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A New Year, and the Responsibility of Potential

“Happy New Year to you and much happiness and success in 2015!”… You know that all business conducted by email or holiday card during the past few weeks has ended with just that greeting – or variations on that theme. It can be the hollowest of greetings – not that you don’t really wish the person you’re writing to success and happiness – of course you do! But usually when we add it to a casual correspondence because it’s easy, it’s simply cordial – a good ending – without much thought to what’s behind it. But this holiday season, I’ve […]

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Santa Can Teach Us Advocates Plenty About Good Branding

The holidays are here! And whether or not Santa plays a role in your own celebration, you have to give it to him – he may be THE most recognizable brand in the world. It struck me this week that what Santa stands for, and what advocates stand for, are very similar: selflessness and improving others’ lives. So what can independent health advocates learn from Santa Claus about branding ourselves, our work, and our practices? Plenty. Basic branding is based on three things: 1. Recognition We all recognize Santa. Even variations on Santa imposed by others – we still know

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The Weakest Link

Remember that TV show from a decade or more ago? When a contestant failed to answer a quiz question correctly, the host would sternly declare, “YOU ARE the WEAKEST LINK. GOOD-BYE!”? Remaining, of course, were the more knowledgeable contestants, presumably a stronger chain of smarter people who could get the job done. Oh man, how I wish I had been able to invoke that host’s dismissal powers this past week! As both my husband and I had to deal with different parts of the healthcare system, we encountered roadblocks – the weakest links – and in each case, we had

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And They Called it Puppy L-o-o-ve

…. Remember when you were a teenager in puppy love> Oh! You couldn’t stand to be away from the new person in your life! You knew you would love each other forever – but the rest of the world that was getting in the way of that love. THEY thought you were too young, but you knew better! …. And they called it puppy love Oh I guess they’ll never know How a young heart really feels And why I love her so It was the highest of highs, finding love for the first time! Like no other, you couldn’t

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Gallimaufry: Your Questions, Some Answers, Media and Just Stuff

Last summer I came upon this great word – a word I had never heard before, but which can be used in so many aspects of conversation and life! The word is “gallimaufry.”? It means a hodgepodge, a jumble, or confused medley of things – items, ideas, anything at all. It’s a great word for an advocacy entrepreneur! It describes the many ideas that come together to define challenges and create solutions, or the many activities it takes to achieve success, or even the creative approaches it takes to help our clients, or help each other. I’ve even adopted the

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Common Courtesy and Who Owes What?

It was a desperate plea from a young women (we’ll call her Bethany) with a real problem: Bethany had been through several years of infusion treatment for services rendered outside of her network, beginning while she was still a teenager. Her insurance company covered the service (because it wasn’t available at all within her network). So insurance had paid Bethany’s mother for each claim, and then her mother paid the infusion provider. The problem was that, over the years, the mother had paid less than the total amount due – and then she passed away. The infusion company got in

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The Best 3 Minutes and 16 Seconds You’ll Spend Today, This Week, Month or Year

One of our APHA members* forwarded this video link to me, interested in the idea posed about starting one’s practice before it is perfect. So I watched it… And watching it was perhaps the best 3 minutes and 16 seconds I have spent on business motivation in a very long time. So I ask you, too, to spend your next few minutes viewing it – then come back here for a few comments…. Standing Out in a Noisy World “tap” “tap” “tap” “waiting for everyone to come back to this post….” “tap” “tap” “tap” OK – so in those few

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