What you did for me over the last year is remarkable!
This month marks the one-year anniversary of my company.
It started with a friend and former colleague calling to say, “I heard you were thinking of starting your own business; if you do I will be your first customer.”
For a long time how I had thought that I would love to meet the needs I was seeing in long-term care in a unique way. By building relationships with people and organizations that I could help whenever and however they needed it, instead of just fulfilling a quick consulting engagement.
Here was my big chance…
Dreaming of my future business….
“Well I guess I’m starting my own business then!”
Immediately after conducting that first training for my friend’s organization, as I was literally pulling out of their parking lot, my phone rang. “Can you come back next month and train the rest of our team?”
The journey had begun!
I can’t thank each of you enough for the support you have given me and thought it would be fun to share with you some of the lessons I learned this year.
Lesson #1 Give it Away…From the start I decided to share generously. I offer to share advice, resources and tools with anyone I meet.
Sometimes that is the only help a person needs to get “unstuck”. Other times that person joins me as a client to do more in-depth work. Either way I am happy to be sharing my gifts to help make the world of long-term care a better place.
Lesson #2 Don’t underestimate the power of the chat…I get calls from frustrated people that don’t know what to do with staff that are “fighting” a change. I get calls from people that are contemplating a job change and don’t know what to do.
Sometimes organizations need days of staff training, sometimes they need a leadership retreat. Other times a person just needs a good chat to talk through all that is on his or her mind.
Lesson #3 It IS a small, small world…Perhaps it is my upcoming trip to Disney while at the ACHCA conference that inspired me to write this, but a year ago I never would have thought I’d have people from around the world reading my blog and connecting with me!
Closer to home, I find myself helping and being helped by other consultants and businesses, people who should be the “competition.” We work together knowing that it is all for a greater good.
So enough about me and my incredible year! What does this all mean for you?
How can the lessons I learned be applied to the work YOU do?
Lesson #1 Give it Away…Freely share your resources with your staff, residents and larger community. No, I’m not saying give away the store! But think about what you have and how you can share it. Then think about how you put good out and you get good back.
Can your staff use the computers you have after their work hours, since many might not have one at home? Are people from the community encouraged to use your indoor and outdoor spaces? Maybe you will be helping to create a more engaged employee or an ambassador who will share the good work your organization does.
Lesson #2 Don’t underestimate the power of the chat…Take the time to talk with your staff and residents. Not about what work needs to get done or an update on the organization. A simple chat.
You’ll trust them more; they’ll trust you more. You will strengthen relationships with people who then will be more comfortable sharing their ideas and suggestions. You will also know what is going on in your organization like never before!
Lesson #3 It IS a small, small world…Get out and meet some of those good people! Beyond the community that you work within. Beyond the company that you work for, no matter how large it may be.
Join an association (ACHCA, NADONA, etc), become part of your state culture change coalition, or go to a conference. Join a committee for one of these organizations and be active on it. Meet people at these gatherings and offer to help them. Just because. Your perspective and vision will expand incredibly from the experience.
Your turn! What lessons have you learned over the years?
