Here They Go Again...9/8

Muskogee Regional Medical Center is Hud's next target (gets old, doesn't it, Hud?) Not terribly newsworthy except for the quotes:

1. "Anna Gene O’Neal, Essent’s vice president of Hospital Operations/Clinical Quality, said affiliation with schools and creating a good reputation has helped recruit nurses." Recruiting seems to be what they do--retention, or keeping staff, is what they don't.
2. "Founded in 1999, Essent is based in Nashville. They have purchased five hospitals in Texas, Missouri, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. Connery said the company’s management style is based on good relationships with local hospital leadership." Not entirely accurate--they purchased six, and had to sell one--their first, or close it within two months. That accounts for Missouri. As for good relations, I guess that's in the eyes of the beholder....
3. "Connery said Essent would recruit physicians by doing a needs assessment and cooperating with existing hospital physicians. " Like with Red River, and a cardiology group which didn't make it, elsewhere.
4. Lastly, and the one I just take to heart: “We’re going to want to grow your reach to markets that you have considered secondary,” he (Hud) said. “Not just stopping the out-migration from your primary area, but redefining your primary area.” Wonder what our primary area is? It certainly isn't what it was before E$$ent got here, and out-migration...your name is Essent.

I had wondered why I had so many hits from Franklin, TN. Now I know. And, guess what, CHS is back as a competitor. This actually could get interesting.

Medicare Woes

There's a new monkey wrench in the Medicare mix--which may affect the E$$ent bottom line:

The New York Times reports (7/17/06) that the Bush administration is planning to cut Medicare payments to hospitals by 20 to 30 percent. It’s the biggest cut-back in Medicare history and health care providers say the results could be devastating, according to the Times.

The Feds say that it’s all about equity to patients regardless of their ability to pay. The new plan is to base payments on hospital costs instead of what the hospital charges. Reimbursements would take into account severity of illness and not just the diagnosis.

Here’s the kicker: The whole thing isn’t going to save the government any money, just move it around differently. As a result, many hospitals will lose out as payments for cardiac care, for instance, would be reduced. The government may end up cutting profits to specialty hospitals while hurting non-profits and research institutions in the process, the Times reports.

There are additional changes coming to imaging facilities, and possibly to leased MRI/CT leasees, modeled after California's reforms. A whole lot of businesses could be feeling stress at this point.

Creating (Global) Opportunity One Bite At A Time

The mission of South African-based Khayelitsha Cookie Company is to create a company that could not only produce the best cookies in South Africa, but which also radically changed the lives of everyone involved in the company.

For customers, they produce the biggest, best range of baked goods: chocolate chunk cookies, ginger snaps, nutty fudge brownies and shortbread biscuits. For employees, they give every opportunity for significant growth and career expansion.

They also hire previously unemployed women from Khayelitsha and then train and skill them in permanent, affirming employment.

Visit the Khayelitsha Cookie Company here.

What's your global cause?

Embarrassed? I am...8/12

I think the sentiments of this email are echoed by many.

As a former employee, that left because of illness, not E$$ent, I have one question: When is the community going to get involved?

Even with the high price of fuel, Pts. are going in droves to Dallas, Tyler, and elsewhere for care. Why? Because they have lost faith in the system in Paris. That is a very sad situation for our people.

At one time PRMC was a place to be proud of. I truly loved my job and the atmosphere there. I have become ashamed to tell anyone that I worked there. The comments that are heard in the area are awful.

The employees can not do this by themselves; they need support from all of the surrounding counties.

Are the community leaders also on E$$ent's payroll? If not, PLEASE HELP to get this hospital back in shape for pt. care, not just dollar signs. If the quality of care had improved there would be no problem, but it has steadily gone down since E$$ent entered the picture.

This is affecting more than the hospital, people who used to come from different counties, far and wide, are now choosing to risk their life to get out of Paris, to a facility where they don't know anyone, and are far from home, just to avoid the chance that the rumors are true about the poor care given in Paris.

When these same people came here before, I'm sure they shopped with the local merchants. That just adds to the losses that most merchants cannot afford at this time.

Who do we have to approach to get the hospital back to taking care of our people????????

I wonder when a sense of embarrassment will overtake this community as a whole.

Exports: The Recipe For a Healthy and Prosperous Economy

Read the article and think along the lines that no matter where you are located in our big flat world that the recipe for fostering a healthy and prosperous economy is to have a vigorous and dynamic export sector ...

Ding-Dong...9/8

By popular demand: 'Nuff said.



Can you say "HAPPY FEET?"






Now if the scarecrow could only get a brain...rather than golf clubs....

All pictures and comments (on this page) are by request, and quoted.

Blogger has had an unusually high hit rate and may be having server problems. Email is still a practical solution.....

Apparently back on track. On to Oz!

Going Global: Risks and Rewards

Interbrand’s annual Best Global Brands study of brand value generates great interest and debate. A recurring question is whether being global affords a brand more benefits than a geographically-focused one. Many brand owners are interested in the attributes shared by successful global brands (i.e., BMW). Interbrand’s work with leading global brands and the conclusions reached through our ranking indicate significant implications for brands that choose to operate globally.

The criteria for the study states that a global brand must achieve more than a third of its sales outside of its home country and have a visible external market presence. A global brand is one that is available in many nations and, though it may differ from country to country, the local versions have common values and a similar identity. The brand’s positioning, advertising strategy, personality, look and feel are, in most respects, the same but allow for regional customization. What remains consistent market-to-market are the values communicated and delivered by the brand.

This paper explores the attraction and risks associated with going global.

And the first question asked: Why go global?

Read the paper here.

A New Sheriff?...7/23

Rumors abound about E$$ent's financials, but here's a new one: The folks that Weatherford selected, CHS, is buying PRMC. If it's true, you heard it here first. If it isn't, I didn't say nuthin'.

In retrospect, I did have some nice things to say about them, but I wouldn't have thought enough to bring them here.... Guess it wasn't me, then.

Apparently they've been buying hospitals that are in the same category as what Essent has been, but with deeper pockets, they can afford to take the long view. Funny, they're out of the Nashville area, too, I believe.

Granbury has been one of their recent acquisitions, and despite a near boycott, have plans to triple the number of beds, and with a new facility/medical staff, they are betting on success.

This was a quickie, and not as well developed as the usual fare, but I just got the email, and had to punch it out. Stay tuned for updates, revisions, and flat out denials.... If true, this has scooped the Nashville Business News and a lot of reputable papers...oh yeah, and the Snooze....

Globalization: Synergy and Discontent

Globalization continues its advance, but is market convergence a net positive for the US and world economies? Who benefits from globalization, and who might suffer?

Read the article here.

New Generation of Global Entrepreneurship

Patrick Casserly started small in the business dedicated to the provision of back office processing and call centre services. His primary duty on his first day of operation was to mop the floor. But he was thinking big, building on the advantage of Jamaica as the third largest English speaking country in the hemisphere, and their propensity to talk, and now Patrick has a business that employs 2,100 people, which is likely to grow to 2,600 by year-end. How did he do it?

Hints: Start small. Position globally. Think
BIG.

Harvard Professor Who Coined "Globalization" Dies

One of my favorite people (minds) on the planet and the person who coined the term "globalization" died at age 81: Theodore Levitt. The reason why Professor Levitt became such a force in my life was because in the '80s -- before any individual or company was thinking about going global -- he turned me on to the importance of looking at the world as your market. He also knew how to deconstruct and solve problems by asking the right questions. Something to this day I still find myself doing. Here are some things I will remember the most about Levitt:

• Harvard Business Review -- He holds the record with Peter Drucker for publishing the most articles in HBR.

• What turned me on to Levitt -- "The Globalization of Markets" and five other great articles authored by HBR talents.

Using the term "globalization" in a 1983 Harvard Business Review article about the emergence of standardized, low-priced consumer products. He defined that globalization as the changes in social behaviors and technology which allowed companies to sell the same products around the world.

• Marketing Myopia -- HBR Classic: A groundbreaking article originally published in the Harvard Business Review (1960) in which he asked managers, “What business are you really in?” And that's probably why Starbucks is doing so well with its business model because they figured out early on that they were not just in the "coffee" business but in the "people" business. Levitt would be proud that his ideas were turned into practical solutions. Even Wikipedia features Levitt's work. We all know that focusing too narrowly on anything creates limited results.

Another way Levitt posed a question is like this: “What problem are we trying to solve for our customers?” For tool makers, the implication is that it is not really about the tool. Rather, it is about the resulting condition that customers desire from the use of the tool. That is to say, it is holes in the ground they want, not shovels. Fascinating stuff. So pure. So simple. But so many people just don't get it. Levitt did.

• Design Sense magazine No. 26 -- And I bet you didn't know Levitt contributed to this publication. Here's the title his work went under:

"How Major Companies Change Their Names"

An analysis of successful -- and not-so-successful -- name changes by New York Stock Exchange-listed corporations in the late 1950s and early '60s. Also: excerpts from Innovation in Marketing, by Harvard Business School Professor Theodore Levitt.

• Marketing Imagination by Theodore M.Levitt -- My absolute favorite book (and according to my notes in the inside cover, I read it in 1984) on marketing that I still refer to today. It's so relevant that you never want to put it away.

• Two favorite remarks by Levitt that were made in "The Marketing Imagination" -- Henry Ford's: "They can have any color car they want, so long as it's black." -- Page 142. And Levitt's: "The purpose of a business is to create and keep a customer." -- Page 5.

HBR obituary on Professor Levitt can be found here. My sympathies go out to the Levitt family during this time of great sadness.

May Professor Levitt rest in peace in our brave new world and I thank him for helping me and millions of other people understand (global) marketing.

Gone Fishing...8/4

Another heads-up from the radiology crew.

Yo, Frank,
Just wanted to give you the update on the new PACs system that E$$ent was so impressed with: apparently with over five users on it, it dumps and no one can see anything. Considering they have eight possible stations, that can be a problem.

Dr. Hobbs in his calm, unflappable fashion, said that it was not acceptable, after resetting multiple times the other night. This could be called the 'million-dollar muddle'.

The system was promoted by the manufacturer as being primarily for clinic use, and apparently they were right...or is it just the PACs administration??? Just call him "Crash".

Looks like Dr. Fish is on the road again. Got the heads up that he and another doc had a significant disagreement--leading to his dismissal. They've really got to get that under control.

However, there might be additional turnovers in Radiology foretold by a recent recruiting trip made by Frau Blucher (the Bit#h of Buchanwald), and two of the newbies. With multiple hires already in the pipeline, and a graduating class in December, it may not be who's being hired, it's who's being fired.

But the word is spreading, I was talking with a couple techs last week from ETMC and a hospital up in Arkansas, and they had heard about this place...and the blog.

Nice to know we’re appreciated! I've gotten comments from all over the state, as well as all over the country. In some Google searches, we're hitting the first and second results!

Abridged Borderbuster: 7/5/06

CONTENTS

If you are not a subscriber to Borderbuster, here's a glimpse of what you missed this month:

1. Welcome From The Publisher
2. Feedback From Our Readers
3. Exploring the International Market for Data*
4. Business and Cultural Tips: Have Some Fun!*
5. Lost in Translation*
6. How I Went Global: Ongoing Series
7. A Reader Asks: Q&A*
8. Everybody Loves a Freebie*
9. The Starbucks Effect*
10. Innocents Abroad*
11. The Soft Skills of Global Managers*
12. Blog World: MarketingProfs*
13. Laurel’s New e-Book: “GODZILLA Global Marketing!”
14. Take A Walk On The Wild Side (TAWOTWS)*
15. Wind Behind Your Sail*
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

*Indicates exclusive to Borderbuster subscribers only.

Sample section:

11. THE SOFT SKILLS OF GLOBAL MANAGERS
*Subscriber Exclusive*

Despite nearly two decades of corporate globalization efforts, many organizations still struggle to find managers who are comfortable and effective in the increasingly global economy. Most suffer both from a lack of cultural awareness when dealing with employees and partners overseas and from a lack of experience managing increasingly complex processes over long distances.

To read the lead story, visit here.

###

To subscribe to Borderbuster, visit:
Sign Up For Borderbuster!

Gates Goes Global

Gates recently announced plans to ease out of his chief executive position at Microsoft over the next couple of years and dedicate more time to his $30 billion (now $60 billion thanks to Buffett) Gates Foundation.

Read the article here to find out how Gates is going to conquer the world on health problems.