There’s a wisecrack about getting someone’s name right that ends with, “Call me whatever you want, but just don’t call me late for dinner.” Were it only such a light matter...
The secrets to motivating your staff lie here
By
James M. Berklan
Nov 04, 2015
Americans love rewards. Perhaps nowhere else is the carrot-and-stick strategy put to more frequent or hopeful use than the United States. But 6,000 lucky long-term care providers learned how and why there...
The odds of healthcare reform surviving are …
By
James M. Berklan
Jun 20, 2012
I wonder what the bookies in London are thinking about the odds of the U.S. healthcare reform law surviving. Surely they have taken bets on its possible demise, just as they do seemingly everything else...
Out of the bad we shall find good
By
James M. Berklan
Aug 31, 2017
“Out of the bad we shall find good.” That sounds kind of biblical, doesn’t it? But I didn’t hear it while sitting in a pew on a Sunday. It came from a resolute skilled nursing manager...
Provider gives perfect response to Hurricane Harvey evacuation critics … and then gets taken to...
By
James M. Berklan
Sep 14, 2017
Late last week, I latched onto what I thought — and still think — is a great example of how a provider should respond to a bad public relations incident. We’re talking standing up to critics...
Covering his behind
By
James M. Berklan
Mar 05, 2008
I don’t know if George Smitherman has higher aspirations than his current political office, but if he does, he can be sure that one, small scatological comment will stain him the rest of the days. Just...
Note to providers: Go down swinging or get eaten alive
By
James M. Berklan
Feb 23, 2018
If you feel like you’re getting picked on, you should fight back. Scrap like hell, thrash about and do anything you can to cause a ruckus and save yourself. What does this have to do with long-term...
Now here’s how you celebrate ‘The Voice’ (the original one)
By
James M. Berklan
Jun 10, 2015
There’s a reason you go back to your favorite restaurant, television show or shoe store. They’re good, and you can count on them being good. That’s how I feel about the public relations...
Nice try, but no cigar
By
James M. Berklan
Aug 31, 2010
Upon the initial reading, it appeared that Skilled Healthcare, the tenth-largest skilled nursing provider in the United States, had a good beef. Apparently the jury that slammed it with an eye-popping...
Long-term care insurance proving easy to ignore
By
James M. Berklan
Sep 05, 2012
Long-term care insurance sellers must feel a bit like broccoli farmers under the first George Bush presidency. They’re not getting the love the feel they deserve.