The "New Normal" Economy

Shortly after moving to Brenham, Texas in March 2008, my wife and I met with a local insurance agent. One wall of his office was filled with an enormous chart of the Dow Jones Industrial Average for the years 1900 to 2000. Several times during our meeting the agent tried to entice us to invest by pointing to the chart and saying "You see, your income will always continue to increase. Now is the time to buy." We could see the flaws in his logic at the time, and we didn't have the resources to invest anyway, so we politely declined his offer.

Little did we know that several months later - just days after we both quit our jobs in Brenham - the U.S. economy would collapse.  Millions of people saw their investment portfolios shrivel, their homes get repossessed, and the bright future they had been assured slowly fade away. I closed my Texa$aver 457 retirement account in December 2008 for just $61.

Today, the soundtrack for my daily commute is filled with economists and government officials on NPR discussing bubbles and bailouts and projections and forecasts.  Like the rest of us, they are thoroughly rattled by the recession and are clamoring to find meaning amongst the mountains of economic data.  Each week a new indicator is identified as the best predictor of economic health - unemployment, job creation, foreclosures, new home construction, commodities, oil prices, underwear sales. (Yes, last week I actually heard an "expert" claim that underwear sales are the preeminent marker of economic growth. Perhaps sales are up simply because everyone crapped themselves at the thought of a $61 retirement nest egg.)

If anything is clear about our economy, it's this: We must stop expecting the economy to return to pre-2008 "normal" levels and begin accepting that our present situation is actually the "new normal."  It's both myopic and ignorant of us to believe that our 2008 economic numbers were truly healthy.  We'd be lying to ourselves, which is exactly what we did then that got us into this situation in the first place.  Instead, I believe that the quicker we begin to accept the "new normal" the quicker the economy will actually begin to recover. 

Why? Because we're not very skilled at handling change.  Change makes us feel unsafe, and we respond by clinging to the memory and values of a time when we felt more secure.  There's nothing inherently wrong with that process - its more or less ingrained in our DNA. The problem arises when we permit our anxiety about the change to stifle our growth.  We see the same process occur in another area of life in which we notoriously fear change - interpersonal relationships.  I've worked with couples whose marriages suffered tremendous trauma, such as infidelity or the loss of a child. Such an event can certainly have a devastating effect on a marriage, and yet we are surrounded by examples of marriages that successfully cope with the trauma and their lives return to feeling "normal." 

I think our relationship with money needs to follow the same path.  We need to make changes and be more honest with our observations of what is going on. The "new normal" economy is more volatile, so we need to be more cautious. Growth will be slower, but at a pace that can be sustained. All hope is not lost; the world is not ending. This is just the new normal - we need to accept it and move forward with our lives.

Be smart when naming your kids

Growing up, I used to bemoan the plight facing children with unique or uncommon names. I'm not talking about the typical social ostracizing that occurred during school - I was more worried about how they would fare in the business world when submitting a resume, calling in clients, or networking with other professionals. What were their parents thinking naming them that? Surely, these kids with "weird" names were forever doomed to low-level jobs and meager pay. In my mind, if you didn't have a proper Anglo-Saxon name bestowed upon you at birth, you had little chance of having a corner office as an adulthood. I even felt this was true for myself - though I have gone by "Andy" my entire life, I assumed that at some point I'd have to embrace my formal full first name, Andrew, in order to succeed.

I realize that my I was wrong...mostly. In our increasingly close-knit global community, name diversity has flourished as parents seek to give their children a name that expresses individuality over conformity. A name is not just a name - it's a brand.

People using their personal names as their business persona is nothing new. Drive through any small town and you'll likely see Tom's Hardware, Peggy's Diner, Bill's General Store. Echoes of those same naming archetypes are perhaps most evident in today's design industry - jewelry, clothing, fragrances, furniture, photography, fine art, etc.

Names are no longer just personal identifiers, they are our individual brands. Children today have their brand advertised across the Internet from birth, creating their own brand image with each photo, status update, and tweet. Having a unique name is no longer a hindrance, but an asset. With each child born, the likelihood of being able to purchase a truly personal domain (i.e. www.yourname.com) diminishes.

So, parents, go ahead and name your kid something unique. You have my blessing. But don't just settle for "Arizona" - make it stand out from the crowd...try "Aryzona," perhaps? Give your child that extra leg up and check out available domains, Google Accounts, and Twitter user names first.

Thx to my local @Starbucks for literally leaving NO room for cream. And for all the coffee that spilled everywhere.

Beautiful sunrise this morning. Go look. NOW.

Rule #5: Collaborate.

Americans are proud of our "rugged individualism," but seriously - it's almost impossible to go it entirely alone.  (Especially if you're in a non-profit organzation that isn't supported by your own massive independent wealth.)  If you haven't yet realized that everything in life is about relationships, now is your chance.  

I have the phrase "We're all in this together" posted on the wall of my office as a constant reminder that everything we do is a team effort.  This doesn't mean that we have a lot of meetings (I'm working on a separate post addressing my philosophy on that); but it does mean that everyone in our office has an "open door policy" so that people can quickly gather, discuss the issue, and then move on with their day.  For our organization, this applies across disciplines - physicians, pharmacists, case managers, therapists, intake workers, support staff and peer mentors all can quickly and easily access one another in help meet clients' needs.

It's often easy to collaborate with the people physically present in your office space, but what about friends and colleagues at other organizations in town?  Being "all in this together" should include them, too - perhaps especially so.  To accomplish this, we hold a monthly "Interagency Meeting" with the other groups that serve the HIV/AIDS popluation, including case management organizations, outreach & prevention organizations, housing programs, Legal Aid, American Red Cross, and representatives from state agencies such as the Department of Health, Department of Corrections, and Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.  Everyone is able to quickly share information related to funding & schedule availability, upcoming events, program expansions (or retractions), etc.  Sometimes we have group gripe sessions, sometimes we all bring food and have a party.  No matter the format, these meetings give all the agencies a chance to sit at the same table and truly participate.

Learning what other organizations do (and even helping them do it) allows you both to better focus on what you each do best. When you collaborate you eliminate duplication of work and thereby free up time to do the things you actually want to do.  

Rule #4: Listen.

Successful organizations listen really well - they listen to their clients/customers, they listen to their staff, they listen to their peers, they listen to their funders, and they listen to society as a whole.  All of these groups possess information and feedback that can (and should) have a huge impact on how your organization operates now...and how it should operate in the future.  

Let's be honest - ignorance doesn't fix problems.  (See: housing bubble, teen pregnancy, Bernie Madoff)  Listening to what others have to say about us and our programs is arguably the most reliable way to get anything close to an accurate picture of how we are doing.  Are clients satisfied with our services?  Does our staff enjoy working here?  What are our colleagues doing to improve?  Our competitors?  What is public opinion on this subject?  What do the experts in our field suggest?

Like many public health organizations, we have limited resources to meet a growing need in an environment that is largely indifferent (and, at times, antagonistic) toward our clients.  Listening to what various stakeholders have to say about our programs help us to stay relevant, involved, and responsive to the needs of our clients, our staff, and our community.  Listening helps show others that you really, truly care and it helps you identify what data to base decisions on so that you can focus on what you do best.  (See how that all comes together so nicely?)

For the most part, Rules 1 through 4 have centered on what your organiztion can do from within; Rule #5 will turn the focus outside and take a look at what others are doing and how you can best fit in to the big picture.  

 

Rule #3: Be Data-Based.

And yes, that might mean using a database.  Don't be afraid; they can be quite handy.  

We have a tendency to compare everything in our lives to something (or someone) else.  Though our definitions of success may differ from person to person and organization to organization, our success is always determined by measuring ourselves in some fashion.  Typically the measurement is arbitrary (or at least nonstandardized), which makes it difficult to assess "actual" success or growth or change.  

The key for sustatined improvement is to quantify your variables and make them measureable.  Outcome measurements are nothing new - standarized testing in schools, pre- and post-time trials at the race track, and the ever-familiar course evaluations that you must complete at the end of a training workshop in order to receive your CEU certificate.  Currently our organization is looking at patient satisfaction - we want to ensure that our patients not only receive the highest level of care - but that they actually feel cared for.  To do this with thousand of patients each month, we contracted with the industry leader in assessing patient satisfaction, Press Ganey.  Responses are tabulated by individual provider, so all of our phsyicans, case managers, and mental health therapists receive a score based on their patients.  We also look at call volume and flow - how many phone calls come in, how many callers are placed on hold (and for how long), how many people hang up, etc.  Over time we've been able to see patients' satisfaction level increase in response to specific changes made in each clinic.

Last year I started measuring the workload of our staff as well as schedule flow.  This helps us in scheduling meetings, vacations, etc., as well as ensuring that the workload is evenly shared among all the staff (Rule #1).  The gallery below has some examples from our programs in 2010.

See the full gallery on Posterous

For our programs, our goal is that everyone who wants services should be able to access them.  Staff caseloads tend to stay pretty maxed out, so increasing access can be tricky.  Looking at the numbers helps take something from "I wish we could see a few more clients, but we're always so busy" to "Caseloads are smallest in the summer; let's schedule our outreach program in July so that people can get into care more quickly."  

Data not only helps you be more productive and efficient, it also helps you provide a qualitatively better service.  For us, we strive to challenge the status quo of HIV care.  Serving the most clients is one thing; giving clients the best service is another.  We want to do both. 

Rule #2: Focus on what you do best.

This is a deep vs. wide issue. Decide what your core services or products are and focus on excelling in those areaa. The playing field is already wide, so be the best player at your position.

I'll give an example: I work for an organization that provides medical, mental health, and medical case management for people with HIV/AIDS. We do an outstanding job at all three. I have an excellent staff of case managers and clinical therapists who work hard all day, every day meeting the needs of our patients. It is evident that they really, truly care about our clients (Rule #1) because they will come in early and stay late to better accomodate patient's schedules. And they are constantly suggesting ways that we can improve patients' experience in our clinic and how we can remove barriers to treatment.

Do you know what we don't do? Outreach. We do almost no direct outreach in the community. Outreach is a very important component in the fight to prevent the spread of HIV, but we know that our staff doesn't have the time or resources to be the best in both case management and outreach. There are other agencies in the community that do amazing things in outreach, and so we support them as best we can through funding and other resources.

A good example of focusing on what you do best is Microsoft. They a juggernaut in the software business, dominating both the operating system and office software markets with Windows and the Office suite, respectively. Even their web browser, Internet Explorer, continues to enjoy the largest share of its market. They have made billions and billions of dollars selling software, and focusing on that is the key to their success. Sure, they've tried to sell a few devices now and then (e.g. XBox gaming systems and Zune audio players), but their bread and butter remains their software. On the occasion that they have branched out into other areas (i.e. the Zune) they haven't done so well.

Despite the persistant rumors, Facebook has yet to release a "Facebook Phone." And if they ever do, it will still revolve around their core product - Facebook itself - because that's their focus. You won't see them making hand tools, desktop computers, or automobiles. Facebook won't be selling dishwashers or drilling for oil or delivering babies. Those things aren't their focus.

Focusing on what you do best also allows others organziations focus on what they do best. Only in rare occasions when organizations become so large that they are able to afford to branch out (such as GE, for example) into other areas. And even then it doesn't mean they'll be an industry leader in that area.

So, the question your organization must answer is: Do you want to be truly great at what you focus on doing, or do you just want to be kinda okay at a smattering of things?