HealthCare Voice

Your Online Persona: Make It Work for You

IMPORTANT NOTE:  HealthCare Voice, John Self's  healthcare blog, HAS MOVED to the web site, JohnGSelf.Com. The blog will run on the web and here  for a couple of weeks and then the content will be exclusively on www.johngself.com/HealthCare Voice. 

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In healthcare administration as in any modern business, the constant siren song of the smartphone, texts, e-mails and social media leave executives with more demands on their time than ever before.

Sure, accessibility and open communication foster an executive’s “open-door policy,” but spending your day plugged in online leaves little time for productivity. On the other hand, refusing to jump on the technology bandwagon can quickly make you a dinosaur, and unless you’re ready to retire, that’s not good for your career.

Take, for example, social media, such as You Tube, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. The up-and-coming generation is deeply involved in the online world, and they may one day be your bosses. To connect with them, it’s important to understand these technologies and be part of that world.

But, proceed with caution when cultivating an online persona, as it’s easy to cause lasting damage to your career. Here are a few tips:

• Have a vision for what you want from your online network. Do you want to maintain contacts in your industry for future career opportunities? Do you want to use your network for sharing what you’ve learned with others? Do you want a group of peers you can bounce ideas off of from time to time?
• Keep your online network manageable. The effectiveness of your network is not based on size, it’s about how you actively use it. If you have more people in your online network than you have time to interact with, your group is probably too large. It doesn’t do you any good to have 5,000 people in your LinkedIn network if 4,500 of those people can’t help you in your career. Cull your list to those who share your interests and who you wish to know well. If there are people in your network who aren’t responding to you, delete them.
• If you want to have a network that can help you, offer to help others. Doing so nurtures your network, so that the people in it will be there for you when you need them.
• Use social media to promote yourself and your career. For example, if your Facebook posts have value to up-and-coming executives, you position yourself as a subject matter expert and thought leader.
• What you put out on the Internet may come back to haunt you. Never post anything, anywhere that you wouldn’t want a potential employer to see.
• Never forget who is watching. For example, if you want to change jobs and suddenly get active on LinkedIn, you’re broadcasting to everyone in your network – including your boss who “friended” you months ago – that you’re ready for a career move.

One of the benefits of having an active online professional life is that recruiters and executive search firms will be able to easily locate you when opportunities arise. But not every “recruiter” uses social media responsibly. Some contingency recruiters – and unsavory characters posing as recruiters – figure that if they blanket the Internet with enough messages, eventually they’ll get a response from someone. These are the ones who flood message boards or spam your inbox with details of potential job opportunities. More than likely, responding to them is a waste of your time.

Healthcare organizations don’t want their executive jobs posted anywhere and everywhere – they expect their executive search firms to treat their jobs confidentially and to do the footwork in person. So, the Internet may be a good place for legitimate recruiters to learn about you and establish initial contact, but if a recruiter is really interested in reaching you, he or she will try to contact you offline.

If you’re not sure exactly what your Internet persona is saying about you, find out. Google yourself, and be sure that the information you find represents you accurately and professionally.

© 2012 John Gregory Self

A Calling For People With A Heart

Editor's Note:  HealthCare Voice, John Self's  healthcare blog, will be moving to the web site, JohnGSelf.Com in two weeks. The blog will run on the web and here  for a couple of weeks and then the content will be exclusively on WWW.JohnGSelf.Com.

John G Self, his blog on stories of hope, redemption, and humor will continue to be featured on Typepad. John is increasingly requested to speak at colleges and universities, professional associations and at industry and community meetings. His latest blog at John G Self, "One Life to Live", reflects his thoughts on career management. Another of his blog offerings, "Gingrich, Grizzard and Marriage" hit many readers laugh button.

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They say that a man who hates a dog has no heart. They say a man who hates his job is a lawyer. Last week, I wrote that in a piece about career management for my speaker's blog, John G Self. It had a ring to it -- and it fit my message for today -- so I decided to borrow it from myself. 

I do not know how widespread the professional dissatisfaction is within the legal industry, but I have been told by many attorneys in subsequent conversations that it is common. 

If you ask the Baby Boomer generation of healthcare leaders why they chose this profession, you frequently hear phrases like "a chance to serve..." or "the opportunity to help people..." Perhaps one of the best career choice explanations that I have heard from a healthcare CEO is this:

"I felt called to this industry. It is a business, but it is a business with a conscience.  It offers everything for an executive who is seeking one of the toughest challenges in business. We get a chance to experience the intellectual and emotional satisfaction of running one of the most complex business models ever created and in the process we provide meaningful service to our communities and the people who come to our hospitals. And all the time we are looking for ways to innovate so that we can serve more effectively. It just does not get better than that."  

Even after more than 25 years in the profession, this CEO admitted that he still is excited to go to work each day -- yes, some days more than others -- but it still offered emotional and professional satisfaction. His wife agreed. "There are so many challenges in a relationship that create friction or fractures. Your spouse’s work is huge. But I am truly lucky that my husband loves, absolutely loves what he does and it shows up in our daily lives.”  

I know, based on my 30+ years in healthcare, that is not an isolated example, and that makes me very proud to be in an industry where so many people love what they do. There are other professions where this passion runs deep, but in this example -- the law versus healthcare -- the contrast is stark.

The larger, more important career/life's lesson is this: pursue the work about which you are passionate. For college students enamored with a certain profession, look before you leap. Do not be seduced by a mind’s eye rose colored image of what your professional life will be like in five or 10 years. Do not discount the negatives, I don't care how much money they throw at you.

If you choose healthcare expect a bumpy but rewarding career where, if you are smart enough and a good leader, you can make a solid impact  in one of America’s most important service industries, and, along the way, you can improve life for your fellow man. 

© 2011 John Gregory Self

A Memory or A Legacy: What Kind of Leader Are You?

There are essentially two types of healthcare leaders.  Those who leave behind memories and those who build a legacy. 

Memories – good and bad – fade from consciousness.  Legacies are forever.  They are not formed by good executives.  They are built by dynamic leaders who are not afraid to take risks with big, transformational ideas.

Great leaders are like works of art.  They build a solid, patient/customer focused culture that is the organization’s heart and soul.  They develop centers of clinical and wellness excellence that are an integral part of the communities they serve.

Bad leaders – who are tragedies – leave behind second-class, dangerous hospitals, or abandoned buildings or, worse yet, a vacant lot where a hospital once stood. (Think Pittsburgh.)

A savvy Chief Executive, who engineered a stunningly successful turnaround of a New York hospital, once said that hospital boards and their CEOs lose money because they choose to.  Yes, they have a myriad of reasons/explanations why they lose, but more often than not those explanations amount to little more than lame excuses, he reasoned.  In the end, it was a matter of choice and the legacy they will leave behind – an inability to make the hard choices or to successfully execute -- that will be a tragedy for their communities

This nation’s hospital CEOs have one of the hardest jobs in all of business.  They run complex businesses that are highly regulated under the silly guise of being a free-market business model.  They have long struggled to balance reimbursement with the rising costs of doing business.  Now it is going to get tougher as Congress, whether its members want to or not, moves to reduce federal spending, which means that the reimbursement we receive from Medicare today is the most we will ever see in our lifetime.  But all is not lost.

As I travel around the country, I periodically lecture to healthcare management graduate students.  This new generation of future healthcare leaders is one of the best.  They "get" the grave challenges and the extent of the nation’s financial crisis, but they are eager to build a lasting legacy – with a radically transformed healthcare business model. 

They are works of art waiting in the wings.

EDITOR's NOTE:  In two weks, HealthCare Voice will move from this location to www.JohnGSelf.Com.  For two weeks, the blog will run on both sites and then we will close this URL and the blog will be on the web page.

© 2011 John Gregory Self

CEOs, Meet The Millennials

There is an age-old conflict in business:  the friction between the established leaders of today and the newest crop of the leaders of tomorrow. 

Meet the Millennials.

This large generation of rising adults, born since 1982, are starkly different from their older managers, teachers, and colleagues. Also known as Generation Y and the Echo Boomers, several million of them have joined the adult world since 2000, and they are entering the workforce faster than you can say “retiring Baby Boomers,” according to a research report from the former MillennialGeneration.Org site.

This group poses a unique set of hurdles for today’s leaders in terms of attitudes and practices in how they work and communicate.

Facing “big ticket” challenges, not the least of which are significant reductions in spending on Medicare and Medicaid over the next 10 years, CEOs and Chief Human Resource Officers aren’t always attuned to the nuances of a particular age group, most especially how to recruit, develop and retain the top talent from this working class.  This is a critical consideration.

The payor’s focus on customer service and the negative financial implications that will occur for those hospitals who do not achieve top scores in service and satisfaction, will require the leaders of today to harness the incredible intelligence and remarkable creativity of this new generation. 

For someone who frequently lectures to graduate management students, my only advice is to pay attention and engage your "up and comers" about what they think and believe, not what you want them to think.

© 2011 John Gregory Self

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In Interviews, Words Have Consequences

Words have consequences in job interviews.

Over my 18 years in executive search, I have heard hundreds of candidates describe their leadership style as “consensual -- I build consensus.”   When a candidate gave that as an answer to a query regarding their leadership style in my earliest years, I would nod my head, as if I really understood what that term meant. 

I learned my lesson, fortunately not at the client's expense.  Now, I ask, “What does that really mean?”  The truth is, candidates use that line because it sounds so collegial, so non confrontational.  Considered in rapid time, consensual leadership sounds like the first cousin of a “collaborative” style.  They are not.   

Adam Bryant’s Corner Office column in Sunday’s New York Times provided an excellent case in point.

Consensus “...sounds wonderful but it was a very, very difficult way to manage anything, because to convince everybody to do one particular thing, especially if it was hard, [is] almost mpossible,” said Geoffrey Canada, President and CEO of the Harlem Children’s Zone, a non-profit which has offered education, social-service and community building programs to children and families since 1970.  “Convincing people to give your way a try will work if you neutralize -- and sometimes you have to cauterize -- the ones who are really against change.  They’re the kind of person who, if you tell them it is raining outside, they will fight you tooth and nail.  You take them outside in the rain and they will say, ‘But it wasn’t raining five seconds ago’.  I spent a year a year trying to convince those people to change and give me a chance.  Then I realized it was a wasted year.”

Consensus leadership is a sure way for healthcare executives to get bogged down at a critical time in our history.  The challenges in healthcare are significant.  Most executives, employees and physicians inellectually comprehend what will transpire over the next five to 10 years as the result of out-of-control deficits and the national debt and Medicare’s central role in fueling the fire.  Major cuts will occur.  Healthcare delivery as we know it today will forever change.  Getting people to actually undertake the necessary change is another matter.  We might be able to collaborate on finding alternative strategies, but we will NEVER experience a time when everyone agrees to this kind of gut-wrenching change.  Those who fear and resist change may nod their heads in agreement -- giving the consensual leader a false sense of hope or security -- but when the first sting of change pain occurs, they will dig in their heals and resist mightily. 

So, as a healthcare leader, if you think a consensus building leadership styler is the answer, that it will help you through these tough times, perhaps you might want to rethink that proposition, because many of our leadership styles and techniques that worked 20 years ago, will not work in this new healthcare economy.

 

© 2011 John Gregory Self

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Humbled By Connectivity

A couple of years ago I lectured to graduate students at a major university on career strategies and personal brand management. As the students entered the lecture hall, a significant number opened their laptops. I told my son who is a graduate student (SMU) that they thought enough of my lecture that they were taking notes. 

He laughed. Out loud. 

"Dad, they were surfing the web, looking at email, or on Facebook, and those that weren't on their computers were probably texting on their phones." 

Humbled by a lack of understanding of how connectivity has changed our lives and our attention spans.

© 2011 John Gregory Self

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Taking Time For Others

Some days can provide an important reminder of the significance of taking time for others.

While waiting in my hotel for a candidate to arrive – stormy weather slowed air traffic into New York’s congested airports – I decided to check my email.  After reviewing and processing emails for 15 minutes or so, I ran across a message with an attached story from a former boss who I greatly admire.

Who knows or cares whether this particular story is true.  There are some stories where “the uplift” is far more important than the authenticity.  For years there have been stories with this theme that have been bouncing around on the Internet.  Periodically they emerge in various forms – irritating chain letters, personal testimonies, or even for political gain.  Naturally they are treated as if this is the first time the heart-warming facts have been shared. 

This story, in this telling, is uplifting, minus the cynicism.

It reminded me of an important point in my life.  I have been fortunate to be in a career position where I can help people -- providing support when they have been unexpectedly fired, when they cannot find a job, or to give some coaching advice that might help them find one.  The only requirement I have is that when the caller finds a new job, that they take the time to pay it forward, to help someone else.  Sure I like the money in the business, but it is the chance to help that makes my job so special.  I am sharing this story with you because if you do not get it, now is a good time to start.

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“One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school.

“His name was Kyle.

“It looked like he was carrying all of his books.  I thought to myself, Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday?  He must really be a nerd.

“I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.

“As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him...They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt.  His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him...

“He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes.

“My heart went out to him.  So, I jogged over to him as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye.  As I handed him his glasses, I said, “Those guys are jerks.  They really should get lives.”

“He looked at me and said, “Hey thanks!”  There was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.

“I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived.  As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before.  He said he had gone to private school before now.

“I would have never hung out with a private school kid before. We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books.  He turned out to be a pretty cool kid.

“I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends .  He said yes.

“We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same of him.

“Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again.  I stopped him and said, Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!  He just laughed and handed me half the books.

“Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends.  When we were seniors we began to think about college.  Kyle decided on Georgetown and I was going to Duke.  I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem.

“He was going to be a doctor and I was going for business on a football scholarship.

“Kyle was valedictorian of our class.  I teased him all the time about being a nerd.

“He had to prepare a speech for graduation. I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak.

“On graduation day, Kyle looked great.  He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school.  He filled out and actually looked good in glasses.  He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him.  Boy, sometimes I was jealous!

“Today was one of those days.

“I could see that he was nervous about his speech.  So, I smacked him on the back and said, 'Hey, big guy, you'll be great!'  He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled....

“Thanks,” he said.

“As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began ... “Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years.  Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach, but mostly your friends.

“I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them.  I am going to tell you a story.”

“I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met.  He had planned to kill himself over the weekend.  He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home.  He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile. 

“Thankfully, I was saved.  My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable.

“I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment.  I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.

“Not until that moment did I realize the depth of importance of a kind act or the friendship you share.  Never underestimate the power of your actions.  With one small gesture you can change a person's life.

“For better or for worse.”

© 2011 John Gregory Self

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Steve Jobs' Legacy For Healthcare

If you are a hospital CEO who touts customer service -- the customer experience -- and you have not heard about Apple's remarkable product innovation, their laser commitment to service, and their remarkable out-of-the box retail experience, you are probably so far inside the box that you are immerdiately vulnerable to competitive market forces.

Apple redefined the customer service experience. Not just for the computer industry or the technology sector. Steve Jobs and his colleagues raised the bar for everyone in business. From their technical support access, which is far and away the best in any industry, to the amazing Apple retail experience, this company is about delighting the customer. They thrive on that sense of accomplishment.                                   

When I think about the  average hospital admission process and the endless waits in the ER that can be made worse by, in many cases, the absolutely terrible customer service and non-existent communication from the staff, I wonder why the healthcare industry seems so afraid to explore game-changing innovations.   

When we talk about Apple it is easy to say, "Oh, computers, that is different. That industry is not anything like healthcare," as if to say that Apple wanted to emulate the mediocrity that has come to define Microsoft. The beauty of Apple is that Steve Jobs empowered his people to redefine the customer satisfaction experience from a standard that said satisfactory was OK to one in which anything less than delightful was unacceptable. Outsourcing his customer support through terrible telephone connections to some  remote outpost in India, which is how so many companies attempt to maxmize profitability, was not in the Jobs' playbook.  He drove profits by doing the opposite -- spending money on taking care of his customers.

Apple became a bigger company than the once invincible Microsoft in terms of market cap as the result of its passionate commitment to focus on game-changing design and a level of service that delighted their customers.  

As we mourn the loss of such an incredible innovator, it behooves those of us in healthcare to pause and to think how our industry can bring a little of Steve Jobs' keen insight for innovation and a customer-centered delight into our complex organizations, and to think how we can offer our customers -- doctors and patients -- service that delights and surprises. 

He showed that it can be done.  And he offered some compelling words during a Stanford commencement speech in 2005 to help guide the way.

"Follow your heart...Your time is limited so don't waste time living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice..." 

What are we waiting for?

© 2011 John Gregory Self

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Career Management In Complicated Times

In a rapidly changing global economic environment with high long-term unemployment likely, regardless of who controls the levers of power in Washington, the value of career planning is in the spotlight. 

There are basically two schools of thought:

 1.  It is a waste of time.  No one can predict the future -- new technologies, business realignments and the resulting job losses, or opportunities that will emerge amidst the chaos.

 2. It is invaluable.  Career planning requires a sense of focus and discipline that is essential to navigate the opportunities and multiple pitfalls in the New Normal economy.

I vote for option number two.  I am not engaged in career coaching or outplacement businesses so I have nothing to gain from advocating for the value that is inherent in the career planning process.  In fact, I cannot imagine entering the workforce today without a plan for my professional life.

I freely admit that there are thousands upon thousands of stories of people who have enjoyed a rewarding, interesting, varied and prosperous career following what I call the opportunistic pathway; moving from job to job without knowing what new professional adventure next week, next month or next year will bring. But that was then and this is a competitive, unpredictable now.

As a matter of disclosure, I must that admit that I qualify for membership in the  “I Had No Plan Or Clue” class.  I began my career before I graduated from college, working for a daily newspaper.  From there, my career took me to Lubbock and Houston where I worked as an editor and writer.  I left the news business for public relations at Houston’s Hermann Hospital.  From there I became the first director of Life Flight, to the national marketing manager of the helicopter company, to acquisitions for an investor-owned hospital management company, back to Hermann to lead the start-up of a multi-hospital affiliated program, to a senior executive post responsible for business development for the hospital management company, to forming my own consulting firm, back to the town where I grew up to run home infusion pharmacy, correctional health businesses (not all at once), EMS, and then to be the general manager of an international nurse recruitment agency before leaving to form a recruiting firm and, finally, to forming my current executive search firm, JohnGSelf Associates, Inc.  And I did it all without a plan, an approach that I would not think about recommending in today.

My experiences – and my amazing luck – led me to the realization that career planning is no different than strategic planning for a business in which you are constantly adjusting strategy and tactics to address changing market threats and opportunities.

Career planning provides a framework for discipline and focus that will allow an individual to maximize their professional potential.

Is it a waste of time?  Not a chance. 

There are thousands upon thousands of people who trusted that everything would work out, professionally speaking.  It did not.

Not to sound glib, but luck is not a good career management strategy. 

© 2011 John Gregory Self

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How Important Is Your Human Resource Leader?

"If businesses managed their money as carelessly as they manage their people, most would be bankrupt."

That is the opening sentence in Bill Conaty's and Ram Charan's book The Talent Masters:  Why Smart Leaders Put People Before Numbers. If that does not make you uncomfortable as a healthcare CEO, then you must be in the above average category in terms of hiring, training and retaining the best talent.

Mr. Conaty, who was Jack Welch's Senior Vice President of Human Resources at GE, and Ram Charan, a top business advisor/author/speaker, have written one of the best, if not the best, books on talent management.  They argue that the best companies are those which excell in identifying and developing raw talent.

As healthcare providers enter a period of financial uncertainty and turmoil, the quality of an organization's talent will be the single most critical determinant of an their success; not their location, the stylishness of their big box facilities or their existing reputations.  Those will seem so insignificant when the fight for survival turns deadly serious. Less you think that all the big healthcare provider success stories of today will be around in five to 10 years, think about the hundreds of former market leaders in retail, services, computers, consumer products or even banking that are now but a distant memory, an "oh yeah, whatever happened to those guys?" They didn't find or keep the best people.

It always comes down to that fuzzy, soft concept of talent management. Organizations that fail to build their talent management around an exemplary CEO/Chief Human Resource Officer partnership, are running down a risky path.

The hospital Chief Financial Officer is the trustee of the financial resources. "The human resource function will only be as strong as the CEO wants it to be. If the CEO does not have high expectations for HR, then it will be second tier," even reporting to the COO or some other vice president, Charan and Conaty write.

"Why wouldn't the CEO want an HR function that is as important an managing the financial resources?  HR is, after all, the trustee of an organization's human capital."

Being a talent manager -- becoming a talent master -- is now an essential leadership comptency. 

© 2011 John Gregory Self

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Career Management: Married With Children

If you are female and married and aspire to have a big career and a big family, the odds that you will be successful are working against you.  Two children are OK, but when you have three, everyone assumes "you are home with the kids, right?"

That from Laura Vanderkam, a New York City author (168 hours: You Have More
Time Than You Think) who reported that when she mentions to people in social circles that "my prominent lump is baby number three, (people) either don't ask me about my job (while asking everyone else about theirs), or they say, 'kiss of death' for a career or that it will 'derail' your professional prospects."

Aside from Ms. Vanderkam's current state of pregnancy, she was motivated to focus on this issue in her BNET blog this week after reviewing an Australian study issued in July that reported that a mere 21 percent of the mothers under the age of 30 with three children worked outside the home.  Lord knows, with three children, working inside the home is no walk in the park; the demands of being a full-time COO of the home is an incredibly tough job. Older women with three or more children were a greater part of the workforce -- 55 percent versus 68 percent of that group who had only two kids, according to the survey.

As I speak at college campuses on career management, I am frequently asked by women graduate students about choices -- career and life -- and the prevailing mood in the marketplace about the so-called life balance issue. Will they derail their career path to the CEO spot, or one of the other C-suite posts if they take time out for a family?

In healthcare, the career versus having children question may become a more challenging for issue (choice) for women as hospitals and other providers face profound reductions in reimbursement over the next 10 years. Hospital leaders say they can see a day where they will have to do more with less, which could translate into longer hours at the office and an expanding workload for the after-hours time at home. That said, there are more than a few examples of successful women leaders who have managed to balance the rigors of two full-time jobs (their career and motherhood) while achieving impressive results in business.

Today, this is not an either or choice for women.  It does, however, require incredible discipline, enormous focus and physical and mental stamina, but there are some outstanding women executives who are able to do both, and do it well.

While it may get tougher for women executives to achieve the comfortable work-life compromise, there will always be opportunity for competent executives, regardless of their gender and number of children, the Australian study notwithstanding.

Many studies on this subject tend to reflect conventional wisdom and that is seldom right.

© 2011 John Gregory Self

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It Is Good To Be Nice

Hiring “nice” is a great idea, especially when you combine that with a healthy dose of passion.

That is the approach Andy Lansing takes.  A recovering lawyer, Mr. Lansing is President and Chief Executive Officer of Chicago-based Levy Restaurants, a food service company with a diverse portfolio of operations that includes award-winning restaurants such as James Beard-winning Spiaggia and Bistro 110 in Chicago, Fulton’s Crab House, Portobello and Wolfgang Puck Grand Café at Walt Disney World Resort, renowned sports and entertainment venues like Lambeau Field in Green Bay, STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, and American Airlines Arena in Miami, and events including the Super Bowl, World Series, Kentucky Derby, NHL and NBA All-Star Games and the Grammy Awards.

If healthcare is one of the most complex businesses in the world, then leading a company of restaurants and food service operations all across the country can be more than just a challenge, especially in tough economic times.  Mr. Lansing says give him people who are nice and passionate and he can teach them everything they need to know, and everyone can have fun doing it.

In healthcare we take ourselves very seriously.  It is deeply baked in our industry’s DNA – we do very serious work, from brain surgery to delivering babies or suturing a child’s cut.  We hire people with the appropriate credentials, technical expertise, and experience.

Our choices for leadership reflect that industry DNA.  Sometimes we hire more for credentials and supposed track record with almost no emphasis on the candidate’s personality or leadership style.  Then we are shocked when there is a CEO meltdown and an expensive severance agreement. 

Mr. Lansing argues that there are two kinds of leaders – those with positional power and those with personal power.  He describes positional power this way: “I have power over you because I am your boss. I am important. I am the CEO. You should fear me because of who I am.”

Personal power, Mr. Lansing explains, “is what is inside you.  It is how you treat people and how you lead.” 

Mr. Lansing’s leadership philosophy is a model that some hospital CEOs should take to heart.  Employees will always work harder, go the extra mile and care more about what they are doing for the capable CEO who knows how to treat people.

Over the next several years, healthcare will face unprecedented challenges – from reimbursement to more scrutiny on quality of care and patient safety.  CEOs will need every advantage they can muster to thrive in this type of turbulent environment. 

The “screamers,” the “barkers” and the abusive, tough-guy senior leaders who think their way is the best way should sit in the time out chair and learn some important lessons from a very smart CEO who is passionate about his company and who is also a nice person.

Source:  New York Times, “A Deal-Breaker Question for Job Interviews," Sunday, Aug. 28, 2011

© 2011 John Gregory Self

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Customer Satisfaction Programs: There Is No Silver Bullet

Success of a brand-name customer service/satisfaction initiative is not based on which pricey program a healthcare organization buys, but the commitment, the passion and the skills of the Chief Executive Officer.

Healthcare organizations looking for the magic silver bullet, should understand that it does not exist.  

Quint Studer was a very successful President of Baptist Hospital in Pensacola, Florida, not because of some template or costly consulting package.  No, he succeeded because of his commitment, his drive and deep understanding of common sense leadership principles. There is nothing magical about his very popular approach, or of those promoted by his able competitors.  They provide a solid framework for cultural transformation.  But without a strong CEO, no army of cosultants can produce an environement that fosters clinical excellence, patient safety and exceptional patient satisfaction scores.  

There is no substitute -- none whatsoever -- for a dynamic leader who can craft and communicate their vision, and who can successfully build a strong leadership TEAM that, day in and day out, delivers exceptional results.  

If you need to believe that there is a silver bullet, then there it is -- hard work and personal involvement by the CEO.

© 2011 John Gregory Self

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OK, Here's the Deal

Several months ago, I announced that I was going to shift from writing a blog exclusive to healthcare to more general interest issues. I promised that I would get back to you when my plans came together. All I can say is that best made plans are subject to change. So, here's the deal.

I am going to continue with HealthCare Voice. The focus will remain on healthcare leadership, strategy, career management, talent acquisition, retention, team development, etc.  My brand advisors and some of my valued readers encouraged me not to stray from my original intent. So, I changed my mind.  

HealthCare Voice will continue to appear at least twice a week.  In the near future it will be moved to my website, JohnGSelf.Com which is being expanded by my capable marketing team at Brandnu Marketing, a DFW firm that specializes in helping organizations enhance their brands and grow their businesses.  HealthCare Voice will feature a new design but will offer the same subscription and push distributition capabilities (which means RSS or email alerts). I will get back with you before the site is changed so that you can renew your subscription or RSS feed based on the new URL.

Plans for a general interest blog in support of my public speaking business are in full swing. This blog will focus on a variety of subjects about which I have a strong interest. More on this later.

© 2011 John Gregory Self

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GUEST BLOG: Jobs In The Growing Healthcare Industry

Today marks a first for HealthCare Voice:  a guest blog posting. Taylor Dardan is a dedicated cancer prevention advocate and supporter of private healthcare. He steadfastly believes that America's healthcare system in one of the finest in the world and is one of the most innovative and robust market sectors in America because it consistently draws among the top medical and business talent.  He is a medical student, and lives in the Southeastern United States.  -- Editor

 By Taylor Dardan

The healthcare industry, already one of the largest business sectors in the US, is one of the few career fields that despite the hard economic woes, is continuing to hire.  In fact, healthcare jobs are expected to grow faster than any other job field, with an extraordinary 3.2 million new jobs projected to be created by 2018.  And it’s not only surgeons, specialists, and primary-care physicians whose jobs are in demand, its registered nurses, home health aides, medical assistants, and medical secretaries. 

In fact, with over 580,000 new jobs expected to be created within the next five years, registered nurses are one of the most in-demand careers in the entire US.  Furthermore, this number doesn’t even include the thousands of jobs that are slated to become available as older nurses retire.  A large majority of these new jobs are expected to be in home health care services and outpatient care, where there is expected to be about 35 percent job growth.  Likewise, home health aides should have no problem finding employment as the field is expected to rapidly develop as an expected 384,000 new jobs are expected to be created. Home health aides work as hired caregivers to people who are unable to either leave their homes or live on their own.  As baby boomers continue to age and diseases with a late onset like mesothelioma, Alzheimer’s, and Huntington’s are diagnosed in increasing numbers, the amount of people needing home health aides is expected to rocket. 

Medical assistants, on the other hand, are on the opposite end of the healthcare spectrum.  Medical assistants, a staple of the healthcare industry and who perform administrative and clinical tasks, are in demand across the country already and their ranks are expected to grow by 27 percent.  Although jobs on the administrative side are largely in hospitals, the largest and slowest growing healthcare industry segment, they are still expected to far outpace the average job growth as America expands its health coverage to meet the burgeoning needs of an aging population.  Even jobs that are far more related to administrative duties than health care, such as medical secretaries and medical transcriptionists are expected to experience significant levels of job growth.  

Ultimately, as a large portion of Americans age and experience late onset disorders and diseases, it will force the entire healthcare industry to expand rapidly.  A large portion of the job growth is expected to be related to the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.  Researchers at the National Cancer Institute however, have reported that by 2020 the health care costs associated with cancer treatment could skyrocket up to $158 billion, a stunning 27 percent increase.  In fact, even if there is no increase in the rate of cancer diagnoses, increasing healthcare and technology costs could easily push the costs up to between $173 and $207 billion with just a two percent to five percent increase annually. 

 

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Graduate Education: Relevance and Return

There are two essential “R” words that graduate schools and students are wrestling with:

         Relevance

         Return

In a classic business school cartoon, Peter Beale, whose work appears in the Financial Times, captures two erstwhile MBA graduates:  “I left business school knowing all the answers.  They didn’t tell me the questions would change.”

There appears to be a three-way debate emerging regarding business school curriculum: the case study method popularized at Harvard Business School that focuses on the practical and the analytics; the “flight” simulator, game-style approach to analysis and strategy that is catching on with many younger graduate students; and finally a less popular but credible model based on the liberal arts approach that many MBA students received in undergraduate training.   This latter method is championed by David Bach, Ph.D., dean of graduate management programs at IE, the Madrid-based university that is attracting more attention with its redesigned MBA curriculum.

“The economic upheaval was a profoundly sobering experience on business schools.  Yet we continue to believe that we can and ought to teach our students by identifying what they need to know and then doling it out in digestible bits,” Dean Bach writes in a Financial Times Soapbox column in Monday’s editions.  

“Frame a challenge and then get out of the way!”  He writes that this is the best piece of advice regarding engaging senior executives in the classroom.

Dr. Bach attended high school in Germany where schools are apparently built on the belief that government ministries, universities and other schools divine what students should know now and in the future. 

As an undergraduate student at Yale, Dr. Bach (master’s and PhD from University of California at Berkley) received a learning jolt that stayed with him.  “My professors were the smartest and most knowledgeable people I had ever met, (they) cared about only one thing: what did we think?

“Albert Einstein called ‘the training of the mind... to think something that cannot be learned from textbooks’..." and should be compulsory for business school, he argues.

That approach may hold promise for healthcare graduate management programs given the enormous complexity of running a health system or hospital, and the rapidly changing revenue models that will emerge over the next 10-15 years.

Selecting the right school is only one challenge facing future graduate students.  The other, and perhaps more daunting, is the cost of the graduate degree.  Top-tier MBA programs like the ones offered at MIT, Harvard, Wharton, and Kellogg, for example, are very expensive. Harvard estimates the cost of an MBA for a single student is $84,000.  At Kellogg, the tuition is lower but after adding fees and living expenses, the cost is more than $79,000.  For some students, who relied on loans for both undergraduate and graduate degrees, they may be paying off the last of their loans about the time their children are ready to incur debt for their own education. 

So what is the return on investment?  That is an important question to ask. Will the expensive degree generate any more income in the first five years, than the run-of-the-mill good, but not great, public university? Is that extra income potential worth it?

Sometimes yes, or so goes the conventional wisdom, if you are pursuing a degree on Wall Street or a blue chip corporate job where starting incomes can be significantly higher. For graduate students in the healthcare arena, this is as much a personal brand management decision as one about the choice of schools since there is little evidence that an MBA from Harvard, Wharton or other high-flying business schools will command that much more money in the first five to 10 years in healthcare.

In a time where recent graduates must often have roommates  – sometimes mom and dad – to defer the cost of living while they search for work, the choice of a graduate school, regardless of the industrial sector, is a serious one to make.  

© 2011 John Gregory Self

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Now We Move to the Main Event: Serious Spending Reductions

 

By DAVID ROGERS | 4/8/11 8:32 PM EDT Updated: 4/9/11 9:49 AM EDT

The bottom line to Friday night’s spending deal is a record $40 (sic) billion cut in domestic and foreign aid appropriations – and a hard lesson in the tough and almost permanent disorder of Washington’s budget politics.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0411/52836.html#ixzz1J2CXmcaG

Impressive -- Republicans and Democrats actually agreed to the largest cut in spending in U.S. history. However, sadly, there is a staggering counterpoint to this moment of accomplishment and political credit taking:

 

We experienced weeks of high drama and threats of a government shutdown over spending cuts that are equivalent to about nine days of budget deficit neutral spending.  Yes, our deficit increases on average about $4.08 billion each day.  That is how big, that is how bad, our deficit crisis has become.

Now, we move on to the real battle -- serious reductions in spending in a way that hopefully will not wreck the fragile economic recovery and severely cripple the healthcare delivery industry. 

Rep. Paul Ryan, Chair of the House Budget Committee, has defined this debate with the submission of his budget proposal.  As I have written in the past, you may not agree with Mr. Ryan's budget plan -- Paul Krugman, Princeton's Nobel Laureate in economics and New York Times columnist certainly does not -- but he at least has had the political courage to acknowledge the problem and to propose a correction.

 

As healthcare leaders, we must now focus on this problem because it is not healthcare reform that will change or wreck our lives as we know them today, but the deficit crisis and the fact that Medicare spending will be the biggest issue in this seminal debate over our country's future.

Consider this:  two 56-year-olds with average earnings will pay $140,000 in dedicated Medicare taxes over their lifetimes.  They will receive $430,000 in benefits,  conservative columnist David Brooks wrote in the Friday New York Times.  It is not important whether you agree with Mr. Ryan's approach, the math simply does not work, and that leaves us with only one course of action: we must reform this entitlement program in a way that we cure this acturial imbalance.

I do not have the answers, but I do believe that healthcare leaders -- physicians, hospital executives and insurers -- can craft a solution that will work far better than anything that comes from Congress, which took weeks of high drama just to agree on cuts that will yield only nine days of deficit neutral spending over the next six months.

This was, as Politco reported, "a hard lesson in the tough and almost permanent disorder of Washington’s budget politics."

© 2011 John Gregory Self

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Don't Look Now, But...

 

POLITICO Breaking News
-------------------------------------------------

WASHINGTON -- President Obama, House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid didn't reach a deal on the budget after a Thursday afternoon meeting. Outside the White House, Reid told reporters that they would reconvene at 7 p.m. "We're going to continue to work to get this done," he said – or else face "the bad day tomorrow, which is the government shutdown."

JGS Comments:

While the national deficit continues to rise -- it  is $14.268 trillion as of this morning -- Congress remains deadlocked over about $7 billion in cuts -- an amount equivalent to what  the federal government spends in 17 hours.  

This is tantamount to arguing over a bar tab on the Titanic, says David Walker, a leading fiscal responsibility hawk who believes that our national deficit and debt crisis are much worse than advertised. You may remember him as the former Comptroller of the U.S. Public Accounts under President George W. Bush who appeared in 2007 on 60 Minutes to decry reckless government spending.  Four years later, Democrats and Republicans are nearly paralyzed by factions in their respective parties and an ongoing obsession with the next election cycle. 

Meanwhile, Congressman Paul Ryan's long awaited budget proposal is now on the record.  It is notable for what it includes -- entitlement reform.   Mr. Ryan's budget ideas will directly impact healthcare because his approach to reform assumes, in part, that we will markedly reduce our costs.

It is equally notable for what it does not address:  revenue and military spending. 

We enter this grave period in our history as a nation divided.  The only cuts in spending  that the majority of Americans agree on is foreign aid.  Too bad that accounts for only one percent of federal spending.

A cynical reading of those recent public opinion polls suggests that Mr. Ryan's proposal -- an honest effort worthy of public debate whether you agree with his ideas or not  -- will stir up the hornet's nest since America seems to be saying they want smaller government but do not touch Social Security, Medicare and defense spending. 

In addition to opposing cuts to the aforementioned programs, the voters  do not want any new taxes.  In other words, Americans want government services, they just do not want to pay for them.

This will really make our creditors happy.

If this rather sad disconnect with reality continues, and the bond markets lose confidence in this nation's ability to meet its financial obligations because of continued unchecked deficits, there will be dire consequences.  The bond markets who can, and will, impose their requirements for fiscal discipline,  will not care what the voters want or do not want.   They will not care what the healthcare industry says.   Our borrowing costs will soar and the U.S. will be left with no option but to comply with the demands of our" bankers".

How does that strike you?  The most powerful nation in the history of the world being bossed around by  China, which owns $1 trillion in U.S. debt, and other domestic and international bond funds who do not care what we think or want.  They will not care about the next election cycle -- who wins and who loses.

This is not a consequence for our next generation.  This is a crisis in the here and now.   Mr. Walker and others are warning that our debt smackdown could happen at any time -- when the people who hold U.S. debt give up on our government's abillity to solve this one very big, very threatening problem.  

If you like what is happening in Ireland, Greece and now Portugal, you will love this epic calamity in the making.  However, reaching a budget agreement before the government shutdown at midnight on Friday does nothing to solve our crushing debt problem. The larger debate will be game changing for the healthcare industry.

 

© 2011 John Gregory Self

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Professional Networking: An Enriching, Improbable Journey of Discovery

Third in a Series

 

_{The best way to prepare for a career of networking and professional network development is to think of recording your efforts much like an epidemiologist would plot the spread of a…for the lack of a better description…disease.  Begin with a root circle and as you are referred on to others, create new circles and plot the relationships.} 

_{You will make a startling discovery during your pursuit of building a vibrant professional network -- how people are connected. You may have 10 or 15 root circles but as you add to the tree, it is amazing how many times the branches will cross over and connect with networks from other root contacts.}

_{Here is an example of how this investment can pay off. Just when I think I have seen it all, I see some new improbable link. You can be looking at a position with a top tier system in Seattle and discover that a member of your network was the best man in the CEO's wedding, or that their kids were college roommates.  I see developing a professional   
netwo rk much like I see candidate sourcing, a wonderful adventure, a journey that will  frequently yield amazing gems.  It is the process of what Wayne O'Neill of Wayne O'Neill   Associates calls "connecting the dots."  Wayne, formerly a highly successful business development executive, now consults with corporations to develop meaningful strategies to identify, win and retain profitable new business. He understands in a way that few do that building a great business requires discipline and the time to identify and build relationships that can step in to support your value proposition.}

_{This is the same principle used in professional network development.  It is an investment in time and effort that builds enormous value over time, and which will yield important results in career advancement, personal professional development and, at the very least, new friendships that will enrich your life and your career.} 

_{If you have questions, please email me at [email protected].   Meanwhile, stand by, this is one of my favorite subjects and I will write more on Thursday.}

© 2011 John Gregory Self

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BLOG SPECIAL: THE IDITAROD - A Unique, Grueling Alaska Experience

ANCHORAGE.   I am in Anchorage advising a client in connection with a senior executive placement.  It was my good luck to arrive in time to witness the ceremonial start of the 39th Iditarod -- the last great race on earth -- in downtown Anchorage.

Saturday's festivities, attended by thousands in one big tailgate party and winter carnival, was an exciting, and very cold build up, to the real race which began Sunday in Willow, AK.

"Today is a winter festival," an announcer boomed over the public address system. "Tomorrow begins a big old sweaty dog race." 

Sixty-three contestants -- Mushers and their dog teams -- will endure grueling conditions for the next 10 to 17 days over a more than 1,000 mile course to Nome through regions of this vast state that only dog sled teams go.  Even with GPS technology on each sled, Mushers face daunting challenges, including getting lost in nasty snow storms. This sport is not for the faint of heart or  weak of body and spirit.  Racers will experience bitter cold, brutal headwinds, and hallucinations resulting from loss of sleep. Truth is that the Mushers will take better care of their dogs than themselves during this 10+ days of the race. Before the race the dogs, which are bred to run and get stronger as the race progresses, are thoroughly evaluated by veterinarians.  That does not stop critics from labeling this event as animal cruelty.  

At race time on a cloudless Saturday morning, the temperature was about 2 degrees in downtown. I won't kid you, I was cold. Really cold. But judging by the elbow-to-elbow crowds in the bars, coffee houses and restaurants, I wasn't the only one who needed a break to warm up.

For me, this was a fascinating experience and an opportunity to learn more about this unique state.  Here are some race facts about this race and dog sledding that I found interesting:

• Iditarod is a ghost town that is located on the southern course. Each year the race alternates between the longer northern course and the southern route which is known for its bitter headwinds. This year the race is using the southern course.
  
• This year's entrants include Mushers from Stonehaven, Scotland; Aukland, New Zealand; St. Anne, Jamaica; a funeral director known as the "Mushing Mortician" from Anchorage; and a 62-year-old physician from Chattanooga, TN.
• There are 11 women in this year's field of entrants.  The first woman to win was Libby Riddles in 1985.  Susan Butcher, perhaps the best known woman to win the race, won her first time in 1986 and was the first racer to win four out of five sequential years. She is the second four-time winner. Ms. Butcher died of a virulent form of Leukemia in 2003. 
• DeeDee Jonrow, a fan favorite and breast cancer survivor, entered the 2003 Iditarod, three weeks after completing chemotherapy. A 27-race veteran, this native of Frankfurt, Germany has not been out of the top 25 since 1984.  In her 27 races, she has won more than $472,128.
• The ceremonial route is 11-miles long.  Because there has been no recent snow, and given the city's excellent snow removal program, snow that was stockpiled for weeks, is brought in to create a manicured course. Mushers invite friends to ride with them in the sled for the Saturday run, or they tow another sled, to add weight to keep the dogs for going too fast.
  
• Each Musher is required to carry the following equipment in the actual race: An ax with a handle at least 22 inches long, snowshoes, promotional materials provided by the race committee (yeah, believe it or not), eight booties for each dog on the team, cooker and pot capable of boiling at least three gallons of water at one time, veterinarian notebooks that are reviewed by a veterinarian at each checkpoint, fuel and a cable gang line capable of securing a dog team.
• A 1925 Diphtheria epidemic in Nome was ravaging children.  A train delivered the needed serum to the town of Neema, the end of the rail line.  Dog sledding teams carried the drug the last 674 miles in 24-hour shifts. Thousands of lives were saved, and dog sledding earned an important part of this state's extraordinary history.
  

I have uploaded additional photographs on my Facebook page.  http://on.fb.me/hy19hN

 © 2011 John Gregory Self

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Healthcare Reform, the National Debt and Career Management

Last Wednesday I spoke to the Health Management and Policy grad students at the University of Michigan. We discussed how healthcare reform will change this industry. But the bigger threat is the budget crisis and the looming national debt/bond market upheaval, which could have abrupt, dramatic and painful consequences for our industry. Look at the disruptions and severe austerity measures in the euro zone. We are not far behind -- three to five years, according to David Walker, deficit hawk and former Controller General of the GAO. These are different times that require new career strategies.

I challenge new graduates -- and early careerists -- to think of themselves as a brand and to manage that career brand with enormous caution and focus.

Our sovereign debt problem poses real challenges for career management, especially for new graduates and early careerists.  First among them is increasing pressure to perform, to deliver measurable value and do it with less, not more, resources. Reimbursement will only decline. The amount of money healthcare providers are paid today will probably be the most we will see for a DRG in our lifetime, save some minor adjustments for COL. Managed care companies will only follow CMS in lowering their payments.

These developments will also impact the elusive life balance battle that so many of us wage. There will be the inevitable system consolidation, hospital closures and job loss -- in other words fewer entry level positions with more new graduates competing for the fellowships, internships or even entry level analyst positions. The first job is always the toughest to land, but even if it is not exactly "on point" with your ultimate career path, do it well to prepare yourself for the next step. You will not get any free passes in our “new normal” economy.

Along the way find a mentor --someone who will take the time to tell you things you do not necessarily want to hear when you ask for advice, but listen carefully. Someone who can spot your unrealized or undeveloped talents and then push you to improve will be a necessity for early careerists going forward.

Choose your jobs wisely. There are a host of bad leaders in this and all other industries, and they have the ability to wreck an up and coming career. A good leader is a work of art who will prepare you for the next level. A bad leader is a tragedy.

Start a career journal. Athletes and musicians improve their skills with continuous practice, but what type of practice can leaders use to improve their skills? Journaling. At the end of each week, spend some quiet time reviewing your performance and your decisions. Using regulated thought, replay in your mind the game film of your week’s decisions and interactions with colleagues, as leadership consultant Rand Stagen likes to say. Force yourself to think about what you could have done better -- from analysis, the actual decision, to communicating the way forward. Record your feelings and observations. Ask yourself hard questions. This is not easy work. The journal is not for self-laudatory B.S. It is a record that you can revisit over and over, reminding yourself of important lessons learned.
Wrap all of this together and you begin to understand the importance of effective career brand management.

For early careerists who push themselves to get better, who deliver results and who effectively manage their brand, the healthcare delivery segment will provide incredible career opportunities. But just as the size and performance of athletes has improved substantially over the generations, so will the performance expectations for healthcare leaders.

These are troubling times, but there are abundant opportunities for those who want to make a difference.

© 2011 John Gregory Self

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Why Do We Forgo Transparency In Recruiting?

Executive candidates continue to write about their frustrations with healthcare organizations that are unwilling or unable to disclose material issues regarding executive or management positions for which they are recruiting.

This is not a random, occasional occurrence.  These continued comments from frustrated executives come at a time when healthcare organizations need to find and retain the best people, not drive them away because the job was not appropriately represented by internal or external recruiters. This is a common reason why executives fail to stay in a position beyond 18 to 24 months.  In fact there are documented cases where the newly employed executive did not stay in the position beyond 180 days.  That is an extremely costly miss-hire.  Other times, the candidate may stay but there is a certain sadness emphasized with a resigned shrug of the shoulders when asked if they were satisfied with the recruiting process.  “Well, I am here now.  I never should have left, but the door has closed on that part of my life.”

Somehow there is this misguided belief that it is perfectly acceptable for organizations to mask negative factors about a job, thinking that their omissions of important information is really OK, and that everything will work out in the end.  An executive begins a new job filled with hope that they can make a positive contribution.  They are attracted to the organization usually because they are painted an attractive picture, and they are wooed mightily in one-on-one meetings with key leaders and at dinners with the CEO or board members.  They want to believe the best about their new employer. They are excited that they are beginning a new career with an honorable organization that is committed to doing the right thing.

It is devastating for the new executive to learn that the part about doing the right thing did not include being transparent about the pros and cons of the organization, the challenges the position would pose, the true scope of responsibility or even the compensation package.

In my conversations with candidates, I have found that this has been and continues to be an across-the-board problem:  both internal and external recruiters engage in these practices.

By way of example, in a recent interview, a Chief Operating Officer complained that a potential employer’s best offer was $45,000 less than what they were told by the recruiter, a partner with one of the largest firms in the executive search industry. That is no insignificant amount. The candidate walked away and the frustrated client was forced to restart the search while the expenses once again began to mount.  “If I had known the truth, I would have never gone through the process,” the former candidate lamented.  In many lower level searches – for managers or directors -- this is a very common problem because most candidates, eager to advance in their career, do not know that it is OK to ask for the salary range up front.  Hint:  If the recruiter does not know, tell them to find out and call you back.

On the other side, Chief Executive Officers and Chief Human Resource Officers must demand better of their internal search team or their hired headhunters.

I cannot control what candidates are told by prospective employers, but as a partner in an executive search firm, I can insist that clients be transparent, so I can deliver appropriately qualified candidates a detailed Position Prospectus that outlines the critical information the candidates need to know, such as:

     1.    Selection criteria

    2.    Compensation package with a specific range for the base salary

    3.    Profile of the corporate culture

    4.    Performance expectations

    5.    Hurdles to success

    6.    Project schedule

Making assumptions is never a good idea, and what I am finding is that it is a fool’s errand to believe that all candidates understand how the executive search process works. 

Let me know what you think.  If you would like to learn about a candidate’s recruiting rights, or questions candidates have the right to ask, let me know.  I would be happy to extend this conversation.

© 2011 John Gregory Self

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Millennials and the Mess We Left Behind

I have just finalized my lecture on leadership and career management for the Health Management and Policy graduate students at the University of Michigan School of Public Health in Ann Arbor.  I enjoy speaking to students because it allows me a chance to stay connected with emerging trends and a robust source for new ideas.  In other words, I learn as much from them as, hopefully, they learn from me.

One very positive trend is that this generation -- the Millennials -- seems less focused on consumption than their elders.  That is a good thing since they are the generation that must deal with the very serious consequences of more than 40 years of excessive government and consumer spending, much of it financed with mountains of debt. While consumer spending has slowed, the federal government continues to spend more than it takes in.  The national debt as of 1:30 PM GMT on Tuesday, Feb. 15 is $14,097,682,614,097, or $45,471 for each U.S. citizen.  The bad news is that since Feb 28, 2007 the national debt has been increasing by $4.12 billion per day. 

In 2010, 68 percent of our debt was financed by foreign sources.  They are warning us that they are increasingly frustrated with our inability or unwillingness to tackle this debt problem.  At the current pace, in 10 short years, the interest on the national debt will be $1 trillion a year. Coincidentally, that is equal to the amount of our national debt held by the Chinese government. 

A trillion dollars is a big number. David Cote, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Honeywell and  a member of the President's bi-partisan deficit reduction commission, has provided us with the best illustration of how stunningly large this number really is. This is a must watch Video. (When you arrive at the page, scroll down to start the video.)

If that explanation doesn't take your breath away, you are either already dead or just beyond help.

In my youth, my father’s ultimate punishment for not doing well in school or for not following the house rules was to ask for my car keys until he felt I had learned my lesson.  Frankly, I am surprised (shocked) that the Millennials haven't collectively and figuritively asked us to surrender the car keys.  

What does the debt crisis have to do with my lecture to the graduate students of this great University?  Plenty.  The financial mess that they must clean up means that their lives -- and their careers -- will be markedly different than those of their parents and grandparents.  For these future healthcare executives, it means that the industry they are preparing to enter today will be substantially different within 10 short years because the current trajectory for federal spending, if not substantially reduced, will create a sovereign debt crisis the likes of which will dwarf the current problems in the Euro zone -- Greece, Ireland and Portugal. That will trigger catastrophic consequences for this nation and its expensive healthcare delivery system, most economists agree.

So these students of today will be forced to deal with dramatic change, and more than their fair share of gut-wrenching decisions.  Managing their careers will be more challenging than for any generation over the last 50 years. The rules of personal brand management, job searching, resumes  and interviewing will change. 

The pressures on future leaders to perform -- reduce costs and improve quality, safety and service -- will be more intense than at any time in our industry's history. 

To make matters worse for these future hospital executives, many medical schools seem oblivious to the need to immediately change the way they educate the physicians of tomorrow. Without this change the sometimes nasty conflicts between hospitals and physicians that occurred when hospitals converted to the DRG payment system and the physicians did not, will seem like child's play. But then that is whole other story.

Another positive trend is that my experience/interactions with the Millennials suggests that they are bright, responsible and most are keenly aware of the challenges they face ahead. I am betting they will do what my generation failed to do -- make tough choices, act responsibly and deliver safer, better healthcare at a lower cost.

What are your thoughts?

 

© 2011 John Gregory Self

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Building a Professional Network, Not On-Line Recruiting Sites, Key to Finding a New Job

For unemployed or underemployed executives, sitting in front of a computer screen, submitting resumes and applications on line will not, in all likelihood, produce a job offer.  And yet that is exactly what thousands of out of work executives will do today.  They will push paper to potential employers and hope something sticks.

It is not a complete waste of time, but it is close.   The computer is a networking tool, not the primary pathway to a return to employment.  At the end of the day, it is the scope and quality of networking relationships that will produce the best results in the most efficient manner.

Let me explain why I think building and sustaining a robust network of professional contacts is so critical for executives today.  The economy is showing signs of recovery, but staggering annual deficits and a crushing national debt signals that this decade is more about retrenchment, not business or life as usual as we have come to know it over the past 20 years.  As we move through a period of sustained high unemployment, executives and managers cannot treat the development of a personal/professional network as a luxury for which there is little time in their busy schedule of work, family and leisure activities. This period of sustained higher than normal unemployment will be accompanied by continued volatility in the executive and management job market.  In other words, no one is completely protected; everyone is at risk of losing their job.

For executives who have not invested time and effort in developing a large network who now find themselves on the job loss bubble, or those who have already been sacked, you have waited too long.  Without this robust network of relationships that can help you connect the dots of potential new opportunities, you face prolonged unemployment unless, of course, you are an industry star or incredibly lucky.  Not to be trite, but luck is not a very successful career management strategy.

Aside from building a professional network that can help in the event of a job loss, it also is important to have a network that will be the source of new ideas for strategies, program development and problem solving.  In other words, your network also is a tool to add value to your organization.

As I speak to professional associations across the country, I am frequently asked about the role that networking sites such as PLAXO, LINKEDIN and Facebook should play in the   development and management of a professional network. They, like thecomputer and other personal connectivity devices, are tools.  But just having connections on these sites will not be any more helpful or successful than sending resumes to on-line    employment sites.  Having   hundreds or even thousands of contacts is useless unless you do something with the information by engaging these people, finding out where they work, what they do and who they know. Moreover, waiting  until the last minute to engage your contacts, or after the last minute when you are signing up for unemployment, is not much different than starting to build a network from scratch after you lose your job.

Building and nurturing a professional network requires discipline – to work on this every week, to allocate time to talk to or email people.   Successful network development has become a core competency for leadership and career management success.  To new graduates  and up and coming executives,  I encourage you to begin building and nurturing a relationship network on day one of your career.  This will be as important to your success as producing stellar results.  For those senior leaders who have enjoyed success in the past, it is never too late.

© 2011 John Gregory Self

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Forget Sinatra, the Beatles, Even Acid Rock...The Next Generation's Fads Are More About Technology, Less About Music

I have achieved a milestone in my life -- I am now officially a man of a certain age. 

I knew I had ascended to such a lofty (read: older) position when I found myself about to instruct a son on one of life's profound truths.  Before I committed that sin, I caught myself with the thought, 'Oh hell, I sound just like my father!'

There has always been a generational tension between mature, responsible elders and their not-yet-responsible youth. These tensions give way to a universal question: Do these kids really get it?  Until recently, most of this tension came from the inevitable cultural shifts, in entertainment primarily. In my pre-teen years, the young "bobby sox" women in poodle skirts and men with their slicked back hair swooned and cheered themselves into a state of near hysteria for a young Frank Sinatra.  This brash young cultural phenomenon from Hoboken, NJ caused just as much consternation for their bewildered elders as did the Beatles who produced shock waves for the parents of Baby Boomers when these long-haired musicians with amplified "music" and less than complex lyrics burst on to the American music scene. Later, with the arrival of acid rock, free-love and drugs, terrified parents... Well, you get the picture.  Some were so rattled with that latest cultural/musical evolution that they took to wearing Nehru jackets to their country clubs.  The end of modern civilization was obviously near.

Now we are witnessing yet another cultural shift. This time it is less about music and more about technology. Today's middle-aged executives, many of whom are not particularly technologically savvy, routinely say that if they had to give up one thing to be more productive at work, it would be how much time they spend on email.  Reasonable point.  However, the distraction of email is only a precursor to a more dramatic shift with the newest generation. Generation Y -- also known as the Millennials -- is driven (obsessed) by computer games, interacting with social websites and texting on smart phones. All day -- before school, between classes, and in class, after school, and late into the night.

Case in point: 14-year-old Allison Miller sends and receives 27,000 texts in a month, according to a New York Times article, "Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction." She carries on as many as seven text conversations at a time.  That is about 60 text messages for every hour she is awake.  She sometimes gets so caught up in her texting that she forgets to do her homework. Allison is not even close to being an exception. That is the scary part. “Their brains are rewarded not for staying on task but for jumping to the next thing,” said Michael Rich, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School and executive director of the Center on Media and Child Health in Boston.

There are long-term consequences to this latest cultural wave. When Allison and her social network and the millions of other teenagers who are texting/YouTubing/gaming their way through adolescence graduate into the workplace, they will pose unique problems for their employers. And this challenge now has been assigned a name:

Continuous Partial Attention.

Great.  We are producing a generation of nurses, brain surgeons and CEOs who are less able to sustain focus.  I guess this is a modern-day example of the law of unintended consequences. 

© 2011 John Gregory Self

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