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By Roger Crawford. This was originally published on Roger's blog.
Clint Eastwood is one of the most iconic actors of our time. He has uttered movie lines that have become part of our daily lexicon. Perhaps one of your favorites is “Go ahead, make my day!” or “If you want a guarantee, buy a toaster!” In the military film, Heartbreak Ridge, he says to his soldiers, “Improvise, Adapt, Overcome,” which is the unofficial slogan among Marines. I believe that regardless of who we are or what we do, our ability to put these three words into practice is the framework for success. Improvise, adapt, and overcome is a powerful way of thinking for any person who is faced with an obstacle or a desired objective in life. In my book, Think Again, I wrote, “To succeed despite the challenges, we must plan, solve, recalculate, refocus, and think again. Then reinvent your plan, redirect your plan, and think again.” Repeat this process and persevere until the goal is accomplished. I learned the importance of improvising, adapting, and overcoming as I struggled with being physically unable to tie my shoes for many years. Many of us take this ability for granted. As for me, my independence was riding on it. Being unable to tie my shoes left me with two options: I could either ask a friend for assistance or endure repeated face plants from tripping over my laces. Having only three fingers meant tying my shoes was difficult but not impossible. After spending thousands of hours trying various strategies (including standing on my head), I finally accomplished the task when I was sixteen years old. I was thrilled! However, the following day I walked into a shoe store, and what do I see? Velcro shoes! Where was Velcro when I needed it? Why you need to continuously adapt Have you ever been in a situation where you have carefully designed your day and then discovered that others didn’t get the memo? You might be preparing for a job interview, giving a speech, or developing a business plan, and although it is important that you have a script to work from, you need to remember that you live in an unscripted world. You must continually manage and adjust. In Bruna Martinuzzi’s article, “The Agile Leader: Adaptability,” she describes how mental scripts can often create rigid ways of thinking, resulting in us overlooking new opportunities. The ability to improvise your plans and adapt your ideas when facing changing circumstances will enable you to transcend challenges. The bottom line is that we cannot expect yesterday’s thinking to bring success today. I have found Clint Eastwood to be an extremely effective motivational speaker on the subject of overcoming adversity. Here is one of my favorites from The Outlaw Josey Wales: “When things get bad, really bad, and it looks like you’re not going to make it, you gotta get mean, mad dog mean. Cause if you lose your head and you give up, then you neither live nor win. That’s just the way it is.” Perhaps Clint could have said this in a more elegant way; however, his words are the key to transcending obstacles. When faced with challenging circumstances, resist discouragement, and regain your determination. As a result, your sense of purpose will become more powerful than your problems! Looking for your next healthcare speaker? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to make your healthcare event a success!
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By Laurie Guest
Winning back guests you have lost is not an issue people like to talk about, but it is a necessary topic in staff development. What skills do your team members need in order to thwart a customer defection? It begins with being totally present in the encounter in order to realize the guest is unhappy enough to leave. It ends by saying and doing the right things to turn it around. I have a great example of this happening in my personal life. Not long ago, my husband and I purchased a new refrigerator. We like to buy local whenever we can, and have been loyal customers for many years of a certain appliance store in our community. The new refrigerator has needed a repair man to come out four times for a series of issues, one right after the other. Eventually, it was determined that the left door was manufactured incorrectly, and a new one would need to be installed. Unfortunately, the company sent the wrong door, but that wasn’t determined until three hours of repair were completed. We ended up with a door that still didn’t dispense water or ice and even had aesthetic issues that included holes where a cover plate belonged. The part that bothered me most was that I was the one doing the calling every time to check on the status of the next step in the long, long saga. I had a refrigerator door that wasn’t right for over eight weeks, and I was still waiting. Exasperated, I finally drove to the appliance store to get an answer. The owner told me, “Oh, we have the new door. I just don’t know where to put you in the schedule, so I haven’t called you back yet.” Wrong answer. If he would have just called me with regular updates, I would likely be fine with the progress. He even told me he sees my name on the list regularly and keeps telling himself they need to fit me in. This is the last purchase we made at that local shop, I’m sad to say. I had been kind and patient every step of the way, in what was now edging into a four-month ordeal. He knew that I was not happy, but he did nothing to turn it around. If he told me that he had arranged for a new door and was doing the repairs at no charge to me, that would have been good service. The reason I will be moving on, never to return, is because there wasn’t an attempt to win me back after things went wrong. I haven’t received an apology for any of this, and clearly an apology was owed. After a bad customer service experience, my mom used to say, “I’ll do my voting with my feet.” Then she would stop doing business with that establishment and become a walking billboard of information about her experience. Whether you work for a mom and pop store or a global brand, you will have haters, but you can’t afford to ignore them. You need to learn how to embrace complaints, put haters to work for you, and turn bad news into good. Looking for your next healthcare speaker? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to make your healthcare event a success! By Kristin Baird
The lobby was breathtaking with a beautiful water feature and sculptures in bronze and blown glass. The registration staff was friendly and efficient in professional and tasteful uniforms. The entire building was as beautiful as any 5-star hotel. What stood out to me during one of my mother’s last hospital admissions wasn’t the striking environment or the professional appearance. It was the personalized and attentive care demonstrated through small acts of kindness. The real WOW happened when Nurse Shelly took mom’s hand and said she was delighted to be her nurse again. Similarly, it happened again when Amber, the tech remembered how much Mom loved coffee. Amber promised to bring her a cup the minute she returned from her procedure. And did! A New Focus on WOW As healthcare organizations embrace the patient experience on a deeper more strategic level, there is greater pressure to WOW the consumer with gorgeous architecture, room service and hotel-like amenities. Consequently, what was a WOW experience five years ago is commonplace as healthcare organizations share best practices. As a result, we must never lose sight of the fact that it is the small acts of kindness that stay with patients and families for a lifetime. It’s the little things that show you care and leave indelible memories. Looking for your next healthcare speaker? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to make your healthcare 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.
It happened seven years ago while in Toronto. After a 75-minute presentation to a group of sales leaders, I received an impassioned standing ovation from the crowd of almost 1,000. A book signing followed with more than 100 people waiting in line, giving me a hug, sharing a bit of their story, and thanking me for sharing mine. As the line eventually dwindled, the person who had planned the meeting asked if I’d like to join him for a late dinner. I thanked him, but shared that between the travel and speaking and signing, I was simply exhausted. We chatted for a few minutes before I went upstairs, indulged in room service, took a much-needed shower, and fell into bed. With the background sounds of city traffic and the echoes of people on the sidewalks below, I responded to some emails, replied to a few texts, and read through several encouraging messages on social media before setting the phone down. Despite having eaten, the ache in my stomach that had been present most of the day refused to subside. With the phone and television off and the room blackened, I grabbed a pillow, shut my eyes, and started to cry. In that dark hotel room, just hours after receiving the adulation of a large audience and a barrage of messages of gratitude on my phone, I’d never felt so absolutely alone, so totally isolated. Things at home were good, but hard. My father had been hospitalized with a broken femur and hip as the result of another fall. My wife and I were in the joyful, but incredibly demanding, season of raising three young children with another on the way. And my speaking business was growing by leaps and bounds. But as the business grew, so was the travel, the airline miles, and the nights away from family on the road. Surrounded by people, I felt painfully out of place and alone. And I’m not alone. You’re Not Alone in Feeling Alone A massive nationwide survey by Cigna shares that a staggering 47% of adults admit to feeling isolated, left out and totally alone. And although all age groups experience high levels of loneliness, the loneliest age group, the one that felt most disconnected, were those between the ages of 18-22. In other words, those of us who seem to be most connected, most surrounded by others, most energetic and vibrantly alive, feel most closed off from others. This sense of isolation leads to a decrease in the effectiveness of our immune system and a reduction in a sense of passion for life, while also leading to an increase in levels of damaging stress hormones, our heart rate, and blood pressure. In short, the result of loneliness is as toxic as smoking more than a dozen cigarettes each day. And about half of us feel this way. So, how do we combat this epidemic of loneliness? 1. Start with Awareness: Let’s begin with the good news: once you know there is an illness you can take steps toward the cure. And realizing that half of adults experience what you feel can actually be liberating. You are not alone! The first step forward in recovering from any health scare, overcoming any addiction, surpassing any challenge or embracing any opportunity is to take inventory on where you are, how you got here and where you want to go next. In the sprint through life, it’s critically important to slow down long enough to identify your answers to these questions and clarify the next steps for you. 2. Make the Changes to Reengage in What Matters: It’s been my experience that frequently we keep putting one foot in front of the other as we climb up the ladder of life. Unfortunately, in doing so we may unintentionally be moving in the wrong direction. After years of saying “yes” to every opportunity to share my story and spread the message, I was wearing thin physically, emotionally and relationally. I used to brag how many days I was on the road. Now, through the support of my wife and the efforts of my team, we made a commitment to travel half as often and brag about how many breakfasts and dinners we enjoy as a family. This shift has allowed me to be more focused on my clients while on the road, but also to be more rejuvenated and connected to those who matter most when I’m at home. 3. Aim for Depth, not Breadth: Although social media has some terrific benefits, it’s important to note that the least lonely group in the Cigna study were those respondents over the age of 72- individuals less concerned with how many followers they have online and more engaged with the people around them in life. Slowing down my own schedule and online activity has freed me to be more present with my wife and kids at home. I see my parents more now than I did for the previous decade. I’ve chosen to actively engage in men’s groups where I can authentically be a friend for someone else, but also have the ability to lean back on them. And I’ve been more dedicated in reigniting relationships from the past, not simply through a tweet or text, but by actually sipping on a coffee (OK, it may occasionally be a beer) or catching up on a phone call. Fighting the Epidemic of Loneliness My friend, although we are all so much together, we are also all dying of loneliness. It’s an epidemic, but not a death sentence. You see, the solution to this loneliness epidemic is to be aware it’s real, to make the changes to reengage with those who matter, and to strive to deepen those relationships. Instead of loneliness and isolation, let’s strive to spread the epidemic of connectivity and love. Today is your day. Live Inspired. Looking for your next healthcare speaker? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to make your healthcare event a success! By Courtney Clark
Think you have your stress symptoms under control? Think you do a good job of masking your frustration at your boss and coworkers? Think no one else notices the pressure you feel? Think again. Most of us aren’t very good at hiding it, when we’re stressed. We leave little clues, like a huff in our voice or a death grip on our armrests. I promise you, people notice. Why do we think we should hide our stress? Well, many workplaces recognize that stressed-out employees produce poor work quality, provide bad customer service, and make lousy colleagues. (Some work environments still romanticize stress as a sign of being important, but that’s a whole different problem!) We think we need to hide our stress so we can show that “we got this!” and that we’re a rockstar who can juggle anything given to us. If you’re shoving your stress down thinking no one is noticing, you’re wrong. The little stress signals you’re giving off are speaking volumes to the rest of your colleagues, and they could cause you problems at work, in three major ways: You’ll Be Labeled “Not a Team Player” When you’re under stress, a natural reaction can be to pull away from the group, in order to avoid lashing out or feeling further annoyed. It is a good idea to stay away from situations that will trigger an unprofessional stress response, but sometimes your instincts will cause you to retreat too much. You might not even notice that you’ve pulled away from the group, but your boss probably will. She won’t necessarily realize you’re under stress (because you haven’t told her because you want to get that big promotion so you want to look like you can handle anything!) She’ll just see that you aren’t contributing during meetings, or assisting your coworkers the way you used to, and she’ll think you’re not interested in being a contributing member of the team. Uh oh… You’ll Drive Away Your Inner Circle But you have one team at work you can always count on, right? Your work buddies! There’s a group you can be honest with, and share your stress. Well… maybe. See, research shows that “venting” is actually an unhelpful form of expressing your frustration with a problem, because you let off just enough steam that it keeps you from actually getting up the energy to make headway against the problem. Think of it like a pot of boiling water that never quite boils over, because you’ve “vented” the lid just enough. If you stay boiling long enough, your friends are going to distance themselves from your negativity. Yikes… You’ll Get Passed Over For That Promotion You’re trying to hide your stress levels precisely because you want to get ahead at work. But those hidden “tells” that you’re letting slip are ratting you out. Your boss is noticing the changes in your behavior, and even if he does realize it’s stress-related, he’s wondering why you haven’t approached him about it. Successful people often (not always, but often) get to where they are by admitting they can’t do everything themselves. My husband, an entrepreneur, is a great example of this for me. He always reminds me that he hires people far smarter than he to do their jobs, and he relies heavily on them when the workload gets high. If your boss thinks you can’t admit when you’re stressed and can’t ask for help, he may think you aren’t qualified for that promotion. And he may (rightly!) be worried that you don’t have enough appropriate stress-management techniques to handle the job. Bye-bye, corner office! Even if you think you’re hiding your stress from your boss and coworkers, you probably aren’t. And the symptoms of your stress that are showing are probably hurting you worse in the long run than just admitting you’re stressed. Come clean if you’re feeling stressed, because then you and your team can come up with appropriate ways to successfully get you back in peak form. Looking for your next healthcare speaker? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to make your healthcare event a success! By Colette Carlson
Effective leaders know deliberate learning is not optional, but a requirement of growth and success. Consistent learning demands an investment of time, money, and energy, but the price paid pales in comparison to the abundant returns in awareness, understanding, and the development of richer connections to people, places, and ideas. Which begs me to ask, how often do you invest in the following three areas to receive the greatest return both on and off the job? 1. The Leader-Reader Connection As someone who studies successful individuals’ habits, the common thread of voracious reading never fails to show up. From Oprah or Bill Gates to my most recent client, COO of Raintree Systems, Terrance Sims, these leaders are disciplined in their practice of carving out time to read. According to a New York Times article stating that Gates reads over 50 books a year, he mentioned that reading is still the “main way that I both learn new things and test my understanding.” Gates also has taken an annual two-week reading vacation for his entire career. Not only does reading open up your mind to new adventures and perspectives, but it also betters your vocabulary, stimulates your thinking, and can shift how you see yourself and others – making room for more empathy and less judgement. If you consistently find yourself reading fiction, try some non-fiction on for size and vice versa. I often share an Audible book with my sweetie as we walk the beach sparking both our thinking and conversation. 2. The Conference Connection Perhaps I’m biased since I speak at conferences weekly, but I witness the conversations, camaraderie, and coaching that randomly occurs in the hallways, during meals, and even in the washroom! These unplanned moments of connection often equal or surpass the well thought out education provided. If I were to unexpectedly ask anyone in attendance how they can afford the time away from work, the answer would overwhelmingly be, “I can’t”. Yet, after years of showing up, these same individuals realize they can’t afford not to attend. The savviest attendees maximize their conference investment by proactively creating memorable moments. For example, my colleague and friend, Laurie Guest, organizes a fun friend’s dinner months in advance. She invites an eclectic group of individuals, many even new to her, to gather off-site for conversation and connection. Having been privileged to attend, I’ve also been fortunate to meet a few individuals (who turned into dear friends) that otherwise might never have come across my radar. 3. The Crew Connection While leading a training activity, I overheard a co-worker tell another, “Wow! I’ve sat next to you for the past three years, and I had no clue you’re a docent at the botanical gardens. I studied botany in college!” When we make the time to share our truths, ask insightful questions and fully listen, we can always find common ground with another or better understand what makes them tick. This awareness becomes a building block for greater appreciation, trust and respect. In our busy, demanding days, it’s all too easy to default to unengaging small talk or mindless chatter with another rather than create a quality moment or two for genuine conversation that opens the door for powerful collaboration. If you can’t remember the last time you invested real time learning something brand new about someone in your crew, now is the time to begin. Looking for your next healthcare speaker? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to make your healthcare event a success! By Beth Boynton
Doctors, nurses, patient advocates, and administrators want to prevent medical errors! Yet communication, collaboration, and workplace culture pose ongoing problems. Problems with ‘soft’ skills that make patient safety a stubborn challenge. “Everyone agrees we haven’t made as much progress as we’d like to make [with reducing medical errors], and the improvements have been uneven,” -Linda Aiken, PhD, RN – Healthcare Still Misses the Mark on Patient Safety. Our approaches so far To date, we have focused on safety engineering ideas and new communication strategies. They come from a scientific and intellectual mindset. Science of safety interventions and structured communication techniques arise from this way of thinking. Safety Science For instance, the science of safety recognizes that humans are imperfect. Researchers that look at patient safety from this perspective design solutions that attempt to make it impossible to make a mistake. They force or try to force patient safe behavior. Pre-op checklists and color-coded IV tubing are examples. Structured communication Standardized communication protocols like SBAR and the two challenge rule have been implemented and assertiveness training programs such as Vital Smarts have been administered to thousands of nurses and doctors. They are trying to regulate human behavior. While these efforts are valuable, they missing important elements of communication and behavior. Communication is gray and messy and human beings want to have choices in how they think and what they do. Communication and Behavior are complex If we are going to make healthcare safe, we need to take a deeper dive into understanding communication and behavior. Listening and speaking up require ‘soft’ skills like trust, courage, and confidence. The ability to work in teams, honor other points of view, manage conflict, and lead collaboratively and authoritatively are also part of this skill set. While not easy in general, these ‘soft’ skills are almost impossible to develop and practice when bullying, blaming or a code of silence permeates the culture. What’s more, the way we behave influences the culture and the culture influences the way we behave. Forcing behavior will keep a nurse from using the wrong IV tubing in a rush, but it won’t help her address a conflict with bullying peer or eliminate worries about her student loans. The consequences of using the wrong tubing may be obvious. Whereas, the bullying behavior or late payments may not be so clear. For instance, will the bullied nurse ask for advice from the bullying person? Will she remind this person to wash their hands? Will she pass along a message from a patient’s brother about a concern in a timely manner? And what about worries about paying back loans? Will they be a distraction? Will an important detail be missed? If we are going to move the needle on patient safety, we have to address the roots of communication and behavior that influence relationships. So what do we do? We need a radical shift in thinking! In addition to structuring patient safe communication and behavior, we must also engage, inspire, and empower others to be their best! In other words, we need to help motivate nurses, doctors, and others to communicate effectively and behave respectfully. It is an intrinsic approach to behavior change that is aligned with complexity leadership. This analogy will help explain what I mean: Let’s say our goal is to get our children to eat healthy lunches at school. Our first tendency might be to look for ways to control their eating options. We could:
These ideas will probably have a positive impact too. What we're not doing is engaging, inspiring, & empowering healthcare professionals to be more effective communicators! An intrinsic approach Improv activities offer playful opportunities for nurses, doctors, and other healthcare professionals to feel heard, practice listening, share ideas, and develop trusting relationships. When facilitated properly, the emotional risk in listening and assertiveness is minimized. Think about how powerful it might be for a nurse to experience what it is like to be heard in the course of teaching him or her how to listen. Or how memorable a lesson it might be for a surgeon to accept an idea from a nurse and build on it. And how healing it might be for a nurse who tends to be aggressive and one who tends to be passive to share power in a playful way. The principle of “Yes, and…” Many of you are familiar with the principle of “Yes, and”. Maybe you’ve been to an improv comedy show? Or maybe you’ve been to a workshop where improv techniques were used for team-building? Well, the same concept can be adapted for nurses, doctors, and other healthcare professionals. To do this we take the focus off of performance, use facilitation skills to create a safe environment, and frame the learning in goals that involve patient safety and ‘soft’ skill development. “Yes and…” Improves Communication The “Yes” part of improv activities nudges nurses and doctors to accept what others are saying. Translated into communication learning, it is about listening. And listening will improve patient safety. The “…and” part of improv nudges healthcare professionals to share ideas. In terms of communication, it is about speaking up! And speaking up will prevent medical errors. And there are hundreds of activities that naturally engage participants in practicing communication! It is like a fitness program for ‘soft’ skill development. Moving the needle on patient safety requires a radical shift in thinking! Looking for your next healthcare speaker? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to make your healthcare event a success! |
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