The Government Option

In tonight’s address to the nation, President Obama stated that competition was a good thing. I agree. When there is true competition, the competitors strive to deliver the greatest value. If they fail, they’re out of business. If they succeed, they’re rewarded. This is what I consider competition. I like it and I support it.

He also said that the proposed Federal government’s health insurance program would compete with private health insurance plans in the open market. He said that this competition would create better outcomes for everyone. I disagree. Here’s the problem. Government has no risk of failure. If a government program is a loser, it doesn’t disappear. Instead, it gets more money thrown at it. I hate to be the one to explain this fact to the President, but this is not competition. This is simply a new government program that will displace private industry and degenerate into another giant cesspool of waste and inefficiency.

The waste and inefficiency of government programs is legendary. You  know this to be true. So do I. What makes anyone think that the government could ever compete head to head with the private sector? Please show me an example of a government program that competes with private industry in an open market. One example. From all of recorded history. Please. Let’s not drink the Koolaid, folks. I know it’s tempting. I know you’re thirsty. But let’s show some restraint.

There has to be a better way; a different solution. The problem here is that President Obama knows that he’s working on a short timetable. If he doesn’t ram this sucker down our throat now, regardless of how partisan or unsavory it tastes, he won’t get it done. For many, this will be the declaration of failure for his administration. So, he’s pushing, scheming, and twisting arms to sell a program that is so undefined, so unclear, and so complex that even he could not articulate what it was or was not in tonight’s sales pitch. It’s truly amazing.

I vote ’no’ on the government option. Sorry Mr. President. Please take a community college course in economics before you try to tell the American public that the government will compete with the private sector in an open market. I can hardly type the words without laughing at the nonsensical absurdity of the concept. And it was said with a straight face. Truly amazing.

Stay tuned for Part 3.

Business and the U.S. Health Care Debate

Like many of you, I have had plenty of varied experiences with the U.S. health care system. I grew up in the 1960’s in a family business. We had no health insurance. My parents either paid for our health care out of pocket or bartered for services. Life was much simpler back then. Costs for health care services were affordable. Providers would work with families who couldn’t pay the entire bill much like the corner grocery store would keep a tab for families in their neighborhood.

In the 1980’s I graduated from college and got married. My wife worked for a major state university. Thanks to the taxpayers in our state, we paid nothing for the best health insurance available. When my children were born, we paid less than $100 for a private room. That was the total charge.

In the 1990’s I worked for a publicly traded corporation while my wife stayed home to raise our children. Every year our health insurance plan changed. Every year our out-of-pocket premiums increased while our coverage was reduced due to the exponential increase in health insurance costs. I didn’t blame the company. I knew they had no choice but to make these tough decisions.

In 1993, my wife underwent brain surgery. Our health insurance company declined to cover a large portion of the tab. While reviewing the hospital bill, I was stunned to see that we had been charged for a master case of band-aids when we used one. We were charge hundreds of dollars for a foam pad that we could buy at the store for $20. The list of obscene charges went on and on. It was enough to make us sick. The system was out of control.

In the 2000’s I was a partner in a small business. Every year we had to re-evaluate our health insurance plan. Every year we had to choose between increasing our employee’s health insurance premiums, reducing coverage, or both. Health insurance costs continued to spiral out of control.

Today, my wife and I are self-employed. We pay for our own health insurance and also pay for much of our health care out of pocket.

I’m guessing that my experience is typical of many Americans. We’ve watched as the health insurance industry has picked our pockets over the years, robbing us of our wealth and creating a system of care that benefits the insurance company first, the provider second, and the user third.

So, as you can imagine, I have no sympathy for the U.S. health care insurance industry as the Obama administration proposes to establish a “government option” which everyone knows will lead to the eventual government takeover of the entire health system in the U.S.

I recently heard a report about a poll claiming that 84% of Americans are happy or very happy with their current health insurance and that the majority of those without health insurance don’t want it. I don’t believe that this poll accurately reflects the true feelings in America. I’d like to see how the questions were worded and who was actually polled.

Anyone who has had their health care insurance premiums jacked up while benefits were slashed certainly can’t be all that happy. Anyone who has lost their insurance certainly can’t be that happy. Anyone who was denied coverage can’t be that happy. I’m guessing this covers about 90% of everyone in America. I’m guessing if I took my own poll and asked my questions, I could come back to you and report that 84% of Americans are unhappy or very unhappy with the state of heath insurance in America.

Our health care system truly needs an overhaul. I agree with President Obama on this point. At the same time, there are parts of it that are the envy of the world. The key is to find a solution that maintains the better parts of our current system while fixing the parts that are broken. If we instead destroy what is good and fail to fix what is broken, we would have been better off to just leave it alone.

Stay tuned for part 2!

What You Don’t Know

There are certain things that I know. In fact, I’m proud to say that I know many things. For example, I know how to create, implement, and execute strategic plans for organizations. This is an example of what I know.

I also know that there are things I don’t know. I know that I don’t know how to build a hydrogen fuel cell. This is an example of what I know that I don’t know.

However, there are things that I don’t know I don’t know. I can’t give you examples because I don’t know about these things.

The interesting thing is that we’re all different. My set of experiences is different that everyone else’s. In fact, I may even know some things that you don’t know you don’t know.

We’ve all heard the phrases ‘two heads are better than one’ and ‘iron sharpens iron.’ This is because each person is limited by what they know and by what they know they don’t know. When two people work together, the base of knowledge and experience expands. In general, better outcomes will result.

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Committed to Marketing?

Do you find that it’s difficult to remain committed to marketing? Many business owners struggle in this area. I know that I do from time to time.

Here’s how it plays out in my world. When I’m really busy, I reduce my marketing. It’s a function of my time. I don’t have a huge staff. Marketing requires my time and I only have some much time. But, there’s more to it than just the time element.

When I have lots of work, I’m less motivated to commit time to marketing because I’m not hungry. On the contrary, I’m often too busy, concerned about meeting all of my client’s expectations. Why add more fuel to the fire when the fire is burning just fine? That’s the psychological element.

When I combine the time element and the psychological element and I can convince myself that my time and money is not well spent on marketing during these times of peak activity. However, this is not clear thinking. Let me explain.

The effects of marketing usually are delayed. Marketing activities today will not likely produce sales tomorrow. Instead, today’s marketing activities are measured over the next weeks and months. Because of this, if I only market my services when I’m slow, I’m actually creating a feast or famine situation, exactly what I want to avoid. If I continue to invest in marketing even when I’m busy, the results will help fill in the slow times.

The other reality of marketing is that it is much more effective when it’s consistent. Marketing that starts and stops is less effective. Developing trust and a solid brand image requires ongoing investment and support. If I were to stop marketing during busy times, I’d have to start over to some degree. This is not smart or effective.

The optimal solution is to remain committed to marketing regardless of how slow or busy we are. We should make these commitments when we craft our strategic and marketing plans. 

My fears that I’m going to be buried in an avalanche of work if I continue to market when I’m already very busy are unfounded. The result of higher demand for my services would not that I would crumble. The result would be that I would be choosier about what work I accept. I may even raise my prices or find ways to be more productive. I may hire people to help me.  What a terrible position to be in!

What about you? Are you committed to marketing? Or do you only think about marketing when business slow? Are you creating the feast or famine world that you actually wish to avoid? More importantly, what are you going to do about?

If you need help in this area, call us. We can help. We are part of the team. What is it costing you not to have us on your team? 

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Staying Positive

According to the article I read this morning, women are more likely than men to succesfully cope during these tough economic times because are more positive in their outlook. Generally, I would agree with this. My question is why?

I wonder if this has to do with the fact that most women have close relationships with other women, whereas most men don’t have this support group. Within the context of these groups, they receive the support and encouragement that helps them remain positive.

Men, on the other hand, may have buddies they do things with. But, these relationships are often not very deep and lack the support that is required to get them through rough times. 

Women naturally form support groups. It requires no effort. It happens without any structure. Men need to make it happen. But, they won’t unless they see a clear purpose or benefit.

In my experience, the benefit is clear. The effort is worth the investment. It does take effort and commitment. But the alternative is not worth considering- isolation, drifting, and making poor decisions. No thank you.

What about you men out there? Are you proactively involved with other men? Not with buddies just hanging out, but with other men who are passionate about the things that you care about? If not, why not? And what are you going to do about it?

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