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PERSPECTIVE 14-B Long Beach Business Journal
March 18-31, 2014
Who Is Your COO? (Chief Caring Officer)?
■ EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP By Mick Ukleja re you as smart as a 5th grader? More on that in a moment! New York’s Conference Board, a centuryold research firm, began studying employee satisfaction and engagement 25 years ago. Their work shows that worker happiness has fallen every year since – in both good economic times and bad. Today, over half of American workers effectively hate their jobs. What has become clear is that many leaders have lost sight of what matters most to people at work. What were the report’s findings? What matters most is Appreciation. Support. Recognition. Respect. A recent survey asked, “What is the most important question a follower asks of his or her leader?” Think of vision, success, strategic consensus, innovation, performance, culture, empowerment. These are important to say the least, but the most important question was, “Does the leader care for me?” They wanted to know more about the leader’s caring than the leader’s competency. The fact that the leader could take them to a higher level was important. Yet they got in line because the leader had their best interests in mind. In other words, the leader cared for them; “I care for you. I care about you. I care with you.” The “care package” coupled with
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the “competency package” makes a great leader. Caring goes beyond a feeling of empathy or thought of concern. What do they need from you to succeed in the roll they play? Caring is doing more than feeling. Caring is a verb acted out toward family, friends, and those who work with us and for us. We under estimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring. These can turn a life around. Most great things derive from small gestures and actions. On a broader scale I’ve seen a listening ear turn tragedy into a path to recovery. A split second to you can mean a lifetime to someone else. It’s been said, “People don’t care what you know until they know how much you care.” Caring is a great quality of leadership. A leader cares for their teams, their followers, their customers, and their clients. It’s an act to be cultivated, and it’s what brings energy to the soul – and paradoxically – especially to the one giving it. It’s the way to survive and thrive, both personally and professionally. What are the side effects and kickbacks? It’s the never-ending support and loyalty of the people in your organization. It is difficult for someone who is selfcentered to care. And just mouthing the words falls short. Self-reflection and selfexamination are the beginning of the transformation. Self-awareness is the first stop to overcoming self-centeredness. As Maya Angelou put it, “If you find it in your heart to care for somebody else, you will have succeeded.” This is good advice for managers and leaders. We demonstrate
care when we . . . Communicate, Appreciate, Respect and Encourage. One more thing. It has a personal side effect. It eliminates stress and increases your longevity. In other words, your biography impacts your biology. Are you as smart as a fifth grader? To develop a real team, an environment of mutual care and concern must be promoted. This is what happened in Mr. Alter’s 5th grade class at Lake Elementary School in Florida. All the 10- and 11-year-old boys in the class shaved their heads. They did so without embarrassment. Why? Because one of their own, Ian O’Gorman, had cancer. He had to go through chemo. As a side effect his hair fell out. All agreed to have their heads shaved so that upon his return Ian wouldn’t stand out from the class. No one would know who the cancer kid was. Mr. Alter was so moved by their caring that he shaved his head too. With that act the young students and their teacher leaped the chasm of acquaintance and became the caring environment of a family. A side effect was that the personal academic productivity of the students in the class grew exponentially. I’m sure it made Mr. Alter a better teacher as well. Does your organization have a Chief Caring Officer (CCO)? Do you Dare to Care? People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care. (Mick Ukleja is the author of several books, a coach, keynote speaker and president of LeadershipTraq, a leadership consulting firm. Check his weekly blog at www.leadershiptraq.com.)
Creating A Border Environment That Welcomes Trade
■ TRADE AND TRANSPORTATION Tom O’Brien espite the high profile nature of U.S trade relations with China, Canada and Mexico are also vitally important to the health of the trade sector and, as a result, the nation’s economic well being. Canada is the U.S.’s largest trading partner, responsible for 16.4% of all of this nation’s trade in goods according to U.S. government figures. Mexico is responsible for 13.2% of our trade, just behind China. The North American Free Trade Agreement and other institutional and regulatory reforms are designed to improve cross-border freight flows. Reduced trade barriers have allowed the U.S., Canada and Mexico better access to each other’s markets and facilitated intra-industry (as in the auto industry) and intra-corporate trade as well. A recent agreement between Washington and Ottawa has further harmonized regulations and will allow the U.S. and Canada to test customs clearance in Canada at locations other than crossing stations as a way to relieve congestion. The countries already do joint intransit targeting, which begins the cargo screening process electronically before a ship leaves its port of origin for North America. The pilot project builds upon this cooperation by looking at the role technology can play in the safe and efficient movement of goods
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across the border. The concept is “once cleared, twice accepted.” Once cargo clears a Vehicle and Cargo Inspection System (VACIS) on one side of the border, it would not need to be cleared a second time. If fully implemented, it should improve the flow of goods by reducing the number of containers inspected on both sides of the border. The U.S.-Mexican border on the other hand is not as open. The U.S. has historically limited the number of Mexican trucks that can access this country apart from a narrow border region. But the lack of a more fluid border results in further delays at crossings as goods are often unloaded and reloaded on different vehicles on opposite sides of the crossing. This calls for a variety of technological, operational and institutional solutions that are made more complex by a set of multi-jurisdictional arrangements and funding agreements that govern the border crossing. Funding for port of entry projects comes primarily from Congressional appropriations. The federal General Services Administration coordinates border improvements working closely with other agencies including Customs and Border Protection (CBP). However, the federal government’s role is largely defined by security, not improved mobility. Unlike seaports or airports which are organized to serve their customers, international ports of entry are viewed as protective enforcement sites. While airports and seaports often have innovative and far-reaching commitments to their adjacent communities, ports of entry are traditionally much more insular. This translates into a focus on planning at the port of entry itself and not on the border community arterials and connecting roadways that lead into and out of the border
crossing. Higher traffic demands at the border will result in bottlenecks as well as congestion that spills over onto local infrastructure that is ill-equipped for high traffic volumes and commercial vehicles. The California-Mexico border region in particular lacks a mechanism to address common border problems and to promote inter-agency solutions. Siloed funding streams and legislative and regulatory restrictions on project eligibility have significantly limited the ability of federal, state and local agencies to take an innovative approach to funding and financing improvements. In response, a new CBP Resource Optimization Strategy was authorized in the 2013-14 federal budget. It allows CBP to enter into public-private partnerships, accept asset donations, and enter into alternate financing agreements for modernized, new or expanded port of entry services. Agreements have been negotiated in places like Dallas-Fort Worth, El Paso, Houston, Miami and New York State. Because of this new strategy, it may be possible to encourage the CBP to work with partner agencies and the private sector to pursue federal, state and local funding that improves border operations. This benefits not only freight flows; it also facilitates improvements in the communities adjacent to the ports of entry in California. Here in the L.A. region, which is the destination for some of that cargo, a smoother supply chain benefits us as well. (Dr. Thomas O’Brien is the interim executive director of the Center for International Trade and Transportation at CSULB and an associate director for the METRANS Transportation Center, a partnership of USC and CSULB.
Electronic Medical Records – Take Control Of Your Health our health care is important to you around the clock – not just during office hours. Thanks to electronic medical records (EMR), members of your health care team can better coordinate your care through immediate access to your secure patient data. Patient information including health history, medications, laboratory results and more are eas■ HEALTHWISE ily accessible by physicians and By Susan Melvin, D.O. health care providers whether in the ER, at the hospital bedside, or in the physician’s office. Electronic medical and health records promise improved quality and lower cost by bringing an end to millions of manila folders holding countless pieces of patient information and scribbled notes. In their place are EMRs that can transport patient information in real-time with the click of a button. This minimizes waste and inefficiency of manual and paper-based processes, maximizes clinical quality at points of decision-making and eliminates most paper used in patient documentation. While paper can slow down care, the EMRs’ efficiency of delivery helps prevent unnecessary orders and diagnostic tests, reduces medical errors and improves quality of care. And a million fewer sheets of paper copied each month makes us a greener planet. Not only do electronic records make health information more accessible to providers of health care, it also makes health information more accessible to the patients themselves, offering individuals a more organized history of their health. Today patients can have the same access to their own records, thus avoiding the wait for test results while learning new ways to interact with their health care providers. Through electronic medical records, like myChart from MemorialCare, and the secure Internet connection to your medical records, you too can review test results, medications, immunizations and allergies in your health record – online, anytime and anywhere. Patients who sign up also may be able to schedule appointments, request prescription refills, review their personal health history and much more. No more waiting for a call or snail mail. You can update your health information, communicate with your physician, view your most recent visits to your health care provider, easily schedule your next medical appointment and link to your family’s health accounts for access to their appointments, immunization records, growth charts and so much more. The ability to gain instant access to personal health information is more important than ever as we try to juggle our careers, families and whatever life brings us. Health care organizations understand how your busy schedule can affect your health and the health of those you love. That’s why health care organizations across the nation are increasingly offering consumers this important opportunity to turn to their own electronic health records where one click from your computer connects you to your health information and medical records and that of your dependents. With new applications, like the free downloadable myChart Smartphone App, managing your health care has never been easier. Plus increasing numbers of consumers adopting their own personal health records through patient portals translates into more people actively participating in their health care. Think of it as your chart on your time. Ask your physician if they offer access to electronic medical records, or online tools and tips to help you lead a healthy life. EMRs should be password protected and delivered via an encrypted connection to ensure maximum privacy and security. While an EMR has many uses, it is not intended to send any messages requiring urgent attention. For urgent medical matter, you should contact your doctor’s office. For medical emergencies, it’s always important to call 9-1-1. With electronic health records like myMemorialCaremyChart, now you can take control of your health and your peace of mind. (Susan Melvin, D.O., is chief medical officer at Long Beach Memorial.)
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