Friday, October 24, 2008

I am working on writing copy for a new legal program. Personal Injury Excellence which you can find at www.AdvantageLegalSeminars.com

Thursday, October 16, 2008

A Dichotomy of Opinions "The Problems Facing The Major Networks"

I don't know if you're like me but as an American citizen looking forward to the opportunity to vote in the upcoming election. We are facing a number of issues most importantly the economy and the pessimistic attitude of most Americans towards the elections.

For just one time I would like to watch a news broadcast without getting the spin from one of the talking heads. As an independent voter and communication specialist I want to listen to what's truly being said . This is why God gave me two ears and a brain to think, I resent being told by my the news channels and I just heard something different.

Anybody who's watched Fox news knows that this channel leans towards the Republican point of view. When I watch CNN I am surprised lately at how liberal their stance is when reporting the media events of the day, it's almost as if they were a Democratic talking head. This was truly evident in the debate last night especially with the new twist of scoring the debate that the channel uses.

I particularly got a kick out of Roland Martin! When it was time for Barak Obamas opening remark Mr. Martin hit the plus one button when Senator Obama said thank you Hofstra University. His scorecard looked like a football game score 54-40 something in favor Obama. If the sender breathes does he get points?

Finally I turned to NBC news where Tom Browkow and Brian Williams were discussing the debate. I believe that Tom Browkow was the first news man on all the channels that I flipped through last night that actually had an unbiased opinion! This frankly was the most refreshing 20 minutes of news I watched all day.

I truly believe that the American people are smart enough to make their own decisions about their lives without the interference of government or the positive and negative spins that all news reporting agencies have been using in this election.

It almost makes you want to turn off the news and watch a good movie!

That's if Hollywood can make some good movies these days!

Dr. Rick Goodman is a professional speaker and author who will give your audience specific tools and systems that get great results. Dr. Rick also works with organizations that want to Develop Great Leaders "Through Excellence in Communication and Team Building". For more information on Rick's speaking programs Consulting Programs and Training programs contact (888) 267-6097 or Rick@DrRickGoodman.com or on the web at

Saturday, October 04, 2008

Effective Employee Evaluations

I was recently Inteviewed by the American Chiropractic Association regarding my opinion on performing effective employee evaluations. I think that the article was well written so I would like to share it with you!


Effective Employee EvaluationsTake the awkwardness out of employee evaluations with written job descriptions and objective performance appraisals.
By Rebecca Jones


Jason Dauer wasn’t sure how to respond when an employee in his father’s chiropractic office crumpled up a training memo and threw it on the ground.


“She got really angry,” recalls Dauer, the office manager, who at the time oversaw a staff of four in Torrance, Calif. “It was just some points that I thought would help her do her job better, but she responded by basically attacking the doctor’s behavior. I picked it up and told her that I was going to put it in her file, whether she chose to accept it or not.”


Eventually, that employee was fired after several more reprimands for her behavior. But when she applied for unemployment, her claim was denied—precisely because Dauer was able to document the history of written reprimands she’d received and produce her poor job evaluations.


The evaluation process with that employee made for some tense moments for Dauer, but in the end, his diligence proved sound business practice.


Fear of conflict is very likely one big reason that a recent survey of ACA members revealed that 35 percent do not conduct regular formal job evaluations for their office staff. “We want people to like us and love us, and so we don’t correct some things that need to be corrected,” says Rick Goodman of Pembroke Pines , Fla. , a chiropractor-turned-business-consultant, motivational speaker and the author of Living a Championship Life: A Game Plan for Success. “We’ll see someone making mistakes, but we’re not willing to step up and talk about it because we fear they’ll leave if we do. But I would rather not have somebody there than to have somebody in my office who was not doing the right thing.”


Fortunately for most employees, job evaluations not only aren’t painful; they’re beneficial for all parties involved. Done right, they can lead to happier employees, happier patients and a smoother-running office.


“The reason we do them in the first place is to set goals for an employee, to judge the results achieved and to create performance criteria that can be met and measured,” Goodman says. “A lot of times we may find that the goals we’ve set are unreachable, and one of the major reasons for burnout is that people are given responsibilities they simply aren’t able to perform.”


Timely, regular and written job evaluations should be part of every chiropractic practice, and should include front office as well as professional staff.


Put It in Writing



Step one is creating a written job description, advises Goodman. The description can be narrow to include only those things the chiropractor wants and expects an individual to perform. (“I don’t want my front desk staff answering billing questions. Our billing manager will answer the billing questions,” says Timothy Nelson, DC, who oversees a staff of 13 at Heritage Health, an integrated healthcare center in Centennial, Colo. ) Or it can be broadened by including a catch-all clause such as “and any other duties deemed necessary.”


The key point is to put it in writing and have employees sign it. Over time, as office personnel and duties change, keep updating job descriptions. “We have our staff write their own job descriptions,” Goodman says. “Who knows better than them what their job is?”
Once the expectations for an employee are clear, appraising performance becomes much more objective and quantifiable.


“Focus on performance and not personalities,” Goodman says. “Focus on valid, relevant concrete issues rather than just subjective emotions or feelings.”


At a minimum, employees should receive such evaluations yearly. Goodman does employee appraisals twice a year. Dr. Nelson does them every 90 days. Whether the reviews are frequent or infrequent, the person conducting the evaluation should follow certain rules for effective interviewing:


1. Listen to what employees say.


2. Acknowledge their feelings.


3. Repeat back to employees what you’ve heard them say, so there’s no misunderstanding, and have them do the same for you.


4. If a problem arises, focus on the problem, not the person.


“You want to stop, look and listen,” says Goodman. “Stop the interaction before it can become argumentative or unproductive. Make sure you don’t get angry. Don’t get defensive. Don’t blame others. Don’t lecture. Look squarely at the problem and describe it as you see it to employees. Then listen to their suggestions and explore ways to solve it together. A lot of times, employees will give me solutions that I didn’t have in my head.”


Turn the Tables




Dr. Nelson believes it’s equally important to allow employees the chance to assess their own performance and working conditions.


“I ask them how they think they’re doing professionally and what they see as problems,” he says. “I give them three days to think about it before we meet. I tell them, ‘Don’t tell me I don’t like working with so-and-so.’ But I have them tell me what they do and don’t like about their job and what could be done to improve the job. Over the years, I’ve discovered that what I may think is important really isn’t important to them, and things they think are important would never have occurred to me.”


Finally, discuss any plans for improvement and set new goals. Goodman suggests focusing on three to five written goals for the coming year. “If you give them a lot of things to improve, they won’t be too motivated, and they’ll end up leaving. We want to quantify specifically what’s expected. Say, ‘I expect us to hit this goal, and this goal and that goal. What do you think is the best way to go about that?’ Different people may have different ways of achieving the same goal.”


Dr. Rick Goodman is a professional speaker and author who will give your audience specific tools and systems that get great results. Dr. Rick also works with organizations that want to Develop Great Leaders "Through Excellence in Communication and Team Building". For more information on Rick's speaking programs Consulting Programs and Training programs contact (888) 267-6097 or Rick@DrRickGoodman.com or on the web at http://www.drrickgoodman.com/