Inspiring Quotes for 2011

11 of My Favorite Quotes to Inspire Your 2011

 “Most great people have attained their greatest success just one step beyond their greatest failure.”  Napoleon Hill

“Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.”  Carl Sagan

“If a seed of lettuce will not grow, we do not blame the lettuce.  Instead fault lies with us for not having nourished the seed properly.”  Buddist proverb

“There are always three speeches for every one you actually gave.  The one you practiced, the one you gave, and the one you wish you gave.”  Dale Carnegie

“There is joy in work.  There is no happiness except in the realization that we have accomplished something.”  Henry Ford

“Reduce your plan to writing.  The moment you complete this, you will have definitely given concrete form to the intangible desire.”  Napoleon Hill

“Follow effective action with quiet reflection.  From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action.”  Peter Drucker

“You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”  Eleanor Roosevelt

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”  Maya Angelou

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children…to leave the world a better place…to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.  This is to have succeeded.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Life’s real failure is when you do not realize how close you were to success when you gave up.”  Anonymous

Be inspired and all the best for 2011!

Making or Breaking Your Customer Experience

Intuitively, we all know that we need happy employees to deliver great customer service.  That intuition is also backed by extensive research that also validates this conclusion.  But, do you really know and understand what it takes to create that happy employee?

The American Society for Hospital and Human Resources Administrators recently released a study of the workforce trends for the year 2015.  Entitled, “Strategy Trumps Shortage”, they came to the following conclusions:

• Work processes will need to be redesigned
• Retention of existing staff is critical, even those able to retire
• Companies must do the right things to attract the new generation of worker

While on the surface, these conclusions don’t seem to be much different from what we have heard in the past, when you put them into the context of the current generational shift going on in the work force, they are actually quite relevant.

Let’s start with work processes…By 2015, the majority of our workforce will be made up of Generation Y and Millennials.  These generations thrive on independence, rapid feedback and a desire for balance between their work and personal lives.  They are much more likely to judge their organizational experience on individual relationships…not on the overall organization.  Therefore, they will chose to work for places where they can exercise their creativity within a flexible work environment.  Are you designed to meet their needs as an employer, or does a top down, hierarchical environment best describe you?

Thinking about retention of staff, one of the greatest expenses a company incurs is in losing a staff member.  The hard costs of a turnover include the money spent to fill the gap until a person is hired (overtime, temporary staff), training time for the new person, loss of productivity during the training period and others.  While some turnover is good, it’s key to understand who you are losing.  If it’s your good people, something in your environment needs to change.  Your good people can always find a job, and they are the ones providing the great experiences for your customers.  You cannot afford to lose them.  Find out what motivates your top performers to stay.

What about attracting the new generation of worker?  As noted above, the newest generations look for a workplace that will allow them the freedom to not only do their jobs, but to also design how they would like to do those jobs.  While there are certain requirements and rigor to each job, it’s important to look at where you can be flexible.  While tradition is important, doing things the same old way just won’t endure.

To meet these challenges, the study noted that there are certain leadership approaches that will be necessary to create environments so that employees will be energized and focused on providing your customers with great experience.  Some of those traits include:  an appetite for change, the desire to engage the workforce, the thirst for innovation and an approach that welcomes new generations to the workplace.  Do your leaders possess these traits?

To best serve your customers, you must best serve your employees first.  Make it a focus and you will see great results!

Hallmarks of a Customer Experience

All too often, our customer experiences leave us feeling as if we don’t matter.  Whether it’s the person at the desk that won’t look up because they’re on the telephone or the grocery store baggers who talk about their evening plans and weekends as if you don’ t exist…we all want to feel as if we matter, don’t we?  Now, think about how many times you’ve walked down a hallway in your business without acknowledging others around you.  Could you be guilty of doing the same thing that drives you crazy about others?  For the next week, take the time to pay attention.  Make it a point to acknowledge those around you and see what a difference it makes!

A New Year!

It’s January 11, 2010…already 11 days into the New Year…do you know where you are headed this year? Have you set a focus and plan for where you want to be and for where you want your company to be? Every morning, I have tea…green tea because I hear that it’s good for me… and on that tea bag is a quote…I like to think of my “tea bag wisdom” as a great way to start the day…so today’s wisdom is: “Every artist was once an amateur” Ralph Waldo Emerson. What does that quote say to you? To me, it says that we are all beginners at something at some point in our lives. To become expert, we must struggle through being a beginner and perservering. Do you have a fear of speaking? Most people do. Is that fear preventing your message from being heard? Take action. Visit our Speaker’s Training Camp. Are you afraid to know what your customers really think because you might not be meeting their expectations? Find out and grow your business this year. Visit our customer experience model on the web site to find out more. Remember, only you can take the necessary action to move yourself and your company to where you want to be in 2010! Don’t wait another day.

Let the Blogging Begin.

About CBA –

Catherine Baumgardner is an experienced senior executive in all levels of healthcare management and service delivery.  Her expertise and passion for working with organizations to create the ideal customer experience for patients, physicians and employees is well known nationally.  With her dynamic personality and insight, she is uniquely positioned to help your leadership build a strong and effective service foundation that will endure.

Baumgardner has served as faculty and presenter for many healthcare societies and associations, including the American Society for Hospital Human Resources Administrators (ASHHRA), Press Ganey Regional Workshops, Ryan-NAOHP, and the Ontario Hospital Association (Canada).  Catherine’s articles have been widely published.  She is an active member of the following organizations:  American Society for Hospital Human Resources Administrators (ASHHRA); National Speaker’s Association (NSA); American Society for Training and Development (ASTD); Society for Healthcare Market Development (SHMD), and is a life member of The Ohio State University Alumni Association,  the Alumni Association for The Ohio State University MHA program, the American Red Cross Board (Susquehanna Valley Region) and the Lancaster Foundation for Educational Enrichment.

Catherine received her Bachelors and Masters Degrees from The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, and is currently Chair of The Ohio State University Alumni Advisory Council, and serves on the Alumni Board of Directors.  She is a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives.