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I'm ridiculously happy today. This is my first
opportunity to be the irrationally doting father, and have the proof to
back it up!
My son, Jason Andrew Tweed, is playing in the Little League All-Star
game for his T-ball league. This is his second year playing ball
and he was one of four kids chosen from the Northumberland Tigers to
represent the team. He's not the biggest, strongest, or even
fastest kid, but he has the fundamentals down. He can throw a
ball, catch a ball, and put his bat on the ball even without a tee.
So what does that teach us about private duty home care? Well,
the first thing it teaches us is that I'll find any excuse to apply a
story about my great kids into an article about home care.
Seriously, we can learn some lessons from Jason Andrew Tweed.
Focus on the
Fundamentals -- Throwing a ball, catching a ball, and
swinging a bat are the fundamentals of playing baseball.
Joe Morgan, former baseball great turned TV color commentator, answered
the question about advice he would give to fathers who want their sons
to make it to the Major Leagues. I'll paraphrase, "Play
catch with them. Today's kids focus on winning games and hitting
home runs. They need to focus on the fundamentals. Learn to
throw and catch first, then learn how to bat. Winning games and
hitting home runs will follow naturally if you practice the
fundamentals."
Private duty home care isn't a difficult business. There are
three basic fundamentals.
- Hire
Great People -- In
sports and business, great teams win. Great teams start with
great talent. The first pillar of private duty is People.
- Network
and Sell --
Business starts when someone sells something. Business ends
the instant they stop selling. The second pillar of private
duty is Promotion.
- Best
Practices and Processes -- Profitability is our third
pillar and how we define "winning". Developing
strong processes and practices and repeating them over and over is
key to efficiency and profitability.
Focus on these
fundamentals and you'll win in the marketplace.
Practice,
Practice, Practice -- Last season Jason was
frustrated. We practiced together for a few minutes each day, and
I gave him encouragement. By the first game he thought he was the
greatest six-year-old baseball player who had ever lived.
Unfortunately, he was wrong. A few had more natural talent.
Some were stronger. Most were bigger.
When he asked me why, I simply told him those kids had practiced more.
Honestly, I've had less time to practice and encourage him this
season. He kept it up, however. He practiced without me,
often with his twin sister who is also on his team this year.
Mostly they played catch.
Private duty home care takes practice as well. About once a week
I get a call from someone who's been in the business for six weeks and
hasn't found a single client. They've been in business for a year
and have started experiencing mass turnover. They've been in
business five years, consistently grown revenues but not profits.
Key with baseball and with home care is constant improvement.
Find ways to continually improve your hiring practices, your sales and
networking, and your operations.
Teamwork
-- My daughter, Ainsley Grace, taught me this lesson in her last
game. How can I put this delicately? Ainsley stinks.
I love her, but she can't hit a ball if her life depended on it.
Then, in the third inning coach put her at second base. With a
runner on, a kid hit the ball directly to her. She scooped it up
like a pro, and collided with a runner tagging him out. She'd
been taught to touch the base, so she did that as well.
Everybody cheered for her.
The next batter hit almost an identical ball. She had to scoop it
up, then hustled to beat the kid to second.
Everyone cheered louder.
The very next batter hit the ball to the shortstop. Jason was
playing shortstop that inning. Because most of the team can't
catch, Jason usually tries to tag them out himself. He looked at
Ainsley, tossed it lightly, and she caught the ball standing on the
bag. Ainsley proceeded to stomp on the bag, tag the base with the
ball, then bonked the runner on the head with her glove. She
wanted to be absolutely sure he was out.
The crowd screamed ecstatically, all 23 of us!
Ainsley learned a lot playing catch with Jason. Ainsley learned
to cover the bag from her coach. I'd like to think Ainsley
learned her enthusiasm from me, but it's probably a gift from God.
While Ainsley isn't the best player, she has surrounded herself with a
great team and learned from them. She knows her role. When
the opportunity came, she did her job expertly with enthusiasm.
Surround yourself with people who are better than you. Make sure
every person you hire makes the team better. Learn from each
other. And finally, know your role and do your best.
High Five
-- After their last game, I asked Jason what was his favorite
part. He said, "the high five".
In the six and seven-year-old T-ball league they don't keep
score. There is no official "winner". At the end
of each game, the teams line up and cross paths, smacking their hands
together. Every kid tells every other kid "Congratulations,
good job."
At the end of the day Little League is about doing your best,
connecting with others, having fun and putting on a good show for the
fans.
Wouldn't it be great if Private Duty Home Care were more like this?
Try this experiment. For the rest of the day today, all day
tomorrow, and all day Friday make eye contact with everyone on your
team and put the "high five" sign in the air. Don't
explain it. Just see how many people slap your hands.
Here's my prediction:
- Today: People will think you're
a little nuts.
- Tomorrow: Co-workers will start
looking for you and calling you the High Five Lady or High Five
Guy.
- Friday: You'll see your team
doing it all over the office.
For
the next couple of days high fives will be cool, and the office will be
a slightly happier place to be.
You could learn a lot from a seven-year-old.
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