I know. Those two terms – insurance and success strategies – rarely show up in the same sentence in the patient advocate world, right?
So bear with me.
I follow a company called IDEO on Twitter. @IDEO is a creative think-tank which credits its enormous success to its corporate values. When IDEO talks, those-in-the-know listen.
Recently IDEO’s CEO, Tim Brown, shared a marvelous lesson, and it’s particularly useful for advocates. The reason this particular lesson is so appropriate for us is because there are so few of us, and because we are all striving to create success by building a model that hasn’t existed before now.
So what was Tim’s lesson? It’s titled, “The Secret to Your Success? Make Others Successful.”
“…Helping others to be successful benefits you, too. Even the most brilliant person occasionally gets ‘stuck. In a culture that values the lone genius, where politics and rivalries rule, no one is motivated to help that person get unstuck. Projects stall and good ideas languish.
In an ecosystem where helping others is the norm, however, everyone benefits….”
He goes on to explain that when he interviews job applicants, he listens for the terms “we” and “us” because it indicates a generosity and the ability to give credit where credit is due.
Are you generous of spirit? It would seem that advocates, by their very nature, would be. After all, we work hard to help others… however….
That’s not really the same thing. Being generous to clients isn’t the same as being generous and helping your colleagues – fellow advocates and navigators – be successful. THAT is what Tim is talking about. It might even turn out that a competitor could use your help (remember “coopetition“?) And yes, this value of sharing success extends to your competitors too.
I do see this sort of sharing. I see it in the APHA Forum where members step up to help other members with aspects of practice they struggle with… questions about educational or career possibilities, how to price services, providing resources and more. I love to see it! It should not surprise you to know that those who are doing the helping are often counted among our most successful members.
And now for Insurance – and how it all ties to this concept of making others successful….
For the past several weeks, two of our members, in collaboration with our APHA Insurance Advisor, have done an incredible amount of legwork and homework to help you – their fellow advocates – find a new resource for comprehensive professional liability insurance (also called errors and omissions, or E&O insurance) for your practices…
And here’s the bonus – it costs about half what the first option costs, the one we’ve known about for a couple of years.
I can’t begin to tell you how many hours they invested on your behalf (!), comparing the insurance we’ve known about previously. Now the fruits of their labors, producing the information you need and the questions you’ll need to ask, are available when you log into the Insurance Center from your APHA Dashboard.
These two fellow advocates embody Tim’s concept – the value of helping others which contributes to their own successes.
So you see? Yes – both insurance and success strategies can end up in the same title 🙂
If you need insurance, if you want to save money (yes, you can get a partial refund if you already have insurance elsewhere and want to make the switch) – then take a look at the new information on the APHA website.
And please – as you appreciate what they have done for you turn around yourself and pay it forward for someone else to support your own success.
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Agree? Disagree?
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