Dear Mr. President, Think health care, not sick care.

Dear Mr. President, Think health care, not sick care.
Love, U.S. Small Businesses

President Obama is trying to rush a new U.S. health plan that would cover everyone in the country. Of course, once again, the people that have sacrificed and worked really hard will pay for it because they make too much money. It will have a huge negative impact on small businesses. Welcome to the new America – “Get penalized for success!”

Many small business owners will be the ones paying the bill not only for their employees but also in more taxes because as S-corps, their company’s profit puts them in the bracket to pay more; even though the total profit is often not what the owner takes home (in an s-corp, the owner gets taxed on total profit even though he/she may leave much of it in the company).

For the record, I am all in favor of helping my employees with their health care. Although it’s been getting harder to do so because of rising costs, my company contributes to employee premiums and HSA accounts. We switched to a high-deductible/HSA plan last year because of the rising costs.

We also participate in some of the nifty programs that our health insurance company offers. These programs are focused on rewarding healthy eating and lifestyle choices.

But if the President’s new plan passes, the burden will be even tougher. As it stands now, 60% of U.S. bankruptcies in 2007 were due to medical costs.

But don’t misunderstand me. I agree with the President. We do need a new plan. The current one is a race car speeding out of control. We do need change. But not like this.

Instead of trying to rush a new plan through the system before Labor Day, our government needs to take some time and think about the real problem. We’re treating sick people instead of helping healthy people. It’s not health care, it’s “sick care.”

75% of our health care costs are attributable to chronic and preventable diseases. And 40% of U.S. deaths are caused by lifestyle choices – smoking, poor eating and inactivity.

If small business and the wealthy are going to have to buck up more money, why should it be for supporting poor lifestyle choices and preventable diseases?

Instead, how about the money goes to programs that aim at intervening in patients’ lives, before they get sick. Our current system rewards people who are sick with pills and procedures. We are fixing what’s wrong instead of enabling what’s right.

Let’s stop providing disease care and start providing health care.

Good personal health care is an investment in one’s self and the nation. Prevention is a timeless notion and we need to get back to it. It's what parents have taught their kids for thousands of years. Somehow we have lost our way...

Prevention education - Our country’s health depends on it!

The Top 10 Things a Good CEO Should Be Doing

Every year, our company Next Step Publishing (www.nextSTEPmag.com) goes through an employee review exercise. As most companies do, every employee gets reviewed by their manager but we add a few twists.

We have a huge place in the review for the employee to give feedback. Our goal is to see what we can do to help each person be the best they can be. And what better way to see how we can help than to ask?!

Another thing we do is allow each employee to offer feedback comments on each person in the company. These are pre-framed with questions to allow for constructive feedback and not pot-shots.

Since I don’t have a boss, I ask my managers to review me every year. And the entire staff is encouraged to offer anonymous constructive feedback.

So last year I got a comment that went a little something like this: “I really like Dave and love the company, but I am not sure what Dave does.”

At first this struck me as odd because I know I work my butt off and was surprised this person didn’t have a clear picture of what I do.

Then suddenly it all made sense and I felt good about it. In my thinking, a good CEO is not involved in the day to day details and the team may wonder what the heck he/she does.

A good leader is working from a higher altitude, making sure everything is moving forward. As Michael Gerber says in the E-Myth (http://www.e-myth.com/), a good CEO/Entrepreneur should be working ON the business not IN the business.

I learned from friend and entrepreneur Cameron Herold (www.backpocketCOO.com), success is determined by how well the CEO hires “how” (how to get things done) people while he/she focuses on “where” (where is the company going).

A good metaphor for an effective CEO/Entrepreneur is a duck. You see, a duck's head and body above the pond look calm and graceful; but if you look under the water, the legs and feet paddling like crazy! So a good CEO appears to be a calming, confident force but under the surface, he/she is kicking like crazy!

So to get back to that employee’s comment about not knowing what I do. I started to think about what I do and/or what I should be doing.

Here is the list I came up with.

1) Inspire. A fish rots from the head down. If the leader (the head) of a company doesn’t inspire the team, passion, creativity and loyalty will be non-existent.

2) Coach. A good leader doesn’t solve problems; he coaches his team to solve problems. Many CEOs think they need to play God and solve all the problems so they look good. Baloney. The leader will have more time to inspire, create and do more meaningful activities if he doesn’t have to solve every problem.

3) Watch over the finances like a hawk. This really should be #1, because no cash flow, no business. Nuff’ said?

4) Liberate Passion. A good leader natures, encourages and liberates passion. A bad leader squashes it by once again, trying to play God and thinking that all ideas must come from him.

5) Grow Leaders. A good CEO is not afraid to pass on the knowledge and plant seeds for future leaders. He is a teacher. The only way a company will grow is if there are future leaders with common vision and values.

6) Drives the Vision. As mentioned above, a good leader is the “where guy/gal.” She lays the blueprint of where the company is going. She does not necessarily describe how the company will achieve the vision; rather she sets the vision and leads the dream. Remember Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “I have a dream!” He did not say, “I have a plan.”

7) Communicate. What good is it having a vision and a dream if nobody knows about it? An effective CEO cascades her vision to the rest of the company on a regular basis. She develops a rhythm where the vision is discussed and communicated often. When the team starts to recite it back to the CEO, it’s starting to take shape!

8) Disrupt Comfort. My old friend and consultant John Engels (http://www.leadershipcoachinginc.com/) warns CEOs of company harmony. Many harmonious companies are about a hair away from bankruptcy. Why? Because when there is harmony, there is often passive aggressive behavior; meaning that nobody wants to rock the boat and discuss uncomfortable issues in the workplace. A good leader will poke and prod at harmony and make sure that it not a cover for discomfort.

9) Listen. Many CEOs love the sound of their own voice. Effective CEOs remember that God gave us two ears and one mouth; and that we should use them in that proportion. A CEO that does not listen to his team will have to be content with only getting a small portion of the complete picture.

10) Set the Culture. If a CEO takes short cuts, he will attract like-minded souls. If he guides the organization with morality, integrity, love, fun, creativity, loyalty and the ability to give candid, yet tactful feedback, he will create a company that produces super-uber cool products all while being an incredibly satisfying and ethical place to work.

So there you go. That is my ultimate job description. As with everything, it’s a work in progress but certainly is a great roadmap for success!