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Off to a Running Start!

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During the next few weeks, just prior to January 1, our brains begin to process the “Oh no! A new year is about to arrive! It’s time to make another New Year’s resolution!” And then, the thought we all try to suppress… “… which I’ll give up by the end of January.” Yikes! That’s no way to get started, feeling as if we’re going to fail before we even get going! I’m no different. I undertake this annual process just like everyone else does. And yes, usually by the end of January, I’m as guilty as almost everyone else who gives […]

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Making the Case for Nonsense

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I suspect this discussion is going to surprise you as much as it surprised me. The topic is Nonsense, but not Nonsense by its classic definition. No, this Nonsense is quite different, and, frankly, sometimes it chokes me up. Just published a month ago, Nonsense: The Power of Not Knowing is the title of a new book by Jamie Holmes. Jamie is a Future Tense Fellow at New America, a non-profit, think-tank / forum / media platform that promotes the intellectual study of politics, prosperity and purpose. Part science, part expos, part business lesson, Nonsense will surely leave you looking

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Merriam Webster, The Who, and Hacking Churnalism

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Today we’re channeling The Who, Merriam Webster and one of my longtime favorite fellow patient empowerment buddies, Gary Schwitzer, who reminds me at least weekly why we just can’t trust the media without very careful review. As follows: I love a new word. When this one appeared in my inbox last week, I wanted to share it with you because it’s an important concept for advocates and patients alike. Today’s new word is: Churnalism.(Take that Merriam Webster!) Churnalism is the product of lazy reporters and journalists who, without further investigation or review, simply reprint (or broadcast) a submitted press release

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Shark Tank, Narrative, Your Audiences – and Success

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I’m a huge fan of TV’s Shark Tank. Not an episode goes by when I don’t learn something about business, investment, marketing or some other tidbit I can use in my work. My favorite “shark” is Barbara Corcoran because I find she bases her investment decisions on smart money-making plus appropriately enthusiastic entrepreneurs who share their stories of passion and work ethic. This season there is a new shark in the tank, Troy Carter, who prior to this was totally unknown to me. Seems he used to be Lady Gaga’s manager, and is known for media production. He’s certainly on

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Why It Takes So Long to Acquire a New Client

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We live in an instant gratification world, don’t we? I suppose we could harken back to BF Skinner’s hungry rats, then combine that with the expectation of instant answers we get from the Internet to understand why we, as human beings, want and expect everything to happen the MOMENT we want it to happen! Think it… will it… snap your fingers – there it is. This concept came to mind after a conversation with my husband. He recently retired from his field engineering career. He loves to golf and fish and this time of the year, doesn’t lack for anything

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Surprising Wisdom from Chipotle Will Make Your Day

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About once every five or six weeks I splurge on Chipotle for lunch. Love it – guacamole and all (Have you tried their corn salsa? Yum.) On my most recent visit, I did something I had never taken the time to do. I read the take-out bag. That’s right. If you have never purchased take-out at Chipotle, you may not know that there is a great deal of what looks like plain old text on the bag. I had never paused to read it, assuming (uh-huh) that all that text was just promotional in nature – and who has time

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Misleading Headline Provides an Opportunity

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This week the Chicago Tribune featured patient advocacy as a growing trend – a marvelous exposure to private advocacy for the uninitiated (uninitiated = most of the known universe). Several of our APHA members were mentioned in the article and for the most part, it was an excellent representation of the status of private advocacy. Except for the headline: Now, most of us are intelligent enough to know that headlines are created to suck in readers, and too often, intentionally focus on some point that doesn’t really represent the story – just draws those readers. And so it was with

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