Clintcast

Previous Clintcast episodes have discussed the critical importance of making the most of the incoming customer experience. Today, Clint discusses taking this process even further with what he calls customized concierge service. In many cases, when a new customer arrives, not only should we be meeting that new customer with all our great welcome procedures in place, but we should also be gaining information (ahead of time if possible) to predictively anticipate issues or concerns that will be specific to this customer and his/her loved ones. By making this little extra effort, an organization can make great leaps in customer service effectiveness! Give it a try!

We are constantly among people in our lives who are particularly good at the art of persuasion (some positive, some not so positive). Politicians, civic leaders, teachers, sales personnel, etc are some typical examples. One misconception that is prevalent is that these people are usually limited to the top ranks of their area. In fact, people of all walks and organizational levels can have excellent persuasion skills. In fact, when faced with instituting change policies within an organization, it is often better to have folks at lower levels with good persuasion skills leading the efforts to introduce and implement changes with teams. Listen in to learn more about how to better utilize these untapped resources!

Some folks out there are what we lovingly call ‘firefighters’ - ones who are constantly in the process of putting out ‘fires’. You’ve likely seen them before (or may even be one)... they are continually in a state of fixing things, coming to the rescue of an overwhelmingly large pile of tasks that no one else seems qualified to be able to handle. While the person’s intentions may be good, this can be a very difficult and debilitating situation for an organization to deal with and things tend to grind to a crawl under this individual’s dominant influence. Clint discusses how to ensure that your organization is not falling victim to these firefighters who get their adrenaline rushes from solving problems (maybe even creating new fires to put out!) despite the organization and other staff.

While practice does indeed help one to become closer to perfection, it does not necessarily make ‘perfect’. In the end though, ‘perfection’ should not always be the end goal. The reason is with perfection often comes inflexibility. While one can train and train to nail a particular process without any errors, the fact is that life rarely stays the same such that the process is written in stone. Instead, practicing enough for excellence while still maintaining the option to be flexible and adaptable is more helpful in the long run as the target is usually in motion during the time spent practicing. Get some pointers on how to make sure you are working toward excellence yet covering your bases for other possibilities!

Perhaps in healthcare, more-so than anywhere else, honesty is an aspect that is highly sought after. That being said though, there is still the possibility that honesty can be delivered in a manner that is harmful. How can you be more effective at delivering honest information in a way that also garners tact and style points? Tune in today as Clint passes on some suggestions, such as using ‘I feel’ statements instead of blanket blame statements, such as ‘you never’. I little forethought goes a long way in helping one to be honest in an effective, yet compassionate way!

Laugh[ing] Out Loud, or LOL as it is known in Internet lingo, is a vital part of our daily lives, even in our teams! Teaming makes it easier - especially when we can share a group moment of humor, which can also have an uncanny power to reinforce bonds of camaraderie as we work on the various tasks of healthcare... even the serious ones! It is important to distinguish that we do not want to laugh AT people or other inappropriate situations. More often than not, the source of the humor can be ourselves. Make sure to find a good belly-laugh with your co-workers once in a while! It will do you all good!

The process of people exhibiting attention seeking behaviors (young or old) is well known and thoroughly documented. These are folks who, most typically, are seeking attention through bad behaviors, if for no other reason than acting out gets them some sort of attention, whether positive or negative (sounds a bit like a troll?) to feed their attention needs. This is probably because these attention needs are not being met elsewhere. Learn how these situations occur and techniques on how to handle them in today’s podcast.

The healthcare career is, by a great many measures, a special path. Not everyone is cut out to be a part of this calling. That being said however, occasionally heathcare professionals do choose to try out or migrate to other professional directions. In today’s episode, Clint elaborates on a discussion he has had with others lately regarding these migrations and how they tend to work out for those people. He contends, as do many others, that while these new professions may indeed be fulfilling, the level of intensity and ultimate payback will not be as strong in other career choices. What do you think? Visit the Clintcast forums and let us know!

Pretty much everyone has encountered it at one time or another - the second wind. It is that point when we have been going hard for a good while, perhaps reached plateau for a while, and then found a new burst of energy to finish the task at hand. This concept can occur with teams too as we go about tackling tasks in a group-driven environment. Today, Clint discusses these second wind efforts and how they commonly take place within a team’s 12-week cycle, as well as between cycles. Knowing these occurrences will happen gives teams a leg up on ensuring they will meet with success, both in the current tasks, as well as future ones.

Today, per a listener request, Clint ponders the key facets of the ‘vacation’. We all have different ideas on what types of activities/lengths of time/etc constitute a vacation. Some prefer longer, more infrequent breaks, others frequent short bursts of long weekends. Whatever the preference, the key takeaway must be a period of recharging whereby the vacationee gets a boost of renewal and fresh energy. If the vacation period is spent doing energy draining activities, then little, if any, is gained upon return to the job. Likewise, it is critical for leadership to be not only supportive of vacation time, but insistent on advancing the welfare of the employee, if for no other reason than a positive vacation period enables higher productivity on the other end. What’s your take on vacation? Stir it up!