Life Lessons

Trust and Honor in a Small Florida Town After years in the business and corporate world it is easy to become hardened and distrustful; very cautious at a minimum. We wrap ourselves in layers of litigious toilet paper. Its seems as though even the most minor decision we make must to go through a "what if" process. What if it offends, what if it leads to a law suit, what if, what if, what if ? We have been conditioned by our experiences to believe most people are out to get us. Hmmm? Wait a minute ! On a recent consulting engagement I found a town with the most honest, genuine, caring and giving people I have seen since my childhood. Imagine a physician wanting to give (free) flu shots to the residents of a local assisted living community or a company only charging you half of the $5,000 bill because they understand how the economy has affected you.  Imagine an artist who creates all day everyday, only to give her work away. While standing in line at the local groce...

Remember Retirement? Remember the rotary phone, life before remote controls, micro-wave ovens or Viagra ? Are we about to say "remember retirement"? Last year a resident of an upscale Independent Living community I managed requested a private and somewhat urgent meeting with me. It was important for him to explain in person why he and his wife were giving their 30 day notice to move out. He said "we worked hard, were successful and invested well, but never expected to live this long or for our investments to crash. We are running out of money and can't afford to live here anymore". "I may have to find a part-time job". That was the first of many conversations like this one and prompted me to take a look into several factors likely to affect retirement as we know it today. Only 11 percent of Baby Boomers are planning to stop working entirely when they reach retirement age. About 9 percent of Baby Boomers we be affluent (defined as having a ...

Can Assisted Living Learn From Starbucks? I hate to admit this, but I'm a fan of Starbucks, their coffee, locations, ambiance and most of all the quality and consistency of the store team members. There are many options for coffee and Internet usage, but something or things keep me a fan. The team members always make me feel welcome, the product is consistent even during high traffic times. While sitting in a Starbucks today I wondered what lessons the Senior Housing industry could learn so I did the popular thing and googled topics related to their hiring, training and philosophy. Here are some interesting bits of information I found in an article written by: Arthur A. Thompson, The University of Alabama John E.Gamble, University of South Alabama Every partner/Batista hired for a retail job in a Starbucks store receives at least 24 hours training in the first two to four weeks. The training includes classes on coffee history, drink preparation, coffee knowledge (...

This morning I received an email from a dear friend.  He probably received the email, thought it was special and passed it along to his friends.  So I am passing the body of his message along to you. There was no mention of the authors name.  I hope it touches you the way it did me.  There was a young woman who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and had been given three months to live. So as she was getting her things 'in order,' she contacted her Pastor and had him come to her house to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes. She told him which songs she wanted sung at the service, what scriptures she would like read, and what outfit she wanted to be buried in. Everything was in order and the Pastor was preparing to leave when the young woman suddenly remembered something very important to her. 'There's one more thing,' she said excitedly . 'What's that?' came the Pastor's reply? 'This is very important,...

Can Your Assisted Living Use Honest Eyes I would like to share a best practice for Assisted Living or any business. I have always valued two opportunities to collect raw, unbiased feedback. The first time I visit an Assisted Living, Retirement campus or any business I write down my initial impressions as I drive up and also take a few minutes to journal my first impressions before I leave the parking lot. I've learned over the years with each visit to a community my ability to capture the initial detailed observations fade. I also ask every person during their initial visit (vendor, family, interviewee ) to share their honest 1st impressions with me. It allows me a perpetual fresh set of eyes, ears, noses and perceptions. I understand that each visitor will tell their friends, family and coworkers about their experience. All business can benefit from this exercise. Recently more of my clients outside of the Assisted Living or Senior Living industry are requesting this t...

What Message Are You Sending? I recently overheard a family conversation about the men my niece was dating. It reminded me of an extremely powerful challenge we face personally and professionally. The conversation went like this; "she doesn't like any of them. I don't understand her, one is an attorney, one is an accountant and the other one is in Pharmacy school". "What's wrong with her?". If you're in the nursing home or assisted living business you are aware how this same phenomenon affects business. Some perceptions / expectations are cultural others are based on word of mouth, some on visible impressions. The fact is every person and business has one or perhaps many perceptions to manage. If they accurately reflect you or your business, use them. If they don't, manage them the best you can. Understanding how you are perceived is critical for success: business or personal. Understanding why is even more important. I rec...

What is the Value of your Service?  The weekend newspaper seems to contain more sales inserts than actual news. My family members always gravitate to them, so they must be effective for certain retail products. Over the years when an Assisted Living or Independent Living community begins to struggle with occupancy, price discounting is the first topic of conversation. Frankly the thought of lowering the price of a quality product or service makes me sick. A decrease in your sales or occupancy is normally symptomatic of quality or service delivery problems. Around 2006 I was managing an Assisted Living Community located in Mooresville , North Carolina owned by Pulliam Investment s . The community was led by an amazing Executive Director who created a team of associates dedicated to providing the best service possible. The community was the price leader in the market and remained full. A new competitor was about to open and our pricing strategy was to continue premium pric...