9/28/11

ICD-10: Healthcare’s Y2K?

Injured while crocheting? Hurt at the opera house? Dinged on the squash courts? From hidden perils to the most random brush with nature, when injuries strike in the future, there will be a code so specific to your injury it is almost comical.  Today, hospitals and doctors work with 18,000 codes, but that number is growing nearly eight-fold to 140,000 codes.

9/22/11

The Cash Flow of Business

One thing I learned starting a business is the government games all the numbers to make a business look like it's making as much money as possible. That way the government can collect taxes at the highest rate as soon as possilbe. While I have no experience with large corporations that can lobby the government for tax breaks -- and there's a lot to solve in the tax break area -- I do understand the smaller business model that makes up the majority of America's job creation.  What if I were to tell you a first year company that made a million dollars could go broke? It's very true. Let me show you some numbers.

9/20/11

Inspirational Fight: Cancer Survivor Makes NY Giants Roster

I love a story about overcoming challenges.  They put life and the “possible” in perspective for all of us. One of my favorites involves a young football player whose story is still evolving today.

The best overall college linebacker I have personally watched is Mark Herzlich. How good was he? Dominant. In 2008, his junior year, he was a first-team All-American and the ACC defensive player of the year. He always seemed to be in the right place at the right time.

Herzlich
was a projected top five pick in the
NFL draft but, instead, he choose to come back for his senior year at Boston College.
Going into his final season, Herzlich was on the Butkus Award watch list, given to the top linebacker in college football. Then, suddenly, everything changed...

9/13/11

The Difference Between Wisdom and Intelligence

"Intelligence is the ability to learn from your mistakes. Wisdom is the ability to learn from the mistakes of others." - Anonymous

I think about this quote often. I'm not sure if that is the exact definition of both words, but it is a powerful concept either way.  Let's say the definition above is true. Intelligence is critical.  People who notice "patterns" more quickly than others and learn from their own mistakes or successes are those we consider intelligent. Over time, by learning from what is occurring around them, they can react more quickly and accurately than the average person. 


Intelligent people gather "knowledge" and "ability" through daily life and their own experiences.  It takes a certain level of humility to allow your own preconceived notions to be challenged, and let unmitigated information mold your beliefs.

There's only one issue... life is too short!

9/9/11

Remembering 9-11 and the Man in the Red Bandana

This weekend is the 10 year anniversary of the most tragic day in my lifetime: September 11, 2001.  Like most, I will never forget where I was when it happened. I will never forget the chaos and the rumors that spread beyond the attacks on the Pentagon and Twin Towers. I remember the numb and disconnected feelings as I watched person after person jump to their death from 100 stories to avoid the pain of burning to death. I remember thinking it had to be a dream. I remember watching in horrified awe as the Towers collapsed. 

Then came the weeks of fear for the people we knew working in New York and the Pentagon, trying to track down and make sure everyone was alive and well. Work was forgotten; small issues were no longer important; September 11 put life into perspective.
 

9/7/11

HUG Away the Evil E's

One of my pet peeves is people that point out a problem without offering a solution. Too many people get ahead in life nitpicking other people or things, without being able to do any better themselves. So, since I pointed out the Evil E's (Ego, Envy, Entitlement) -- behaviors that destroy teams and cultures -- I better have a solution. HUG stands for the following:

9/1/11

The Evil E's: Entitlement Defined

Now to the final Evil E: Entitlement. When something that was originally a positive in life becomes the norm, Entitlement happens.  It no longer adds value to your life if it happens, it's just expected.  If it does not happen, you become sad, depressed or angry.

Entitlement is actually very ingrained in human nature. Out of the other Evil E's -- Ego and Envy -- I find Entitlement the least purposefully malicious, but the most pervasive.  It's very destructive to a company or team of people.