Advice for Job Seekers

Invariably when people find out that I work for EMR software company, I’m bombarded with questions about how they can get a job in that industry. For example, just a few months ago gave a seminar to a local chapter of the American Association of Professional Coders. After a three-hour Meaningful Use seminar, I was inundated with questions from job seekers. It was a little disappointing considering that I put so much effort into such an important topic as Meaningful Use (it was a really nice Power Point, too). Still, I understand the difficulties in job hunting and considering the difficult economy, people want as many recommendations as possible. 


So as a person responsible for hiring at my company, I will let you in on some secrets based on how I find and hire the ‘right person’. 


Your Resume


The last time I posted a job opening, I got more than 1,600 resumes. I cannot look at them all – even though I wish I could. So, I, like many, use automated tools to narrow down the candidates by keywords contained in their resume. This is not an indication that you should pack up your resume with ridiculous, meaningless, or inappropriately used keywords – that’s just annoying. Instead, be mindful to include keywords that are appropriate in the resume’s context. 


What keywords should you use? That depends on the industry in which you are applying. Do your research. Read industry related news articles – see what is relevant to the industry now. Read the job description and pull key words from there, too. If it is a healthcare job you are seeking, read this blog regularly as I will give you a bunch of useful things to include! Remember, as new buzz words become popular in different industries, your resume has to reflect those new words. For example: Once upon a time there was a thing called a medical biller… today that is a revenue cycle management specialist. Back in the day, people wanted budgeting experience today it’s all about P&L. These words may change by tomorrow for all I know… Simply, make sure your resume is relevant according to the times and the job description. 


Next, I look at the resumes that made it past the automated resume eating monster. Each  manually reviewed resume has 10 seconds to impress me.  Here is what I look at: 

• Did you include all of the things I asked for? In the job description, I will frequently ask for a cover letter and salary requirements. If that is missing, you have shown me that you are not really interested in the job and your resume is filed… in the PAPER SHREDDER. 
• Does your resume have spelling errors or blatant grammatical errors? Are you using BIG words to try to impress me?  I really hate when spelling and grammar errors. Double check your resume before sending it and have a friend or 20 friends read through it, too. Further, I am not impressed by BIG words. All BIG words prove that your MS Word has a thesaurus…but, so  does mine… PAPER SHREDDER
• Does your resume have wild/unorthodox/ or just plain weird formatting? I know it is a tough economy, but seriously??? Yes, those resumes do get my attention, but not in a good way… PAPER SHREDDER
• What is your resume’s objective statement? Is it relevant to the industry, job description, etc? Is it too general to tell what you are looking for? I look for a strong, relevant objective. If you cannot write a good one-line objective, remove it entirely and add a professional summary instead. Regardless of summary or objective, make sure it is relevant tJ the job for which you are applying. If it is not relevant and strong… I will let you guess where the resume goes.

Rule: Make sure your resume is error free, relevant, and shows that you are more than a drone

Following these steps, I can narrow my candidate pool from 1,600 to around 50 resumes (yes, really resumes are that bad). The remaining resumes get a little more time. Depending on the position I am trying to fill,  I look for unique competency, transferrable skills, education, and experience. I want you to take note of the order in which I listed -unique competency, transferrable skills, education, experience. Unique competency is my top requirements – experience is last. 


How do I define unique competency? Well, for example, everyone knows how to use MS Word and email – don’t bother putting that on your resume.  It is not impressive. However, did you work abroad? Did you participate in some type of foreign exchange program and spend several months in another country? Do you speak more than one language? Tell me that. I am very quick to hire people who have diverse cultural experience. Why? Because, diversity is the lifeblood of business! Your clients are diverse, your colleagues are diverse, and diversity in the work place breeds creativity. I want to know that you have a strong appreciation for cultural diversity as that is a asset in business. 


You may not have any international experience and that’s ok – but what unusual or unique competencies do you have? List them instead! Some other examples could be related to creativity  or above average computer skills.  Do you blog? Give me the link. Are you self-taught in some basic computer programming? Tell me that. Show me your ambition! Show me your drive! Show me creativity! Show me you are more than a drone. Still, be careful not to reveal things that are useless, irrelevant, or embarrassing. 


Ok, this post is getting a little long, so I will stop here for now. In the next post, I will tell you my interview secrets!

Get the Most Out of Your Staff

Credit: Free images from acobox.com

Every employer wants to get the most out of their staff, butdon’t know how. In the last 10 years that I’ve been managing staff, I caneasily say that (for the most part) I’ve had the most amazing staff in theworld.

More often than not, when it seems a staff member is notworking up to their potential, the employee’s weaknesses can be traced back to theweaknesses of the manager… There I said it! Therefore a good manager will modifytheir management style in order to motivate staff to fulfill their potential. For the most part, I have found most employeesgenuinely want to work hard for their employer, but they want encouragement andthey want a pat on back once in a while. In addition, employees want constructivefeedback not abuse. Most importantly, employees want to feel as if they make a differencein the lives of the people with whom they interact on a daily basis – theiremployer included! In short employees want to be, recognized and treated as theprofessionals that they are.

It would be a lie for me to say that every employee in theworld is a good employee. There are some people who were just plain lazy,difficult etc… But in many years ofmanagement, I found that with minor modifications to my management style, I canbring out the best in most employees. So in this post I wanted to discuss alittle bit about the management style that I found most effective over theyears.

In general, allemployers want the same thing. They wantdedication, loyalty, and hard work. You can get all of those things out of yourstaff members and more by just giving them what they need to be betteremployees. So, what are the things you mustgive employees to make them better staff members, more productive employees,and harder workers? That answer, is two simple words: Leader and Mentor.

When I think leader, I see a flock of birds flying south forthe winter. The leader is the one at the front of the “V” formation. Somethingthat’s very interesting about the leader of the flock of birds is it thatleader flies forward and doesn’t look back to check if the other birds arestill flapping their wings. That leader guidesthe rest of the flock to their destination assuming that the other birds areprofessional enough to follow. The leader simply sets the example. Do you trust your staff to follow or do youmicromanage every step?

If you are a micromanager, do you believe that your stafffeels professional, empowered, loyal, or dedicated? Do you think you are goingto get the most out of that staff? Do you feel that micromanaging is aneffective use of your/their time? Do you believe that the staff can be creativeif you dictate their every move?

Next, the most important virtue in a leader is the abilityto recognize that you don’t know everything. In complement to that, a leaderrecognizes that staff members may know a lot more than you think – sometimesmore than YOU. If you would just open earsand listen, you might learn what gold you have working just a few steps away. If you want to be a good leader you must learnthis simple phrase: “I don’t know. Whatyou think?” You’ll be amazed how much wisdom you can get out of people thatsurround you if you’re just willing to admit your own limitations.

Rule: Leaders do NOT know everything. What leaders do knowis how to motivate those around them to provide the unparalleled value of adiverse range of experience, education, expertise, and creativity.

A leader motivates staff. But, how?

The best thing to do in order to get staff motivated is tofind what they are good at and use that skill for your benefit. Don’t wasteyour time and the staff’s time trying to make staff develop something theydon’t have. I recently read a book called strength Finder 2.0. It points outthat it very difficult to overcome weaknesses; however, it very easy and veryfulfilling to apply strength. Many people become so absorbed in trying toovercome weaknesses that they forget to focus on their strengths. From amanager’s perspective, if you focus on your staff’s strengths rather than theirweaknesses, you will get a lot more out of out of them.

Next, a leader knows how to make a project professionally beneficial for the staff. Sometimes managers don’thave ‘formal’ power (e.g. firing and raises). Without that, how can you motivatestaff? Make it for their benefit! A tactic I use to motivate staff is to point outa) the importance of this task to the company/project/strategic goal and b) theprofessional/career development that the employee will get from the project interms of experience and new skill development. I explain to them how the taskrelates to a larger thing such as how it applies to the industry in general. This high level communication about thecompany’s strategic goals and its importance to the industry in general is thebest kind of career development program a company can have! Not only do you getthe staff’s complete dedication to the project, but you also develop theirunderstanding for bigger projects later.

Lastly, a leader recognizes their staff’s efforts and showsappreciation. A leader is never challenged or intimidated when a staff memberhas a good idea. A good leader never takes credit for another’s work. A leaderwill sponsor ideas and let the staff develop them and a leader will sit backand LISTEN when someone has a better plan. You may be surprised by how much ofa motivator little phrases like ‘thank you’, ‘good job’, ‘smart idea’, etc. really are tostaff members.

Now, some may say ‘why should I waste my time telling them staff whyto do a tasks – I am the boss and if they want a job they will listen’. Well then, you’re not a leader, you are mean. Withthat attitude, you will never have a staff give back according to their maximumpotential. A leader is a motivator – a leader is a cheerleader – a leader is amentor. How do they do it? They treatthe staff professionally, they communicate, they do not micromanage, theyaccept their own limitations, and they encourage staff communication andcreativity. Help staff to realize theimportance of their role make them feel professional and they will actprofessionally!

Don't Pay Full Price!

Once, I called Discover, the credit card company, to cancel a personal card because the interest rate was really high as compared to my Visa. So, I explained this to the rep and asked him to cancel it. Immediately, he decreased my interest rate. I never knew that was an option. I was just calling to cancel the card. Obviously, I got on the phone with my other credit card companies immediately to try the same thing again. Threaten to cancel the card and compare them to their competition, get a rate decrease - WOW, who knew? Now this doesn’t work for everyone because credit scores and debt ratio are a factor; however, this example is the basis for negotiation. And negotiation, is huge in business - even for a small business.

Many people are under the erroneous impression that a business has to be huge to negotiate contracts. While it is admittedly true that big business has an advantage, it does not mean that small businesses have to pay top dollar for everything. Even a small, doctor’s office has negotiating power so long as you pick your battles and arm yourself with legitimate cause.

Rule: Negotiate your vendor contracts to get better rates

Here are some basic tips that can save a fortune in the long run:

1. Call your business credit card and ask them to decrease your interest rate. If you have good credit and an acceptable debt ratio, threaten to go to another company.

2. Shop around for office/medical supplies. Then call all of the same supply companies back again and tell them their competition had better prices. Watch how fast they offer to decrease or match the price. 

3. Call the phone company - ask if they have any good promotions going on. You will often be surprised by the answer. Do the same with your internet service provider. Ask about package deals for phone and internet. Then call the competition armed with the information.

In a similar vein, you should make sure you are getting what you pay for! Here’s another story for you. I worked with a doctor that bought a refurbished ultrasound machine for $40,000. The shipping / delivery was 3 days late. Since it did not arrive on time, the trainer could not come for another week to show the doctor how to use it. I called the company to complain about how we were losing revenue everyday because of this delay. Now, I expected a a refund on the shipping charges and a trainer to be sent sooner... maybe an apology. Instead I got... a trainer in the office the very next day, a full refund on shipping charges, 3 months supply of thermal paper (which was a painfully expensive necessity for the machine), and a 6 month extension on the warranty (worth about a $1,000). I was floored! The company wanted to satisfy their customer - and they did. In the end, my little complaint on behalf of a small doctor’s office saved the practice a lot of money!

There is a strong misconception that small business cannot negotiate things. While it is hard to negotiate with insurance companies for a better payment schedule, unless you are in an under served area, offer uncommon services, or belong to a larger organization, you will find that most suppliers are quick to offer up the discounts - even to a small business.

In short, open your mouth - ask for a better deal. You often get what you ask for!

Technology Improves Efficiency

I thought I would talk a little bit more about efficiency. Just recently,  I decided to buy a new software called Dragon Naturally Speaking. I thought that using Dragon might make me more productive because I could dictate my posts in the car while driving.  This is my first attempt using Dragon in the car, but so far I find this is a really a useful software.

I wanted to give this example of how I’m using the Dragon software in order to improve my own efficiency.  I find in many businesses that efficiency is not a top priority. Perhaps, many businesses don’t realize the importance. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, efficiency helps to cut costs by cutting down the amount of time that it takes people to complete tasks. And I can’t say that Dragon is necessarily the solution for everyone, this is simply one example of the way technology can improve efficiency.

Rule: The right technology can streamline any business and improve efficiency.

Technology can improve workflow and function in many ways. Before I proceed,  I think it’s important to let the reader know about my personal bias. It should be known that I work for an electronic medical record software company. With that, I like to offer you my assurance that this blog is was designed to offer healthcare business management tips that I’ve learned over the years.  This blog will never attempt to sell anything. This is simply a means of sharing my experience in the trenches in an attempt to give the reader some common sense healthcare business management tips.  In this post I will talk about electronic medical records and other times, I will talk about other types of efficiency-provoking software, but I will keep it relatively general with regard to EMR to avoid seeming bias. To support my promise, I’ll do my very best not to even mention the name company by which I am employed; however you decide to go out and do a Google search on my name - more power to you.  

Now with that said,  I’m going to go ahead and give you my perspective on EMR .  I want to talk about a common misconception that EMR causes practices to lose productivity. It commonly said that when a medical practice implements an electronic medical record productivity decreases because the workflow has to be reinvented. But let me pose this question instead, is it possible that your workflow needs to be reinvented? Just because something seems to be working doesn’t necessarily mean that it is. How many areas in your business could be improved with simple changes.

That’s what I have found every company with which I have worked. It may seem like things are working but there were problems no one bothered to notice. For example, many medical practices have a  problem with lost charges. Lost charges equal lost revenue.  In another office the problem was inefficient project management and working within budget.  What was the solution? The implementation of the appropriate technologies. Technology works like an extra brain outside of your head helping keeping track of the details.

Now the biggest question  of all… Did the new technology reduce productivity? Yes, temporarily! Our productivity definitely went down for a little while. As everyone was getting used to the new technology, productivity decreased and staff complained. But, I didn’t budge. I reinforced the importance of using the new technology. Then, after little while the staff became acclimated and guess what happened. Productivity skyrocketed!  That’s what you’ll find with an electronic medical records.

For a little while, as you get used to using electronic medical record, it’s going to take longer to do things. It is a change to your workflow; however, in the long run you’ll find that the productivity will increase in a way that you would never imagine. Here’s the caveat - you have to use it right! A lot of medical practices have a tendency of implementing partial technology. That’s wrong!  if you don’t use it right, it’s not going to work.  That means that you have to take a little break from your usual routine to get used to the technology and learn how to use all of its capabilities. In the end you’ll find out that by using it fully your workflow will improve. In the long run you will be more profitable because of increased efficiency.

 Unfortunately, people have a tendency of getting comfortable in their workflows. Therefore, any changes to that workflow are perceived as bad. But simply because you’re stuck in a particular workflow above it doesn’t mean that that workflow is right. As a matter of fact, for most medical practices, the workflow is just plain wrong! The best thing you can possibly do is to talk to your technology vendor and ask them what they recommend as the optimal workflow when using that software. You’ll find if you are willing to be flexible you will improve your profitability.

Here’s an example: I was working with a medical practice just the other day. The doctor called me up complaining that he found that the practice lost charges.  The practice uses paper super bills and maintains a secondary paper log book to track charges (the paper log book served as a checks and balances system to make sure they recorded everything). Still, for all this redundant, manual work,  there were charges that were never billed to the insurance company. I asked him why he wouldn’t be using the electronic super bills that are available on the software that he’s currently using and why he is duplicating efforts with the paper log? These checks and balances are available in the software(no double entry required)! The doctor’s response to this was ‘because I like my paper super bills’. But, obviously you like something that doesn’t work – use the technology the right way or stop complaining!

So perhaps you already have an EMR –the general concept can apply are million areas in your business. It just requires simply stepping back and realizing that maybe your current workflow is not as good as you think.  Reassess your work flow and ask yourself these questions: What is getting lost? What is not getting done on time? What is taking too long? What efforts are redundant?

Now for the hard part. Be objective – it may be time to realize that your workflow isn’t right, perhaps it’s very wrong. Just because you’re comfortable in that workflow doesn’t mean that it’s profitable. Simple changes and the implementation of the appropriate technologies can help streamline your workflow, saving you time and money. You will have a little downtime, you will lose revenue in the short term, but the long-term benefits will greatly outweigh those losses and make it very worth it! 

Evaluating Profitability

I think that the last post about office efficiency is such an important topic, that I will be going back to it again in a future post. Honestly, there is so much to say, that an entire blog could be dedicated to efficiency alone. But, for now, we’ll mix things up a bit and talk about evaluating parts of a business that are not profitable.

Rule: Evaluate operations and eliminate anything that's not profitable. 

For this topic, I have a great example. When I was consulting, I assessed a medical practice. It was an urgent care clinic open from 7am to 10pm. The practice was in serious trouble financially and had to improve profitability or it would have to close. The clinic could not meet payroll and even was way behind on rent... it was a really bad situation. Anyway, during my assessment I found some major problems. First their billing was a mess - but that is a big topic for later.

Next, the practice was losing money because of their office hours. As an urgent care clinic the owners felt it was appropriate to have extended hours. However, the costs were not justified. During a two month period, the practice had only 3 patients after 9:00 pm. So that translated to 30 hours per month, paying a full staff, including a nurse, a front desk person, a doctor, and an x-ray tech, to sit around and get paid to do nothing. In addition to staff, the practice was paying 30 extra hours per month for electricity to keep the equipment running and the lights on.

The next major problem was x-ray. Again, the owner wanted a full service urgent care facility. He believed that he could mimic an emergency room but do it better. With x-rays, the practice was renting equipment and had 2 full time x-ray techs. However, they rarely did any x-rays. Maintaining the equipment and the staff was killing the practice.

Often business owners, management, etc. have an image in their mind of the perfect business, as this one did. He wanted the perfect, full service, urgent care facility. A dream is great, but if it is not profitable you have to let it go. Before losing money on a new product that no one wants or will use, research whether it will be valuable to the business’s bottom line. If, like many small businesses, you make a mistake and begin something that is not valuable - stop it. The most important thing is to be aware. It took me only a few hours to find out why the practice was failing. Unfortunately, they had already lost a ton of money by the time I came in to make recommendations. That lost money is gone, spent, not coming back. Such assessments should be an ongoing managerial process to guarantee ongoing profitability.

The assessment is quite simple, compare how much money you are making to how much you are spending. Remember to think about all aspects of cost including staff (don’t forget vacation, benefits, workers comp) and the less obvious expenses like keeping the lights on for an extra hour per day. Such financial assessments can get quite complicated, if you are assessing of the value of previously purchased equipment, you will be spreading the cost over the expected life of the equipment, considering depreciation as well as anticipated maintenance costs. Don’t complicate an initial assessment. Before jumping in to the heavy duty accounting - just look for obvious sources of loss with a simple comparative analysis of costs compared to profit.

Maximize Efficiency, Minimize Loss

Profit and loss is such a fun topic that it deserves several posts. Giving P&L a real world application helps one to understand what it is, but it does not help us to apply in the business of healthcare...And there are a TON of applications in the business of healthcare.

Over the years, I have worked with medical facilities and private physician practices in medical billing, management consulting, and now healthcare information technology. In every aspect of every business, there is an opportunity to apply profit and loss concepts to improve profit and minimize loss.

There are two things to look at with profit and loss - those are profit and loss. Ok, that sounds obvious but people often do not realize the control you have over loss, how loss is incurred, or what loss really is. So to begin, I will focus this post strictly on loss. Since this a big topic, it will span several posts and I hope provide some ideas about minimizing loss in a healthcare setting.

Rule: Minimize Inefficiencies and you WILL maximize profit

This can be a challenge because you have to be able to see inefficiencies and unfortunately, when one is stuck in a routine inefficiencies are not always obvious. Perhaps this post will point out some things you do not see and help improve profitability.

Here is a basic concept to keep in mind while you read this post. Time = Money. If your time is not wisely spent, you ARE losing money. This applies to the most basic concepts and the most complicated. In this post, I will note some obvious inefficiencies that cost a fortune in the long run. Again, using the medical practice as an example.

First lets look at office layout. I once worked for a practice where the front desk was at the front of the office and the fax machine was in the kitchen at the back of the office. Back then, we were heavily dependent on faxes for test results, surgical clearances, and sending reports out. In order for the staff, who worked in the front of the office, to retrieve a fax, we had to walk to the back of the office to get to the kitchen. Go ahead, laugh...’she is complaining about walking 20 feet to retrieve a fax. Ok, I see why you would think this is an foolish complaint; however, there is more to it. First, I had to leave my work, interrupt a project to go check the fax regularly as we never knew when emergent information may come over.That interruption happened upwards of 15 times a day.

Now remember, the fax was in the kitchen... well while I am there, let me just get a cup of coffee, use the bathroom (just next door), oh, and Barbara is on lunch in the kitchen so “let’s chat for a second about the latest office gossip”. So now, the trip to the fax takes 3 minutes. No biggie, right? Let’s do the math: 3 minutes times 15 times per day = 45 minutes per day lost to the fax machine. That’s a lot of time that translates to “I need to stay late tonight (and get paid overtime) because I have so much work to finish”.

Next, lets look at interaction with patients. The practice I mentioned above was a surgical practice. As such patients had questions about surgery including administrative questions. The doctor would answer the questions as best he could, then the patient would ask the front desk staff again because, facing surgery their mind was not clear and what the doctor said didn’t sink in. Later that day, the patent's husband/daughter/grandson/nephew would call with more questions the patient failed to ask.

Now, you are thinking well if you give them a pamphlet about the procedure they are having, you wouldn’t have to answer all these questions. I agree, however, patients asked other questions, unrelated to the procedure. For example: . can I donate my own blood, when will the hospital call to schedule testing, will you tell my primary care doctor, did you know I see a cardiologist,, should I stop my aspirin, do i need to call my insurance, and so on. The biggest problem was the the questions were repeated again and again with the patient and the concerned family members.

This was such an investment of time to a single surgery! So, here’s what we did. We developed a surgery FAQ (frequently asked questions pamphlet) and the surgical coordinators sat down witht the patient for about 5 minutes or so to go over the contents. This served two purposes. First, the coordinator used it as a check list (remember to send the chart for precert, check if the patient is on blood thinners, etc) so that the coordinator didn’t have to do things twice. Also, the patient walked away with a list of FAQ to reread later or to give to the concerned family. Lastly, the meeting with the patient to go over the FAQ made the patient feel safer.That is a huge time savings.

As you can see, it is really little things that make a difference. Now, these examples are only few yet there are millions of possibilities to save time once you really understand that time = money. To improve profitability, you must examine every detail of the work-flow. Even if it is working well - could it be better still? At times this can be very hard. That’s why consultants sometimes play a big role in such improvements, they can be objective in their assessment. Just remember, in profitability every second counts because time is money.

What's Profit and Loss?

Years ago, I interviewed for a job and the interviewer asked me what I knew about P&L. The question blew my mind. Immediately, I feared that I was not qualified for the job. My confidence vanished with two letters P & L. I answered that the accountant was the one who maintained the P&L report using an accounting software (here is where you can laugh till your sides split – I know I laugh at this reply now). The interviewer just looked at me and said –“ahhh… guess that’s ok… I suppose it is something you can learn”. Funny enough, I still got a job offer.

Of course, I was mortified and had to go learn about P&L. I already knew it referred to profit and loss, but how that applied outside of accounting – why would I know it without a CPA, I could not imagine. So, I researched it and not only could I learn about profit and loss, I already knew it very well. We all know it well. It is basic survival!

Profit is how much money you make and loss is how much goes back out. Still, there is a bit more to it. But still it is easy and common sense. It relates to keeping within a budget and working smarter not harder. Further, it refers to opportunities taken and lost. While we all touched on this stuff in finance classes, econ class that wasn’t real - yet we do it really every day.

When you choose to drop the kids off at the field on the way to the supermarket – since it is ‘on the way’ – you just maximized profit and minimized loss. You saved on the gas required to two trips. You made the most of your time (assuming you only slow down to 60 mph and push the kids out the window as you pass the field). But seriously, you just mastered profit and loss in the form of efficiency resulting in savings.

When you have to choose whether to take a new job or remain with the same company, you are deciding on how to maximize profit and loss. Which option will give the best profit which will result in the least loss. Assuming that your current job isn’t terrible - a job change would result in leaving any seniority you may have, you’d leave stability, and change your routine. You may miss an opportunity for advancement with your current company. For what, the new job is paying $1.50 more per hour? But perhaps, the new job also has superior benefits. That choice, is profit and loss. You know there is always a trade off. You cannot pursue two opportunities at the same time. So you choose the option that is likely to bring the most profit and the least loss. With this, you are a master in understanding opportunity cost.

Above, I referred to budget as well. Who doesn’t have a budget? You know what you earn. You know what you need to survive. You know what you can and cannot afford. Smartly, you buy within your means. TA DA budgeting. You budget so that you don’t spend more than you have. You budget so you can keep the maximum amount of money in the bank for other things. You want as much purchasing power as possible so you shop at discount stores where you can buy more things for less money. This too is profit and loss in the form of budgeting and resource maximization.

The basic idea – make the most with what you have, try to get more for less, live within your means. The same applies in business. The difference between business and personal profit and loss – not much except the number of accounts. Business related profit and loss can teach a person a lot about how to handle their personal life and vice versa. You can see that in this basic interpretation of profit and loss: always stay within budget, plan wisely for the future, maximize efficiency, think about getting the most out of your selection between conflicting opportunities, maximize your use of resources, eliminate redundancy, buy supplies that offer the most value toward your ultimate goal – whatever that goal may be.

Now, all this time later I can honestly answer: Yes, Mr. Interviewer, I know all about P&L

The Title Says It All

You might wonder about the title of my blog. In the introductory post, I mentioned that I have diverse interests and the blog will be generally about business – and so it will be. Healthcare is business and general business concepts cross every industry. I chose the title for two reasons. First, I know healthcare. I have been working in healthcare for many years and will likely continue my entire career in healthcare. With that, the general business concepts will frequently navigate toward healthcare and I will use healthcare references a lot (I will, however, try my best to avoid jargon and fancy-pants business terms like synergize).

The second reason is simple, too. While I was setting up the blog, the profile asks ‘to what industry do you belong’ … healthcare was not an option. Now I’m here to tell you, healthcare is a business, too! As a matter of fact, a multi-billion dollar industry that includes IT companies, insurance companies, pharmaceuticals, hospitals, labs, rehab facilities and so on. It employs millions of people. It is not only a business – it is a BIG business!

Now, it is great to say that healthcare serves to save lives and promote wellbeing and to a certain extent that is true; however, most of the companies that provide health related services do so for profit. Personally, I think that’s good. If I didn’t think so, I wouldn’t have a job. I am certainly not trying to imply that patient health is not important – it is! Remember one of the most basic business concepts is the importance of customer satisfaction. Patients spend money and healthcare businesses profit from it. Further, healthcare businesses face the same challenges as every other business – how to get more customers, how to maximize profit, how to be innovative and creative, how to sell more, how to have a great brand image, etc. More over that, healthcare, like other industries, is highly regulated. By every measure, healthcare is business.

This is a bitter pill to swallow for some people (pun fully intended). People want to believe that their doctors have no interest in money. He or she is simply trying to make you feel better. But people forget healthcare providers have expenses and like all of us, healthcare providers want to own nice things, drive nice cars, and have the latest gadgets. Now to cover their expenses (business overhead and personal), they must be paid for the services they render. As business owners, healthcare providers strive for profitability – like in any business.

Why am I here?

I have decided to start a blog. Why, you ask. Because I read online that it was important to a) show that I am hip with this social media fad (kidding, I know it’s here to stay) and b) to build my personal brand image. The later is more interesting to me as a marketing major. With that, I am here to build my brand image. If, based on the blog, people think I am hip – all the better.

So, now… what is my brand? I never thought this one through before… A brand is an image. What image do I conjure in a person’s mind? What do people associate with Holly (beside the obvious tree)? Hummm…

So for a while I think on brands I know. Coca-Cola with its trademark font is recognized by anyone in the world – regardless of language, culture, religion. When I think about Coca-Cola, I think ‘classic’. Not because they call it Coke Classic but because it is an old American brand and just about as American as apple pie. Next, I think Coke is family friendly. Growing up I remember the ads at Christmas with the red-nosed Santa drinking from the glass bottle and the polar bear – so cute. Yes, very family friendly. So Coke has a signature logo and exemplifies the classic American family. This is a very clear brand image.

Let’s do another. Harley Davidson is an interesting study. They represent much more than leather clad bikers. In my mind, they represent the average Joe – the doctor, the lawyer, the investment banker – who needs to get away from life and let the wind blow through their hair for just a little while. When one mounts a Harley, they morph in to a leather clad biker - rough, tough, and carefree. Harley Davidson, to me, represents escape, strength, and freedom. Another very clear brand image.

Now, understand these are strictly my interpretation of Coke and Harley. Perhaps the companies had something else in mind, but these are the feelings they give me. Although I don’t generally drink soda and I don’t ride a motorcycle, these are brands for which I have the utmost respect. I think they have mastered brand image.

The questions remain, what is my brand? Wow! This is a tough one. Now I look at me. What am I? Today, I am wearing skinny jeans with black knee-high boots with the pant legs tucked in…Very modern. But, yesterday, I was wearing an argyle sweater and penny loafers – totally preppy. I work in healthcare IT, I have extensive experience of medical billing and coding, but In fascinated by marketing, science, sociology/anthropology. I would give up everything just to get a job at the Metropolitan Museum of Art – even as a janitor. I love technology and would give my left arm to work for Google. I am an avid reader. I read because I love to learn – everything. WHERE IS THE PATTERN??? How can you brand something so diverse?

GREAT SCOTT, I think I got it… Diversity.

Do you remember that show in the 90s called Seinfeld – it was a show about nothing. As a person who watched the show from time to time, I thought it was more about everything. That is what I intend for this blog. While my blog will be focused on business related topics - it will be very diverse. Because I am very diverse and diversity is key in business.

I know many businesses focus on having a diverse staff, but here I am referring to personal diversity – diversity in taste, interests, abilities, desires, goals. Who is more boring than the person who knows everything about only one topic? While those who are highly specialized are really great in their way, they seriously need to evolve – use the other 90% of the brain, please! Without personal diversity, how can one be innovative? How can one build relationships necessary for promoting themselves or their business?

While I was thinking on this blog, I did some research, reading other blogs that were focused on individual topics of interest to me. One was about medical billing. I know billing well.The problem was this blog was giving advice to the readers saying (paraphrased) "as a medical biller you are not a credentialing person, you are not a coder, you are not a medical office manager". It advised, stick to your specialty. Well, I have a problem with that. Last I checked, medical billing requires coding to send claims. If a doctor’s credentialing is out of whack, the medical bills don’t get paid. And lastly, isn’t medical billing all about generating revenue? It was my understanding that office management revolves around maximizing profit which directly relates to revenue. Hummmm…Seems to me that you need to be able to expand out of your comfort zone a bit if you want to maximize profit.

So, here’s what I think. A broad range of experience, education, and interests interconnect in ways that are not always immediately clear. Personal diversity and a desire to continuously broaden one’s knowledgebase is the source of creativity and thereby innovation and success.

With that, this blog will be business related (hitting on healthcare – because it is what I know best) discussing the things I learn in my travels and how I connect them – diverse as they may be.