THE BEST

We are the best!

I received a copy of an email the other day from one of the vice-presidents of our organization. She reported that one of her directors had been at a regional meeting hosted by a large managed care organization (MCO). This MCO had recently been awarded a contract to expand its coverage into part of the vice-president’s region, and the meeting was a way for the MCO to communicate with its new providers.

During a break, a high level representative of the MCO commented to our director that she believes that we are the best quality provider in the state. The MCO representative also commented that two of our directors who work in other regions of the state have been wonderful to work with and we consistently provide quality from one end of the state to the other. The vice-president ended the email by noting, “We are separated by many miles, but we are delivering services consistently based on the same high quality standard.”

When I hear from staff that someone commented on the consistent high quality of the services provided by Growth Horizons, Milestones Community Healthcare, or Salisbury Behavioral Health, I am very pleased but not very surprised. I have been hearing similar comments for so long that I have no doubt that we are among the very best at nearly everything we do.

How have we attained and maintained this reputation for excellence? No doubt there are many factors that contribute to this achievement. I would like to comment on a few.

First, our primary goal at all times is to do what is best for the people we support. This concept is articulated by nearly every provider, but is rarely implemented in practice. The “acid test” is simple. What does the provider do when a person needs services that will result in a significant financial loss to the provider? Our rule in this case is simple and clear. “First, we do the right thing. Then we worry about how we will be paid.” Many high level managers in our organization who previously worked for other agencies have commented that they have never seen this standard implemented as consistently as we implement it.

Second, we operate our organization in a fiscally responsible manner. High quality services are not necessarily more expensive services. We manage our funds to provide high quality services AND high quantity services. We do this by spending money when we need to and not spending money when we do not need to.

Third, we must generate profits in some programs to cover the losses that we inevitably generate in other programs. During the past three years, we have sustained significant financial losses in our BHRS (also known as “Wraparound”) programs within our children and families divisions. We have continued to provide these services despite the losses. Simultaneously, we have grown other programs that are profitable within our children and families divisions. The profits in these newer programs cover most of the losses in the BHRS programs. Within a year or two, we anticipate that we will pass the break-even point in our children and families divisions.

I would like to comment on one additional factor that contributes to our consistent excellence that I believe is the most important of all. YOU! Our company is not about buying buildings, cars, furniture, or computers. We do spend a lot of money on these and other “things”, but they do not define our company. YOU DO! We are about people helping people to live a better life as I have said and will continue to say many times.

WE CAN BE THE BEST ONLY IF YOU ARE THE BEST, AND WE CAN BECOME EVEN BETTER ONLY IF YOU BECOME EVEN BETTER. LET’S DO IT TOGETHER!

MISTAKES

Refraining from action because of the fear of making a terrible mistake is always a terrible mistake.

Some people become paralyzed with fear when they face an important decision. Their reasoning seems to be: “If I make the wrong decision, there will be terrible consequences. I better not make a decision.”

The fallacy with this reasoning is that not making a decision is also a decision, and it is no less likely to result in terrible consequences than making any other decision. In fact, the decision not to decide may be more likely to result in terrible consequences since it leaves the outcome in the hands of fate, and fate can be very cruel. A decision to implement a well-thought-out plan is more likely to result in a positive outcome. Even if the first plan does not prove successful, alternative plans may be developed and implemented to achieve a positive outcome.

The decision not to decide is not the same as the decision to wait and see. A wait and see approach is appropriate when additional relevant information may become available in a timely manner. Having the additional information may facilitate making the best decision. When this is the case, “wait and see” is actually an active interim plan, not a decision to not make a decision.

NEEDS

Most people confuse “wants” with “needs.” In affluent countries, there are very few things we need that we do not have.

I do not need any of the things that I want.

Once I accept that I do not need any of the things that I want, I am free to compromise by giving up or not getting some of the things that I want in exchange for getting or not giving up other things that I want more.

I need shelter. I want a nice home.

I need food. I want a steak.

I need a job. I want to be the president (vice president, director, supervisor, etc.)

I need companionship. I want a beautiful, sexy lover.

I need to maintain my health. I want to be handsome (desirable, manly, etc.)

I need the basics. I want more than the basics. If I do not get the basics, my life may be threatened. At the very least, the quality of my life will be significantly impaired.

I will compromise by giving up something that I need only if what I keep or get by compromising is more important to my well-being than what I gave up or did not get. (For example, if my life is threatened when the plane I am in crashes, I will leave behind all my possessions to save my life regardless of how much I want or need those possessions.) I have never been in this type of situation, and it is unlikely that I ever will be.

On a day-to-day basis, there are many things that I want to keep or get. I am free to give up anything that I want to keep or get in order to keep or get something that I want even more. When this is the case, I will compromise to get what I want more by giving up or not getting what I want less.

Giving up or not getting what I want less in order to keep or get what I want more is not a loss to me. Getting to keep or get what I want more is a win.

Compromise is not a loss. It is a win.

PEOPLE

We are all people first! Our titles (consumer, staff, manager, community member, father, sister, priest, rabbi, doctor, lawyer, candlestick maker, etc.) are secondary to our status as people.

We all try to differentiate ourselves from others through distinctive hairstyles, clothing, accoutrements, vehicles, homes, professions, spouses, behaviors, etc. At the same time, we all try to conform, at least in part, to the expectations of society. (The most conforming of all are the young adults who claim to be non-conformist to the standards of their parents and their parents’ society, but conform completely to the expectations of their peer group.)

In fact, we are simultaneously all unique and all the same. Our hairstyles, clothing, accoutrements, vehicles, homes, professions, spouses, behaviors, etc., make each of us at least as unique as our individual fingerprints. But what is the significance of the uniqueness of your fingerprints? Unless you have committed a crime and left them behind in a way that proves your involvement, the uniqueness of your fingerprints is not very significant. The differences that distinguish us similarly have much less significance than people place on them. What real significance can be placed on my hairstyle or my clothing? Not much. Even my profession does not say that much about me. There are exceptional, average, and poor practitioners of every profession. My spouse is very important to my personal happiness, but does he or she really reflect on who I am?

No doubt, the single biggest factor that differentiates one person from another is his or her personal behaviors. The good (and the not so good) that each person accomplishes is an important factor that enables us to distinguish among people.

When all is said and done, our individual differences really pale in significance to the commonalities we share. Each of us contributes positively and negatively to society, yet none of us makes more than a small difference in the universe. We all are relatively insignificant creatures that play a small role for a brief moment in the infinite space-time continuum. Our claim to fame, if indeed we have any, is that we are human beings who have the unique (at least as far as we know) capacity to think, communicate and choose. This capacity we share with all other human beings. When all is said and done, we are all people first.

CHARISMA

There is nothing more charismatic than genuine feelings that are rooted in genuine values. We communicate these feelings not by talking about them, but by fully experiencing them ourselves.

The issue of charisma became a common topic of discussion during the presidency of John F. Kennedy. Kennedy seemed to have something that attracted people to him that his rival, future President Richard M. Nixon, did not. Kennedy was movie star handsome. Nixon was rather plain-looking. This obvious difference, however, did not seem sufficient to account for the very different impact these two men seemed to have on others.

Some analysts attributed this difference to an almost magical power that Kennedy seemed to have. Particularly after his assassination, Kennedy’s powers became almost mythical in proportion.

I have great respect and admiration for what President Kennedy accomplished in his short life, but I believe his charisma and the charisma of all great leaders is not magical at all. He was a person with genuine vision and values and when he spoke, he seemed to experience feelings that were congruent with his vision and values. Kennedy did not just talk about dedicating oneself to the nation. He seemed to be inviting us to join him in a holy mission that he was already actively engaged in. When he spoke, he felt these feelings and we felt them with him. He drew us to him by getting us to feel what he already felt.

Other great leaders seem to feel what they say in a similar way. Martin Luther King was a great orator not only because he touched on the fears and hopes of bigots and liberals alike, but also because he felt what he said and he enabled us to feel these feelings with him. Hitler, for an evil purpose but in the same way, felt the pain of the impoverished post World War I German people. He had a vision and a mission of hope that he felt to the core of his being. He shared this vision, mission, and hope and the accompanying feelings that they produced and enabled his people to feel them, too. We must recognize that charisma is neutral in value. It can be used for evil as easily as it can be used for good.

Years ago, I introduced a guest speaker at a dinner. Toward the end of the dinner, several people came over to me and noted how my words had touched them. I had spoken for less than two minutes because I believe that an introduction to a speaker should not consume much of the time allotted to the speaker. With only a few words, I touched at least several people greatly. How did I do this? I shared an extremely personal experience I had had with the guest speaker. As I described the experience, I experienced strong emotions that were communicated by the tone of my voice and my body language. These feelings and the accompanying emotions were not practiced. They came from the core of my being and communicated more about me than pages of written words could ever communicate. My emotions were genuine and they were based on genuine values that I had developed over many years. I didn’t need to explain them. They poured out of my heart and into the hearts of the people who were listening. Charisma is neither more nor less than that.

EXCUSES

Excuses attempt to rationalize the past. The past is gone. It cannot be rationalized. Even if it could be, why should I waste my time?

Too much time is wasted on making up excuses for failure. Even more time is wasted on evaluating whether or not these excuses are valid. I do not care whether an excuse is valid or not because I have no interest in punishing people for failure.

I am very interested in maximizing my future achievements. Because I no longer accomplish very much on my own, I am also very interested in maximizing the achievements of people who work with me. I help others maximize their achievements by doing my job very well and not doing their jobs at all. My job is to create an environment that supports, facilitates, and motivates the achievements of employees, customers, and everyone else who impacts our organization. Evaluating excuses does not facilitate my job. Your job is to accomplish the most you can to make this organization increasingly excellent. Providing me with excuses does not facilitate your job.

Save your excuses for someone else. Better yet, stop wasting your time and energy on thinking up excuses at all.

Now, how can we work together to maximize our future individual and mutual achievements?

JUSTICE

Justice sometimes demands that I do more than what is simply just.

In Hebrew, the word that means “justice” also means “charity.” At first, the two meanings seem to be in conflict. If an act is “just” how can it also be charitable?

To many people, charity is something extra. You really are not obligated to be charitable, they believe. You act charitably when you want to do more than what you are obligated to do.

In reality, charity is not something extra. Acting charitably is an obligation to do more than what a strict reading of the law requires. It is an obligation to do more than your obligations. The obligation to act charitably at times is also part of acting justly.

Many people also believe that justice requires me to follow the letter of the law. In reality, justice is a privilege that enables me to demand that others treat me following the letter of the law. It is also a privilege that enables others to demand that I treat them following the letter of the law. Of course, neither I nor they are obligated to so demand. In many instances, it is just to not demand justice for oneself just as it is just to demand justice for others.

The letter of the law establishes a minimum standard of behavior below which I must not go. It does not establish a ceiling. I can always choose to follow a higher standard. Following a higher standard is both charitable and just.

NEED TO LEARN

The older I get, the more I know that I do not know, the more I know that I need to learn, and the more I know that what I need to learn cannot be found in books. The more I learn what I need to learn, the more I know that what I learn is much less important than what I become.

When I was 18 years old, I knew that I knew everything I needed to know. Of course, I knew that I did not know everything. I believed, however, that my superior logic could compensate for any deficiency in knowledge that I might have.

As I grew older, I realized that logic is not as powerful as most people think and that a high IQ is more an indication of superior ability to play certain types of mind games rather than the ability to solve real-life problems.

Solving real-life problems is facilitated by real-life experiences. Effective real-life problem solving can neither be deduced from logic nor found in books nor acquired by consulting experts.

There is no substitute for real-life experiences because real-life experiences do more than change what I know. They change who I am.

A great decision-maker makes decisions that are functions of who he is, not merely what he knows.

True, I need to learn more. Of greater importance, I need to become more.