Found this great infographic (many thanks to ClickSoftware).
Archives for category: Management
For those who do not use Twitter, you might not know about Friday Follows. The idea is that on Fridays, Twitter users recommend other Twitter users to follow.
It has fallen out of favor of late a little, the Twitterverse can be fickle, and I’ve never been a big believer anyway – preferring to retweet (repost others messages) on a regular basis. But it has always been nice to get one.
Yesterday, however, I got the best Friday Follow ever from Jim Dougherty who goes by the name @leaderswest on Twitter.
Jim’s Friday Follow took the form of a short – talking to camera – video, explaining to users why they should follow me, and others, on Twitter. The genius of the idea is that each subject gets their own short video making it very easy to view and share by the subject.
This is great content marketing.
Easy to consume, relevant, and selfless – which of course reflects very well on the content creator like all great content marketing. It would be interesting to see if all recommendations will eventually be like this: personal, short, and on video. It has certainly got my wheels turning considering just how effective I find the video below. Interestingly, Jim used Keek for this project. Keek is hoping to be video Twitter.
Please follow @leaderswest on Twitter, after you follow me!
(Keek's embedding does not work very well in WordPress yet - just click on the image to take you to Jim's Keek page and his video post about me!)
Well, what did you think?
Let me know in the comments and take a look at Jim’s other Friday Follows in the same page.
Click on the image to take you to the AAHA Press page for this book.
When talking about books that cover regulations and safety, the best authors in the world are going to be challenged to make them “entertaining,” and anything other than a chore to wade through. Therefore, the thing that is probably most important when considering a book on OSHA is probably that it is brief, delivers the information that is required, and is easy to refer to in the future.
This publication from the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA ) fits all of the above criteria. At 48 pages (this includes the introduction and index), it is certainly brief. The author, Philip J. Seibert, who many will recognize from VIN and VSPN, and is probably the foremost expert on OSHA and how it relates to the veterinary practice. Having been a Fan of Philip’s for quite some time now there is not actually a lot here that can not be found in other places. However having it all in one volume, with the specific concerns of the practice manager directly addressed, is really very useful.
The book offer very practical advise about setting up and OSHA and safety program from scratch and also gets into some of the nitty-gritty of such issues as chemotherapy which can cause long sleepless nights without a resource of this type. Even if you do already have a safety and OSHA program in place , this volume can bring a lot of reassurance and the odd additional tip.
I do have an issue, however.
At $69.95, and that is the AAHA member price – for non members it is an additional $10.00, it is hard to look at this volume as anything other than a license to print money.
For those for whom math is not their strong suit, we are talking about almost $2.00 per page here. Now I truly do understand the economics of a low volume print run such as this. And that what we are purchasing here is not actually the text, but the research that goes into it behind the scenes. But this is an eye-watering price considering that is is coming from a veterinary association and that it is one in a series of books. I also understand that, unlike most text books, it is unlikely that this volume could have any market other than at best one copy per veterinary practice.
To put this in perspective, however, the excellent “Veterinary Fee Reference,” is 470 pages, has almost 700 tables covering 450 services, and is a monument to data collection in the veterinary industry. It is also very unlikely that the market for this volume is anything other than one copy per veterinary practice.
It is $139.95!
I don’t have any good answers as to why there is this discrepancy. If piece of mind is worth a few extra dollars then by all means get this volume. If you already have an OSHA program and you are pretty confident of your program – save up for the Veterinary Fee Reference!
Another great book from the brothers Heath.
It is interesting to note that in retrospect the lessons of “Stick” have had such an impression on the authors that their follow up “Switch” (which I reviewed here) is all the better for it.
The concept of “stickiness” is lifted wholesale from Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point, but its practical applications go further, from my understanding that Galdwell’s popular work.The basic premises is that stories, personal connections, are what make ideas stick not great raw facts. This has huge implications for marketers and managers. The book delves very deep into why this concept works and does give some great real world examples as you would expect from a book with such a central theory.
Where the book really succeeds, is in it’s ability to predict where ideas will work or not. There is a great example about a journalism class and being able distill ideas, or stories, down to their most basic essence. Another frequently used example is Southwest Airlines who’s most basic mission statement “The Low Cost Airline” informs everything they do. This mission statement becomes a simple idea, that can answer complex questions and can direct behavior.
An intriguing part of the book, and also an excellent framing device, is the use of urban legends and why they succeed where other news items, education, and presentations don’t. If we could make our ideas like urban legends our work as managers, marketers and educators is 90% done.
Switch is the better read, but stick is the more intellectual and deeper work and also have the potential to be significantly more important.
(Clicking on the cover above will take you to the book’s Amazon page and contribute to my book buying habit / problem.)
A brilliant book on change and how to apply it in the real world. Over 250 real world examples and ideas underline the authors basic concept – getting people to change is like someone riding an elephant. Appealing to the logic of change is like appealing to the rider of the elephant. The elephant itself is the emotional connection to change. Finally, the path is the environment which can either help or hinder change.
Through numerous examples, the authors show that by appealing to the rider of a situation (the logical argument), the elephant (emotion), or the path (the environment) change can be effected by addressing these disparate elements individually, or together.
An excellent example of this is provided with nurses making errors in the dispensing of medications to patients. The hospital used in the example had an error rate of 1 in 1,000 – pretty good, but still a lot of errors. The nurses understood the need to not have errors, so the rider / logical part of the problem was not at issue. Likewise, nurses directly saw the effect of errors in medication had on their patients and so had a direct emotional connection – the elephant was on board too. The issue was in the environment or path. Nurses are constantly interrupted by doctors, and other nurses, while they are working and found it difficult not to help when asked, thereby distracting them from their main task. The solution? Tweak the environment / change the path so that nurses did not get distracted.
A bright orange vest was employed whenever a nurse was dispensing medications so that everyone else on the floor knew that they were not to be disturbed. The program was universally hated – the rider element thought it was unnecessary, the vests got lost all the time and hated that they could not help their doctors and colleagues. The elephant part of the problem felt that they might as well wear a dunce cap – the nurses felt demeaned and that the vest drew attention to the fact that they made mistakes.
This might have spelt doom for the program until the data came back. Over six months every department that employed the program saw a decrease in errors of 47%. Needless to say the change in the path / environment won over the rider / logical objections and the elephant / emotional objections because it worked.
The book is also a great champion of checklists which have gotten bad name precisely because they work so well. They can be seen as dehumanizing and giving rise to the idea the checklists mean “a monkey could do it.” Like most objections the book deals with this argument deftly. “Well, if that is true, grab a pilot’s checklist and try your luck with a 747.”
There are a number of other elements that I can’t do justice too here: black and white goals, precise clear instructions, the power of action triggers, and the how to harness the herd to improve culture. But these elements are really tweaks to the fundamental concept of the logical, emotional and environmental components of enacting change.
At the back of the book is, essentially, a manual for enacting change complete with a web link to resources and PDF of a one page overview that the authors encourage you share! It is here by the way. This alone is worth the purchase price of the book and will ensure that the book stays on my desk rather than on a bookshelf.
Wonderfully researched, well thought out, and very smart. “Switch” is essential reading for anyone who want to understand why change can be difficult and what it takes to implement change against the odds. It should also be a template for other business books – ditch the theory unless you can prove it I the real world and show how it applies to the real world. Authors please take note.
Can’t recommend this book enough and owe a huge favor to the person who bought it for me.
(Clicking on the cover above will take you to the book’s Amazon page and contribute to my book buying habit / problem.)
More of a pamphlet than a book, looked at in the wrong light ” the Ten Commandments of Goal Setting” can be used as an example of the worst kind of business writing: full of jargon, vague concepts and an almost pseudo-spiritual believe in goal setting. It is not all bad, and it is obvious that many people get a lot out of Gary Ryan Blair’s work; however being distilled in to this short volume, it sometimes reads like a speech made by Tyler Durden (the protagonist in Fight club.)
Purely a rallying call for goal setting, and very short on actual practical advice, this book is readable for someone already sold on the concept of goal setting (something I am) and painful, incomprehensible nonsense to anyone who’s not.
(Clicking on the cover above will take you to the book’s Amazon page and contribute to my book buying habit / problem.)
Thinking about harnessing the power of the social media darling, Groupon, to benefit your veterinary practice? What could possibly go wrong? Nothing according to this article , however I’m not buying it.
I’m not disputing that the two practices mentioned in the article have probably achieved their goals for their promotion, and I’m sure they have figured the actual costs to their brand and revenue, and considered it a good trade. I am, however, disputing that Groupon – and discounting in general – is a good business model.
Ignoring that the champion of discounting, despite spectacular revenues, makes no profits and is considered by some to be bordering on insolvent, let’s take a look at what is in it for the veterinarian or any other small service business.
Study after study (look here if you don’t believe me), have always come back with price being near the bottom of clients reason for visiting or staying with a veterinary practice.
But lets for a moment ignore that and assume that price is the single driving force that gets people in the door, how do you pay for all the new traffic? Lets say I offer $10 exams instead of my normal $50 exams and I can see 20 patients in a day. If I max out the schedule on $10 exams I make $200 – that’s four regular priced exams. I can set my staff to be calling over due appointments or even just send them home and have an easy quiet but at least profitable day.
But perhaps we can make it up in additional services that the patients will receive when they come in. Three times your normal exam fee is a pretty good average client transaction but you’ve discounted and attracted discount clients so lets be generous and say they spend half or what you would normally spend
My four regular priced exams bring in a total of $600
My twenty $10 exams bring in $1,200! Sounds great.
Except it is all at a loss.
Lets say I have a gross margin of 50% at regular prices (50% of $600 = $300)
But with my low cost exam I have to recoup the discount out of my additional earnings.
50% of $50 (regular exam fee) = $25
$25 x 20 (max visits a day) = $500
20 x $10 (exam income) = $200
Exam Discount Deficit = $300
50% of additional income from exams = $500
Gross margin = $200
I could have kept my costs low, or retasked my staff, instead I chose to make busy work and I made $100 less.
Groupon’s standard model is at least 50% off with 50% of the cost of the Groupon (25% of your normal priced service) that the client actually pays going to business and the rest going to Groupon itself. You have no control over when your Groupon is going to be posted and so it could come at your busiest time of year. Finally, if you can attract clients with a Groupon SO CAN ANYONE ELSE! Where is the loyalty building? What happens to your regular clients? What are they going to think about you giving massive discounts after their years of loyal custom?
Now, there are a lot of assumptions here, but the main point of all this is you follow the discount path it has to be with the numbers to back it up. Discounting DOES impact the perception of your business. Companies who spend millions on brand perception still have their businesses affected by their pricing and discount policies – Think Starbucks vs. McDonald’s coffee. Think Trader Joe’s vs. Wholefoods. Think Wal-Mart vs. Target. Think Kia vs. Audi.
Groupon is the ultimate discounter and there are horror stories galore about what happens when you deep discount without calculating the real cost, both to your brand and to your bottom line – and particularly with small businesses. Companies that base their business model on discounting know where every penny comes in and where every penny goes out – at all times.
Proper marketing, engage your clients, build your brand, and offer superior service for a fair price in the name of the game. Discounting is a really good way to give money away.
This post is based, in large part, on a post I made as a response to a Group Question on LinkedIn group. My thanks to Firstline Magazine for spiking my interest in this subject, yet again.
