When I wrote my first real computer program in college, I knew that my career choice was going to be a love-hate relationship. I enjoy the challenge of creating solutions in the most efficient way possible, but unfortunately, troubleshooting is part of the process.

Most programming languages include some form of debugging capabilities. If something breaks in an application, the programmer usually knows quickly exactly what piece of code is causing it to break without having to go line by line through the whole application. However, there are times when you go to the code that is broken, but you can’t find any errors. What then?

That’s where our healthcare system is right now. There are several “bugs” that are causing the system to break. Each function may seem stable, but the errors still remain. Costs are too high, insurance has too many cracks, critical information is too hard to access for patients, etc. But what is causing these errors? I don’t have the answers, but here are some troubleshooting methods that I’ve learned over the years that might be beneficial to those who may:

Step 1: List out the errors

Simply stating that the healthcare system is broken and needs to be fixed will not help anyone fix the problem. Identify specifically what is broken. I can’t count the number of times someone has come to me and said something along the lines of “Your Web site is broken,” when they should have said “I clicked a link on your Web site, and I received an error that says [insert error].” Consumer Reports has written a report identifying some of the errors in our healthcare system.

Step 2: Prioritize the errors

Some errors may be more urgent than others, and some may be easier to fix. This is a similar approach to that of an E.R. A triage nurse in an emergency room quickly determines which patients are in the most immediate need of care. If Patient A has a broken leg and Patient B is having a stroke, Patient B jumps ahead of Patient A. We need to triage what’s broken in the healthcare system.

Step 3: Find the root problem

This is where it gets tricky. It’s easier to find the root problem in code than it is in a nationwide system. However, the same principles apply. Start with the most obvious place and work from there. For example, “The cost of care is too high” is our error. What is driving up the cost, and what is connected to that?

Step 4: Implement a solution

Once you’ve identified the problem, fix it. Again, this is more difficult in healthcare than in programming, but it’s still not impossible. If you don’t know the solution right away, do a little research. Find out how others have implemented similar solutions. As a programmer, a quick Google search can usually solve my problem if I don’t know the answer. In healthcare, it may take looking at other industries, other countries and their healthcare system, other companies, etc until you find a solution to the problem that makes sense.

Step 5: Repeat

Chances are that fixing one error might give you three more. That’s ok. Continue through these steps until you have no errors. When finished, you’ll have a system that is far more stable than what you had before.

I remember the date very vividly. I was in high school when a friend came up and said that a girl at a rival high school wanted me to contact her. I had been working as a bag boy for a local grocery store and apparently bagged groceries for this girl’s mother. The mother thought I was a nice boy and wanted me to meet her daughter. I was reluctant to call because blind dates never really turned out well for me. Still, I called the girl and actually had a great conversation. We decided to go out on a date. Even though I was thinking this could be a mistake, I washed and vacuumed Mom and Dad’s car and made sure that I was as presentable as I could be. I bounced around town a while trying to find her house but finally made it to her door. I rang the doorbell. This was it. This was the moment of truth. It was going to be pain or agony when that door opened. I was expecting the worse. My heart raced a little as I could hear footsteps coming to the door. The doorknob turned and the door opened. I saw my date for the first time. The girl that came to the door was quite pretty, so much so, I looked behind me to make sure I had the house number correct. I asked if I was at the right house and to my delight – I was. As with most high school romances, we only dated for a few months, but I learned a lesson about the impact of that first impression.

Would you date you? That’s the question more managers of organizations need to be asking themselves. In today’s consumer-driven marketplace it is critical that you make the most of that first impression if you’re to build a lasting relationship with your target. Just as if you were preparing for a blind date, consider the following as you engage in a relationship with your clients:

1. Make yourself look good
When it comes to first impressions image is everything. Your Web site, offices, bathrooms, waiting rooms, marketing materials, etc. all show who you are. If you ignore the law of attraction then you won’t attract anyone to your organization.

2. Make yourself interesting
Pausanias was an Ancient Greek geographer who wrote about an inscription found on the forecourt of the Temple of Delphi that read, “Know yourself.” That’s the key to making yourself interesting. When you are excited about your work, your staff, and your clients, then your excitement will bring in likeminded individuals who are more than willing to listen to what you have to say.

3. Listen, listen, listen
No one wants to be on a date with someone who only talks about himself or herself. One-sided conversations really aren’t conversations at all. They’re lectures. If you can’t stop long enough to learn something from your target you will be doomed to making the wrong assumptions about your target that will in turn will lead to costly, miscalculated attempts to touch your audience.

4. Never go Dutch
People today are looking for information. They’re hungry for anything that will enrich their lives, ease fears, and bring hope for a better tomorrow – and they want it for free. In order to establish a solid relationship with your target you need to offer them something that helps accomplish their goals in life and you need to make it easy to get to. Profitability in today’s marketplace is fed by building trusting relationships.

5. Know when to say goodnight
There is a proverb in the Bible that reads, “Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor’s house, lest he have his fill of you and hate you.” You have to be careful that you don’t overstay your welcome with your target. Too many e-mails, newsletters, or sales calls can weary a target faster than anything. Pace yourself. If you want a relationship that will last you need to leave a little something for the next time you meet. You want your target hungry for more and willing to come back to you to get it.

Relationships don’t have to be hard work but they do require work. If you can make yourself look good and interesting then you will attract likeminded people who need what you are offering. However, learn to take interest in your target beyond their wallets. Be a resource they enjoy encounters with and keep coming back for more. If you succeed, you’ll enjoy being the organization that everyone wants to date.

Until next time … keep your pulse strong.

I’ve been digging into the Pew Research Center’s report on “The Shared Search for Health Information on the Internet”, which was released last month. While it offers a wealth of information, I was particularly interested in the assertion that the Internet and its various applications acts a supplement to health information and can speed information exchange. While this isn’t a particularly startling fact, it includes an important word that should reassure healthcare providers who express concern that the Internet will supplant a healthcare professional’s advice.

The key word is “supplement.” According to the report, “American adults still continue to turn to traditional sources of health information, even as many of them deepen their engagement with the online world.” The report finds that 86% of all adults ask a health professional, such as a doctor, for information or assistance in dealing with health or medical issues.

That fact was highlighted here at Talstone when a woman posted an interesting comment to one of our previous blog posts – D.J.’s 10 questions with Dr. Kevin Pho. Apparently seeing the validity of an “M.D.” on the blog, she provided us with a full description of a recent lab result and asked our opinion. Actually, she asked Dr. Pho’s opinion. While we are always happy to a get a blog comment, D.J. had to inform her that we are a healthcare marketing firm and she needed to contact a healthcare provider.

That one example lends credibility to the survey result that 66% of Internet users have looked for specific information about a disease or medical problem, followed by 55% who have looked for information about a certain medical treatment or procedure.

Social media, social networking, mobile and wireless opportunities – they all provide a rich platform to supplement, inform, influence, and effect healthcare change for the better. But none of them negate the need for healthcare information that is valuable, pertinent, accessible, and meaningful. Content still reigns and the expertise of a provider is highly valued. The Pew study shows us that while it is vital to know how a person looks for information, it’s crucial to understand what they are looking for. Filling that need should prove an opportunity to providers everywhere.

FDR took office in an economic condition this country had never seen before. Banks were closing in nearly all the 48 states at the time. Farmers faced a devastating drop in prices. Panic had people pulling their money out of financial institutions so that a heavy weight was placed on the country. But FDR took to the stage and offered what the country was lacking the most – hope. His famous “only thing we have to fear” line is still recited today as a key, historical monologue. However, as a nation, we would do well to read that line in the context that Roosevelt actually placed it. Here’s that context:

I am certain that my fellow Americans expect that on my induction into the Presidency I will address them with a candor and a decision which the present situation of our people impel. This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself-nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days.

– Franklin D. Roosevelt, Inaugural Address, March 4, 1933

Now, some 76 years later, that same “nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance” again grips our country. There is no sector untouched by this sort of fear. As leaderships of countries, states, cities, companies and homes follow the line of retreat it is all the more important that there be a new hope in leaders to stand and point to the line of advancement. Our government should not have to point the way to recovery. Rather, it should be the leadership at all levels of all organizations big and small to turn to frankness, vigor and honesty to lead this country to the greatness that it once was.

This is a call to remove the paralysis that holds our nation frozen. It is a call to have leaders move forward with one foot in front of the other so to restore our hope and glory that has long defined who we are as a nation. May the “new deal” we form be one with each other and recapture the ground we have lost. Until next time – keep your pulse strong.