Winning Strategies

Attention Job Seekers for Healthcare Positions in Local Health Facilities- ACHE Job Fair

ACHE is hosting a job fair October 5th, 2009 at 3PM Medical City Hospital, Building E, Classroom 1&2. 

The American College of Healthcare Executives of North Texas aims to help you excel professionally and advance excellence in healthcare management.  Find them on the web at www.ache.org.

Human Resource representatives of CHRISTUS, Baylor Health Care, Methodist Health System, United Surgical Partners, John March Partners and Dallas Childrens expect to participate.  Come meet the recruiters and get valuable tips and advice from the experts.

If  you want to connect, succeed, learn, advance and lead, then it's time to consider the benefits of joining ACHE. ACHE membership helps you excel professionally and advance excellence in healthcare management.  An ACHE General Membership meeting will follow the Job Seekers Fair.

If you'd like to join ACHE, find the application on the ACHE web site.

The Importance of Your Brand and OnLine Presence

People should be able to find you.  They should be able to 'google' you and find you without having to page through pages and pages of other people.  Your goal should be to begin enhancing your online presence.

I had this discussion with my Aesthetician, Cheryl Cox.  She has moved around a bit in the last few months and her patients don't know where to look for her.  She was frustrated.  I advised that she create an online presence.  She started with linkedin (http://www.linkedin.com/pub/cheryl-cox/16/386/5a2).  By beginning to build an online presence, you make it easier for people searching for you to find you.

What if someone had business for you?  What if they wanted to hire you?  What if they wanted to use your services (if you are a consultant)?  Would they be able to find you?

Having an online presence in today's world is a MUST.  It is no longer a nicety.  It is a required step in the business process.  As you begin to build information, you will become more searchable and easier to find.

Start with the following:

• Linkedin-  find them on the web at www.linkedin.com
• Plaxo-   locate them via www.plaxo.com
• Zoominfo-   scan any information that may be present for your identity at www.zoominfo.com
  If you've had articles on the web or showed up in any online presence, this will allow you to 'claim'
  your information and validate the information, ensuring that it is accurate.
• Facebook-  once you've added the above business sites, consider hooking up with old friends from
  highschool and college at www.facebook.com
• Twitter- and when you've accomplished all that and want more punishment, try to figure out efficient and effective ways to market yourself on www.twitter.com

There are very positive reasons to go forward with an online presence.  Start small and then build.

Wishing you many entries on a google search.  Grin

The Joy of Mentoring

So- it is no secret that many executives have mentored me throughout the years.  They have taken time out of their schedules, given me frank advice, and encouraged me on.   Without them, I wouldn't be who I am or where I am today.   I am indebted to each and every one of them.  I mention a few of them in the dedication at the beginning of my book:  Karen Primus, the intelligent and successful hospital executive from Sharp in San Diego, Jim Crook, the caring CEO of IDX Systems Corporation, Mike Raymer, the product strategist with extraordinary talents at IDX/then GE, Roger Davis, the business development and big picture genius, Berk Smith, the talented deal maker from Perot Systems and on and on and on.

Who has mentored you?  Is it time, now, in your career to reach out and mentor someone that could benefit from your advice and guidance?  It is exciting to mentor a young student entering their last year before they graduate from college.  It is fun to see the world from their viewpoint and participate in this stage of their life.

I have greatly enjoyed participating with the PLP Mentorship Program at the University of North Texas.  Today we met at Prestonwood Country Club to meet our new mentees and kick off a new school year.  My mentee is studying International Business.

I am encouraging you to consider mentorship.   Find someone in your sphere of influence that would receive a benefit from mentorship.  Help us to shape the future. 

Seeking Balance in Your Life

Balance is a goal that seems to remain just out of reach unless you make it a priority. Early on in my career, I worked tirelessly without re-energizing myself. I felt that it was what I was 'suppose' to do. I let guilt drive many of those early decisions.

As I grew older (and I'd like to think wiser)- I began to see the whole picture more clearly. Balance is something that we control, and usually it either works smoothly or not based on our own strengths or weaknesses in managing our workload. I find several things to be true:

• The better you are at being efficient and productive, the easier it is.
• If you can learn to evaluate tasks like a CEO evaluates his schedule- you can better manage your time. You can only do so much. Figure out the best use of your time.
• Plan your personal time and family vacations with as much vigor and effort as you plan your work meetings.
• You only achieve what you set out and plan to achieve. So- plan to achieve what you want to do in personal life. Make goals. Create a vision and plan for your life.
• Let go of the guilt. It is not a helpful emotion. You will not benefit yourself or your loved ones by exercising this emotion.

Last of all, work/life balance is a journey. Work towards the goal and continue to try to attain it.  It is never something that you completely 'arrive'' at.  Keep driving towards it.

Happiness is a State of Mind

Who says you can't be happy in a smaller house or even an apartment? This economy demands downsizing or 'right' sizing. If 'things' are stressing you out- why not consider simplifying your life?

Happiness is a state of mind. It is something that you choose for yourself. I have learned to be joyful in almost any situation. That joy will permeate to others and bless those around you.

If you get an opportunity to travel to a 3rd world country- you will discover that you have an easier time with happiness after that trip. It will become glaringly obvious how blessed and well off you really are. Try to look at things from a new perspective today.

He Makes More Than Me

Ok- I hear you. I get your emails. You are angry because you feel that your male counterparts are making more money than you for the same job. Well- they probably do. National statistics say that on average, men make 22 percent more than their female counterparts. That is an average, so sometimes the numbers are even higher.

My advice? Quit complaining and do something about it. You have the reins. You are CEO and Chief Marketing Officer for YOU. So- find a different job. Go someplace that you can negotiate a fair and equitable package. Run towards the direction you'd like to go. The job market and opportunities are opening up.

Work on your brand and networking and be ready for your next opportunity. I have lots of ideas on how to do this in my book 'Winning Strategies for Women'. Keep the emails coming. I love hearing from all of you.

Here's to an equitable and fair future.

Compassion is an Action- Compassion is a Choice

There are facts in this world that would shock you, facts that would 'rock' your stable and easy life.  3 billion people live on $2 a day.  25,000 children die every day due to poverty.  640,000,000 (yes , that does say 640 Million) children don't have shelter.  400 Million children don't have clean water.

Compassion is an action.  It is a choice.  It is choice to do what we can do to help.  It sometimes overwhelms us.  The problem seems so big and we feel that we can do so little.  But we can do something.  We can help.  Don't wait until you feel something to do something.  You are being asked to "exude charity from your heart".  If you do, you will be blessed.

20% of the population lives on 80% of the worlds resources.  My readership mainly falls in that 20%.  The next 20% of the population lives on 12% of the worlds resources, the next 20- 4.5%, the next 20- 2.5%, and the last 20- 1%.  Twenty percent of the bottom of the inverted triangle lives on 1% of the worlds resources. Think on that.  Picture that.

Do something to make an impact. Compassion is a choice.

Shoot for the Stars

I talk to a lot of you. You have lowered your targets and minimized your goals because of the economy slow down. Don't! You can only hit targets that you set. If you fall short of the targets and you've set them too low, then you end up living with mediocrity (or worse- something less than that).

You feel trapped. I get that. You feel trapped in unfulfilling relationships, go nowhere jobs, and burdened under a sea of debt. Some of your co-workers seem to be against you and your superiors are not always supportive, caring or helpful.

Regardless of where you are or how you feel, never stop believing in yourself or holding on to your goals and aspirations of where you want to be in life. Target the direction and begin walking in that direction. Destinations are achieved one small step at a time.

Reach for the stars.

It doesn't have to end there.

What drives you?

I get ideas for blog posts from many of the people that I come into contact with, emails that I receive from around the world, comments on other posts and just general fodder from the halls of the corporate world.

I like to cover topics that are causing angst in the corporate world. I like to blog on unanswered questions and encourge positive movement in your work/home life. In order to better understand yourself- as well as those around you, you will need to answer today's question: 'what drives you'? What is that one/two things that light you up? It could be creating something, managing something, solving a business dilemma,ect. You have to find the answer. Knowing the areas that you excel and understanding what motivates you will help you drive your life and the direction/path that you take.

Let's face it. You are responsible for both getting yourself to your destination as well as the scenery along the way. You are Mapblasting your way through life. You choose the paths and detours. I hear many of you say that you have no choice. This is a false assumption.

Broaden your perspective, discover what drives you, and then Mapblast your way to that destination.

Good luck

Busy busy busy- - - - but are you getting any work done?

You are probably reading this blog rather than read one of the 180 emails sitting in your Inbox.  As a general rule, people have become sugglish with regards to email communication.  We waste people's time and send messages that are elusive and non specific.

In a quote from my book, "Winning Strategies for Women":

"Communication plays such a vital role in your success...jobs have been earned and lost over communication.  Messages can be well received or poorly received based on how well we communicate.  Email has given us abilities to easily spread a message across a very wide audience in sub-second response time.  This is an area that you could benefit from immediately if you make significant changes. 

Email can be both a valuable tool and a very harsh weapon.  It is like a knife, knives can be used to chop tomatoes or to kill a man.  "

Are you making co-workers and superiors lives more difficult with the way that you communicate over email or are you making their lives simpler?

Try this simple tip: EMAIL PRIORITY SYSTEM

It is hard to know which emails to read and which ones to file.  Do they expect an immediate answer or are they just cc'ing you?  Try starting each email out in the subject line with a priority ranking.  This will help advise your audience on what your expectations are.

Priority 1: Urgent.  Needs attention preferably today.  Affects deliverables and company commitments
Priority 2: Important. Regarding client commitment or need in operations, but would still be viable if you got to these requests in 1-3 days
Priority 3: Standard. Upcoming scheduling event that is 7 days out or more.  If you didn't get to this one for 7 days, you would still be OK.
Priority 4: No rush. OK if you never read it.  This is a FYI or a cc on an email that was meant for someone else to respond to.

At the bottom of your signature in email, you can reinforce your priority ranking system by having this after your name and title:

Please use the following priority system when emailing me, thank you. 

Priority 1: Urgent. Requesting same day attention
Priority 2: Important. Requesting 1-3 day response
Priority 3: 4 -21 day response
Priority 4: No response or decision necessary.  FYI or cc

Try it.  Let me know how it works for you.  Once in place, you will be able to sort your email by 'Subject line' and they will automatically sort into the Priority 1,2,3,4 rankings.  You will be able to easily sort through email.

Begin sending emails back to your staff,suboordinates, and co-workers with replys like, "this is an example of an email that I do not need to be copied on.  Please only forward me issues at which point you need to escalate.  Thank you".   

Teach your staff how you like them to communicate.  It is just as much your fault as theirs when your inbox is too full.