Articles by "culture"
Showing posts with label culture. Show all posts

at 0
health is wealth, fitness is beauty, dieting is inspiration, weight loss is recreational learn how to..


It seems like the health care space gets more and more crowded every day. The reality is that new medical retail centers are popping up on every corner and providers are expanding their portfolio of services at a rapid pace. The good news is that consumers have more options than ever for quality, non-emergency care that�s also convenient and affordable.

Additionally, this means that providers have to up their game in order to continue to grow and thrive in this new landscape. The question then becomes, how do you break through the noise in order to differentiate yourself and ultimately attract consumers?

I often refer to back to the groundbreaking book, Blue Ocean Strategy. In this book, authors Kim and Mauborgne look at how organizations tend to remain in the crowded, bloody red waters of competition, when they should be swimming in the oceans of uncontested market space. In other words, ignore the competition and focus on your own organization to create new and innovative programs and service lines.

Building on the Blue Ocean Strategy model, these are the steps that I and the team at Jupiter Medical Center have taken to create a truly unique and innovative system of care over the last several years:

  • Don�t worry about others. Focus on yourself. Don�t spend your time obsessing about the competition. While you should have a clear understanding of the landscape in which you operate, don�t get bogged down in tracking the movements of others. Instead, find the open lane and take off running.


  • Act don�t react. Position yourself to take on new challenges, setting the pace for your own development and growth as opposed to catching up to others and reacting to their successes.


  • Be willing to operate in the unknown. True innovation comes with risk. If you have developed a trusting team and built a solid foundation, taking a chance on the unknown is not only possible, it is necessary.



Whether it is health care, technology or any other growing sector, in order to stay at the forefront of your field, you must stand out from the crowd. The best way to do that is understand who you are and where you are going. If you can do this, you�re ahead of the game.
Continue reading

at 0
health is wealth, fitness is beauty, dieting is inspiration, weight loss is recreational learn how to..

I recently came across this quote by business magnate and Virgin Group founder, Richard Branson: �Train people well enough so they can leave, treat people well enough so they don�t want to.� 

As I read it, I had what some would call an �aha� moment.  Branson perfectly captures what I strive to do with my team every day. I want to inspire my team to give their very best, to develop and grow as professionals and to enjoy walking into work. 

I have an amazing team. They could have their choice of employment but thankfully they are here with me. To do right by them and the organization, I strive to lead through inspiration and empowerment. I work with my cohorts to help them harness their strengths and understand the value they bring to the organization. We set goals. We provide the resources they need to succeed. We contribute to increasing their capacity and skill sets. We reward accomplishments and we work to tweak things that are not working. We communicate honestly and openly and I believe, see each other as a collective unit all working toward the same cause. My hope is that at the end of the day they feel a collective ownership in what we do, partnering in a long and lasting contribution to Jupiter Health.

I have found that there are two types of team members. There are those who are motivated by a pay check and are simply financially driven. There are also those who, while working for a paycheck, are motivated by the pride they take in their work and their desire to do well for themselves and the organization. As a leader, you are successful if you can inspire some of those aforementioned people to become more of the latter while continuing to develop and encourage those who are already there to work harder and give more.

But inspiring your team is not just about making them feel good and keeping the work place harmonious. There are other, significant benefits to leading through inspiration:

  • Inspired employees are more productive. In fact, a recent study from Bain reports that inspired employees are twice as productive as simply satisfied employees. 
  • Inspired employees are loyal and less likely to leave. A low turnover rate is good for the bottom line.
  • Inspired employees are more creative and innovative, helping to find solutions and generate new ideas to drive the company forward.

Finally, it is not enough to simply inspire people. It also how you show your gratitude. Nothing deflates an inspired team member quicker than feeling like their hard work has gone unnoticed.

In addition to financial compensation, there are two key things you can do to recognize and reward your team. One, offer them the opportunity to expand their capacity by giving them the time and the resources needed to enroll in additional training or classes. Sure, they could take those newly acquired skills somewhere else, but they are more likely to put them to good use right where they are. Second, acknowledge a job well done. Small but meaningful gestures are critical to continuing to inspire and bolster your team members. A group email praising hard work, a shout out at a staff meeting or a phone call at the end of the day to say, �thank you� can have a tremendous impact.


I realize inspiring others is not easy and it takes time to develop a style that authentically works for you. But if you wake up each day and focus on how to truly inspire those with whom you work, you will come to find an organization of people who share your vision and your passion.
Continue reading

at 0
health is wealth, fitness is beauty, dieting is inspiration, weight loss is recreational learn how to..

As I outlined in my previous blog post, Flight Path for Success, the incident that took place on United Flight #3411 and the ensuing response could have been avoided. It would have entailed United putting the customer first, empowering team members to do the right thing and owning its mistakes. This incident also signaled a CEO that was out of touch with his customers.

Regardless of the size of your organization, a connection to one�s customers is critical to the success of any business. When you understand customer behaviors - for instance, what motivates them to engage, what causes them to look for services elsewhere - you will have a greater chance for success and a better handle on how to make a course correction when needed. You also demonstrate to your team that you personally care about the business.

One way to ensure this type of connection is to focus on your organizational structure. You want to keep the management layers between leaders and customers to as few as possible. For example, in most cases at Jupiter Medical Center there are only three-and-half layers between me and the patient. As a leadership team, a (relatively) flat organization allows us to have a real handle on who our patients are as well as what their needs are. We also continually look for opportunities where we can engage directly with them. Whether that is spending time in our clinics or treatment facilities or doing frequent rounds to each floor of the hospital.

Another way to maintain a connection is to provide a space to hear suggestions on new or improved customer service initiatives. Sometimes these are in the form of town halls or small group meetings with my team, but hearing from team members like this on how to continue to provide world-class service to customers is critical. Not only do we discover new and exciting opportunities to engage customers but you empower your team to take ownership of customer relationships.

In addition to listening to your team, you also need to be proactive in listening to the customer first hand. Consistent with this thought, Jupiter Medical Center has a Patient and Family Advisory Council that consists of former patients and their family members who volunteer their time and input to help improve the experience for others. This council ensures the patient�s voice and needs are integrated into hospital committees, task forces and daily decision making. In its second year, the council has grown to 15 members and has made a great impact on the organization.  


For us at Jupiter Medical Center, connection with our customer is simply embedded in our culture. We care for the health and wellness of our community one patient at a time. At the end of the day, this type of culture makes a difference - and our scores don't lie. We continue to rank #1 in overall patient satisfaction in Palm Beach and Martin County for the past 7 years as well as being #1 in likelihood to recommend. This alone outpaces the national and statewide averages but has also allowed us to remain the preferred institution in our community.

But for any organization, the bottom line is that a connection to your customers is critical and it starts from the top down. Think about it: as a leader, understanding the customer is our primary job. If we cannot stay attuned to the needs of the customer, then how can we expect our business to thrive?
Continue reading
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)