shape by nourishing and exercising these resilient qualities each day, the same way you nourish and exercise your body. As you strengthen your skills, you are building an invincible core of resilience that will always be there for you to draw on. Too often, when people suffer a major loss, they also lose their sense of identity and purpose in life. But with a resilient core, you keep a clear inner vision of your strength and flexibility in the face of challenges. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By LeAnn Thieman. This was originally published on LeAnn's blog.
The majority of the time when I ask people, “What is your #1 priority?” they answer, “Family.” Yet most quickly admit that being together and staying connected can be a challenge in our frenetic lives. Throughout history, family mealtime was the predominant occasion to communicate and interact. These days, meals together are often infrequent and brief. One study reported that the average family mealtime lasts 20 minutes, though the benefits for children include better grades, lower body weight, lower cigarette and alcohol use, and better mental health. Kids or no kids, people who dine together have stronger relationships. One study found that adding just 3 minutes to a meal lessened the risk of family members being overweight. I found that hard to believe until I added up 3 minutes a day x 30 days and came up with 1 1/2 hours of connection time! So here are a few fun ways to make meals last longer:
Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By John O'Leary. This was originally posted on JohnOLearyInspires.com. When John O'Leary was 9 years old, he suffered burns over 100% of his body and was expected to die. He is now an inspirational speaker and bestselling author, teaching more than 50,000 people around the world each year how to live inspired. John's first book, ON FIRE: The 7 Choices to Ignite a Radically Inspired Life was published March 15, 2016. John is a contributing writer for Huff Post and Parade.com. John is a proud husband and father of four and resides in St. Louis, MO. Order John’s book today anywhere books are sold.
In a world filled with many individuals concerned primarily with taking care of themselves, the courage of the Ukrainian people to fight for their home, their neighbors and their freedom has been humbling and inspiring to observe. To be reminded of the beauty of showing up for others- even when our commitment to doing so is tested beyond imagination- look no further than Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska. For the first 15 years of marriage, through both good times and the unavoidable struggles all couples endure, she supported her husband Volodymyr. She encouraged him when he chose an unlikely career in comedy after law school. She supported him when he imagined traveling throughout the country providing live performances. She even backed him when he considered producing and acting in a television show portraying an ordinary teacher, sick of the country’s corruption, abruptly thrust into the role of President for an entire country. But when her husband suggested stepping away from entertainment and actually running for political office, Olena was at first adamantly against it. She wanted nothing to do with the attention certain to arise from her husband running for office. Raising two children, she didn’t want the pressure of her husband’s campaigning to negatively affect their childhood. And as unlikely as it might be, if he actually won the election, how might the role of First Family change their lives? After numerous discussions together and soul searching personally, she agreed to support him, yet again. Against overwhelming odds, on April 21, 2019, Volodymyr Zelensky, a charismatic former comedian driven to end corruption, received 73% of the votes and became president of Ukraine. And his wife, who never clamored for the bright lights, found herself thrust directly into them. Originally disliking the prospects of this new role, Olena soon recognized the opportunity to make a difference by fully embracing it. She passionately advocated for women’s rights around her nation. She fervently worked to elevate nutrition programs within all schools to ensure the health and wellness of their young people. And she remained committed to showing up for the boy she first fell in love with in college as he led an entire nation. Less than two weeks ago, that nation of Ukraine was viciously attacked, and the resilience of a relationship was again tested. As Russian tanks positioned themselves on the border to Ukraine, the Zelenskys repeatedly rejected opportunities to leave the country. When those tanks invaded and began shelling the capital city, again they refused to leave. As the veracity of the attack escalated, Olena explained why she wasn’t leaving the country: “I will not have panic. I will be calm and confident. My children are looking at me. I will be next to them. And next to my husband. And with you.” Their devoted love of one another kept them together. Their unwavering love for their nation and for freedom united a world against an unjust attack. By showing up for each other, they’ve shown us all what true bravery and devotion really is. For Olena and Volodymyr, the stakes couldn’t be higher right now. But that’s not the only time being supportive of others’ matters. Showing up for a friend going through something difficult, a child learning a lesson the hard way or a spouse whose decisions may directly impact your own allow not just an opportunity to provide strength and confidence to others, but to also allow us to become better versions of ourselves. Today, be reminded of the strength and resiliency borne from showing up for someone we love. Doing so may not keep injustices from occurring, difficulties from happening or bombs from dropping, but it will remind us in the midst of conflict that we are not alone, there remains reason for hope and the best is yet to come. This is your day. Live Inspired. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Chip Bell
Boating is one of my passions. Few hobbies are more peaceful than a slow boat ride with your favorite beverage around the breathtaking lake on which I live. Or, more exciting than the hard pull of a large big mouth bass on a fishing line off the front of my pontoon boat. One of the features on my boat is the trim button on the throttle. Like the gas pedal on a vehicle, the throttle controls the speed of the boat. The trim button embedded in the throttle controls the outboard engine’s angle in relation to the plane of the boat. As such, it controls the smoothness of the ride. Set wrong, and you are in for a bumpy ride, especially at higher speeds. A few years ago, I was jogging near the grocery store I frequent. I remembered we needed a couple of items, so I jogged into the store and picked them up. But once in the check-out line, I realized I had no cash or credit card (I only jog with a driver’s license and a house key). Without hesitation, the clerk said, “Oh, that’s okay. I see you in here all the time. Just write your name and amount on this piece of paper and pay us the next time you are in the store.” Smooth sailing; no hassle. I once owned a gorgeous antique Mercedes 240S sedan. When it needed a minor repair, I took it to Brothers Auto Service. Turned out the fix was going to take a bit longer than the hour or so thought initially. And, I had a few errands to run in the area. The repair shop owner, Nicky Brothers, was out of loaners—but he had a trim. “Take my car,” he said as he handed me his car keys. You can guess what he drove. A brand-new Mercedes sedan. Smooth sailing; no hassle. Trim is all about eliminating drag on your customer’s path to getting the outcome they desire. It takes knowing the customer well enough to anticipate issues; it requires trusting the customer; and it takes caring enough to have solutions ready to ensure smooth sailing. Make sure you have a trim button on all your customer service processes. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Josh Linkner
We know that embracing innovation is the only way to grow and win over the long term, but it sure can feel risky and overwhelming. This is often because we overemphasize idea generation while skipping the most important step in the process: experimentation. Most of us think: Step 1: Generate an idea Step 2: Widespread implementation Step 3: Grit our teeth and hope it works, or horrible stuff will happen No wonder we’re scared of trying new things when the stakes are that high. If an untested idea doesn’t manifest perfectly, we could sink our company, lose our job, or tank our career. That level of risk is just bonkers! Luckily, there’s an easy fix: crude experimentation. After initial ideas are conceived, we can drastically reduce risk by building a test plan. Instead of wild, swing-for-the-fences moonshots, start by exploring how cheap and fast you could test your idea. Could you build a prototype out of Play-Doh? Could you test with a single customer for 15 minutes on a Tuesday afternoon? These early, crude, low-fidelity experiments can quickly tell you if your idea has merit or if it should be tossed. If an experiment shows promise, just expand the size and scope of the experiment and try again. At each pass, you’ll likely tweak and refine your idea so by the time you get to a more lifelike (high-fidelity) experiment, the odds are already in your favor. And when it’s time to launch, your probability of success is 1000 times higher. Here’s a far better process: Step 1: Generate a bunch of ideas Step 2: Select a few ideas to test Step 3: Crude experiments (cheap and fast). Quickly discard ideas that flop Step 4: Refine ideas that show promise, test again. With each test, increase the scope, scale, and fidelity of the experiment Step 5: Widespread implementation, only after your experiment results are stable and predictable Step 6: Sit back with confidence and enjoy the fruits of your creativity With this new model, you only go big once the evidence supports it. In other words, you’ve now radically reduced the risk factor. This approach works for products, marketing, processes, sales strategies, safety measures, recruiting techniques, and just about everything else we care about (including getting your five-year-old twins to finish their vegetables, which I know firsthand). The experimentation mindset will help you get it right and get there faster. Realizing that every single new idea won’t work out, we might as well have the misfires occur during a small test rather than with your most important customer. Test constantly… cheap and fast. Crude prototypes and experiments are the most pragmatic way to drive widespread innovation with a high success rate. Experiment Constantly. Fail Small. Win Big. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Kristin Baird
Nobody likes a micromanager, someone who hovers wanting to know every detail of what you do. But don’t confuse micromanaging with holding people accountable. The two are miles apart in how they affect the employees and culture. HOLDING PEOPLE ACCOUNTABLE IS ESSENTIAL TO ACHIEVING GOALS AND GETTING THE DESIRED RESULTS. A leader holds the team and individuals accountable by setting clear expectations and goals and offering regular feedback without hovering. I feel compelled to distinction explain micromanaging and accountability after a recent conversation I had while coaching. The manager I spoke to was experiencing several behavior issues among his team members. When I asked him how held them accountable, he said, “I don’t want to be a micro-manager.”[i] As we spoke, he realized he had been ignoring issues that needed to be dealt with. He was confusing accountability with micro-management. Once he recognized the difference, he was able to make huge strides with his team. We use the word accountability frequently in healthcare and understandably so. Without accountability, patients die, infections spread like wildfire, and safety issues explode. No one argues with the need for accountability in clinical practices. But it gets fuzzy for some leaders when it comes to holding others accountable for service behavior. They shy away from confronting staff on things like tone of voice or attitude. “It’s just too subjective,” one manager told me. And there it is. The word subjective. THE CULPRIT THAT MAKES US SHRINK AWAY FROM A CRUCIAL CONVERSATION. It’s important for every leader to know the difference between accountability and micro-management. Not sure if you are a micro-manger? This article from Forbes[ii] gives great insight into the signs of micromanaging. It also spotlights the impact micromanaging has on business. “Micromanagers are detrimental to the success of a business and the mental health of everyone involved.” You don’t have to micromanage to hold others accountable, but you do need to be clear about expectations, goals, and responsibilities. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! |
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