On ObamaCare

Please notice, above all the discussion of what's to come, that there is NO MANDATE FOR PEOPLE TO AT LEAST TRY TO BE HEALTHY AND FIT, TO NOT NEED THE SICK CARE SYSTEM ... or at least to need it less and less!  

Lemonade Freedom Day is August 18!

Last year's event was the first ever.  It's designed to highlight small business regulations that inhibit creation of businesses that will provide jobs.  It starts with wondering why a community puts restrictions on the ability of a kid to set up a lemonade stand.  Yet, they do ... in the name of fairness to retail stores, to food safety, to licenses, to ...

Last year, police in Appleton ordered kids to close their concession they had been operating in conjunction with a nearby old car festival for several years ... but quickly apologized, saying it was a mistake.

Go to www.lemonadefreedom.com.

It's a real issue, a real opportunity!

Moving Employees To Fitness/Wellness!

Dr. Paul Summerside, CEO of Aurora BayCare, Green Bay, had a number of interesting insights:

•  In regard to Fitness/Wellness of their employee group (about 450 at BayCare), they take the position that "It's All About Nutrition and Fitness."  If a person does the right things in those areas, all the other benefits will follow and they will need the medical system services, including prescriptions, at a bare minimum.  Thus, they incent for Fitness ... and evaluate QUARTERLY employees on a range of fitness performance elements ... situps, pushups, step test for aerobics, and the like, with performance thresholds adjusted for age.  The better a person does, the less he/she will pay for his/her health insurance plan ... and has a chance QUARTERLY to show improved fitness, and earn an even lower premium.

•  "Trying doesn't matter.  The only thing that matters is success."

•  As an employer, "if you don't change the actuarial metrics of your employees, don't expect any insurance cost improvements."

•  As an employer, "we feel the responsibility to put in place programs and incentives that help them achieve success in these areas.  But we will reward only on achievement, not 'trying.'"

•  "People have to know in advance what they'll be measured on, and the consequences.  The tests have to be reasonable and achievable, and easy to understand."

•  There are FIVE AREAS you have to impact:  OBESITY, EXERCISE, SMOKING, ALCOHOL in moderation, and SEAT BELT USE.

•  From a medical cost standpoint, this is what you are dealing with relative to norms:

--  Obesity will cost you about 40% more.

--  Smoking will cost you about 10% more.

--  Exercise will reduce your costs 10%-15%.

•  Of interest, even though they are a medical organization, they don't include Health Risk Assessments as part of their program.  They feel that the knowledge gained about risk factors in an HRA should be already known  and worked on with a physician, and that it drives higher costs through use of drugs to control risks ... rather than a better lifestyle to do it (nutrition, volume, vigorous exercise).

To Sell Your Point of View More Effectively...

        Patrick Renvoise and Christophe Morin of SalesBrain, San Francisco, have very impactful insights into the best things you can do to create what for most is the impossible ... to get past logic to the emotional techniques that will get the other person to accept your ideas.  In other words, to sell more effectively, more quickly.
        Their analysis of how the brain works yields this:
      The CORE STIMULUS that creates a reaction is FEAR ... of significant loss or the possibility of not surviving.  That’s your driver for crafting most of your most impactful messages.
So, what are the stimuli that cause reactions?  They are these ...
1. ME: People intensively look for what is good for ME! So, don’t talk about YOU, and how good you are.
2. Contrast: They react to major contrasts ... so show what the customer doesn’t want to happen, and contrast it what the customer wants to happen., etc.  No Contrast, No Decision.
3. Concrete: Tangible.  Make it real.  NOT abstract.  Make it SIMPLE, SHORT.
4. Beginnings and Ends: Attention is highest at the beginning, but wanes very quickly.  It comes back when there is an indication that the end is near:  “In Conclusion,...”  So, tell them at the beginning your takeaway message, repeat it at the end ... and in the middle repeat it several times.  Very important for your sales presentations.
5. Visual: Create the picture. The optic nerves deliver messages 25x faster than the auditory nerves.
6. Emotion: A Killer. You can’t reach the Old Brain without SOME Emotion, which enhances memory/retention. Add emotion to your presentation!
Another Alert:  The brain doesn’t easily hold lots of alternatives.  But it starts with those with the most emotion attached.  For example, consider that your brain has a drawer titled “Colas.”  The only brand in it is Coke.  (Yet, Pepsi is preferred by 70% in taste tests.)  Why:  Branding!  You want to be the only brand in your drawer in the customer’s brain!

On LISTENING!

•  Per David Oxford:  "Being listened to is so close to being in love that most people can’t tell the difference."

•  Per Jim Cederna:  "If you listen HARD, it usually defuses the anger."

#1 Driver of Employee Engagement!

        According to a Towers Perrin study, “The Number One driver of Employee Engagement is the belief that senior leadership is sincerely interested in my well-being.”  And an engaged employee, studies confirm, is at least 20% more effective than one who is only partially so.
        CARING:  The Fundamental Relationship Question is:  “Do You Care About Me?”  John Maxwell, leadership guru:  “People don’t care what you know until they know how much you care.”  Usually the leader does, but often FAILS TO DEMONSTRATE IT!
        How do you do that?  What’s expected by employees?  Says one:  Be available to employees, and when they ask for job-related help, get involved.  Get in the trenches.  Show you care that they are able to do their job effectively.  The word spreads quickly.  Also, LISTEN attentively, with intent.  Too often, “we don’t listen to understand.  We only listen to reply.”  David Oxberg:  “Being listened to is so close to being loved, it’s often hard to tell the difference.”  Hawthorne Effect:  It’s not about the reward.  It’s about reacting, in showing you value the person.
        Remember BOSS-PHOBIA:  No matter what, you’re the power figure; you can diminish and fire at whim;  you have to create TRUST, which you do by consistently meeting expectations of treatment.
        Also, you can NEVER just be yourself.  Employees are noticing EVERYTHING that you are, say and do.  EVERYTHING.  You’re ALWAYS on stage, so you have to ALWAYS PLAY YOUR CEO ROLE!
        -- Portions of the above were stimulated by TEC resource Jack Altschuler's presentation, "Fully Alive Leadership."

        •  Design an organization where people can flourish as themselves.  Know what a person is FIT for, which is a Mindset.  When a person’s daily tasks are NOT aligned with their core values, they will create drama by:  Re-defining their position, being disruptive, failing and/or leaving.
        •  Reminder:  Once you have eliminated your time-consuming and ineffective D Players, which impresses the organization, you will feel inclined to work more closely with the C Players, who are the bulk of your workforce.  But all that effort will result in only marginal improvement.  Instead, spend time with the A’s and B’s; when C’s see you doing that, they will improve on their own.

        -- The above was stimulated by TEC resource and group chair David Belden, in his presentation on "Core Values Alignment."