You might be wondering what lessons from the plains of Africa could possibly be relevant to you and your organization! Well, I believe in making every experience a learning experience. If you pay attention, business, leadership and success lessons can be learned in the most unlikely places. You might just be surprised by what can …
As a healthcare leader, you encounter numerous ‘roadblocks’ as you lead your team forward. Roadblocks, obstacles, hurdles, challenges, setbacks – whatever form in which they come, they can be extremely frustrating and time consuming. Roadblocks are a fact of life and leadership and are often unavoidable. We may not be able to …
We are in a series discussing and learning from the recently published book titled Great Leaders Grow: Becoming a Leader for Life. The book, authored by Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller is available wherever best selling books are sold. The book is directly applicable to any person who desires to become a more effective healthcare leader. …
An article written by Michael Hess for CBS Money Watch serves as a reminder that customer service really is not customer service when done begrudgingly. In the article, If You Do Something For A Customer, Do It Happily, Hess relates a story about a very poor customer service experience that could have been completely different had …
Bob Chrampanis, my wonderful friend who flies his boss around the USA in a 40 million dollar private jet, and who reads even more books than I do, gave me a great book tip recently. Captain Bob, as we call him, walked into “our” Starbucks recently, and greeted me saying, “Dan, I’ve got a book …
Joel Allison, President and CEO of Baylor Health Care System based in Dallas, Texas, had an immediate and truly sincere response to a question I asked him during a recent in-depth interview. The question was, “What do you consider to be your most important accomplishment during your 12 years as President and CEO of Baylor?” …
I recently wrote down something Michael Hyatt said and with which I absolutely agree: “There is no failure unless I quit.” I’ve written on this topic several times, including an article just a few months ago titled The True Definition of Failure, but I believe in this concept so strongly that I can’t help but revisit it, particularly …
John Stumpf is CEO of Wells Fargo, one of the largest and most successful international banks in the world. Stumpf was recently quoted in Fortune Magazine saying, “We could leave our strategic plan on an airplane, and it wouldn’t matter. It’s all about execution.” At first thought, Stumpf’s statement seems somewhat simplistic and even …
In a brief audio clip featured by Success Video, John Maxwell shares two practices leaders should enact in order to make themselves more effective and productive: Stop making excuses. Understand the secret of your success is determined by your daily agenda. Maxwell is passionate about the importance of eliminating excuses. While he acknowledges that in …
Virtually all people fear failure. A bitter irony is that for some, the fear of failure is so crippling that they fail to even try. If you lack the courage to even attempt something for fear you might fail, you’ve already failed. Others try, but after experiencing one or two failures, they do not …
Author and motivational speaker Vivian Greene coined the famous phrase, “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning how to dance in the rain.” This phrase is particularly appropriate for healthcare leaders in this time of dramatic and unchartered “storms” and change. The phrase brings to mind a whimsical image and has …
In my continuous quest for worthwhile learning and adventure, I recently visited the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum located in Hyde Park, NY. Franklin D. Roosevelt famously said, “It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.” Roosevelt was …
Brian Clark, the founder of CopyBlogger, recently shared a great infographic in a post about creativity. The infographic addresses seven habits that hinder creativity and offers suggestions for overcoming them and getting out of a “creative rut.” The habits include: Fearing Ambiguity Separating Work and Play Creating and Editing Simultaneously Worrying about Mistakes Not Believing …
In the Harvard Business Review Channel Management Tip titled “Four Ways to Think Like an Innovator” released April 20, 2012, Scott Anthony, the Managing Director of Innosight Asia-Pacific shares some tips for thinking like an innovator. He states, “To innovate successfully… you need to think differently than you do about your other tasks.” Anthony shares these four …
Successful people and successful organizations are busy this time of year, tweaking and making appropriate adjustments to their 2012 strategic and operational plans. Even more so for highly effective and highly successful people and organizations. They have carefully reviewed their 2011 successes and failures. They are building on and leveraging their strengths and successes. They are …
“Differentiation is the essence of strategy, the prime source of competitive advantage. You earn [revenue and marketshare] not just by performing a valuable task [or service] but by being different from your competitors in a manner that lets you serve your core customers better and more profitably.” “The sharper your differentiation, the greater your advantage.” …
Amy Cosper, Editor in Chief of Entrepreneur Magazine, wrote the following in the June 2011 issue of Entrepreneur Magazine: “I remember Blockbuster. Not the sad, dusty, blighted Blockbuster of recent years. No, definitely not that one. I remember the hustling, bustling, sparkling Blockbuster where everyone rushed on Friday nights to rent the most recent Jason …
If I were to ask you to name an achievement that is one of the most difficult to attain and achieve in all America, what would be your answer? If I were to give you a hint by telling you that literally thousands of some of the most successful people in American history have seriously …
Creativity is critical to our current and future personal, professional and organizational success. It is a fact that most people, including most leaders, talk a good game regarding creativity. However, very few people truly embrace, encourage and incent people, on a daily basis, to expand, explore and exploit their creative potential. In fact, most people …
The incredible value and return on investment from open, honest, transparent communication and sharing was clearly on display Monday and Tuesday of this week. The setting was the annual Healthcare Supplier/Provider Institute Meeting, April 25&26, 2011 in Las Vegas. Participants included executives representing all facets of healthcare, including hospitals, IDNs, manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, GPOs, and …