Associate with Greatness

In our Vision document for Rising, I specifically created a section entitled: "Associate with Greatness"

We encourage our employees to find mentors and to continue to develop.  We encourage our leaders to find outside peers to associate with and learn from.

Why? We know associating with the best will drive us to be the best.

"One and Done" - What Does it Mean?

I have a saying I like to repeat over and over: "One and Done."

In our vision for Rising, the concept behind "One and Done" is described this way:

We know that our quality and our ability to evolve and grow depends on constant improvement and doing things right.  If we think we will need to do something more than once in the exact same way, we automate it.  We put significant effort into building and enhancing our products and services (brains), versus adding resources to do them (brawn). It’s easy to focus on what’s most important when you work at Rising.

Healthcare and Medicare Fraud

It is very important that the US healthcare system become less conflictual and more "win/win" for the issues we have today to ever be resolved.

I often hear how horrible the insurance companies are, and there may be many times when the stories are right.  I can also say that spending a week or two reviewing the medical bills submitted to carriers will change any person's perspective on the situation forever.

Quote on How to Live Life

I just love this quote by George Bernard Shaw quote.  I have nothing to add.

“This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no brief candle to me; it is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.”

"We" vs "Me" Teams

Every group of people is really just a tribe. Some are larger or smaller than others. Companies, countries, sports teams. They all function as tribes. When the nuclear disaster struck in Japan, again it struck me how much better their society functioned during a time of crisis than we did during Katrina. 

Some Appreciation for Coding

Most of us have looked at our medical bills with confusion.  I did when I had medical bills piling up.  It is a separate language and art form to understand healthcare billing in our society.  It is critical that someone look at your billing.  It is a sad fact that many medical providers are more profitable from their billing prowess than their medical outcome prowess. 

Move Slow at First to Move Fast

I was talking to someone the other day who conducts leadership training. Once a year, she goes out with a team to work on a training event at a large multi-national corporation.

She was saying that it is always a struggle to get the company to budget a little time to get the training team members engaged and aligned before starting.  Everyone is so task based they want to jump right in.  Even though she has worked with many of these people a year earlier, she still wants some time to re-engage, slowly rebuild trust, etc.

Achieve as a Team

Congrats to the Dallas Mavericks!

This was a team with non-stars or aging stars.  They had less physical talent than the Miami Heat.  They were not expected to win. Yet, they did.  They moved the ball well.  Played great defense.  Looked out for each other.

The better overall team beat the team with better individual talent!  Another life lesson. 

Become a "Legend"

I have spent a lot of time surrounding myself with success.  I love being pushed and inspired by people achieving greatness.  The one thing I've noticed about almost all super successful people, in any form or fashion, is they all have unrelenting standards.  They aim very high in life. Here's a great article on that very topic.

I love the fact that his driving factor in life is to Become a "Legend."  He must keep working hard, even after winning a race or a gold medal, or two, to truly become a "legend."  This is his North Star that keeps him driving forward.

Each step or race is not the outcome.  The "grand plan" is the outcome.  Without a grand vision of where we want to be, it's impossible to achieve our ultimate potential.

There is a great lesson here.  Strive for extraordinary results in your life, your job and everything you do.  It's the only way to ever become truly exceptional.

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Being Treated Fairly - It's Nature

Here is a fascinating thing I've learned about human nature. People often would rather be treated fairly, but worse, than being treated unevenly but better overall. What you talking about Jason? 

There is a famous study done of animals showing how perceived fair treatment is ingrained into nature. This experiment was done with monkeys to demonstrate how strong this instinct is in nature. Click here to see it.

4 Basic Human Needs for Happiness

What makes us happy?  At work?  As a consumer?  In life?  Happiness likely has the same triggers in most any part of your life.

It's a fascinating topic that can take a lifetime to master.  Many companies desire a “great customer experience,” but they really put no effort into learning what makes a great experience.

$5 Million Typo - The Importance of Controls

Read this story about a $5 million dollar "typo." Most of us also remember the stock market crash caused when a broker typed 15 billion shares instead of 15 million, which was dubbed the fat fingered market crash.
 

I recently heard a story from an employee who caught a $500,000 bill that should have been $5,000 by calling the provider who confirmed the one day stay was not a half-million bucks.

Street Value of Prescription Drugs

In many situations, a person who is injured receives treatment longer than expected. This is very common when people are taking prescriptions or pain medications for long periods of time. There can be many reasons: dependence, addiction, misdiagnosed causation, driving up claims costs for settlement, etc.

The Story of Our Logo: Love it or Hate it

I'm often asked about our logo.  At conferences, people will walk up and say they love it, or it gives them a sense of good luck and they wear our t-shirts during sporting events.  Someone even has hit three jackpots wearing a Rising t-shirt and they wear it every time they go gambling now.  Just as many people tell me it is ugly or distracting.  At a recent client implementation meeting, someone from our new account was distracted by our logo to the point they could not focus and asked where it came from. 

Why I'm in the Medical Cost Containment Industry

Many people have a medical nightmare story to tell.  Stories of medical issues that have compromised or challenged their or their family's financial stability. My own brush with healthcare prompted me to get into this industry and eventually to launch Rising.

The video below is edited and leaves out a lot of details (I was a bouncer – but was off duty and tried to break up a fight with strangers – not recommended).  Still, it gives the basic idea.

Tell me your story in the comment section. Or drop me a line.