Buddy Gets a Business Card
September 27th, 2009 by DMH
I was thinking the other day about how everyone seems to want a “Business Card”. Many of us have one, serving to identify us, by providing our name, title, e-mail address and phone number, as a way to “connect” with us.
As I get ready to go to work each day and return home from work, I have a “Buddy” who always greets me with enthusiasm, passion, energy, love and a positive attitude; and he always finds a way to lift my spirit.
As I think about a few of our goals here at the Hospital, in delivering excellence in “Safe Quality Care and Customer Satisfaction” – Buddy’s attributes are exactly what our patient’s want from us. When our patient’s see that we are passionate about our mission to deliver the best care to them, it makes them feel safe. When our patient’s see and feel the energy, and the positive attitude we bring into their room or deliver services to them, they feel better and their spirits are lifted. Buddy and I have built a close relationship over the years. He knows what I want and expect and I know what he wants and expect and we work hard as a team to meet and exceed each other’s expectations. It’s the same deal with our patients as they expect us to not only meet and exceed expectations but to “raise the bar” as compared to the competition.
Buddy is like “vitamins on steroids”. He is a dose of energy (and reality) I can’t find anywhere else! We play together, we laugh together, we cry together.
He is always there to comfort me thru my ups and downs. We even have “discussions”. I talk for the most part and he listens. All we need to do is glance at each other to know what the other needs. At the end of the day, it is the same with our customers, it’s really all about building relationships, trust, and having someone (a buddy) they can depend on for their care.
Sometimes when I get ready to go to work, I need a little extra dosage of positive thinking, energy, passion and motivation; I always get it from my little “Buddy”. A Business Card for Buddy could be useful, as he is sometimes my motivation and my personal Mascot. Most school teams have a mascot which represents the school spirit and serves to motivate the students.
Maybe Buddy should be the Hospitals mascot? I would list his name on the business card and outlining the services he provides – joy, passion, energy, enthusiasm, and motivation. I might want to even put his fee on the card for services – “I work for dog biscuits”.
You have probably all guessed by now that “Buddy” is my little Shih-Tzu. Buddy is eight years old and has “wisdom and intelligence” beyond his years. His hair is black in color and he has white paws. Shih-Tzu’s normal weight is 12-13 pounds – Buddy weighs in at a whopping 23 pounds (too many dog biscuits). I mentioned that Buddy is wise and must confess, I often seek his counsel. When I am putting my daily checklist together or facing an issue that I am really not sure how to handle, I ask Buddy what he thinks. He will look at me with his big brown eyes as if he is really thinking about the answer, he will cock his head to the side and his ears will perk up and sometimes he will wag his tail. As we hold our discussion his advice remains stead fast- “always seek to do the right thing with class and pride”.
Buddy brings his “A game” everyday and is passionate about it, with high energy as he has high expectations and expects positive results. (The same results our customers expect from us.)
OK everyone , I have made Buddy a Business Card and anytime I need to find joy, passion, enthusiasm, energy or motivation to bring my “A game” to our hospital; I will just reach in my pocket and review Buddy’s business card. When I run across someone who needs a little motivation – to get through the day, I will hand them one of Buddy’s business cards.
I’ll end by saying that each of us has a “Buddy” in some form or fashion. Lets all bring our “A game” as we deliver services to our patient’s, with the same joy, passion, enthusiasm and energy everyday; Just like “Buddy” does. I mentioned that buddy works hard on “connecting and building relationships”. This is the same thing our customers expect; as they expect you to connect with them and build a relationship with them, while providing great service. Buddy’s reward is tender loving care and his “hard work” reward of dog biscuits.
Our reward is the personal satisfaction we get in giving our customers and patients what they want and deserve which in turn allows our hospital to be successful. This is accomplished when we bring our “A game “and enthusiasm everyday to improve our patient’s overall health and wellness. Buddy seeks to connect with everyone he comes in contact with and build a great relationship by giving all he can with a positive attitude, providing compassion, care, concern and love to everyone he comes in contact with- Almost everyone who has ever met Buddy says “I just love Buddy” – what’s not to love?
Reprinted from the Drew Memorial Hospital Newsletter,
Written by DMH CEO Mike Layfield
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Every health care institution should have at least one Buddy. I think he and his cohorts are beneficial to staff and patients alike.