The twos that can make all the difference

So last week, Flint and I drove to Atlanta for our last Parents' Weekend for our graduating son. I was catching up on all the articles that I try to keep up on, but are impossible during the work week (and listening to cool music from Flint's ipod and his satellite radio). All was lovely and well as we traveled east then south, until we got to Chattanooga and then it happened --- SNOW. Now, it was only those very light flurries that we used to not even notice in St. Louis (until some news editor decided they could get a lot more viewers by making the weather the news) and that should not have caused any travel delays. And, I give the good people of Tennessee credit -- we were able to drive pretty much the speed limit all along the interstates. Even when we entered Georgia things were fine, fine that is until we made it to the Atlanta City Limits right around 4:30. We were pretty shocked at how light traffic was heading in our direction (not so for the traffic heading out of the City, which was pretty typical for rush hour in a city). Then came the call -- all activities scheduled for Friday and Saturday of Parents' Weekend were cancelled due to weather. Weather? What weather? There was less than 2 inches of snow that accumulated and there was no ice! However, we were determined not to be disappointed and figured we would just grab our kid and go out for a nice dinner on Friday night. We were in for a rude awakening. Almost every restaurant had closed at 2:00 because of the snow storm! We ended up eating at a Zaxby's that was "only going to be open for another 30 minutes and we are out of a lot of our usual menu items." It was then that I realized how 2 can make all the difference. In St. Louis, we don't get to worried about 1, 2 or 3 inches of snow, but let us get to 4 inches (which is 2 times 2) and we declare a blizzard. We talk about things being twice as hard or twice as nice. We think of twins as twice the work (and twice the blessing). We ask for just another couple of minutes and then we are ready to do whatever someone is asking us to do next. We talk about doubling down, double trouble and double the fun (all in the two family).
Sometimes I get frustrated that a work project is taking twice as long as I thought it would. Not because I am not focused on it, but because I am sometimes waiting for others to provide input or give me a piece of what I need to complete the project. It is then that the twos really become a source of frustration -- even more than not finding an open restaurant because of two inches of snow. I try (but don't always succeed) to be patient, understanding that while my project is of utmost importance to me, others have other priorities that are of utmost importance to them. It probably really isn't practical to expect that all projects will be completed in the time you anticipated, but if they too often take twice as long, something is wrong -- either on the planning end or the execution end. I am working on doing a better job of determining how long it will take to complete a project when I am not in control of all of the project's parts (not being in control is another difficulty that I will write about some day). I think that will help quell some of the frustration I experience. I realize that I put this practice into play following the birth of baby #1. Because she was 2 weeks late (darn those twos) I got really tired of hearing "You haven't had that baby yet." So, when I was having the next baby and the one after that, I added two weeks to the due date the doctor gave me and viola, never had the frustration of the project not being done on time.

Didn't know I was such a wimp

One of the things I have always loved about living in St. Louis is that we really do get to experience four seasons. Well, enough already with this extremely cold weather and no sun!!!! I mean really what is the use of such cold temps if you don't have the mountains to go with them? The new president of Barnes-Jewish Hospital relocated here from San Diego and everyone keeps telling him that we have not had this kind of a long, severe cold snap in years. He just shakes his head and says -- "Sure." I could probably handle the cold, if we could just get more than a nanosecond of sun. Could I be suffering from seasonal affective disorder? Or, am I just a wimp?
On the plus side, the cold has made me a bit more productive as I have retreated to my desk. I have caught up on reading and research projects that were hanging over me like one of those little bubble word clouds over the heads of cartoon characters. It really does feel good to be able to check things off the list (and I learned a lot that will help as several new initiatives get launched).
Speaking of new, I had the pleasure of discovering another great new restaurant this week when I had a one on one staff member luncheon. Truly, these opportunities are becoming one of the favorite parts of my job. I enjoy getting to know the people on the team even better. What they love, their hobbies, their families, what energizes them about working for BJC and their ideas for how we can do what we do even better. I know I must sound like a broken record on this, but my goal is that we are continually providing excellent service to our clients and one of the best ways of getting better is by developing new ideas.
On the flip side of the broken record is my encouragement to engage in a learning & development opportunity. You never know what you will encounter that will be of great benefit. I attended part of a seminar yesterday and a speaker shared something that will stay with me -- Don't let what you want most be compromised by what you want at the moment. There are all kinds of great applications for that bit of advice -- in all of the settings of our life. Of course, when I shared the words with my husband (and got a little teary eyed at how sharing these words with our adult children could be really helpful as they strike out in life), he said -- Hmmn, interesting, but you are such a wimp.

The Gotchas

Many of you are aware that I am somewhat addicted to some less than stellar television shows. From looking at each of the Real Housewives locales (I really am embarrassed by this) to Family Guy (I love the promo that features the youngest kid calling for his mom ad naseum) to Nip/Tuck (can I get away with this because it is kinda about medicine?), I veg out on some pretty bad stuff. However, I am also addicted to the wonderful Mad Men and Meet The Press, Face The Nation and other political television "news shows." Yesterday, as I looked at several of the Sunday morning news shows I had an epiphany on what many of the things I watch have in common. They are all about the "Gotcha." This weekend's political theater "Gotcha" is all about Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and what he said privately that is now public (did he miss Communications & Media Training 101?). The reaction to his comments are pretty black & white (no pun intended). From Republicans, this is the latest "Gotcha." From Democrats, it is "let's move on to more important issues." Lest you think I am being partisan, I remember all too well, the Dems playing Gotcha with the comments of former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott. Time will tell if history repeats itself.
While "Gotcha" makes for interesting fake (even when supposed reality) television series, it is much less helpful in the real world (which is why politics is such a turn off for so many). I believe that we try hard not to play the "Gotcha" game in our department. That doesn't mean that we don't have disagreements -- we do. It means, however that we work through those disagreements respectfully and stay aware of the bigger goal which is to provide excellent service to our clients. None of us can expect all of our work days to be filled with sunshine and lollipops (afterall this is work), but I have always been impressed that when issues arise, we are able to address them in a way that is about getting to resolution rather than playing "Gotcha." The goal of "Gotcha" is always to make someone the loser. We are fortunate that we are about identifying issues, resolving them and celebrating wins!
As we start the New Work Year (as if there is some line of demarcation between the old and the new), I am resolving to more publicly celebrate our department's wins. I will use our Shout Out system more and will make sure the great work you are all doing gets more visibility at the levels above me. Not because you have asked for it, but because you deserve it.

At Year's (but not Wit's) End

This year (like all of them since I got on the other side of 30) has flown by. Seems it was just yesterday that we were reviewing the branding agency finalists (it was December 2008) and here we are with 3 months of the strategy live and kicking (and being very well received). In 2010 (why do some people say "20 and 10"), I am looking forward to more fabulous one on one (or one on two or three) lunches/breakfasts with staff members I don't get to spend as much time with as others. I have really enjoyed those this year and have learned a lot. As I shared with my lunch mate yesterday, I want to hear your ideas for how we can serve BJC even better. So, send them to me at anytime -- I am always e-mailable and really appreciate hearing from you. I also hope to get out of the office more and do something I encourage each of you to do -- take a CLL course or two, attend a conference, and do more continuous learning in the fields that will help make one of the best departments even better (gee, seems I have seen those words before).
I could not let the year past without saying thanks to each and every one of you who do such great work (I know I did this in the last post, but you can never be too appreciative). I also want to especially thank, Barbara Reynolds, who goes above and beyond in everything she does to support our department. It is fabulous to have a true partner who is always willing to go the extra miles that are sometimes required and to go those miles with such a wonderful spirit. She is among the true blessings in my life.
Have a great 2010 and I look forward to hearing from you all.
J

Doing More

How about this? I am posting exactly 2 weeks (my new goal) after my last one. As we near the end of another year, I marvel at how quickly time flies and how much we are able to get done in such a short span of time. For example, we developed a relationship with a new web vendor and are migrating all of our websites to that vendor. This will allow our IS department to focus on the many clinical information services needs of BJC and allow us to keep content fresh and evolving on our websites -- which we know have exponentially elevated in importance to consumers. Thanks to Patt and everyone on her team for the due diligence and hard work to get us where we are. If you want to see an early glimpse of what the move to our new vendor will produce, check out the new website for Barnes-Jewish Hospital. It is truly stunning!
Our Creative Services team continued to serve more and more client requests with the same number of staff. The comments on the quality of work by this 'inhouse agency' continue to be very positive. Whether it is designing a simple (is there any such animal) brochure or developing new logos (I think we did about 4 hospitals this year) and icons (too many to count) the clients are happy with their products. Thanks to Andy and team for all you do.
Kudos continue to pour in for the work done by our Media Services team. They are adapting to all the demands of new media and not missing a beat. They took on the added duties of providing video services as part of communications training and the clients who have taken advantage of this training share that being able to see how they look when answering questions has been very helpfu. And, the Media Services space looks better than ever. A big Shout Out (what happened to these) to Tracie and her team.
Every other week, we are fortunate to have a newspaper that not only looks great (love the new design that incorporates one photo on the front page), but has information that is need-to-know, interesting-to-know and fun-to-know (Off the Cuff) for our employees. As hospital dedicated staff for the paper has shrunk, our BJC Today team has managed to make sure that the content has not missed a beat. Patty and her team truly do a great job in publishing a paper that is worthy of bearing the BJC name.
When it comes to making a difference in the community, our small but mighty, Community Affairs and Community Benefit team goes the distance. From overseeing the Healthy Mind Body Spirit initiative to working with other non-profit organizations focused on the underserved in our communities to gathering all the data from our hospitals/service organizations to ensure we are accurate in our reporting, Debra & team and Karley are to be commended. It is work that is both rewarding and challenging.
Positively positioning BJC and our service organizations and selected hospitals has never been more important and Karen and her team have consistently managed to stretch very limited resources and create value-added strategies for their many clients. I continue to be amazed that so much can be achieved by such a small staff. In the words of a luncheon master of ceremonies that I heard yesterday, You Go Girls!
And, last month we welcomed Kathleen and her portfolio of Health Literacy, School Outreach, Community Health Services and St. Louis OASIS to our department. Aligning these functions with us will allow even more opportunities to work together in improving and communicating BJC's commitment to healthy communities. This team is expert at this work as evidenced by the recognition of BJC as THE health care organization in our region focused on keeping people healthy. Congrats to Kathleen and her team and welcome!
Lastly, a huge thank you to everyone on our team for helping to birth our new BJC branding strategy. From Barbara who is the meeting coordinator guru, to Sylvia who helped to manage gathering of talent, to Kim who helped with content and context for the new social media site, I cannot say thank you enough. The campaign has been embraced by our employees and that is truly the audience that matters most. It has been a busy year, but a rewarding one and I am so blessed to work with each of you.
J

The Power of Within

This week, I had the pleasure of announcing the promotion of an employee who began her career with BJC 16 years ago. I knew she was good, but have been really pleased (and a bit surprised) at the overwhelmingly positive response to this news. While I think much of it is about who she is, I have also gotten feedback that many are pleased at the decision to promote internally. I understand and appreciate that. I believe in finding the absolute best person for the job that needs to be done now and in the future. Sometimes, the skill set is inside and sometimes it is outside. Before I came to BJC, I was a candidate for a position at a large company in St. Louis. I remember the CEO confiding that he was wrestling with the decision of whether to go outside and hire me or promote from within. I shared with him that if he had an outstanding candidate inside, he should promote from within. Not only would it be well deserved recognition, but it would speak volumes to the employees of the possibilities for growth and advancement. Ultimately, he agreed and while I lost out on a job, he and I have continued to stay in contact and the employee he promoted and I also became good friends. It was a good outcome all the way around, as just a couple of years later, I was fortunate to find BJC. And, the rest is what's happening now.
I wish you all (whoever the faithful readers are) a wonderful Thanksgiving. Mine will be quite busy as we host my husband's very large extended family and my much smaller family at our home. I am very excited that all three of our kids will be home from school, but my excitement pales in comparison to Flint's. He's like a kid looking forward to his 21st birthday. Okay, so I have gone a bit off track with this posting, but I couldn't let the holiday pass us by without acknowledging it and the fact that we had lots of sunshine today!

Am I just talking to myself?

Where did everyone go? On the last post, there were no comments shared. Does this mean that no one is still reading? Is it because I post so infrequently? Is it because what is being said, makes one go "Hmmmnn", but does not lead to a necessary reply? Or, have I been abandoned? These are the questions I am asking myself. You guys will remember that one of the reasons I began this BLOG was to get a feel for what it is like to play in the world of social media so that we could make an informed decision for what BJC should do. Well, since that time BJC has entered that world with both feet -- heck with entire body. www.makemedicinebetter.org continues to get a lot of visits and the registrations exceed the normal conversion rate. However, I am surprised at the number of folks who visit and don't share any ideas or nominate a person to be a Hero. But, then I thought of my own behavior. I visit lots of sites and never register. I read lots of articles on line and think of all kinds of responses to share, but often do not leave a comment. So perhaps there are lots of people out there who are more like me than I imagined (my family is likely thinking -- Please say it isn't so). So, to all of the former readers of this BLOG, come on back. Let me know what you are thinking, wondering, hoping that I will address in this space. Right now, I am thinking it is great to see the sun (the sunless days of last week sealed that I could never live in Cleveland or Seattle or Ireland), wondering when (not if) the Rams will win their first game, and planning to tackle the piles of work that are on my desk (part of what makes my posts much more infrequent than I would like). What are you thinking, wondering and hoping? Would love to know.
J