Dan Prince

After years of “excess” consumption fueled by too much credit and never-ending rationalizations, we’ve finally hit the wall.

To me, it feels like pretty much the whole country is now on a diet. Given the amazingly-rapid decline of our national economy, we’re all pulling back, spending less, consuming less.

On the personal front: We’re eating out less. Spending less on Christmas gifts and parties this year. Reducing our travel. Buying fewer clothing items. Even holding off on some medical and health expenses.

And in the business world: Companies are cutting back on staff, travel, training, advertising, and maybe even some of that very valuable “marketing research.”

And while it has dampened our firm’s sales, to a limited degree, it has not diminished my spirits. I think this period of “American Dieting” is for the best.

It’s time for us–as a country, as citizens, and as businesses–to do a better job of living within our means. It’s a time to recognize that the stock market and home values can go rapidly down, as well as slowly up. It’s a sobering reminder that’s important to be saving for the future, not spending everything we take in, and then some. It’s time to get fit and trim.

Like a personal diet, our national “diet” will be truly effective if it leads us to adopt a healthier lifestyle and better habits, over the long-term. I’m hoping that it will…

Dan Prince

While our company has always provided modest levels of financial and in-kind contributions to several different non-profits in our community, this year we are refining our approach. We have decided, as a group, to focus on just one cause – Childhood Obesity.

The generation of children and adolescents today is the first in the history of America where their projected life expectancy may be less than the generation ahead of them. A major driver or perhaps the most important reason – the lifestyle of comtemporary Americans, including young Americans.

Put simply: too much food, too many foods that are not good for you, and not enough regular physical activity.

The consequence is an alarming trend towards higher levels of diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic health problems, all of which will take their toll at the individual level and the societal level.

As one small step in our effort to align ourselves with positive action around this cause, we recently joined with hundreds of others to “Step Out” in a walk sponsored by the American Diabetes Association. It was a modest venture – just a two mile stroll through the lovely Nashville Zoo on a warm Saturday morning. But it gave us a feeling of doing something together in support of an organization that is trying to reduce the incident of Type II diabetes among young (and older) people.

We plan to do more. We’re contemplating several options, including doing some opinion polling on the topic. Meanwhile, we’ve made a start.

We have our cause, and we’re stepping out!

Dan Prince

I like sleeping, because it allows me to forget about the problems of the day. It allows me to rest and recharge. If I sleep well, and I usually do, I wake up refreshed and ready to go. I’m ready to tackle the challenges, and welcome new opportunities presented by each new day.

For the same reasons, it’s important for me to take a vacation. Or better yet, several a year!

My break can be an active vacation, filled with moving about, soaking up new places, and creating special experiences. Or it can be the opposite. Sitting under an umbrella at the beach or poolside with a good book is just as wonderful. Sometimes, I get a chance to combine both types of vacations in a single getaway.

I just returned from such a trip. My wife and I flew to Oregon, celebrated our daughter’s college graduation, partied with about 75 of her “closest friends,” and went out to dinner at nice places including a winery perched high in the hills outside Eugene. Then, we took in a few days as a family to visit Crater Lake and marvel at the beauty of one of America’s most pristine spots.

At first it felt strange, then liberating. I found a sense of calm at 7,100 feet up, watching the full moon rise over the shimmering waters of Crater Lake. We stayed at the historic National Park Lodge, which is hitched right along the rim. There is no Internet access up there. My cell phone did not work – so my Blackberry was strangely silent. And there were NO TVs in the rooms or the public areas of the lodge. Just a lot of nature. And time to enjoy it. Seeing the sun rise at 5:27 one morning, and the full moon at the other end of the day was amazingly restorative for me… as were the slow-paced meals and long walks in the mountain-crisp air.

It reminded me of why, at least for me, it is worthwhile to go “off the grid” now and then.

What about you? What kind of vacation restores your outlook and your energy?

Dan Prince

Yesterday morning, as I stood in a slow-moving line to order a bagel and coffee, I was struck by the idea of the “weakest link”.

The spot I visit a couple times a week has cheery people, freshly-made bagels, and several varieties of coffee, including my favorite, cinnamon hazelnut. I drive a couple of miles out of my way, past other such places, to pick up some breakfast and bring it with me to the office. It’s usually quick in and out, which I like.

However, yesterday, they had a new person taking orders and working the cash register. Or I should say, trying to take orders and trying to work the cash register.

As I stood there, and the line grew longer, it was apparent that this new employee had received little to no training on how to do her job, including the apparently not-so-difficult job of finding the right icon on the register to record people’s purchases.

It was frustrating, for the new employee, and for customers, like me. I thought: “Why didn’t someone set up a formal training session for this new employee, after hours, and have her learn through repeated role playing? Why is there not a manager or at least another employee who stands right next to her through the whole morning to help her learn and get faster?” Where’s the “quality assurance” that can help this small business survive against the chains?

If this were just an isolated example, I wouldn’t mention it. But, as I travel around town and across America, poor customer service seems to be rampant.

All organizations, including healthcare organizations, are dependent on people understanding what they are supposed to do, then doing their tasks correctly, time and time again. Customer service in healthcare is critical.

Not long ago, I learned that my sister was given heart medicine pills that were twice the prescribed dosage. If my sister hadn’t noticed this on her own, she might have ended up in the ER. Here the pharmacy staff member was at fault, becoming the weakest link in the delivery of care to a loved one. And in healthcare, the consequences are potentially a lot greater than me spending a few extra minutes in line for my coffee.

Where’s the “weakest link” in your organization and in the work flows that you’re responsible for? It’s worth looking for, and correcting. Lives may depend on it.

Dan Prince

Very recently, my sister suffered a major heart attack and was taken by ambulance to a 140-bed not-for-profit hospital, the suburban satellite of the region’s acknowledged leader in cardiac care. She spent a total of 5 days in this one facility, just enough time to experience two totally different realities.

First, the good – she received very good care when first admitted, because she went into the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU). The staff ratio was excellent, and she got lots of personalized attention. The nurses consulted with her regarding her care and prescribed exactly what medicines they were planning to give her before administering them. When she pushed her call button, someone showed up quickly. When she was thirsty (and dehydrated, as it turned out), they brought her Jello and a diet soft drink as well as a saline drip. In short, they took good care of her. And she felt cared for.

Then, the bad – her doctor said she was stable enough to move out of ICU. So she was transferred to a “regular” room on the same floor to rest and get her body functioning again. Unfortunately, the service level and quality of patient care dropped, starting as soon as she got into this step-down unit. Meds that were supposed to be administered to her at 9 am were delivered 45 minutes later, with no apology. Using the call button was an exercise in futility. Her doctor told her to take several short walks around the unit each day, but only with the assistance of a hospital staff member. However, they seldom showed up to help her, so she leaned on her husband instead. And one of the biggest ironies, for me, was the food. The first day in the unit, her noon tray arrived, and voila: a dried out hamburger plus cole slaw drowning in mayo! What kind of diet is that for someone that nearly died from a heart attack only 3 days earlier?

And finally, the ugly! In this particular hospital, most patients are put into shared rooms, meaning that they have a roommate. By itself, this may or may not be a problem. But when the sick patient in the next bed imports a half-dozen or more family members who gather round, talk loudly, play the TV constantly, and fail to leave even after visiting hours, the patient in the other bed (my sister) gets little rest or relaxation. This situation was made worse by the hospital staff, who would come in the middle of the night to bring in or move out another patient. The staff members would turn on all the lights in the room, talk loudly among themselves, bump against my sister’s bed, and generally show no respect for her and her condition. One nurse even complained about the hospital she is working for, saying the rooms were dirty!

If my sister is sent a patient satisfaction questionnaire, and it asks her to “rate” this hospital, she faces a tough choice. Should she rate the ICU experience, or the regular room experience? This shows the importance of having a patient feedback system that allows patients to discriminate between the different teams or units.

More importantly, this experience suggests, to me, a need for leadership that pays more attention to what is really happening, on every unit of the facility. Overall, I would NOT recommend this hospital, and I doubt that my sister would either, because the positive experience in one unit does not outweigh the negative one in the other.

Here is a case of one hospital providing two totally different experiences of the brand. What kind of experiences are your patients, members, or customers having? What does your brand really stand for? And how consistent is the delivery of your brand promise?