The Healthcare Leadership Experience

How Storage Impacts Your Patients & Your Bottom Line | E. 116

Storage in healthcare is often seen as a low priority. Brad Fitzpatrick of FitzRight Storage Solutions explains why it plays a critical role for hospitals to Jim Cagliostro.    Episode Introduction Brad explains why he is potentially in the business of ‘’life and death,’’ how Covid changed the storage landscape and the opposing views of storage as luxury versus necessity. He also highlights the positive impact of storage on hospital margins, and shares why success in business comes from a focus on customers and ‘’attracting’’, not chasing.  Show Topics   * Two common storage pitfalls * The impact of Covid-19 * Storage is ‘’potentially life and death’’ * Convincing the C-Suite * Transforming relationships: A storage success story  * Leadership tip: Focus on your passion      04:15 Two common storage pitfalls Brad explained why hospitals push storage down the list of priorities.   ‘’I would say probably the number one would just be the misconception that optimizing your storage is more of a luxury than a necessity. And everybody has different reasons for not moving forward, or for lack of a better word, neglecting. Whether it be, "Well, we intend on doing that one day." Or, "It's out of the budget." Those two are usually the biggest ones. But the one day is a slippery slope because you don't want to wait until you have a fire till you get the sprinklers installed. ‘One day we’ll do it.’ ‘’   05:50 The impact of Covid-19 Brad said the storage landscape changed a lot after the pandemic.  ‘’I'm sure this applies to everything, and it won't surprise you when I say it, but Covid. Once Covid happened, and the pressure came on unexpectedly, I think everybody was able to assess how prepared or unprepared they were when the chips were down. And then, once that dust settled, there were some hospitals that said, "Okay, we never want to be caught off guard like that again. What areas can we fix? How can we fix it?" But then, there were other facilities that said, "We'll wait until the wheels fall off." And, actually, there is one hospital I spoke to recently, and they were told that, "Well, wait until the wheels literally fall off and then we'll redo the room." 11:25 Storage is ‘’potentially life and death’’  Brad said access to supplies and equipment can improve patient outcomes.  ‘’Yeah, I don't think it would surprise you that, first and foremost, I think it impacts patients with reduced delays. We're in the business of potentially being life and death. So quick access to supplies and equipment, it minimizes any treatment delays, and that also improves patient outcomes. That said, also, I think the professional environment, a well-oiled machine doesn't work as well if the gears aren't where they should be. A well-organized hospital creates more of a professional and a reassuring environment which, for their patients and their families, can really go a long way. But hospitals aren't exclusive. A library runs a lot better when it's organized. A restaurant, a law firm, everything works better when things are where they should be and there's no surprises.’’   15:09 Convincing the C-Suite  Brad explained the advantages for leadership in recognizing the value of storage.  ‘’I don't really see myself as the type of salesman who's really trying to convince anymore. I'm more of attract, don't chase. But that said, when I come in, I can read the room. I know when I'm here to give a bandaid, and then I know when I'm here to give open heart surgery. But that said, there's an increasing number of individuals who see the value in storage after years of working with me. And some of the best projects I have are when these individuals, they get relocated to a new facility with a higher role. And then they have a whole clear canvas that they're able to paint and make their own baby and really create. And I don't think it's a coincidence that the individuals who prioritize organization and storage are the ones who are finding themselves getting these new roles and being scouted for them. It speaks for itself, I think.’’   18:14 Transforming relationships: A storage success story Brad shared an example of how storage transformed a customer relationship.  ‘’One comes to mind, is a big hospital system of maybe about 13 hospitals there. Clean supply rooms were all converted over to a system, I won't mention them because I don't want to throw dirt on anybody. But they were sold on the concept on paper. It seemed great. So they went live with it. And out of the gate, they just had a lot of trouble, and they were ghosted by the customer service. And as we said, not to be overdramatic or put my theatrics, but, sometimes, it is potentially life and death. And they just didn't have the margin for error with this system, so they had to take the financial loss. And then they brought me in to convert over to my storage systems. And we had to come in and work weekends when cases weren't going on, and we had to act fast because it's not like one supply room per hospital. It's every floor has a supply room. So I didn't have much of a social life during this conversion, but I learned a lot about my products. I learned a lot about my customer. I like to think that my customer service was put on display, and my relationship with that hospital system became stronger than oak.’’   20:24 Leadership tip: Focus on your passion Brad said success in business isn’t all about the numbers.  ‘’Obviously, I know that I'm not like everybody else. And I zig when everybody else zags sometimes. But I discovered, around 2018, that storage was my passion. And not to sound too corny, but I think it's my purpose in life is working in hospitals, and getting them organized, and helping them run more efficiently. And as I said to you, my numbers are no longer my motivator. I'm not looking at the numbers and saying, "Oh, is this a good month or a bad month, financially?" I don't watch the pot boil. I just focus on taking care of myself. I take care of my customers, and I think the rest just takes care of itself. I'm more mindful and attentive of what my customers are saying, and I'm not trying to push the most profitable product. I'm trying to, if they have a square hole, I have a square peg. If they have a round hole, I have a round peg. I think that that goes a long way. And my relationships, I think, have just really been cemented, especially the last year, ever since I was able to start FitzRight, and really engrave that culture into the company. I feel that my solid relationships have gotten even more concrete with my customers. And where thoughts go, energy flows, and I know that that's a pretty cliche line, but I like to think that my customers can see that. There's a sense of trust. And, again, it's more of attracting, not chasing.’’     Connect with Lisa Miller on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisamiller/] Connect with Jim Cagliostro on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimcagliostro/] Connect with Brad Fitzpatrick on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradley-fitzpatrick-a6510193/]   Check out SpendMend [https://www.spendmend.com/]    You’ll also hear:    Seeing things in a different light; Brad’s career journey to Fitzright Storage Solutions: ‘’I always marched to the beat of my own drum. I know I don't really have the same energy as a lot of people out there, but I always found that I saw things in a different light. … then, in my old age, I became focused in on the relationships with my customers, and pushing more of a solution than one particular product.’’   Luxury versus necessity; two opposing views of storage: ‘’I have customers who I've had a long relationship, who know the value of getting everything in order and the benefits of it. But then, also, when I'm called in, I also know that if I'm called in because Joint Commission was just in, I'm not there to totally redo the thing. I'm there to put a bandaid on it so they could get Joint Commission or inspection off their back.’’   The positive impact of storage on a hospital’s bottom line: ‘’Efficient use of the storage space can reduce need for additional storage spaces. And in tow, that means a better inventory management, avoiding unnecessary purchases, or stocking up on materials that can expire, and overstocking on those types.’’ What To Do Next: 1.       Subscribe  [https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6864672266584641537/]to The Economics of Healthcare.       2.        There are three ways to work with SpendMend: * Benchmark a vendor contract – either an existing contract or a new agreement. * We can support your team with their cost savings initiatives to add resources and expertise. We set a bold cost savings goal and work together to achieve it.  * SpendMend can perform a cost savings opportunity assessment. We dig deep into all of your spend and uncover unique areas of cost savings.      3. If you are interested in learning more, the quickest way to get your questions answered is to speak with Lisa Miller at lmiller@spendmend.com [lmiller@spendmend.com] or Jim Cagliostro at jcagliostro@spendmend.com [jcaglistro@spendmend.com]. .

Fueling World-Class Performance | E. 115

Success in every industry is about effective leadership. Business coach and author Steve Lover explains how every organization can inspire world-class performance to Jim Cagliostro.    Episode Introduction Steve explains why confidence is the #1 priority for every employee, outlines the five keys to effective hiring and the three factors to fuel world-class performance and explains why customer service is dead. He also outlines why motivation doesn’t work, why organizations need to get messaging out of the marketing department and why everything happens on the other side of fear.    Show Topics   * Defining ‘’world-class’’ * Five keys to effective hiring * 3 ways to ignite world-class performance * Fear and courage aren’t opposites  * ‘’Customer service is dead’’ * Messaging needs to come from something real  * Leadership tip: step into the fear     07:07 Defining ‘’world-class’’  Steve explained why success in every industry is all about leadership.  ‘’I like to say, and this is really, I've said that I say this in two different places in my book, but it's really interesting speaking to a medical group of people. When you walk into a doctor's office, sometimes you'll walk in, and the staff is pleasant and they're nice and they're welcoming and they're caring. And you walk into another office, and you feel like they're doing you the biggest favor by just showing up to work in the morning. Very often they're sour faced, sometimes they're even nasty. Well, I believe that that comes from the doctor. A doctor that really cares how his patients are treated, that's the first office you went to. A doctor that's really worried about what the money in the business is looking or other things or efficiencies. That's the second business. So people have to be, they're going to follow you and how you lead them. And what Willink came out in his book was in the good leader over there, everybody had extreme ownership of what they were doing. And the other one, they didn't. And so really, you had mentioned something earlier, what world-class is. And to me, the definition of world-class is when you decide you want to do something, and you can fulfill it. So we say we want to get this done as a company. The fact that we can get that done based on what we said we wanted is what world-class is about. And when it comes to having people work for you and getting them on the program and then getting them involved and getting them excited, it's a whole different ballpark on how you're going to have those discussions.’’   12:12 Five keys to effective hiring  Steve outlined what every employer needs to look for in a new hire.  ‘’I believe there's five things that you need in a good employee, and they're not the five things most people look for. The first one is, do they have an aptitude for the business? Now, you might have a business that needs a certain amount of skill that they've learned, but experience is never what it's at because very often you have to unteach them. And so do they have the aptitude? Do they have the ability to do this work? Is this work a good job for them? Number two, the most important of the five is, do they have the right attitude? Are they people that are going to be upbeat, optimistic, go, and with a gusto to the business? The third one, the hardest one to find is, do they have a good work ethic? Most people today do not have a good work ethic. And so finding people that have a good work ethic or would like to develop it, as a third one, that's the hardest one to find. The next one would be, are they coachable? Is this somebody that you're going to be able to have a real discussion, help them get better? And they're going to be willing to take that discussion. If they're not coachable, it's a mistake. And then finally, are they a good fit for your culture? If they're not a good fit for the culture, that's going to create waves. …. And if those five things are in place, I believe you can overcome almost anything.’’   14:57 3 ways to ignite world-class performance  Steve explained why he prefers inspiration to motivation. ‘’That's really what the whole third section of the book is about. The shortcut is I told you there's three things that are in place to create confidence, which were taking on a big challenge, doing deliberate work on it, and getting results. So the corollary for the manager or leader is to inspire the challenge, encourage the efforts, and to celebrate the results. And there's a lot to unpack there because first off, I do not like motivation. I believe motivation is totally the wrong thing. Motivate means I get you to do things that I want you to do for my reasons. Whereas if I inspire you, I get you to do things that you want to do for your own reasons. And if you think about what people really want, like the salesman example, I can come to them and say, "Listen, we really need you to do this because this is what our company needs right now." Or you can say, "You'd like to have that extra money? Wouldn't you like to go on vacation this summer and you'd like to get that new car?" Which one do you think is going to help them take on the challenge and do it better? Right, inspiration. So I don't believe in motivation. I always see inspire. Second off, when it comes to the work, anytime somebody's doing something difficult that's off the charts for them that they haven't done before, it's scary. ‘’   16:40 Fear and courage aren’t opposites Steve said leaders need to encourage employees through challenging times.  ‘’A lot of people think that fear and courage are opposites. Couldn't be further from the truth. They're brothers. If you're not fearful, you don't need courage. Courage is only around if you're fearful. If you're not fearful, I don't have to be courageous about anything. But if I am fearful, that's when I get to put on my courage pants or my courage jacket, whatever is, and go do things. And so what they need is to be encouraged. The word encourage means to give somebody else your courage. Now, I'm not doing the hard work. It's easy for me to encourage them. And I like to use example of the guy who's working out and he's doing bench pressing and he takes on a new weight that's higher than he's ever done before and some guy's spotting him and he gets number eight, and it goes tough in nine. He's struggling and the guy spotting him says, "It's all you. Come on, you got it. I'm here for you. Just go a little. Push a little more, push a little more." And he gets his 10 reps because the encouragement.  And that's the same thing that a leader has to do. They have to encourage their people when things are going tough. Not necessarily push them, not necessarily hang it over them, not necessarily berate them, but just the opposite. You have to encourage them. Get them to keep the picture of what they want to do, what inspired them to go do it better. And then probably the most important is to celebrate the results. And most business owners absolutely are horrible at celebrations. They just don't know how to help a person see it. And I'll just give you an example for a kid. A kid comes home with a 99 on a math test and dad could say, "Wow, great job, kid." That's almost not even a compliment, let alone on a celebration.’’   26:22 ‘’Customer service is dead’’ Steve said the customer experience is much more important than ‘’customer service.’’ ‘’But the bottom line is the customer journey is everything. It's a very funny thing, the words “customer service” is part of our lexicon for so long because it was so important, but actually customer service is dead because customer service is about remedial. When something goes wrong, what do I do to fix it? And although you still have to have that, there's something much, much more important, and that's called customer experience. And the way I like to explain it like this, you go to a restaurant and the ambience is beautiful and it looks nice, and the waiters are well-trained. They stay close enough that you can get them if you need anything, but far enough away that they're not intruding on your meal. You look at the menu, everything sounds so good, and the prices are really reasonable. The meals come out, it looks better than it sounded, and it tastes better than it looks, which is usually not the case….You are floating, cloud nine, this was such a great client experience, customer experience, can't wait to tell all your friends. Before you leave, you go to use the bathroom and the bathroom's dirty. Filthy. What just happened to your entire experience of that night out? Instead of telling your friends about the restaurant is, they're going to say, "Don't use the bathroom if you go there…Here's the real funny thing in my example, the bathroom experience has nothing to do with the dining experience. It's a necessary evil. You have to have it there for them, but this is not... They're coming for all the things you did right, but the non-central part that wasn't right is going to screw up the whole experience.’’   30:34 Messaging needs to come from something real  Steve said most mission statements are written for marketing purposes.  ‘’So I think that really starting with the message is putting the cart before horse. And the reason I say that is there are three things, and every time I mention them, of course everybody rolls their eyes. That's a mission statement, the vision statement and the value statements. And the reason they roll their eyes, everybody's heard it a million times before. But the problem is all those statements have usually been taken over by the marketing department. They've been hijacked. And the marketing department writes those things for brochures, for websites, and for walls — not for what's really how the company works. So if you want to look up something really interesting, go look up Enron's value statement. That's in the book. Because it has nothing whatsoever to do with what Enron really was as a company. It's like it's laughable, integrity, you know what I mean? Honesty. It's baloney. And so any messaging that's not coming from something real is going to be a problem. So when people say, "Listen, our most valuable resource is our people," and then they blow up at them or they embarrass them at a meeting or they treat them like garbage in some other way, it's not the messaging. It's who they are as people.’’    35:56 Leadership tip: step into the fear.  Steve said the other side of fear is where everything happens.  ‘’By the way, when you fail, no one's going to remember anyways five minutes later because they're thinking about their toenail, not about what you did point. And so it's about stepping up and going to do that thing you fear, because the other side of fear is where everything happens. And we've gotten so fearful of making a mistake, of being thought of as an imposter. There’s another sentence, I love this a lot: You'll stop worrying about what people think about you when you realize how little they do. And so stepping out, taking the plunge, and doing the thing that you really want to do and you're afraid to do, that's where magic happens. And that's where magic happens for leaders and followers and everybody. But when you get that going, then the second thing is, I'm a big believer in a 90-day cycle. Every 90 days you pick on something new that you're working on, and you take that challenge that you've never done before that's frightening, and you're going to have to do it. And figure out what the actions you're going to take and what the celebration's going to look like. And so you're going through those 90 days. Well, if you have a company and you have employees and every 90 days everybody's upgrading who they are as either people or employees, and they're not separated, you end up with a different company a year later. They've gone through four iterations at the end of the year, and there's no way your company looks the same.’’ Connect with Lisa Miller on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisamiller/] Connect with Jim Cagliostro on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimcagliostro/] Connect with Steve Lover on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/your-business-coach/]   Check out SpendMend [https://www.spendmend.com/]    You’ll also hear:    Steve’s journey from rabbi to business coach and author: ‘’I got into coaching, and I found the missing thing. Sometimes you got to have a guy who is afraid to pick up the phone and he can have all the knowledge, skill, and desire he wants, but if the phone feels like it's 3,000 pounds, he's not lifting it up. And that's the same in any industry.’’      Why confidence is #1: ‘’Confidence is the number one thing that you can have to be a great employee. Nothing else even comes close. And the problem is owners don't realize and don't necessarily hire to that and they don't do anything about that.’’   Why success precedes confidence: ‘’Most people think confidence is something you talk yourself into before doing it, that you get confidence and then you get good. It's just the opposite. Success precedes confidence. When you go to do something, you don't do well and you become successful at it, that's when confidence starts to pile in.’’   Expectations versus agreements: ‘’I don't believe in expectations because I think when you have expectations, you are setting yourself up to be disappointed ….So instead, we do agreements. What agreement is, is okay, this is the problem we're trying to solve. I’m supporting you on getting the thing done that you want to do, that you're committed to. And now it's not about my expectations, well, they let me down again. It's about people owning the thing that they're going to do, and they react differently when they do that.’’   Building relationships in healthcare: ‘’Healthcare is not my thing. I'm just looking at it as an outsider, a consumer of healthcare. And when you have somebody that takes the time to explain things to you and speaks to you and shows that they care… when you're at that place of trauma... People understanding, it makes that trauma so much easier. It makes it so much easier to walk through it. And cutting corners in so many different ways, such a big mistake.’’   Why authenticity doesn’t exist: ‘’And the reason I say that is we're all in the middle of changing and growing. And so when I'm authentic, I'm authentic about yesterday, not about today, because today I'm at a little bit of chaos. It's not my idea. This is from Seth Godin.’’ What To Do Next: 1. Subscribe [https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6864672266584641537/] to The Economics of Healthcare.       2.  There are three ways to work with SpendMend: * Benchmark a vendor contract – either an existing contract or a new agreement. * We can support your team with their cost savings initiatives to add resources and expertise. We set a bold cost savings goal and work together to achieve it.  * SpendMend can perform a cost savings opportunity assessment. We dig deep into all of your spend and uncover unique areas of cost savings.       3. If you are interested in learning more, the quickest way to get your questions answered is to speak with Lisa Miller at lmiller@spendmend.com [lmiller@spendmend.com] or Jim Cagliostro at jcagliostro@spendmend.com [jcaglistro@spendmend.com]. .

Higher Education for Healthcare Leaders | E. 114

Higher education plays a vital role in preparing and developing healthcare leaders. Dr Giuseppina Pagnotta explains why to Jim Cagliostro.     Episode Introduction Giuseppina shares her inspiration for going back to her doctorate during Covid, the importance of giving back to the world and how higher education can support career aspirations in nursing and healthcare. She also explains the role of connection, and why time is one of the most precious gifts leaders can offer.          Show Topics   * Higher education can open doors  * Paying it forward: sharing your knowledge * Offering inspiration and guidance through mentoring * Self-regulation and building connection  * Leadership tip: Giving the gift of time      04:00 Higher education can open doors Giuseppina encouraged people to understand how further education can support your career aspirations.  ‘’And I tell people now, young people or anyone that's getting their nursing degree, whether it be from an associate or a baccalaureate program, to go on for the MSN. It's really important in today's world to get that advanced degree because you can keep it in your back pocket, and then it will allow you to have doors opened for different opportunities in your facility or in education or even as an entrepreneur. There are so many nurse entrepreneurs out now. So I attained my MSN in 2020, and our graduation was outside because of COVID, so we ended up having the graduation outside in August of 2020. And then, during that COVID spring, I realized, "What will I do with the MSN? Will it get me where I want to go?" So on that note, I evaluated, "What would I do with it? What doors will it open?" You always have to consistently evaluate, and I even tell my children, "What doors will your degree open? Where will jobs proliferate? Where can you get employment? What do you want to do with that degree, and what is the propensity of getting a job?" So then, you have to evaluate what employment opportunities does that degree align with.’’   08:44 Paying it forward: sharing your knowledge Dr Pagnotta explained why sharing skills and knowledge can help others.  ‘’I think that if you have a skill, knowledge, skill, abilities, whatever you have, and I don't want to keep them for myself. I am on this earth for this many years and if I can share my knowledge and share my path with you, then you can take it forward and go take it somewhere. I realized in the past few months that it's not about me. It's about what tools I can give to you and what tools you could run with. And I don't even have to hear from you ever again as a teacher-student, but just to know that I impart with you with the skills to learn and to grow and to get excited about learning, that's enough for me. And also, with recent times and my recent role in the Monmouth County School Nurses Association, I realized that I'm giving my leadership skills to others, and I'm teaching them school nursing leadership and nursing leadership, and they're rolling with it. It makes me so happy to see others flourish with the skills that I'm giving them and the excitement and fostering that relationship and creating an excitement in them in the role in nursing leadership.   14:06 Offering inspiration and guidance through mentoring Giuseppina said it’s important for leaders to examine their motivation behind mentoring.  ‘’I think it's dual fold. It takes a lot of work, but yet it's so rewarding. For myself, I started out as an American Nurses Association mentor. I think it was two years ago, and I was matched with a mentee across the U.S., and we would meet, I think, once every two months for 15 minutes and talk and then give each other... I would give strategies as to what her aspirations were or their aspirations, and we would continue the conversation there. It was interesting because I tend to want to inspire you. I want to inspire you in your path, and I want to look up possibilities for you. If you want to go back to college, I will look up colleges for you and look up different programs that you may like to attend in your area or that have the specific degree or certification program where you would like to go….And also, it's important for you to examine why you would like to be a mentor and what purpose does it serve for you. For me, it just serves the purpose of guiding. I love to guide colleagues into their path, colleagues, students, friends. I really get excited and happy about doing that. It gives me joy, lots of joy to do that, to help others and discover what their potential is because sometimes you don't know your true potential. And I have had several colleagues that have shown me my true potential.‘’   18:49 Self-regulation and building connection  Dr Pagnotta highlighted two key elements to support academic success. ‘’…. as a student and as a nurse already advancing in your degree, even if you are in an inpatient unit with a BSN, and you would like to be on a committee, shared governance committee, there are a lot of opportunities. In academia, I think initially, the administration and the chairs and your professors guide you, but then at a certain point, you kind of take over, and it's all you because you yourself, especially in a DNP program, you have to be self-regulated and to regulate your time and to really understand, "I have this much time today. What can I get through?" So it's important as a doctoral student for me to write down what I need to attain and also the deadlines. When is everything due and when am I going to revise? So definitely in that path. In addition, I think that it's really important for academia to set up paths to have the students connect, especially in an online platform. MSN programs are online. DNP programs are online. They have to have a coffee place online, its own place for students to connect to each other. So the nerd that I am, and friends, colleagues can say this that I've had in class with, I would email all of my classmates in the beginning of the semester, say, "Hi, my name is Gius. Nice to meet you all. If you want to connect and chat about the course, here's my number." And so I've met amazing people throughout my time as an MSN and DNP and actually some classmates that I can call friends today.’’   22:03 Leadership tip: Giving the gift of time  Giuseppina said empathy, guidance and giving time through mentoring is highly rewarding for leaders.  ‘’I think the connection with family and friends and colleagues is very important. And also, to have that empathy and caring aspect about yourself, I think that is a big part. I tend to be very empathetic and very caring, even with students and colleagues to guide them in the right direction even if something is... You lost a lot of points on a paper, or something happened, and I will tell them how to get most of the points next time or how to prepare so that it doesn't happen again. I'm that type of person. And also, with mentorship, with my role, with inspiring others, you give yourself, and you give others your gift of time because your time is so important. And you give a gift to others, and you give them a gift of your time because your time is really precious. I think by me giving the gift of time to others, it's rewarding. And you had said nurses burn out…. It's difficult, and you're always giving, giving. But when you are a mentor, you're also getting that feedback from somebody else that's saying, "Thank you. Thank you for your time. I appreciate talking to you. You inspire me." And I think that's important.’’   Connect with Lisa Miller on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisamiller/] Connect with Jim Cagliostro on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimcagliostro/] Connect with Dr. Giuseppina Pagnotta on LinkedIn  [https://www.linkedin.com/in/giuseppina-pagnotta-a5909aaa/]   Check out SpendMend [https://www.spendmend.com/]      You’ll also hear:    Gaining a doctorate during Covid: ‘’There's nowhere to go. There's nothing to do… So instead of watching Netflix and binge-watching and discovering new shows out there, I decided to go back to my doctorate. So then, I was immersed in leadership classes, mentorship, and population health, epidemiology. And so, I never looked back.’’   Giving more back to the world: ‘’Do you like your current position? Do you feel like you can give more back to the world? And if you feel like you can give more back to the world in your particular profession, well then, you have to consider ways to give back, either it's with a certification or teaching CPR or teaching others or entrepreneur or patenting something.’’   Why face-to-face connection matters: ‘’I think we're realizing the importance of that face-to-face connection. It's great to have the digital ability, but to meet in a coffee shop, to meet someone, go for a walk, and to really get to know someone, I think that's huge.’’ What To Do Next: 1.       Subscribe  [https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6864672266584641537/]to The Economics of Healthcare.       2.        There are three ways to work with SpendMend: * Benchmark a vendor contract – either an existing contract or a new agreement. * We can support your team with their cost savings initiatives to add resources and expertise. We set a bold cost savings goal and work together to achieve it.  * SpendMend can perform a cost savings opportunity assessment. We dig deep into all of your spend and uncover unique areas of cost savings.      3.   If you are interested in learning more, the quickest way to get your questions answered is to speak with Lisa Miller at lmiller@spendmend.com [lmiller@spendmend.com] or Jim Cagliostro at jcagliostro@spendmend.com [jcaglistro@spendmend.com]. .

The Power of the Language We Use in Healthcare | E. 113

Language can have a powerful impact on the patient experience and our perspectives on illness. Claudia Cometa, author, pharmacist, and founder at Peace Advocacy Group explains why to Jim Cagliostro.    Episode Introduction Claudia explains how her passion for advocacy arose following her father’s illness, and how moving away from images of a cancer ‘’battle’’  helps us to see our bodies as allies, rather than adversaries. She also highlights the barrier to healing created by the language of competition, how she found inspiration from the Princess of Wales, and why no patient should feel like they are a burden.                Show Topics   * ‘’How is this the patient experience?’’ * Seeing our bodies as allies, not adversaries * Moving away from an ‘’illness identity’’ * Overcoming the language of competition  * Creating a more peaceful patient experience * Leadership tip: Twofold knowing      02:44 ‘’How is this the patient experience?’’ Claudia said it was her father’s cancer diagnosis that prompted a heart-centered decision towards advocacy.  ‘’…my father was diagnosed with cancer in 2016, and I quickly was in crisis resolution mode. I was on the other side of the equation, jumped headfirst into that side as it just made sense. I was the only one in my family who was medically trained. And so I saw the other side of the system for the first time of any significance and was mortified like, "How is this the patient experience? How did I, number one, not know this was the patient experience and how am I just now coming to grips with what is happening on the other side of where I'm working?" And it was very discouraging. Obviously helping my father, you want the best care for your loved ones. And so to not be able to get that, to be dismissed, I ended up firing several hospital systems. It was a really, really negative experience. And that was with my oversight. That was with my deep understanding of the medical system, how to navigate it. …. And so I vowed at that point that I have to do for others what I did for him. There's just no other way around it. …. It was a feeling that I've never felt before. It was a heart-centered decision-making I had never done before…’’   06:32 Seeing our bodies as allies not adversaries  Claudia said using ‘’battle’’ language around cancer makes it sound like our bodies are the enemy.  ‘’… if I go back to when I was helping my dad, I hadn't really come to this realization yet. And so I was the daughter who was posting on social media, "We're going to fight this, cancer chose the wrong girl." I just fell into the trap of what sounded like what I'm supposed to say. Like, "Yeah, I'm going to win this battle." And it wasn't until years later, well beyond when he passed away that I really started to question, some of this being part of my spiritual growth too and personal development, but how are those words really helping us? If we are really talking about whether it's cancer or another illness as if we're going into battle, and ultimately, we're going into battle with our own body. So if we are going into battle, there has to be a winner and a loser. It's no different from any war that we're used to in history class or any wars that happen right now. There's going to be somebody who's going to come out victorious and somebody who's going to be a loser. Is that the approach we have to take? Is it just that that's what we have heard, that's what's been modeled for us, that's what society has taught us? And so it feels good. It feels like, "Yeah, we're going to fight this." And so we have this internal, "Yeah, maybe this will fire me up if I feel like I'm going to go into battle and I'm going to put on my boxing gloves and I'm going to win this thing." Is there a better approach? Can we start to shift that into, instead of being at war or an adversary to our bodies or our bodies being the enemy, can we actually come back to it being an ally? So is it possible that the symptoms that we're experiencing, whether it's cancer or literally anything else, anything else that is a symptom we are experiencing, can that be seen as a message from our body? Because our body obviously isn't able to speak a language.’’   11:04 Moving away from an’’ illness identity’’ Claudia said a ‘’mind over medicine’’ approach can help to change the language around cancer.  ‘’So number one is, okay, maybe a second opinion wouldn't be cancer. I don't know. But then there's the second part of this deep-seated illness identity of if I move through my life with the statement, "I have cancer," running through my mind at all times, then I am acting like what I think a cancer patient is. And so it becomes a deep-seated shift in our identity. And I saw it with my dad. I wasn't able to process it till later. But it's like, "Okay, well, now I'm that person." And this is actually mind over medicine, it's actually a thing. It's actually a book. It's a fantastic book. It's a well-researched concept. In fact, there's studies showing that women with breast cancer, if they are told they're getting chemotherapy, even if they're not, so they're told they're getting chemotherapy, they actually get placebo, they lose their hair because they're so convinced of the identity that comes with chemotherapy like, "Okay, when I get chemo, I lose my hair." So there was no pharmacologic or physiologic reason for them to lose their hair, other than the deep-seated identity that that gave them. So I really do think that our language around illness and how we process the identity around our illness is so important. It doesn't mean it's easy because you're swimming upstream. The easy societal swim on the lazy river is just do what everybody else is doing. Right? And so how do we start to shift this paradigm? And it's hard when nobody else around you is. And so it takes each of us to start making that shift.‘’   15:50 Overcoming the language of competition   Claudia said our cultural language can block out messages from our bodies.   ‘’…..there is an element in our society of competition, and there are some settings where competition makes complete sense and sports is one of them. That makes sense. I don't really believe in participation trophies. When you are playing a sport, it's competition. It just is what it is, but that has permeated... The concept of competition has permeated our society so far beyond sports and so far beyond the arenas where it needs to be, and sickness isn't immune from that. We feel like we're always fighting something, we're always competing with something. So if we're in business, we're competing with the business owner who does the same thing we do. And even in social dynamics and high school, it's like we're always competing. We want attention. We want social media. And so it's almost like in every aspect of our lives, there's this trying to win something, win attention. And it's rare that we just are okay in what's happening and able to quiet ourselves down and evaluate what's happening and learn from it. It's like we just want to keep getting louder, like, "Now we're going to be the louder one. So my body's getting loud, I can be louder." And it is not to anybody's fault. I fell into this trap with my dad. So I think that when we start to shift in... Perspective is the perfect word, is when we start to shift our perspective that what if your body really is doing everything it can possibly do to share a message with you that could change this? That it's basically saying, "Look..." The body has an innate amazing resiliency and ability to heal, but it can't do that. …… our bodies also cannot undergo the healing processes that it so divinely knows how to do if we don't give it what it needs. And so can we just get to a point where it's like, "Okay, I hear you body. What is it that is lacking here?" Maybe it's something tangible like a shift in food, movement. Maybe it's something intangible like stress. Maybe it's connecting to your intuition, maybe it's loneliness. Maybe you've been isolated. We saw this obviously a lot in COVID.’’   22:14 Creating a more peaceful patient experience Claudia explained why preparing for healthcare appointments can help to reduce stress.  ‘’So you are allowed to have health goals. You are allowed to have intentions for appointments. You're allowed to voice those intentions for appointments. You're allowed to prepare, and you should prepare for appointments. If I have an intention at this appointment that I want to get this specific thing answered, let me backtrack and see what information might be helpful for that physician to help me clarify that and help me get to where I want to go. And so I'm going to start taking notes, taking journals. Maybe I just started a medication. Let me take notes on how I'm feeling after the medication. Maybe I have trackers of my blood pressure. Let me keep all that information instead of sitting in the doctor's office and the waiting room, scrolling my phone or looking through magazines. What else do I want to get from this appointment? And let me get in the right mindset of being an activated patient. So a lot of the environment and healthcare that is already chaotic and stressful, we don't necessarily have a lot of control over. So what we can do is what is in our control, and that is the things I've just laid out and many more. And the verbiage that we use and our choice of physician, right? There are some really great matches, physician to patient……what can you do within your control, language being one thing, and these things being another, that that can help your healthcare environment and your healthcare journey be way more peaceful?’’   32:02 Leadership Tip: Knowing is twofold Claudia explained the importance of ‘’getting quiet.’’ ‘’So I think there's elements of that, definitely elements of getting around the right people and just being a lifelong student. I don't think any of us ever just reach a level of knowing enough, and that knowing is twofold. Knowing from a knowledge standpoint, how can I learn from others and glean from the wisdom of others? But then the deeper knowing which we talked about with getting quiet, how can I also... I often take people through an exercise where on paper, we split it in half, knowing on one side, knowing on the other side. One knowing is, "What have I been taught? What did I learn from others? I would've never known this if somebody didn't tell me." And on the other side is, "What do I know that nobody could tell me otherwise? I just know it from a deep place," kind of like me starting Peace Advocacy Group. Nobody could have told me, "That's a bad idea." I wouldn't even have asked, and I wouldn't have listened. So what do you know from a deep inner knowing and how can we continue to nourish both of those sides of knowing?’’     Connect with Lisa Miller on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisamiller/] Connect with Jim Cagliostro on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimcagliostro/] Connect with Claudia Cometa on LinkedIn  [https://www.linkedin.com/in/claudia-cometa-pharmd/]   Check out SpendMend [https://www.spendmend.com/]    You’ll also hear:    The purpose of Peace Advocacy Group: ‘’So I'm not an entrepreneur by childhood….the challenge of course was, "How do I build a business? I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know how to make a website." So really, the challenge was the logistics around the business. And so in 2017, I started Peace Advocacy Group…. locking arms with individuals who are in a situation of a lack of clarity, feeling dismissed by the medical team, feeling like they're not getting answers and they don't know where to go.’’   Inspiration from the Princess of Wales: ‘’And for those who follow Princess Kate and her recent announcement of cancer, it was like a little bit over a two-minute video, but if you really dissect it and listen to it in its entirety, she never once said, "I'm going to win this fight. We're going to win." There was no war language. She also never interestingly said, "I have cancer," …. She said the physicians found cancer….there wasn't this ownership, this possession of the identification of cancer.’’   Tapping into the power of guided meditations: ‘’There are great guided meditations that I've led and that others have led that really help you tune into, "Is there a message here? There's something that I need. Maybe I need more rest. Maybe I'm actually so stressed out in my job that what I need is a shift in career. Maybe I need X, Y, Z. I need to shift my diet. Maybe I've really gone off the wagon and the processed foods I've been eating are not serving me." But we can't hear that until we quiet the external noise. And we certainly aren't going to be able to hear it if we're in battle.’’   Patients should not feel like they’re a burden: ‘’You are allowed to ask questions. You should ask questions. If you just think about the fact that you are in a hospital bed, swallowing pills you don't know what they are, you're getting IVs in your arms, you don't know what it is. It doesn't feel good. That can't possibly feel good to not know those things.’’     What To Do Next: 1.       Subscribe  [https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6864672266584641537/]to The Economics of Healthcare.   2.       There are three ways to work with SpendMend: * Benchmark a vendor contract – either an existing contract or a new agreement. * We can support your team with their cost savings initiatives to add resources and expertise. We set a bold cost savings goal and work together to achieve it.  * SpendMend can perform a cost savings opportunity assessment. We dig deep into all of your spend and uncover unique areas of cost savings.  3. If you are interested in learning more, the quickest way to get your questions answered is to speak with Lisa Miller at lmiller@spendmend.com [lmiller@spendmend.com] or Jim Cagliostro at jcagliostro@spendmend.com [jcaglistro@spendmend.com]. .

Educating The New Supply Chain Workforce Via Social Media | E. 112

A competitive environment can prevent healthcare organizations from engaging online. Justin Poulin shares his insights into the untapped potential of social media with Jim Cagliostro.    Episode Introduction Justin explains why the key to a successful podcast is consistency, how the pandemic masked issues with supply chain workforce shortages, and how silos in healthcare hold people – and organizations - back. He also explains why competition makes people fearful of social media, provides key tips to getting started and explains why ‘’chasing the money’’ will always leave you dissatisfied.   Show Topics   * Consistency is the key to successful podcasting * Bring your whole self to an organization * The supply chain workforce shortage came in under the radar * Healthcare supply chain needs more mentorship * Tailoring content to your target audience * Competition creates a fear of social media  * Getting started online * Leadership tip: ‘’Promote, promote, promote’’     02:56 Consistency is the key to successful podcasting Justin said creating a regular schedule is the most important factor for long-term success.  ‘’….podcasting, so much of it is a soft skill. I could give you little tips and pointers, but the most important thing about podcasting, and you're doing a great job with this, it's just being consistent. Making sure that you are putting content out on a regular schedule that people know what to expect. I see a lot of startup podcasts and they come out with a lot of gusto, and they do a bunch for about two or three months. And then, all of a sudden, there's a four-month gap. And those ones never really take off. I've always told everybody who wants to get involved and do it, "Hey, nobody's trying to own this space. It's a fun, creative outlet. But one of the things you have to do to be good with it is make sure that you are constantly putting out consistent content." You could do a podcast once a quarter, as long as you deliver it once a quarter on a schedule that people can expect…..It's like the TV series that comes to this great cliffhanging end of season two, and then they don't get renewed. And you're just left going, "Why? Why did you do this to me?" And so, yeah, that's the experience. And so, if you're doing podcast, just stick with it.’’   11:24 Bring your whole self to an organization Justin said healthcare can be siloed but merging skills and interests benefits every organization.  ‘’…what a convergence of my passion to do this radio show podcasting, my clinical background as a nurse, and then this entrepreneurial sales side. It's all just merged into this role and what this company is. And who would've thought all of that would've intersected, what I was doing? And I saw it as something separate. So I'd also encourage people to consider their diverse interests and experiences. And not try to partition or segment them but, actually, bring them to the table and bring their whole self to their employer, or help them create their dream job for themselves. It's really important that I think a lot of times we're taught diversify your revenue streams, you hear that, so it's all segmented. And you think about healthcare and it's very siloed. But we actually do that to ourselves. We silo our skills and interests, instead of merging them into what makes us a unique human being, which is, ultimately, how we can bring the most tremendous value to any organization that we're involved in.’’   14:28 The supply chain workforce shortage came in under the radar Justin explained the impact of the pandemic on staffing shortages.  ‘’I feel like the supply chain shortage, or workforce shortage, is sneaky. It came in under the radar. I'm sure people in supply chain might've been aware that it could be become an issue, but I don't think it was as transparent as the one that everybody talked about with nursing. We could have planned better, for sure, but we knew it was coming. I think some of the things that had happened with supply chain was really the emergence of strategic sourcing and these other roles that, at one point, when you said supply chain, in a lot of ways, you meant logistics or materials. And maybe a little bit of contracting and purchasing. But what has happened since the Affordable Care Act and value-based purchasing is we've now really expanded on the skillset that's required, where you can take your career.. But then, obviously, I think the fact that we didn't have enough people with enough experience in growing into these advanced roles in supply chain really came to a head when we hit the pandemic. Because, prior to that, it was pretty easy to say, "We're doing okay." Because we're consolidating agreements, we're looking for discounts based on volume and economies of scale, really. And I think once the supply and demand and the supply chain itself got disrupted, I think it really exposed something that was inherently there that we dodged dealing with for a really long time.’’   18:19 Healthcare supply chain needs more mentorship Justin explained why time constraints are affecting leadership's ability to nurture talent.  ‘’I definitely think there needs to be more mentorship, but I think there's plenty of willing mentors out there. The problem is, with the constraints that we're under, you're talking about taking somebody and their time that is incredibly valuable right now. So I feel like we're a little upside down on that. I think there's a lot of willing mentors that are in leadership positions. But it's about nurturing the talent and that takes a lot of time away. And, honestly, if you're already short on talent, then you're in a position where you're already lifting up, just with your own personal efforts. So how does the senior staff in a supply chain carve out that time right now to really mentor and nurture the individuals that are coming onto their team? So I think they can still do it, but I think they need a lot of augmented resources to help. And if you just even look at standardized training, like we've got the CMRP through ARM and there are some other programs that are out there, but, by and large, most of the training is institutional. And some of it needs to be tailored to the healthcare organization because everybody does things a little bit different. They use different ERPs. And so you can't just put a standard training package together. It requires, I think, the new blood coming in to be quite motivated, and also able to self-educate and be self-motivated to educate. And so, for that to really happen, you've got to inspire them. And you've got to give them resources that not only give them information, but that also give them encouragement.’’   21:26 Tailoring content to your target audience Justin explained how social media enables people to find valuable content.  ‘’… …So I think the answer to the question that you just asked me is individualized. And I think this is one of the keys of social media. What it does enable people to do is to find the content that they find valuable. And as a matter of fact, LinkedIn, in the way that they continue to do developments in their platform, is geared around connecting people with noted experts that are talking about the things that somebody wants to be learning about. They're very focused on that. And they also throttle... They don't want big media blasts. They don't want content in a commodity sense, where you just hit everybody and hit them with a ton. They don't want the users of the LinkedIn platform to get washed out. They want them to be pulled in and find value for being on their platform because it helps them grow professionally. That is different than the approach for Facebook. However, I still believe in all forms of social media having a purpose. But you do have to tailor the content to that targeted audience, and which platform they're on, and maybe the reasons that they're on that platform. So I prefer LinkedIn for a lot of reasons. But, mostly, I believe in their philosophy about connecting people to the resources that they are looking for and/or needing.’’   25:20 Competition creates a fear of social media  Justin said collaboration and transparency can help to transform healthcare. ‘’We talk a lot about transparency, collaboration. There are a lot of themes that people incorporate into their vision for how to transform healthcare, not just in the supply chain but across the board. But, yet, we say those things, but a lot of what happens is we live in a very competitive environment. And I believe that we haven't really taught our culture here in the United States how to work collaboratively and competitively with a certain amount of respect. And I think a lot of people are fearful of social media because of that reason. But if we actually learned how to do what you just said, where we could converse even with our competitors on certain topics... Because guess what? Your competitors, because you're bringing different value props to the table, it's not a one size fits all. It's different perspectives on how to solve similar problems. And those perspectives match up with different cultures in different ways. And I think we fail to recognize that it's not you're everything to everybody. You're hopefully, and every good business owner knows this, you're hopefully aligning yourself with a good customer for your company so that they have a good experience and that only builds your reputation. I think we absolutely need to do a better job, not even just in healthcare,  but in general, of how can we come to the same table with our competitors in a professional manner and both benefit?’’   30:34 Getting started online Justin said getting involved is about more than being a content consumer.  ‘’… the best way to do it is to follow some hashtags, like #HealthcareSupplyChain, HealthcarePurchasing. Just look for some of those. Maybe find some companies that you've done business with, colleagues, and connect with them. But, essentially, curate the content that you want to see on LinkedIn. And when you find something that you have maybe some thoughts on, the hardest thing is creating content. It takes effort, it takes thought. But the one thing you can do to share your knowledge, you can share somebody else's post on a topic that you're either experienced or passionate about. Or that you know, "Hey, this was a great conversation that so-and-so had on this podcast." Or maybe somebody just does a general post, a couple of paragraphs on an experience they had. You could highlight that by sharing it out and saying, "Really good insights here." Something that I have always noticed that people often overlook, you don't have to tell the whole story. You don't have to be the single authority. But it definitely helps when you share somebody else's content with one or two lines that include your own insights. And especially if you think it's something that most people miss. Just get other people thinking by seeing your post. That's the best way to get involved, not just be a content consumer. ‘’   34:16 Leadership tip: ‘’Promote, promote, promote’’ Justin said a servant leadership mentality is common among successful leaders.  ‘’I don't know if this is really a big aha lesson, and I might give you two, but a lot of times people are worried about elevating the people that work for them or that they're mentoring. And I just think, time and time again, it pays huge dividends to elevate those that are under you. They're never going to replace you. You're just going to become more valuable. And you never know where they're going to go in their career. So I feel like in leadership, it's just promote, promote, promote, and develop the people that are around you. You never know when you're going to need them. So, sometimes, there's just that hesitancy. I think all the great leaders are never worried about being replaced. And, sometimes, on the sales side, that can be adding staff to the team, or maybe it's you're adding a CRM, and so you know all of the functions of your role are now going to be documented. And you're like, "Oh, that could make it easier for them to bring somebody else in... You're never going to have a shortage of career opportunities if you approach it that way. You just won't. So I think that's a common amongst really excellent leaders. That servant leadership mentality I think is really important.’’   Connect with Lisa Miller on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisamiller/] Connect with Jim Cagliostro on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimcagliostro/] Connect with Justin Poulin on LinkedIn  [https://www.linkedin.com/in/podcasting/]   Check out SpendMend [https://www.spendmend.com/]    You’ll also hear:    Justin’s career history, via nursing and a podcast on Boston Celtics: ‘’This is in 2005. Podcasting, that term was coined in the same year. I didn't even know it was a term. I called it a toll-free, live, call-in webcast, specifically for Celtics fans. I had people calling in from Australia and Italy, all over the world. And wound up credentialing my way into the locker room with credentialed access to the Boston Celtics. I was the first person from new media to get in there.’’   Tackling the workforce shortage in the healthcare supply chain: ‘’And then you're also competing with other industries, which is another difficult aspect, as people don't really find the healthcare supply chain as a destination career. They find supply chain as a destination career. They go to school for it. But not always for healthcare. And a lot of times, the wages are just more competitive in other industries. And so we do find that there's that new talent that's being trained isn't necessarily landing in healthcare roles, unfortunately. And it's certainly something that we need to tackle.’’   Why the healthcare supply chain is limited on social media: ‘’And I think there's some fundamental reasons for it too, which is to say people don't necessarily want to share their strategies for fear of losing their negotiating leverage. So I think the healthcare supply chain leader, in general, is positioned differently than maybe a clinician in how they would have a discussion on LinkedIn.’’   Don’t chase the money: ‘’But chasing the money, I think, will almost always leave you somewhat dissatisfied. So align your organizational strategies with your professional goals. As long as it's not simply money, you'll win every single time.’’     What To Do Next:   1. Subscribe  [https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6864672266584641537/]to The Economics of Healthcare.   2. There are three ways to work with SpendMend:   * Benchmark a vendor contract – either an existing contract or a new agreement. * We can support your team with their cost savings initiatives to add resources and expertise. We set a bold cost savings goal and work together to achieve it.  * SpendMend can perform a cost savings opportunity assessment. We dig deep into all of your spend and uncover unique areas of cost savings.  3. If you are interested in learning more, the quickest way to get your questions answered is to speak with Lisa Miller at lmiller@spendmend.com [lmiller@spendmend.com] or Jim Cagliostro at jcagliostro@spendmend.com [jcaglistro@spendmend.com]. .