Al Cleinman's Blog

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!