There’s an outdoor billboard near General Mitchell International Airport (Milwaukee’s major airport) with a picture of Abraham Lincoln. The caption reads: “Failed. Failed. Failed. And Then…….”. Underneath this phrase appears one word: “Persistence.” This billboard, produced by the Foundation For A Better Life, has appeared in cities and states around the country as part of a series of uplifting, inspirational themes.
Because I was curious to learn more behind the campaign, I went to the Foundation’s web page: www.forbetterlife.org.There I saw a series of billboards featuring a variety of famous and not so famous individuals who represented values such as Albert Einstein (confidence), Shaquille Oneal (perseverance) Winston Churchill (commitment), and Christopher Reeves (strength). All of these people faced incredible odds in their quests to succeed in their chosen fields: Einstein was a poor student who failed math; Shaquile Oneal earned his college diploma in the off-seasons when he wasn’t playing basketball; Churchill was considered a poor communicator early in his life; Reeves was thought to be just a Hollywood lightweight by many of his peers, until he showed a level of courage that many people with his tragic condition wouldn’t find in themselves.
In today's email, I found more on failure that further supports last week's blog on why so many people are reluctant to take any chances in life. A message from Marketing Profs entitled: "Make Failure Your Friend". The message cites a quote from Marketing Safari by Hjörtur Smárason:
"Mistakes are a necessary part of learning, development and innovation..... "There's a lot you don't understand until you try it on yourself. And if you let the fear of failure stop you from trying something new, you'll face nothing but stagnation."
"One mistake doesn't mean that the next attempt is more likely to fail," says Smárason. "Actually, it should be the contrary. It should be more likely to succeed as that person hopefully learned something from the mistakes (see the full article: http://blog.scope.is/marketing_safari/2008/05/are-you-never-t.html
To be sure, risks must be calculated and carefully vetted. But one must keep in mind that nothing worthwhile on the face of the earth came about because of a reluctance to take on risk.
So get out there and swing for the fences--unless you never want to cross home plate.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Saturday, July 26, 2008
The Law Of The (Work) Jungle
Thousands of miles from here,deep in the heart of the Serengetti National Park in northeastern Tanzania,the wildebeest run as a pack to make it harder for the attacking hyenas to pull any one of them down. The luckier of the herd are in the middle-- the best place to be for survival, whereas the ones on the outer flanks are the most vulnerable to being caught and eaten by their savage predators. They live a fast life, these flankers. They know that one slip and they’re a goner. Yet they also know that a hyena can only catch one wildebeest at a time, so the odds are good that they won’t be the one that fattens a hyena’s belly. Eventually, some of the middlers will find themselves out on the flanks. Those that have grown soft and slow from too much time in the middle will suffer the consequences of not having kept themselves in shape.
This got me wondering about how many of us get up every day and go to work to thrive rather than just survive? Indeed, how many of our workplaces today encourage people to push themselves, to take on challenges that could result in great success? People are reluctant to try something new for fear that, if not successful, they will lose stature in the organization and be held personally accountable for failing . Thus, individual initiative is subordinated to “groupthink”, and innovative ideas are stifled in the interest of “teamwork” (which is often code for “don’t rock the boat”). True, there are those companies where employees are rewarded for looking for ways to improve customer service, productivity, and sales. But even in these environments, employees still perceive that it is safer to “stay in the middle”.
In an era of global competition, it seems we are becoming a nation of middlers when we so desperately need more flankers. The false security of the bi-weekly paycheck will not protect us from being laid off. Even if we are excellent at what we do, there will always be a hyena out there looking for our job—someone who is faster, hungrier, and who will accomplish twice as much as we do at the same or lower salary.
With that thought, The Whisperer urges you to always stay nimble and creative in your thinking. It’s good hyena insurance.
Be well.
--TMW
This got me wondering about how many of us get up every day and go to work to thrive rather than just survive? Indeed, how many of our workplaces today encourage people to push themselves, to take on challenges that could result in great success? People are reluctant to try something new for fear that, if not successful, they will lose stature in the organization and be held personally accountable for failing . Thus, individual initiative is subordinated to “groupthink”, and innovative ideas are stifled in the interest of “teamwork” (which is often code for “don’t rock the boat”). True, there are those companies where employees are rewarded for looking for ways to improve customer service, productivity, and sales. But even in these environments, employees still perceive that it is safer to “stay in the middle”.
In an era of global competition, it seems we are becoming a nation of middlers when we so desperately need more flankers. The false security of the bi-weekly paycheck will not protect us from being laid off. Even if we are excellent at what we do, there will always be a hyena out there looking for our job—someone who is faster, hungrier, and who will accomplish twice as much as we do at the same or lower salary.
With that thought, The Whisperer urges you to always stay nimble and creative in your thinking. It’s good hyena insurance.
Be well.
--TMW
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
My Head Hurts, Herr Doktor
This week a Belgian company, InBev, purchased Annheuser Busch for $52 million. Hearing about this got me to thinking: why couldn’t a European country, particularly one that has had a long history of managing health care for its citizens, run our health care system? Why not totally outsource our third party quasi- government/private health care-financed miasma to a country like Germany, which has been in the social security business since Otto von Bismarck designed the first modern public welfare system in the mid 1800’s?
Before you conclude that I have had one too many Bud (er, excuse me, InBev) lites, consider that many of the western European countries, including Germany, France, and Spain, have high-speed intra- and inter-country rail service. Europeans drive more gas-efficient automobiles and get their health care taken care of in technologically up-to-date and clean facilities.While still small in number, more and more Americans are traveling for medical care to western (and eastern) Europe, as well as to Thailand and India, because out of pocket costs are lower, even including the travel portion. And it’s a well-established fact that western countries with standards of living similar to ours have better morbidity and mortality statistics than our own in many of the leading health care indicators.
According to the travel web site www.justlanded.com:
“The German health care system has the reputation of being one of the best in the world. There is an extensive network of hospitals and doctors covering even the remotest areas of Germany. Waiting lists for treatments are rare. Medical facilities are equipped with the latest technology and the statutory health insurance scheme provides nearly full cover for most medical treatments and medicines. Almost everybody in Germany has access to this system, irrespective of income or social status.”
This by no means is to say that Germany and countries like it have solved the problem of financing health care. In fact, according to justlanded.com, Germany’s medical costs are among the most expensive in the world. The difference is that more of the dollars spent on health care go toward the provision of care as opposed to paying for the bloated overhead and administrative costs associated with our crazy-quilt third party payment “system”.
Oktoberfest is just around the corner, so hoist one high, all you consumers of 16% of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product. This one’s for you!
--Be well. TMW
Before you conclude that I have had one too many Bud (er, excuse me, InBev) lites, consider that many of the western European countries, including Germany, France, and Spain, have high-speed intra- and inter-country rail service. Europeans drive more gas-efficient automobiles and get their health care taken care of in technologically up-to-date and clean facilities.While still small in number, more and more Americans are traveling for medical care to western (and eastern) Europe, as well as to Thailand and India, because out of pocket costs are lower, even including the travel portion. And it’s a well-established fact that western countries with standards of living similar to ours have better morbidity and mortality statistics than our own in many of the leading health care indicators.
According to the travel web site www.justlanded.com:
“The German health care system has the reputation of being one of the best in the world. There is an extensive network of hospitals and doctors covering even the remotest areas of Germany. Waiting lists for treatments are rare. Medical facilities are equipped with the latest technology and the statutory health insurance scheme provides nearly full cover for most medical treatments and medicines. Almost everybody in Germany has access to this system, irrespective of income or social status.”
This by no means is to say that Germany and countries like it have solved the problem of financing health care. In fact, according to justlanded.com, Germany’s medical costs are among the most expensive in the world. The difference is that more of the dollars spent on health care go toward the provision of care as opposed to paying for the bloated overhead and administrative costs associated with our crazy-quilt third party payment “system”.
Oktoberfest is just around the corner, so hoist one high, all you consumers of 16% of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product. This one’s for you!
--Be well. TMW
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
No, Doctor, It's My Left Leg.....
When was the last time you checked your medical records for accuracy? Have you ever checked them at all? The whisperer thinks it’s incredible that, with all the money being spent on converting to electronic medical records, innumerable mistakes are still being made that go uncorrected. In computer technology parlance, this is known as “GIGO” (garbage in, garbage out); i.e. if faulty information is entered, then the output of that information will be faulty as well. For example, I have found things in my medical records that have said that I am currently married (I have been divorced for over ten years), that I am five years older than I actually am, and that I am allergic to cats and dogs (I am not).
Granted, these are not life and death mistakes, and it’s not as if these mistakes would likely lead to an inappropriate treatment or, worse, an adverse clinical event. Nevertheless, they should not be there. Why not make it a required part of the history-taking process that patients review the information that is recorded in their charts before it gets memorialized in an electronic file that will likely never be corrected? The federal government requires that the three credit bureaus make available a free credit report at least once a year so that consumers can check to see if erroneous information is in their credit files. Why not do the same with our medical records?
Many patients have no idea as to what is written in their charts and would be horrified to read the misinformation that exists in their charts. Some of the blame belongs with patients, who should be more vigilant with their providers. But a lot of the blame belongs with providers for not taking the time to assure that they have accurately heard and recorded what their patients have told them.
What do you think? Take the poll in the right column.
Until next time, good health to you.
--TMW
Granted, these are not life and death mistakes, and it’s not as if these mistakes would likely lead to an inappropriate treatment or, worse, an adverse clinical event. Nevertheless, they should not be there. Why not make it a required part of the history-taking process that patients review the information that is recorded in their charts before it gets memorialized in an electronic file that will likely never be corrected? The federal government requires that the three credit bureaus make available a free credit report at least once a year so that consumers can check to see if erroneous information is in their credit files. Why not do the same with our medical records?
Many patients have no idea as to what is written in their charts and would be horrified to read the misinformation that exists in their charts. Some of the blame belongs with patients, who should be more vigilant with their providers. But a lot of the blame belongs with providers for not taking the time to assure that they have accurately heard and recorded what their patients have told them.
What do you think? Take the poll in the right column.
Until next time, good health to you.
--TMW
Friday, July 4, 2008
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of (Un) happiness?
The whisperer wishes everyone a Happy Fourth of July. But in so doing, he reflects on the state of affairs on our country's 232nd birthday. A recent poll carried out by Leicester University in Great Britain found that people who live in Denmark are the happiest people in the world. The U.S. ranked 23rd in happiness. How can this be? Could it be that Danes do not think as critically about things as we do?
Was Shakespeare all wet when he characterized Hamlet the melancholy Dane?
Or could it have something to do with the fact that Denmark is not at war, the euro is stronger than its ever been, and Danes as a society are not as uptight about sex and marijuana?
The problem is: Denmark has rated number one in national happiness for over 30 years. So this is not some fluky finding by a research company looking to get a quirky story on the evening news.
Most psychologists would agree that having a lot of money does not necessarily make one happy. A friend of mine told me recently about someone she knows who barely makes enough money to feed herself, yet whatever little amount she makes she contributes to help the homeless because they need help. And this makes her happy.
Whatever the reasons are for our national discontent, it seems that we are not achieving Jefferson's vision of happiness, or that perhaps his vision was a lot less demanding than ours is. As for me, I'm happy to have the ability to write this blog without worrying about being thrown in jail, or fearing I'll be incarcerated without explanation for questioning the way public officials spend our tax dollars. At least that's what I want to believe will always be the case.
So, my fellow melancholians, let's try to be happier on this commemoration of our nation's birth about the things that truly matter in life. And maybe, just maybe someday we'll beat Denmark in futbol. Although I doubt that will make us any happier.
--Be safe. TMW
Was Shakespeare all wet when he characterized Hamlet the melancholy Dane?
Or could it have something to do with the fact that Denmark is not at war, the euro is stronger than its ever been, and Danes as a society are not as uptight about sex and marijuana?
The problem is: Denmark has rated number one in national happiness for over 30 years. So this is not some fluky finding by a research company looking to get a quirky story on the evening news.
Most psychologists would agree that having a lot of money does not necessarily make one happy. A friend of mine told me recently about someone she knows who barely makes enough money to feed herself, yet whatever little amount she makes she contributes to help the homeless because they need help. And this makes her happy.
Whatever the reasons are for our national discontent, it seems that we are not achieving Jefferson's vision of happiness, or that perhaps his vision was a lot less demanding than ours is. As for me, I'm happy to have the ability to write this blog without worrying about being thrown in jail, or fearing I'll be incarcerated without explanation for questioning the way public officials spend our tax dollars. At least that's what I want to believe will always be the case.
So, my fellow melancholians, let's try to be happier on this commemoration of our nation's birth about the things that truly matter in life. And maybe, just maybe someday we'll beat Denmark in futbol. Although I doubt that will make us any happier.
--Be safe. TMW
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
