Ebrilliance Blog & Articleshttp://www.pathwayscoaching.net/blog-articles/en-US2012-02-16T05:43:40ZSquarespace Site Server v5.11.81 (http://www.squarespace.com/)Having Fun At Work?http://www.pathwayscoaching.net/blog-articles/2011/3/28/having-fun-at-work.htmlPathways2011-03-28T21:25:23ZWhat's your fun factor?  An engineering firm in town recently "played" for an hour. Yes, engineers can play!  They had 40 4th graders visit the firm to see what engineering was all about.  Each engineer designed a package containing a raw egg which was dropped from a Genie lift. Lightest packaging to keep the egg from breaking won.  They weren't done yet....Then dropped a tomato, a squash, a cantaloupe, and finally a watermelon. Do the kids love engineering?  Did they retain learning?  Absolutely!  What are you doing to make your staff meetings fun? We can help! Let us design a fun, interacitve and educational meeting for you!

]]>Conflict....Good or Bad? How to Have One Without the Otherhttp://www.pathwayscoaching.net/blog-articles/2011/2/23/conflictgood-or-bad-how-to-have-one-without-the-other.htmlPathways2011-02-23T22:11:51ZThanks Sesame for inviting us to present the webinar today!  Fantastic turnout and responses!

Great webinar you guys!  One of the best I've attended!

Very well done

Thank you for a great webinar. Loved learning about "soft skills" in relation to conflict.

Unmet expectations?  What a great observation for improving my communication!

Best of all we delighted in sharing our information with the Sesame clients!  You rock!


]]>Learning from Zappos: Creating World-Class Customer Servicehttp://www.pathwayscoaching.net/blog-articles/2011/2/2/learning-from-zappos-creating-world-class-customer-service.htmlPathways2011-02-02T19:45:00ZWOW Zappos articles culture customer service 

Doctor, what would you do if a new patient walked through your door and instead of wanting to know right off the bat what your fees were, what insurance you accepted, what your office hours were, or whether you could validate their parking ticket, this person asked you to describe your practice culture? How would you feel? Surprised? Confused? Excited? Bottom line … would you know how to answer the question?
In his book, "Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose," Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com (online sellers of clothing, shoes, accessories, and housewares), talks a lot about culture and how it has played — and continues to play — an integral role in Zappos’ phenomenal growth and success.
Hsieh identifies three common mistakes small business owners often make in their own pursuit of success:
  1. Not building engagement and trust with employees before customers. Would you be comfortable printing everything your employees, patients, and colleagues have to say about your culture? If not, what would it take for you to get to that point where you would be? Your business reflects the culture and values that are already in place, whether you have defined them or not. Wouldn’t you rather take charge of defining and shaping those values? 
  2. Focusing on networking, rather than creating friendships. Rather than trying to network in the traditional sense, it’s better to build "friendships" where the friendship itself is the reward.
  3. Return on Investment vs lifetime value of a customer. Business owners often focus on return on investment (ROI) instead of viewing the lifetime value of a customer as a moving target that can increase if the business owner can create more and more positive emotional associations with the brand, and do it through every interaction a person has with us.
Zappos considers its culture to be its biggest asset, and the firm manages accordingly. Almost 50% of an employee’s performance review is based on how well the employee embodies the company’s 10 cultural core values:
  1. Deliver WOW through service. WOW is a short simple word, yet encompasses many things. WOW requires differentiation ... doing something beyond what is expected. Does your service have an emotional impact on the receiver?
  2. Learn to not fear change. Embrace it with enthusiasm ... encourage and drive it. Plan for it. Ask, “What is the 1% improvement I can make to change myself/the company for the better”?
  3. Create fun and a little weirdness. Laugh at yourself, look for fun and humor in your daily work. This encourages everyone to think outside of the box and be more innovative.
  4. Be adventurous, creative, and open-minded. If you are not making mistakes, you are not taking enough risk. Are you pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone?
  5. Pursue growth and learning. Are you a better person than you were yesterday? Are you stretching self/others? Do you understand the company vision?
  6. Build open and honest relationships with communication. A key ingredient to strong relationships is developing emotional connections. At the end of the day it’s not what you say or do, but how you make people feel that matters the most. In order for someone to feel good about a relationship, they must know the other person truly cares about them, both personally and professionally.
  7. Build a positive team and family spirit. The best team members have a positive influence on one another and everyone they encounter, and strive to create harmony with those with whom they interact.
  8. Be more with less. Never lose your sense of urgency in making improvements. Don’t settle for “good enough.” Good is the enemy of great. Be innovative, use mistakes as learning opportunities. Ask yourself, “How can we become more efficient?”
  9. Be passionate and determined. Passion and determination are contagious. Are you passionate about the company? Are you passionate about your work? Do you love what you do and who you work with? Are you happy/inspired? Is this the place for you?
  10. Be humble. Are you humble when talking about your accomplishments? Do you treat large and small with the same amount of respect as they treat you?
Ultimately, Hsieh says, it’s all about being happy, which comes from being part of something bigger than oneself. In fact, studies have shown that “connectedness” plays a large role in both happiness and productivity. For instance:
  • The number of good friends an employee has at work is correlated with how engaged the employee is. 
  • Engaged or connected employees are more productive.
Happiness doesn’t come primarily from within,” Haidt says, “but rather from between.” 
So what does this all have to do with youand your practice ... or any dental practice, for that matter? To answer that question, consider  the following nine ways Zappos instills a culture of great customer service. (Note: Doctor, if it’s underlined and in italics, it applies to you!)
  1. Make customer service a priority for the whole company/dental practice, not just a department/front or back office. A customer service attitude needs to come from the top/doctor down.
  2. Make WOW a verb that is part of your company’s/practice’s everyday vocabulary.
  3. Empower and trust your suppliers/dental supply reps. Trust that they want to provide great service … because they actually do!
  4. Realize that it’s okay to fire customers/patients who are insatiable, or abuse your employees.
  5. Don’t measure call times, don’t force employees to upsell, and don’t use scripts. None of which excuses you from properly training your employees!
  6. View each call as an investment in building a customer/patient service brand, not as an expense you’re seeking to minimize.
  7. Have the entire company/practice celebrate great service. Tell stories of WOW experiences to everyone in the company/at regular staff meetings.
  8. Find and hire people who are already passionate about customer/patient service.
  9. Give great service to everyone: customers/patients, employees and suppliers.
If you would like help in bringing a culture of world-class customer service to your practice, please contact us today. We can bring our many years of experience in leadership and teamwork to your office, and work with you and your staff in creating and honing your own WOW dental practice!
]]>"Do overs"~ what a great idea!http://www.pathwayscoaching.net/blog-articles/2011/1/17/do-overs-what-a-great-idea.htmlPathways2011-01-17T17:55:13ZI had the opportunity to hear Dr. Wayne Anderson  of Take Shape for Life speak this weekend.  He talked about the ability to have each day be a "do over".  We can do something differently today than yesterday if we want a different result.   AH HA..... What different results would you like today?  You have the opportunity to do it differently! Just do it!

]]>New Perspecitveshttp://www.pathwayscoaching.net/blog-articles/2010/9/19/new-perspecitves.htmlPathways2010-09-19T23:01:48ZHow often do we forget to cherish what we have?  My husband and I spent a recent Saturday hiking locally in our Wenatchee foothills. Having been in Sun Valley on similar hikes we were comparing the two regions of the beautiful Northwest.  The conversation began  with how lovely Sun Valley is, the ambiance of Ketchum, Idaho and draw to that area.  Then almost magically we said " Yes, but look at what we have right here at our back door!" Gaining 1000 feet of altitude allowed us to see our valley with different perspective.  How often do you step outside your business, family or region to appreciate what you have? 

]]>The Bumps in Our Pathways of Lifehttp://www.pathwayscoaching.net/blog-articles/2010/9/8/the-bumps-in-our-pathways-of-life.htmlPathways2010-09-08T10:02:16Zbumps communication coping life"A small trouble is like a pebble. Hold it too close to your eye and it fills the whole world and puts everything out of focus. Hold it at a proper distance and it can be examined and properly classified. Throw it at your feet and it can be seen in its true setting, just one more tiny bump on the pathway of life."

- Celia Luce

For me 2010 has been a year full of bumps. Some of them major, some of them minor. When life puts bumps in your life's pathway what do you do to ride over them? What are your life's shock absorbers? 

]]>Creating a Culture Of Service Excellencehttp://www.pathwayscoaching.net/blog-articles/2010/8/26/creating-a-culture-of-service-excellence.htmlPathways2010-08-26T22:16:07ZDisney E-Gap customer service trustWorking with an array of businesses in Wenatchee, WA, we surprised and delighted business owners with tools and information pertaining to establishing trust in the work place, E-Gap analysis and the concept of WOWing the customer.  Like Disney, your business can be as engaging, offering an experience rather that selling a product.  Which do you prefer as a customer?

 

Interested in learning more about E-Gaps, creating trust in the workplace? Contact us today. 

]]>7 Essential (non clinical) Steps for Sustainable Dental Team Successhttp://www.pathwayscoaching.net/blog-articles/2010/5/1/7-essential-non-clinical-steps-for-sustainable-dental-team-s.htmlPathways2010-05-01T15:54:22Zarticles attitude jim collins motivation team buildingYou’ve heard the expression: “Knowledge is power”. But is it really? Is it really the solution to the majority of our daily challenges?

Yes and no. By itself, knowledge is not power. Power comes from how and when knowledge is applied, and who applies it. And the true power is with the ‘who’ – the right person with the right perspective and right attitude.

 Let’s consider how this applies to a typical dental practice. How often does a dentist make changes to the ‘systems’ in their office, believing this is the way to solve problems. “If our systems are more efficient, our problems will be solved.”  

As a result of this thinking, doctors spend a lot of time and money updating and implementing their office systems, them sitting back and waiting for ‘things’ to change.

Do they?

]]>Conflict Resolution: Moving From Conflict to Gaining Clarityhttp://www.pathwayscoaching.net/blog-articles/2009/11/20/conflict-resolution-moving-from-conflict-to-gaining-clarity.htmlPathways2009-11-20T23:46:03ZThomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument articles communication conflct style conflict resolutionCan Anyone Make Conflict Go Away?

You walk into the office thinking “business as usual” and you enter your AM huddle. Silence abounds, eye contact is lacking and verbal spurring begins with little quips here and there.  You think, “here we go again, I hope this issue resolves it’s self quickly so everyone can settle down”.  Amazingly, by noon people seem to be over it.   Unbeknownst to you the issue has been stuffed in closet for an appearance at a later, even less convenient date. 

Resolving conflict to gain clarity and team effectiveness

In most offices, conflict just seems to be a fact of life. We've all seen situations where different people with different goals and needs come into conflict. And we've all seen the often intense personal animosity that can result if the issue that is creating the conflict is not addressed.

]]>Understanding The "Interest-Based Relational Approach" to Conflict Managementhttp://www.pathwayscoaching.net/blog-articles/2009/11/20/understanding-the-interest-based-relational-approach-to-conf.htmlPathways2009-11-20T23:36:54Zactive listening articles communication conflict resolution ibr approachIn last months article we increased your awareness of conflict styles and the opportunity for conflict to be welcomed and used in building team to gain clarity.  We looked at the five styles of conflict to assist us in gaining clarity:  Avoidance, Assertiveness, Collaboration, Competitiveness and Compromising, and reviewed the benefits and weaknesses of each style. In this article we will introduce you to another clarity gaining tool.

The second theory about conflict resolution is commonly referred to as the "Interest-Based Relational (IBR) Approach". This conflict resolution strategy respects individual differences while helping people avoid becoming too entrenched in a fixed position.

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