Dining Takes Center Stage in Health Care Communities
Creator:
Published:03/12/2012 01:40am
Health care communities are making person-centered dining programs the center of attraction!Nursing homes and assisted living facilities alike are embracing the concept of changing their internal culture from institutional-based care to person-centered care where the individual is at the center of making decisions about their daily lives. Dining can be an important part of the transition to person centered care, and can in fact, dining can take center stage in a facility's culture change movement.The goals of culture change are to encourage people to thrive in their later years, to live in more home-like atmospheres with fewer people, more privacy, and...
Beyond Supermom: How Being “Real” Can Lead to Genuine Freedom, Confidence, and Connection
Published:03/11/2012 11:58pm
If you're a mom, I wonder what comes up for you when you hear the phrase "super mom". How about: "oh brother, that is definitely not me?" Or perhaps a craving to be closer to the ideal mom you think you "should" be? Or frustration and rolling of your eyes as you imagine a mom who seems to have it all together? Perhaps with other moms you like to pretend you have it all together, or you talk about the ones who do. The truth is, no mom, no woman has it "all together" and once we can be real about...
Is War with Iran Necessary?
Published:03/05/2012 08:09pm
One nice thing about being a former intelligence officer is that I am no longer required to apply the rigid objectivity which can rob the written word of useful context. Now I can say what I believe and why I believe it. To the many people in the foreign affairs arena who have legitimate worries about the spreading influence of Iran in the Middle East, the following declaration may sound insane. Nevertheless, I stick by it: the Islamic Republic of Iran is dying. Of course, the date of the final demise is unpredictable, but the likelihood of a collapse...
Business Ethics and the Competition
Published:03/04/2012 07:08pm
At a recent speaking engagement on business ethics, one of the 100 or so participants voiced a differing opinion to my discussion revolving around whether or not you would tell a client, or prospect, that you had heard something negative about a competitor of yours who was being asked to bid on the same project you were.There was absolutely no way that they would not find a way to tell the client or prospect that they'd heard something bad about their competitor, all under the guise that they were looking to protect THEM. Even if their knowledge was not from having...
Attract More Clients by Controlling Your Time-Sucking Gremlins
Published:02/26/2012 09:19pm
When you work for yourself it's very easy to get involved in Time Sucking Gremlins. I bet you can already guess some of what I'm about to say. You're probably thinking I've heard this all before, but if you haven't put it into practice it does bear repeating, because you're time is the one commodity that you can't get more of.It's so easy to get sucked into games like Farmville some make call it "networking", but if you find yourself so engrossed in games you lose all track of time I'd call it a time vampire. It's kinda like being in...
A Four Letter Word That Will Transform Your Business
Published:02/24/2012 09:22pm
And in the end, the love you make, is equal to the love, you take. Lennon and McCartneyI use to get annoyed by Valentines Day. I considered it a cash grab perpetrated by the greeting card, floral, lingerie and confectionary industries to get American consumers to pay 18.6 billion (according to the National Retail Federation) in order to materially express our love for our partners. A ritualized example of commercial hucksterism.When reflecting on Valentines Day and the profit derived from the notion of love, it occurred to me that if businesses really "occupy" the notion of love in their corporate cultures,...
How to Change Your Bad Marketing Habits for Good
Published:02/23/2012 02:45pm
It's time to be honest! Are you really spending the time you need to each day on growing your business? Or are you getting distracted with time wasters like surfing the Internet, hanging out on Facebook or other busy work that isn't leading to profits?If your time management and productivity habits are holding you back, it will be impossible to grow your business. That's why it's so important to start building good habits that support your marketing needs and help you reach your goals. I know what it's like to try to overhaul your life (and habits!) in one fell swoop....
How to Become Famous in Your Field
Published:02/23/2012 12:24am
In my years as an employee I never needed to use PR to secure job opportunities. Now that I'm a business owner gaining visibility and publicity through PR is just one of the ways I gain more traction in my business to build my brand and create buzz so that my business can grow.The typical employee uses their resume and contacts to secure their jobs but business owners secure clients and customers by networking, marketing and gaining visibility through PR. What makes them stand out is their brand and it's also what differentiates them from everyone else. It's why I can't...
5 Reasons Why You Should Do a Product Launch That Have Nothing To Do With Selling That Product
Published:02/20/2012 11:12pm
When most entrepreneurs decide to launch a product, they're mostly thinking about how many products they're going to sell or how much money they'll make during the launch.Now while that's a great reason to have a product launch, it's actually not the only reason. In fact, I may go as far to say it's not even the most important reason. Let's take a moment and go through the top 5 reasons to have a launch that have nothing to do with selling that particular product.1. You create visibility for yourself. Even a small product launch will create visibility and get people...
Building Client Relationships
Published:02/18/2012 01:08am
We all know it costs us a lot more to develop a new client than it does to maintain and grow with a current client. They already know the benefit of working with us. Adding services or products that will help them be more productive or efficient is a great way to grow your business, and go deeper into your relationship with your clients.So what are the best ways to build a good rapport with our clientele; one that will yield us not only continued business, but referrals? I think there are three key elements to creating long term relationships, they...
Fear Of The Chronically Ill
Published:02/11/2012 10:18am
For all the chronically ill out there. I salute you.What some of us go through in a week, most people don't experience in a year, a decade, or even a lifetime.Surviving and remaining strong and resolute is not an easy thing to do.Even when sometimes you just want to give up.I've experienced people giving up on me. It's like I'm already six feet under.The ignored and unreturned phone calls. The sad pitiful looks. The downward glances. The yearning for yesterday when you were normal."I don't understand. There must be something that can be done!" They yell. They look at you as...
The Big Myth About Chronic Illness
Published:02/11/2012 10:16am
Being sick sure is the life, I'm telling you.How can a girl have gotten so lucky?!?!??!?!?!?! Screw the lottery, getting a chronic and incurable condition is so much better than that.Sick Leave-On those cold Monday mornings when Mother Nature has dumped six inches of snow on the ground, traffic is gridlock, and you're utterly miserable. I watch all of the chaos from my bedroom window with a nice cup of hot tea . I call the boss and let him know that I won't be there. That's right folks! Having a chronic illness really does come in handy.Also sick leave works...
Things Your Doctor Should Never Say
Published:02/11/2012 10:13am
I'm what many consider a "professional patient". Being diagnosed with many chronic illnesses since the age of two, I've been under the care of literally hundreds of doctors. Many doctors have truly found their calling and are experts in not only their fields but experts in treating the person and not just the disease. Other doctors make you wonder how they stumbled into the health field when they were clearly suited for a dictatorship or an egotistical politician.1. Everybody is tired. You should get more rest.Let's face it, most people don't get enough sleep. With jobs, children, bills, and responsibilities, I...
Attract More Clients With A Winning Mindset
Published:02/10/2012 10:01pm
Part of crafting a successful life is to create a winning mindset, but how do you do that? What if almost everything in your life is going wrong, or at least not what you expected to happen (and not in a good way), how can you still have a winning mindset? There is some scientific proof that any success you experience is 80 percent mindset and 20 percent ability. This is true for mental ability or sports acumen. You can be the most physically fit person in the world but if you think you can't, you're right. The same can be...
3 Mistakes Conscious Entrepreneurs Make When Launching a Product or Program
Published:02/10/2012 05:54pm
Of all the marketing tools out there (and make no mistake about it, product launches are a TOOL -- nothing more, nothing less) product launches have got to be the most frustrating, misused and misunderstood tool.There is nothing that will bring an entrepreneur to their knees faster than a busted launch. Worse, even if the launch ISN'T a failure, it's still the cause of more worry, anxiety and sleepless nights than any other marketing tactic I've ever seen (and trust me, I've seen a lot).However, since launch failure certainly is one of the top concerns (not to mention a bad launch...
