Al Cleinman's Blog

Leaders are Never Done!

A member resigned the other day.  It happens.  Sometimes it’s for a good reason; more often it adds up, in my opinion, to a dose of “penny wise, pound foolish.”  Perhaps that sounds arrogant from someone who develops and sells the very service of which I’m speaking.   It’s not my intention to send that message…indeed, I’m humbled that so many professionals seek out our advice and participate in Cleinman Performance Network.  I am also confident that we focus a significant amount of energy and resources on seeking out the means and methods by which to deliver value to our members, just as you do for your patients.  After all, leading the charge is my solemn duty as the CEO of my firm.

 

In this particular case, I was most troubled by the stated reason that came my way; “I’ve accomplished all that I want to accomplish,” this member said. 

 

Think about those words for a moment. 

 

Imagine an employee coming to you and voicing these words.   Imagine your child saying this to you.  Or your spouse?   How might you react? 

 

In my opinion, and I mean no disrespect to this individual, what concerns me is that there are folks out there who think that the job of a leader can be “over.”   That, magically, one can continue down the path of progress without investing in oneself.

 

Someone once said “the speed of the leader is the speed of the pack.”   I believe in that philosophy. That’s why I invest a substantial amount of time and money each year on my personal development (and each member of my team does the same).   I can’t think of a better investment.  For me, investing in my personal development and that of my team has become second nature.  Setting personal and business goals is a way of life.  I will never accomplish all that I want.  I can’t imagine life having done that.  What would I have to live for?

 

Here’s another factoid that you may find interesting:  Readers make more money - a lot more! (Even in tough economic times.)  Several studies reveal business people who read at least seven business books a year earn over 2.3 times more than those who read only one book per year.   Interesting!

 

At the end of the day, perhaps this all boils down to “curiosity?”   I was graced with burning curiosity.  I look to hire people who have this same basic attribute.  And it’s curiosity about how we can do a better job that drives our entire culture.  Certainly, our current economic environment screams for this.

 

My challenge to you is to ask yourself some hard questions and take the time to write down your answers:   Am I curious enough?  Is my team curious enough?  What’s around the bend?  How might I improve?  Where are we going?  How will I get there?  What resources will I need?  What opportunities am I leaving on the table?  Where am I spinning my wheels?  What tasks might I eliminate?  What questions do I need to ask myself?

 

As you’ll soon conclude, the job of a leader is never “done.”   And that makes for both an exciting life and job security.

 

Take a VSP Vacation...You Deserve It!

Just heard from a doctor who viewed the video link to the  VSP employee “Wellness” benefit (see Post November 5th).

He's going to cancel his next 2 VSP exams to give his staff a break.

He says he's going to see a medical visit patient later in the day that will more than make up the difference.

 

VSP's Fight For Your Reimbursement Increases Causing Employee Stress

Thanks to a loyal reader for submitting this video (see comments).

Apparantly, VSP employees, who have one of the best benefit packages in the world (for example: 15% 401k Contribution...twice that of IBM), have been fighting for Provider fee increases.  Yep...it's hand to hand combat out there as they attempt to obtain reimbursement increases for their downtrodden providers.  As a result, employees at VSP are apparantly pretty stressed. 

So, what does VSP do?  View the video below.  Rumor has it that the benefits described (read post of July 14, 2009) will soon be available to the employees of VSP's 26,000 Providers through a special grant; the result of outstanding profits from VSP's various companies who sell their products and services to...you guessed it...VSP Providers.

http://www.kcra.com/video/21532360/index.html

Reality is that I wish I could provide these services to my employees.  And, under normal circumstances, I'd applaude any company that did this for their team.  That said, VSP (and other vision plans) earns its largesse by; a) controlling 55million patients and; b) cramming ridiculously low reimbursements and ludicrous policies down the throats of Providers, many of whom are dominated by VSP patients and scared to say a word. 

What's going on with Vision Plans isn't fair...and sooner or later things are going to change.

At What Stage is VSP?

Recent articles in the eyecare press have reported that the American Optometric Association (AOA) ruffled the feathers of VSP and the National Association of Vision Care Plans by suggesting to a senator instrumental in the currrent health care reform debate that stand-alone vision plans are aiming to "turn back the clock by continuing to segment vision from eye health," and said such plans are "seeking to impose misguided limits on the care that our patients—especially children—receive."

Logically, reaction to those statements was aggressive.  After all, it doesn't take a rocket-scientist to recognize that, with optometry's increased scope of practice and their inclusion in most medical plans, such stand-alone plans may have run the course of their usefulness to anyone but the plans promotors and owners.

A follow-on joint statement issued by the AOA and VSP after their recent meeting said "both organizations are committed to expanded access to eyecare," and that both "recognize the importance of including provider non-discrimination provisions that will safeguard patient access to optometric care in any health-care bill."  AOA president Randy Brooks, O.D. said some statements in the earlier AOA/AAO letter may have been misinterpreted.  Brooks said the AOA would "never do anything to compromise existing vision care," noting "we're not against stand-alone vision plans."

Logically, reaction to the AOA's statement by the the Managed Vision Care industry was strong.  With VSP and their breathren being major contributors to various association activities, it's logical that they used their political clout to soften the AOA's position.  Afterall, money talks.

Yes, consider whether it really matters whether the AOA is against stand-alone plans or not.  Are Providers, who represent the key ingredient of both the AOA's and VSP's success, fed up with low reimbursments and arrogant unilateral actions by the likes of VSP?  Are Providers at the stage where they are sick and tired and near the point where they're not going to take it anymore?  What's really going on here?

Perhaps there's a roadmap for what's been unfolding for VSP over the past number of years.  I find it in Jim Collins' latest volume of management thinking, How the Mighty Fall ... and Why Some Companies Never Give In.  This great read begins with Collins recalling the advice of his mentor, Stanford professor Bill Lazier: "Don't try to come up with the right answers; focus on coming up with good questions." And certainly that describes Collins' achievement in this book. The question of why leading companies, seemingly in possession of every competitive advantage, so often manage to blow it is surely a good one.

Collins provides the five stages of a company's demise:

1. Hubris born of success
2. Undisciplined pursuit of more
3. Denial of risk and peril
4. Grasping for salvation
5. Capitulation to irrelevance or death

I've often said that the questions are far more important than the answers.  Have you read the book?

A Message for our Children...and Ourselves

This great message was passed on to me by a friend...and I share it with all of mine here.  Enjoy...Al Cleinman

A Parent’s Letter
to My Children in School
Written by Jeff Thredgold, CSP, President, Thredgold Economic Associates

To my children and grandchildren…

With your focus on education, I often find myself thinking about how much the world has changed since I was in your shoes. The world is now a much “smaller” place—people of all cultures can communicate and travel with ease. You face great challenges today…just as I did…just as my parents before me. These words of advice might be helpful:

•  Recognize that the only limits you face are those you set for yourself

•  Be the BEST that you can be

•  Recognize that YOU are responsible for your successes and failures

•  You must earn your way

•  Strive for excellence…not perfection

•  See the glass as half-full, rather than seeing it as half-empty

•  Focus on positives, rather than on negatives

•  Look to praise, rather than to criticize

•  Look for ways to succeed, rather than excuses to fail

•  Commit yourself to constant improvement

•  Understand how important education is to success

•  School is the key. Technology rules. You need better skills to succeed

•  Learn what is being taught, but most importantly, learn “how” to learn

•  Develop other information sources to verify, or challenge, what you are being taught. “History” is routinely twisted or rewritten to support a particular point of view. Get other ideas

•  Treat teachers, administrators, and fellow students as you would like to be treated

•  Be the first to say “Hello”

•  Develop your mind in school, but also develop other skills and interests, including music, art, and physical fitness. This is where teamwork develops its roots

•  Be a well-rounded person

•  Resist taking “easy” classes

•  Dig into math, the sciences, and computers. These form the technical foundation for future success

•  Study language

•  Speak and write English correctly

•  Appreciate other cultures by learning another language

•  Be honest in your approach to learning

•  Resist the temptation to cheat—you only hurt yourself

•  Develop a keen interest in the outside world

•  Pay attention to the “news.” The “real” world can be very different from the student world you live in today

•  Avoid the temptations of alcohol, smoking, drugs, gangs, and irresponsible personal behavior

•  Understand the steps you take today have lifelong implications

•  Choose your friends wisely

•  Do what you can to make a teacher’s job easier, not harder. Teaching is one of the most important, most difficult, and most underpaid professions in the world

•  Participate—but don’t be a pain!

•  Be a friend to all. Extend a hand of friendship to all other students, regardless of race, creed, or color

•  Make a special effort to be a friend to those less fortunate than you

•  As you mature and face new challenges, don’t hesitate to discuss with me what is on your mind. You might learn from the mistakes of others

•  Recognize how LUCKY you are to live and be educated in this great country. People from around the world are dying every day trying to get INTO this country…not out

•  Don’t forget to have fun!!

•  School can be a great time in your life

•  Experience it

•  Live it

•  Enjoy it

Many of these suggestions will be useful throughout your life—learn them well. I wish you the greatest success in your efforts and hope you find school both rewarding and enjoyable.

Love,

Dad/Grandpa

Norm and Bo...You had me at Hello!

I just bought Norm Brodsky's and Bo Burlingame's new book, The Knack...How Street-Smart Entrepreneurs Learn to Handle Whatever Comes Up.  Having met these two wonderful authors in a serendipitous way(see my post of May 3, 2008), I was excited to dig into their latest offering.  It took me all the way to the middle of page two to recognize that this book is a winner.  I share the excerpt:

"One of my best habits, for example, grew out of my father's practice of breaking down problems and challenges into their basic components.  He believed that most issues in business -- and in life -- are fundamentally simple, even though they appear complicated at first.  He taught me that, to deal with them, you have to examine the underlying elements and figure out what's really going on.  Never assume, moreover, that the real issues are those that you see on the surface.  That way of thinking has been one of my most powerful business tools over the years."

Norm Brodsky has very effectively communicated a fundamental that has served me well.  First, I purposely practice what might be termed a bit of "schizophrenia."  What I mean by this is that I enjoy debate, with myself and my team, which results in looking at issues from every possible angle.  This can be somewhat frustrating to my team, as they sometimes find me arguing against what they thought was my own position.  I find it very effective to verbalize both sides of any position.  I feel strongly that passionate debate is a very powerful tool in arriving at good decisions and this methodology has served me well.

Equally as important, Norm strongly advises that often the real issues are not those on the surface.  We find this the case in many of our consulting projects...what the client believes is the issue is simply not.  In my opinion, the hallmark of a good advisor is one who forces the client to dig below the surface of an issue.  Giving a client exactly what they want when they've self-diagnosed their challenge is easy.  Helping the client see below the surface and face the underlying issues that are the root cause of a challenge requires experience, courage and understanding.  However, the rewards are worth the effort. 

Don't take either the first solution or the one that comes easy...it may lead to ineffective results or worse.  Oh...and buy this book!

The National Association of (Feed Off Optometry) Vision Care Plans

Below you'll find a link to the National Association of Vision Care Plans. 

http://www.navcp.org/

This organization represents those companies (except VSP) who wholesale your services.  Understand them.  Read their letter regarding Obamacare.  While they promote "equal access for optometry" are they not wolves in sheep's clothing?  As the saying goes; "keep your friends close and your enemies closer."

Tired of 50% reimbursements?  Tired of having the quality of your services negatively impacted by these plans?  Tired of having someone else control where your patients go for services?  STOP TAKING ACCEPTANCE!  Many of our clients are successfully moving away from Vision Care Plans.  They provide their patients with the paperwork but operate out of panel.  Vision Care Plans are DOA without providers.    

There are only two kinds of employees...only two!

I wish that I could lay claim to this piece, as it's very good.  It was passed along to me and I don't know the original author...thanks for the contribution.

YOU SHOULD ONLY HIRE TWO KINDS OF PEOPLE!

In his new book Zero to Sixty, Bob Franquiz writes that he thinks you should hire only two types of people:  products and projects.

According to Franquiz, products are the people “who are already highly developed.  We could liken ‘products' to a baseball team that signs a high profile, highly productive free agent.  The team knows what they are getting because they have already seen the player produce.”  These ‘products' because they have already proven themselves elsewhere, will come on to your team and help you hit it out of the park.

Projects are the people you see in your organization that have an enormous amount of underdeveloped potential.  Bob says, “You see the value they could add to your organization with the right time, training, and coaching.” 

So... if you're in the process of hiring a new staff person, which are you looking for?  A ‘product' or a ‘project'?  Here are some things to keep in mind:

1.  Projects don't cost as much financially.  Think interns, recent college grads, or business leaders.

2.  Products don't require near as much training or leadership.

3.  Projects many times have a much larger learning curve than Products.  If you're hiring someone to alleviate the load, the Project will probably not be able to do that initially.

4.  Products are ‘plug and play' and can make a more significant contribution from day one.

There you have it!  Projects and Products.  Two totally different kinds of hires.  Knowing which one you need BEFORE you hire can save you a lot of time and headaches.

What do you think? I'd love to hear your comments!

 

VSP and Other Vision Plans Fight for Their Life

Here's an interesting video about the impact of Obamacare on Vision Plans.  If you read between the lines, what VSP is saying is that Vision Benefits will (and likely should, in my opinion) find their way to medical plans and away from specialized plans.  Every provider knows that the fact that vision plans are NOT part of medical care is wasteful and inneficient.  Were this to happen, specialized vision plans would go....bye bye!

Vision and Dental Plans Under Obamacare

Goal: The Imperfect Team

I enjoy passionate debate and foster it within my organization.  I believe, and history has proven me right, that often the breakthrough idea; the elusive solution; the missing piece in a process comes as the result of going down the road less traveled.  While civility is the rule in any interaction, I believe that it's a positive thing to see the proverbial gloves come off.  Observe people passionately defending their positions.  Stir the pot once in awhile. 

Yes, for the meek, these interactions may be a bit disconcerting.  From my perspective, debate...yes passionate debate...is an important precursor to the well thought-through idea.  As the saying goes, "if I have more than one yes-person in a room, then I don't need one of them."  As a leader, I want to know that most of the stones have been overturned in arriving at a conclusion, recommendation or decision.  This is especially critical in a de-centralized organization (shouldn't all organizations be "de-centralized").  I don't have the time, energy or interest, nor can I build an enterprise or develop the skills of individuals, if I'm involved in every decision.  That said, I darn well want to be confident that the team has worked the issues over and pummeled them within reason.

Likewise, as a strong individual and leader, I must "grant permission" so as to nurture my teammates and make them feel comfortable arguing their case;their perspective; their point of view.  My experience is that in many professional practices and small businesses, this doesn't happen. If your team members aren't comfortable saying to you "you're wrong and this is why" then it's time for you to take a long walk in woods.  Odds are that you've a top-down culture.  As a result, perhaps you're missing great opportunity?  

I recently came across a wonderful quote about marriage by author Dave Meurer that epitomizes my message:

"A great marriage is not when the "perfect couple" come together.  It is when an imperfect couple learns to enjoy their differences."

Likewise...your team.