DOING THE RIGHT THING

2012-01-01T07:15:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year!

2011-12-25T21:16:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-02T16:05:00.001-08:00

The Page One Bookstore Local Author Fair in Albuquerque is tomorrow at 3:00 PM, but snow may keep me here in Moriarty!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T07:02:00.001-08:00

2011-11-18T21:45:00.001-08:00

Doing the Right Thing won Best Business Book at the New Mexico Book Awards!

2011-11-05T06:00:00.000-07:00

Page One Bookstore in Albuquerque is where I'll be from three to five today. Hope to see you there!

2011-10-01T08:59:00.000-07:00

Page One Bookstore in Albuquerque is where I'll be from three to five today. Hope to see you there!

2011-09-24T16:14:00.001-07:00

Doing the Right Thing is a Finalist in the New Mexico Book Awards! http://ping.fm/Q4v1T

2011-09-23T14:51:00.001-07:00

Hastings, 542 North Guadalupe, Santa Fe NM, is where I'll be from 5:30 to 9:30 PM today. It would be great to see you there!

2011-09-08T07:18:00.001-07:00

Join NM Authors Celebrating Literacy Day at the Main Library in Albuquerque TODAY! http://ping.fm/2Pytf

Celebrate Literacy Day with New Mexico Authors TODAY

2011-09-08T07:05:00.001-07:00

Please join us at:

Main Library
501 Copper NW
Albuquerque, NM

TODAY
September 8, 2011
10:30 AM to 4:00 PM

See you there!

Governor Martinez and Mayor Berry at Celebrate Literacy Day on Thu Sep 8

2011-09-07T20:03:00.000-07:00

Governor Susana Martinez and Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry are scheduled to attend the Albuquerque International Literacy Day at the Albuquerque Main Library on Thursday, September 8.

Literacy Day Scheduled Events on Thu Sep 8

2011-09-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

Schedule of Events

10:30 AM - 11:00 AM
Children's Storeytime for babies and toddlers in the Children's Room on the lower level.

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Carla Aragon, author of Dance of the Eggshells and featured speaker in the Main Auditorium located on the lower level.

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
New Mexico Focus! Slim Randles, author of Ol' Slim's Views from the Porch, 26 columns from the New Mexico Magazine. On the 2nd floor - Genealogy Center.

12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Book Readings! Favorite passages from favorite books, read by local celebrities; author readings; and a chance to sign up and share your favorite book passage as well! In the Auditorium on the lower level.

1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
New Mexico Focus! Author Anne Hillerman and photographer Dan Strel, authors of Tony Hillerman's Landscape. On the 2nd floor - Genealogy Center.

2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Readers Theater! Appear on stage with others to read your part from a script. Discover your inner actor! In the Auditorium on the lower level.

3:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Book Trivia! Test your book knowledge. A "Trivial Pursuit". In the Auditorium on the lower level.

2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
New Mexico Focus! Nasario Garcia, author of Faith and Tragedies in Hispanic Villages of New Mexico. On the 2nd floor, Genealogy Center.

3:30 PM - 4:00 PM
Music and Words! A special presentation by members of the Albuquerque Youth Symphony. In the Auditorium on the lower level.

Literacy Day All Day Events on Thu Sep 8

2011-09-05T06:00:00.000-07:00

Schedule of Events

10:30 AM to 4:30 PM

Autographed Book Sale! Meet and visit New Mexico authors and book publishers in the Community Room located on the lower level. Talk with them about the creative writing process and how they published their book. Sponsored by the New Mexico Book Co-op.

Main Library Bookshop! Operated by the Friends for the Public Library. Located downstairs on the lower level. Visit them for great bargains on used books.

Literacy Information! Visit the tables located outside of the Auditorium on the lower level for information about programs providing adult literacy help, including Reading Works and ReadWest. Learn how you can volunteer and help someone learn to read.

ABQ Coffee Connection! Open 7:30 AM - 4:00 PM near the main entrance. Stop in for breakfast or lunch while you are here. A variety of hot and cold food is available.

Celebrate Literacy with New Mexico Authors at the Albuquerque Library on Thu, Sep 8

2011-09-04T09:39:00.000-07:00

A Celebration of Literacy
Thursday, September 8, 2011
10:30 AM to 4:00 PM
at the
Main Library
501 Copper NW, Albuquerque, NM

Emmy Award-Winning Journalist and Author Carla Aragon!
Author Anne Hillerman & Photographer Don Strel!
Author Slim Randles! Historian Nasario Garcia!
Children's Storytime!
Book Sale - New Mexico Authors!
Book Readings of Favorite Passages!
Book Trivia! Reader's theater! Albuquerque Youth Symphony!

Admisson is Free!

Sponsored by The Friends of the Library, New Mexico Book Co-op, ReadWest, and Reading Works

2011-09-04T09:30:00.001-07:00

Celebrate Literacy with New Mexico Authors at the Albuquerque Library on Thu Sep 8! http://ping.fm/XnN8A

2011-09-03T09:00:00.000-07:00

Page One Bookstore in Albuquerque is where I'll be from three to five today. Hope to see you there!

2011-07-02T13:21:00.001-07:00

Page One Bookstore in Albuquerque is where I'll be from three to five today. Hope to see you there!

2011-06-04T07:39:00.001-07:00

The Local Author Book Fair at Page One Bookstore in Albuquerque is where I'll be from 3 PM to 5 PM today. Please come by!

2011-05-07T07:59:00.001-07:00

Page One Bookstore in Albuquerque is where I'll be from three to five today. Hope to see you there!

Philosophers Notes

2011-04-17T13:20:00.000-07:00

I have been getting Brian Johnson's Philosophers Notes via e-mail for years now. He reads the best books on personal growth (and enriching your life) and notes the big ideas in each. I love his picks!

Brian Johnson's Philosophers Notes

2011-03-22T08:25:00.001-07:00

It's my birthday! Thanks for all the birthday wishes! Happy Birthday Everyone! http://ping.fm/7soV6

2011-03-18T15:23:00.001-07:00

Hastings West Side in Albuquerque is where I'll be from 5:30 PM to 9:30 PM today!

2011-03-05T11:18:00.001-08:00

The Local Author Book Fair at Page One Bookstore in Albuquerque is where I'll be from 3 PM to 5 PM today. See you there!

2011-02-25T11:50:00.001-08:00

Hastings, 542 North Guadalupe, Santa Fe NM, is where I'll be from 5:30 to 9:30 PM today. It would be great to see you there!

Moriarty Authors for Literacy Event

2011-02-21T13:42:00.000-08:00

Here is a link to the pictures I took at the Moriarty Civic Center Saturday, February 19, 2011:

Moriarty Authors for Literacy Event Photos

It was a blast!

Doing the Right Thing
and Achieving All Your Goals at the Same Time
www.mariannepowers.com

2011-02-16T06:39:00.001-08:00

Moriarty Authors for Literacy Event Saturday! http://ping.fm/W81cL

2011-02-05T08:33:00.000-08:00

I'll be at Page One Bookstore in Albuquerque from 3 PM to 5 PM today. See you there!

2011-01-28T08:00:00.000-08:00

Hastings Tramway in Albuquerque is where I'll be from 5:30 PM to 9:30 PM today!

2011-01-01T14:02:00.001-08:00

I'll be at Page One Bookstore in Albuquerque from 3 PM to 5 PM today. See you there!

A Quote from Naomi Rose

2010-12-05T10:01:00.000-08:00

"What lives in you seeks to be known, and what lives in your readers seeks to know it. This full circle, this circle of fulfillment, is a giving back of both a social and a sacred kind. Why not bestow it?"

--Naomi Rose, Rose Press

2010-12-04T07:31:00.001-08:00

Page One Bookstore, Montgomery & Juan Tabo, Albuquerque, is where I'll be from 3-5 P today. See you there!

2010-12-04T07:29:00.001-08:00

Southwest Writers Book Fair is today! Buy Christmas gift books from local authors at New Life Presbyterian, 5540 Eubank NE, Albuquerque, 1-4P.

2010-11-28T12:13:00.001-08:00

Meet me at the New Mexico Food & Gift Showcase, 6920 4th St, Los Ranchos de Albuquerque at 3:00 PM today!

2010-11-24T09:07:00.001-08:00

New Mexico Food & Gift Showcase, 6920 4th St, Los Ranchos de Albuquerque is where I'll be from 3 to 4 PM on Sun, Nov 28. Please come by!

2010 Book Co-op Holiday Store

2010-11-24T09:00:00.000-08:00

Book Co-op Holiday Store Signings

2010-11-24T08:55:00.000-08:00

Sunday, November 14
1pm Gerdean O’Dell
3pm Jim Thompson

Saturday November 20
11am Ben Steinlage
1pm Sue Houser
3pm Lucretia Tippit

Sunday November 21
1pm Howard Bryan
2pm Howard Bryan & Marcia Keegan
3pm Hal Simmons & Marcia Keegan

Friday November 26
11am Anne Hillerman & Don Strel
1pm Robert Torrez
3pm Jim Hammond & Jane Butel

Saturday November 27
11am Loretta Hall
Noon Sabra Brown Steinsiek
1pm Don Bullis
3pm Cynthia Davis

Sunday November 28
1pm Geoff Habiger & Beverly Eschberger
3pm Marianne Powers

Stop & Shop Los Ranchos
Saturday December 4
11am Nasario Garcia
1pm Dave DeWitt
3pm Carla Aragon

Stop & Shop Los Ranchos
Sunday December 5
1pm Phyllis Morgan
3pm Roxanne Rivera-Wiest

Saturday December 11
11am Margaret Tessler
1pm Andres Armijo
3pm Zelda Gatuskin

Sunday December 12
1pm David Kuenzli
3pm Jill Lane

Saturday December 18
11am Irene Blea
1pm Jane Butel
3pm Marilyn Stablein

NM Book Co-op
Last Minute Gifts noon to 4pm
Sunday December 19
Noon David Corwell
1pm Shirl Brainard
3pm Dodici Azadu

Last Minute Gifts
Wednesday December 22
1pm Charlie Carrillo, Barbe Awalt & Paul Rhetts

2010-11-06T08:49:00.000-07:00

Page One Bookstore in Albuquerque hosts their Local Author Book Fair today (first Saturday) from 3:00 to 5:00 PM and I'll be there!

2010-10-22T08:37:00.001-07:00

Hastings Fair Plaza at San Pedro & Lomas in Albuquerque is where I'll be from 5:30 PM to 9:30 PM today!

Doing the Right Thing at the Book Festival

2010-09-28T11:29:00.001-07:00

New Mexico Women Author's Book Festival
New Mexico History Museum, Santa Fe
October 2-3, 2010, 11 AM to 5 PM

Each of the Festival authors will have a half hour to speak followed by another half hour to sign books. See the schedule at www.newmexicocreates.org.

Marianne Powers is speaking from 3:40 to 4:10 PM in Tent 1 - Spirit and Health.

Doing the Right Thing
and Achieving All Your Goals at the Same Time
www.mariannepowers.com

New Mexico Women Authors' Book Festival

2010-09-28T11:20:00.000-07:00

The third annual New Mexico Women Authors’ Book Festival (NMWABF) benefiting the Museum of New Mexico Foundation opens to the public Saturday, October 2 and runs through Sunday, October 3, 2010, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the New Mexico History Museum. The festival celebrates the joy of reading and the creative power of New Mexico’s women writers. The program expands this year with best-selling author Anne Lamott kicking off the festival with a ticketed event Tuesday, Sept. 28 at the historic Lensic Theatre in downtown Santa Fe.

More than 110 talented New Mexican female authors who have been juried into the festival will discuss their current work and craft in 30-minute segments Saturday and Sunday in six different venues throughout the New Mexico History Museum (NMHM) campus. Authors will be grouped by Fiction, History/Biography, Poetry, Food/Cooking, Creative Arts, Spirit/Health, Children and Special Topics. They will be presented in three tents in the Palace Courtyard, the auditorium, the Meem Community Room and the Learning Center. “New Mexico has a long history as a literary mecca,” says John Stafford, founder of the festival and director of retail operations, Museum of New Mexico Foundation. “We built the festival with the hopes that we can offer something to everyone in terms of world-class lectures, talks, book signings and events for both the general public and authors.” Friday, October 1, is an educational day for authors with seminars throughout the day on a variety of subjects. These events will be programmed and supported by the NMWABF Authors’ Committee.

“We launched New Mexico Creates in 2002 with 319 artists in the program, and now work with more than 1,200 New Mexico artists,” says Stafford. “Over the last five years the MNMF Shops have purchased over $5,500,000 of works directly from these authors, artists and artisans, helping build their livelihoods as well as contributing to the economy of New Mexico. Please join us for an enlightening literary week and support the Museum of New Mexico.”

The New Mexico Women Authors’ Book Festival is organized and produced by the Museum of New Mexico Foundation Shops, part of the Museum of New Mexico Foundation, through the MNMF Shops initiative “New Mexico Creates.” The mission of New Mexico Creates is to promote and strengthen creative entrepreneurs while offering visitors and New Mexico citizens the best of New Mexico and supporting the units of the Museum of New Mexico. Book sales and authors’ book signings will take place in the lobby of New Mexico History Museum. Music, food and special presentations include the Palace Print Shop, Santa Fe’s Book Arts Group and the Fray Angelico Library, creating a fun and educational event expected to draw over 3,000 people. The festival is generously supported by the Marineau Family Foundation and more than 60 volunteers who devote many hours of their time to make the event a success.

WHAT: New Mexico Women Authors’ Book Festival

WHERE: New Mexico History Museum, 113 Lincoln Avenue, Santa Fe, NM, 87501

WHEN: Friday, October 1, Author Workshops. Saturday and Sunday, October 2 and 3, open to the public.

COST: Saturday and Sunday -- Free
Friday Education Day: $25.00 for an all-day pass. Call 877-567-7380 to reserve a space for the day as space will be limited.

2010-09-28T11:15:00.001-07:00

NM Women Author's Book Festival, NM History Museum, Santa Fe is where I'll be on Saturday, Oct 2. Hope I'll see you there!

2010-09-17T10:08:00.001-07:00

Hastings Juan Tabo in Albuquerque is where I'll be from 5:30 PM to 9:30 PM today!

2010-09-04T11:43:00.001-07:00

Page One Bookstore in Albuquerque hosts their Local Author Book Fair today (first Saturday) from 3:00 to 5:00 PM and I'll be there!

2010-08-20T12:06:00.000-07:00

Hastings West Side in Albuquerque is where I'll be from 5:30 PM to 9:30 PM today!

2010-08-11T14:20:00.001-07:00

I really like Things Gone Right !

2010-08-07T12:24:00.001-07:00

Page One Bookstore hosts their Local Author Book Fair today (first Saturday) from 3:00 to 5:00 PM and I'll be there!

2010-07-09T12:05:00.000-07:00

Hastings Fair Plaza in Albuquerque is where I'll be from 5:30 PM to 9:30 PM today!

2010-07-03T11:47:00.000-07:00

Page One Bookstore hosts their Local Author Book Fair today (first Saturday) from 3:00 to 5:00 PM and I'll be there!

2010-06-27T07:54:00.001-07:00

Tijeras Arts Market, 4 Tijeras Avenue, Tijeras, NM, that's where I'll be today with fellow author David Corwell. Come see us!

2010-06-05T11:47:00.000-07:00

Page One Bookstore hosts their Local Author Book Fair today (first Saturday) from 3:00 to 5:00 PM and I'll be there!

2010-05-13T16:10:00.000-07:00

I tried to reply to your e-mail Gloria, but it came back to me undeliverable.

Marianne Powers

2010-05-01T11:23:00.001-07:00

Page One Bookstore hosts their Local Author Book Fair today (first Saturday) from 3:00 to 5:00 PM and I'll be there!

2010-04-11T12:00:00.000-07:00

Homebuilders Showcase at the Albuquerque Convention Center is where I'll be signing all day today!

2010-04-03T11:46:00.000-07:00

Page One Bookstore hosts their Local Author Book Fair today (first Saturday) from 3:00 to 5:00 PM and I'll be there!

2010-03-06T11:46:00.000-08:00

Page One Bookstore hosts their Local Author Book Fair today (first Saturday) from 3:00 to 5:00 PM and I'll be there!

2010-02-20T06:44:00.001-08:00

I will be at the New Mexico Authors for Literacy Event at the Moriarty Civic Center, 202 Broadway, Saturday, 9 to 4, please come by!

2010-02-12T06:53:00.001-08:00

We are so connected that whatever happens to any of us happens to all of us.

2010-02-06T11:46:00.000-08:00

Page One Bookstore hosts their Local Author Book Fair today (first Saturday) from 3:00 to 5:00 PM and I'll be there!

2010-02-05T10:58:00.001-08:00

"The absence of alternatives clears the mind marvelously" - Henry Kissinger. Funny! But then don't you start to see alternatives?

2010-01-21T16:04:00.001-08:00

I recommend ping.fm. Very nice!

2010-01-21T16:01:00.001-08:00

Here's my website link: http://www.mariannepowers.com/

2010-01-21T15:56:00.001-08:00

It looks good, but there is no title.

2010-01-21T15:53:00.001-08:00

How does this message posted on ping.fm look on Blogger?

2010-01-15T11:58:00.000-08:00

Hastings Juan Tabo in Albuquerque is where I'll be from 5:30 PM to 9:30 PM today!

2010-01-02T11:45:00.000-08:00

Page One Bookstore hosts their Local Author Book Fair today (first Saturday) from 3:00 to 5:00 PM and I'll be there!

2009-12-17T12:10:00.000-08:00

Hastings Tramway in Albuquerque is where I'll be from 5:30 PM to 9:30 PM today!

2009-12-17T06:00:00.000-08:00

Many New Mexico Authors will be signing books at the "Christmas in New Mexico" Zia Arts and Crafts Festival in the Manuel Lujan Bulding at the State Fairgrounds all day today. Please come by and see us!

If You Know, You Can Help

2009-12-13T01:00:00.000-08:00

Teach everyone to do everything so they can all learn new skills, so they can recognize an opportunity to help each other accomplish their common goals and so they don't get in each other's way!

Doing the Right Thing
and Achieving All Your Goals at the Same Time
www.mariannepowers.com

Even If It's Not Your Job

2009-12-12T01:00:00.000-08:00

When I was a consultant observing people doing their jobs, I watched someone ignore a flag that came up in the software to let her know there was no authorization. “Did you see that flag?” I inquired. “Yes.” “Are you going to let the authorizations person know the auth has been used up?” I asked. “Should I?” she asked, “ I thought she ran reports to find those.” In fact, she did, but that charge wasn’t going to be paid because whatever system the authorization person was using had failed. Although she would find it eventually, it would be better if she found it the very day of the charge when she could easily get an auth, instead of later, when some carriers wouldn’t issue one retroactively. The person I was observing was focusing only on her job, but if the company did not get paid for the service she was entering, it would not matter at all how accurately or quickly she had entered it.

Doing the Right Thing
and Achieving All Your Goals at the Same Time
www.mariannepowers.com

Everything is Your Business

2009-12-11T17:18:00.000-08:00

It is not enough that managers know what is going on and talk to other managers. Everyone needs to know what is going on. I was talking to another manager once, telling her about a problem that one of my team had discovered in an area that was not her immediate responsibility and what we were going to have to do to correct it. It wasn’t going to be an easy fix. “Don’t you wish they would just mind their own business?” she asked me. “Well, I really needed to know about this problem,” I said, “and, anyway, everything we do is her business.”

Doing the Right Thing
and Achieving All Your Goals at the Same Time
www.mariannepowers.com

It's Better to Own the Goal

2009-12-10T01:00:00.000-08:00

The only way we can own the goal is to know what it is. We need to understand how our work contributes to it. We need to be able to see how other people’s work fits into it. If we know that, we can be another set of eyes and ears collecting information that the other people who share our goals need. We can help keep things moving in the right direction, we can be on the lookout for strays, we might even avert a disaster by being able to respond immediately to an unforeseen event.

Doing the Right Thing
and Achieving All Your Goals at the Same Time
www.mariannepowers.com

You Can Own Your Part

2009-12-09T01:00:00.000-08:00

I used to think that people couldn’t help me because they weren’t me, they didn’t have the intelligence, experience, and/or skills that I did or care about the work as much I did. As a co-worker of mine once said, “I wanted it done right, so I did it myself.” But I have finally noticed that most people do care about any work that they “own” and will complain about the same thing when other people try to help them with it. Most of us, it seems, have been taught to own just our piece of the work, whatever is within our immediate control, but we need to own the goal. I know now that it doesn’t matter much how well I finesse my part if the project is a failure.

Doing the Right Thing
and Achieving All Your Goals at the Same Time
www.mariannepowers.com

It's Better If You Know What to Do

2009-12-08T01:00:00.000-08:00

The four of us who were blindfolded had raised a cup of water about four feet off the floor by the four strings that were tied around it. We did it again with our blindfolds off. It took about 10 seconds. I was really impressed that we had lifted a cup of water without spilling it, by strings, blindfolded, without even knowing what we were doing. I was so fascinated by the fact that our tiny actions could add up to that just by trusting the person who was guiding us and doing exactly what we were told that I missed the point, but it came to me later.

Doing the Right Thing
and Achieving All Your Goals at the Same Time
www.mariannepowers.com

You Can Follow Directions

2009-12-07T01:00:00.000-08:00

I participated in a game at a company retreat one time. We broke up into teams of five. Four of us were blindfolded and one person was not. That person knew what the task was and had to get the rest of us to do it without telling us what it was. She put the end of a string in my hand and said, “Hold this.” I held it. I could hear her telling the others the same. Then she came back to me and told me to pull the string taut. I did. “Good,” she said. “Raise the string about an inch, keeping it taut.” “A little higher.” “Okay, hold it.” She gave similar instructions to the other people. She told some to go a little higher or a little lower, to pull tighter. She had us each slowly raise our strings. At one point, we had to get up off our knees and stand up, keeping the string at the same height and keeping it taut. I could feel pressure on the string, but I didn’t know what it was. It took about 10 minutes for us to accomplish the task. Then we took our blindfolds off.

Doing the Right Thing
and Achieving All Your Goals at the Same Time
www.mariannepowers.com

Be Valuable in Many Ways

2009-12-06T01:00:00.000-08:00

Another consideration is that jobs do change from time to time, even if they have remained the same for many years. There have been transcriptionists, I suppose, as long as there have been tape recorders, all of my life, at least. But someday soon someone will probably get voice recognition to work consistently and then what? It’s better to be valuable to your company or your industry in many ways instead of just one way.

Doing the Right Thing
and Achieving All Your Goals at the Same Time
www.mariannepowers.com

Page One Bookstore, Saturday, December 5

2009-12-05T08:00:00.000-08:00

The first Saturday of the month!

That's when Page One Bookstore hosts their local author book fair in the Brew Moon Cafe from 3:00 to 5:00 PM.

Page One is at the corner of Montgomery and Juan Tabo in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

I'll see you there!

Doing the Right Thing
and Achieving All Your Goals at the Same Time
www.mariannepowers.com

If You Don't Know What They're Doing, They Don't Seem to be Doing Anything

2009-12-05T01:00:00.000-08:00

Many of the conflicts that I have been involved in and that I have seen other people involved in over the years have occurred because someone didn’t understand what responsibilities and problems another person had. In the past, it has often seemed to me that other people were favored with a lighter workload or easier work than I was and I have often resented it. But when I was a consultant and a truly neutral observer, people often told me things like that about each other, and it was almost never true. It’s just that if you don’t know what someone is doing, they don’t seem to be doing anything.

Doing the Right Thing
and Achieving All Your Goals at the Same Time
www.mariannepowers.com

Know Something About Everyone's Job

2009-12-04T01:00:00.000-08:00

Even when people are doing jobs so different that they can’t be cross-trained or do each other’s work for a day, I have come to believe that everyone in the company should know something about everyone else’s job. And the closer that job is to their own, the more they should know about it.

Doing the Right Thing
and Achieving All Your Goals at the Same Time
www.mariannepowers.com

Work Can Be Too Structured

2009-12-03T13:00:00.000-08:00

I have never worked in an environment that structured again, but I have often acted as if I did. Most of the time, that has seemed like the higher good -- to concentrate on what I was doing, not to worry about what other people were doing, and that is also what I wanted from the people who worked for me. But I have learned since then that people do need to understand how their job affects other people’s jobs and the whole process.

Doing the Right Thing
and Achieving All Your Goals at the Same Time
www.mariannepowers.com

The Problem with Focusing On One Thing

2009-12-02T01:00:00.000-08:00

That first experience helped to make me very meticulous about my work. But I also learned to focus only on what I was doing. They had it planned that way. They had been in business 75 years and had issued tens of thousands of policies. They had mapped out every task for maximum efficiency, like an assembly line. Of course, it was pretty boring. If I had still been there when they brought in computers to do the work, as they did a few years later, I doubt that I would have minded losing my job to automation. Of course, I didn’t know how to do anything else there, just that one thing, so there would have been no other job for me.

Doing the Right Thing
and Achieving All Your Goals at the Same Time
www.mariannepowers.com

Teach Everyone to Do Everything

2009-12-01T01:00:00.000-08:00

When I first started working, my job was laid out for me. I was told what to do and how and when to do it. I worked for an insurance brokerage. I worked in a big room with nine other people, but I didn’t have to worry about what anybody was doing but me. I typed residential homeowners policies. Other people typed other kinds of policies. They had to be perfect, because they were legal documents. The policies were pre-numbered so my supervisor had to log every one that was messed up (black marks for me). She checked them all thoroughly. I didn’t have a computer and a correcting typewriter wouldn’t have done me any good because there were two carbons, so I had to concentrate and be very careful.

Doing the Right Thing
and Achieving All Your Goals at the Same Time
www.mariannepowers.com

The Problem Is in the Procedure, Not the People

2009-11-28T01:00:00.000-08:00

Even though everyone in call center/claims group probably made both of these mistakes more than 100 times, we knew that it was an indication that there was a problem with the procedure, not with the people.

Doing the Right Thing
and Achieving All Your Goals at the Same Time
www.mariannepowers.com

Understand the People

2009-11-27T01:00:00.000-08:00

The provider pay-to address was something that could change from claim to claim, so we did need to pick that, but we requested and got an option added to our software so that the software displayed the locations in the claim, so that we could check to be sure the payment was going to the right place. Once we got used to looking at that new field, that mistake went down about 90%, but it is still a choice that a person has to make and we still get it wrong sometimes.

Doing the Right Thing
and Achieving All Your Goals at the Same Time
www.mariannepowers.com

Fix the Tools

2009-11-26T01:00:00.000-08:00

It was obvious that the software should have been smart enough to pick the correct provider level once you put in the provider, since that never changed and remembering is something that computers do very well. We agitated for that change with our software vendor and eventually got it in an upgrade, since we couldn’t pay for custom programming. That mistake doesn’t happen anymore.

Doing the Right Thing
and Achieving All Your Goals at the Same Time
www.mariannepowers.com

If Mistakes are Too Easy to Make, They Never Stop Making Them

2009-11-25T01:00:00.000-08:00

People got pretty good at doing what they had to do and, considering the circumstances, we did pretty well, but these mistakes were so easy to make, nobody ever really stopped making them, not even the people who had been there for years. New people really had a hard time. We figured out what would be needed to make it easier to do these tasks correctly.

Doing the Right Thing
and Achieving All Your Goals at the Same Time
www.mariannepowers.com

The Defects Are in the Tools, Not the People

2009-11-24T01:00:00.000-08:00

The two most common mistakes we made in the call center/claims group were paying at the wrong level (we had four levels of payment, depending on the credentials of the provider) and paying the wrong provider location. It was easy to make mistakes in these areas. We had to choose the pay level in the second screen of the claim entry, while the provider level only displayed on the first screen, so we had to remember what it was when we got to that field. The provider address didn’t show in the claim at all. In order send the check to the right location, the person who entered the referral, days or weeks before, would have had to pick it correctly when they set it up. Since the referral didn’t always go to the same address as the claim check, this made paying the claim to the right location something you hoped for rather than knew.

Doing the Right Thing
and Achieving All Your Goals at the Same Time
www.mariannepowers.com

Make It Easier to Do Correctly Than to Make a Mistake

2009-11-23T01:00:00.000-08:00

We tell people when they have errors or omissions, every time, at the time, and let them fix them. We are willing for people to make the same mistake or ask the same question 100 times. It hardly ever takes 100 tries for someone who is doing the work (and correcting the mistakes) to get it right. So, if the same mistake keeps happening over and over again, we start thinking about what is causing it. We think about alternative ways of accomplishing the goal and things we can do to make it easier to do the task correctly and harder to make the mistake.

Doing the Right Thing
and Achieving All Your Goals at the Same Time
www.mariannepowers.com

Let Them Decide How to Remember

2009-11-22T01:00:00.000-08:00

When our efforts to make it easier for everyone to do it right fail or there is no method that will work for everyone, we have to rely on the individual to do whatever will work for them. For them to do that, they have to know exactly what mistakes they are making, in what circumstances, and how frequently, and they need to know as soon as possible, preferably before they get into the habit of doing it incorrectly. People don’t usually enjoy being shown their mistakes (me, neither), but most people say they would rather know at the time, when it is just a small thing, when they can fix it, and when they can try to keep an eye out for it in the future, especially if someone tells them because they want them to be successful (me, too).

Doing the Right Thing
and Achieving All Your Goals at the Same Time
www.mariannepowers.com

Let Them Fix Their Own Mistakes

2009-11-21T01:00:00.000-08:00

We also try to help people remember what needs to be done. We do that by letting them know each and every time that it is not correct. It is not a punishment and there is no penalty except that they have to correct the error. The person who is checking or auditing the work just returns it to the person who did it every time and so does anyone who notices a mistake when they go to add the next referral or claim. Even though we know it’s just an oversight, we don’t fix it for them. We don’t wait until there are a certain number of them before we say anything. And, we don’t tell them that they “always” make that mistake sometime after the fact and not give them the examples.

Doing the Right Thing
and Achieving All Your Goals at the Same Time
www.mariannepowers.com

Set Up Checks or Audits

2009-11-20T01:00:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, we can think of a way to prevent mistakes in a certain procedure, such as making it a required or filtered field in the computer, but our software isn’t programmed to do that and having custom programming done would be too expensive for us. Then we have to set up checks or audits to make sure that the required information is entered correctly.

Doing the Right Thing
and Achieving All Your Goals at the Same Time
www.mariannepowers.com

Use Tools to Help Them Do It Correctly

2009-11-19T01:00:00.000-08:00

In that situation, we had to make it a little harder for ourselves, in order to make it easier for the patients. Usually, our software makes things easier for us. It has defaults so that the usual answer is automatically filled in, required fields that you can’t skip or default, filtered fields that require one of a limited number of answers, and pop-up reminders that some action is required when you enter certain data. In the beginning, I didn’t set those up, because they weren’t necessary if everyone did everything perfectly. Now, I use them whenever I can to make it easier to do it right. I use all the tools and techniques that my team and I can think of to make it easier to do it right.

Doing the Right Thing
and Achieving All Your Goals at the Same Time
www.mariannepowers.com

Make It Easier for the Person Doing It

2009-11-18T01:00:00.000-08:00

The medical office software I used for years required that you put in the guarantor information first. The guarantor was the person that the statement would be addressed to and the one who was responsible for the bill. The information sheet that I used to have people fill out also had the guarantor information first, to make it easier for us to put the information in the computer. But I found out that people want to give you information about the patient first. Apparently, that is the logical thing for most people. So, I rearranged the form, because I got tired of trying to follow the arrows they drew all over the form when they realized they had filled it out incorrectly, or having to correct the information I had already entered when I realized the name they had put down as the guarantor was really a kid and must be the patient.

Doing the Right Thing
and Achieving All Your Goals at the Same Time
www.mariannepowers.com

Make It Easier to Do It Right

2009-11-17T01:00:00.000-08:00

A sure sign that a procedure needs to be reviewed is when the procedure makes it easier to make a mistake than to do something right. You can see this most clearly when you are training new people, but you can also see it to a lesser degree with the people who are experienced in the procedure. If people make the same mistake over and over again, it could be because that is the most logical or intuitive way to do it. People can learn to do something illogically or counter-intuitively, but it is a constant struggle.

Doing the Right Thing
and Achieving All Your Goals at the Same Time
www.mariannepowers.com

If They Can't Get It Right in 100 Tries, There Must Be Something Wrong with the Procedure

2009-11-16T01:00:00.000-08:00

Standard procedures are great for almost any work you do with other people. When everyone has agreed on a way to do something, tested it, refined it, and put it in practice, the work can be done by anyone. Training and, therefore, the way the work is done, is consistent. The output is the same no matter who does the work. Everything doesn’t fall apart because the person who does that work is sick, on vacation, or leaves the group or the company. Still, one of the most important things about maintaining standard procedures is being able to adapt quickly to current conditions, and being willing to throw them out and start over when they don’t work.

Doing the Right Thing
and Achieving All Your Goals at the Same Time
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As Many Tries as You Need

2009-11-13T01:00:00.000-08:00

You need to give those you teach many tries to get it right, as many tries as it takes for you to figure out how to teach them. And you need to let those you teach know that they have many tries to get it right, so they don’t get anxious about having to do it right the first time or the second time. One hundred is a good number. You know you will find the right way long before you get to the hundredth way (and you probably don’t know that many). They know they will learn it long before then. And, a year from now, when they have done it correctly 10,000 times, it won’t matter how many tries or how long it took them to get it right.

Doing the Right Thing
and Achieving All Your Goals at the Same Time
www.mariannepowers.com

What Works for Most Does Not Work For All

2009-11-12T01:00:00.000-08:00

It may seem like it works in the opposite way, if you went to a public school like mine when you were a kid. It may seem like the teacher is only required to teach in a prescribed way, the same way for all students, and it is the student who fails if he doesn’t learn. Because that is what they say, the student failed. But the student does get another teacher or a tutor or special classes or special education, in recognition of the fact that that student can learn the same things, but needs a different way. So, I don’t think it is different. It’s just that our public schools have developed that way. They teach in a way that works for most students and only individualize the lessons when they have to. It may be an efficient way to get everyone through the required 12 years of school with the minimum possible expenditure of resources, but it stigmatizes and demoralizes those that it fails, instead of just acknowledging that no one-size-fits-all teaching could ever work for everyone. If your goal is to teach everyone who needs to know and is willing to learn, that philosophy of education will not help you achieve your goal.

Doing the Right Thing
and Achieving All Your Goals at the Same Time
www.mariannepowers.com

It Is the Teacher Who Fails

2009-11-11T01:00:00.000-08:00

When there is a teacher and a student and something that needs to be taught by the one and learned by the other, it is the teacher who has the obligation to figure out how to make that happen. The student’s only job is to keep trying, to ask for help when they need it, and to look for another teacher if this one can’t help them. If nothing is taught and nothing is learned, it is the teacher who fails, not the student. The teacher fails if he doesn’t find the right method for the student. The student only fails if he gives up.

Doing the Right Thing
and Achieving All Your Goals at the Same Time
www.mariannepowers.com

Help Them Feel Confident

2009-11-10T01:00:00.000-08:00

I was sitting with someone one day that I was training and she was having trouble remembering all the steps in the task I was teaching her. A few times, she even forgot a few that she had remembered previously. She turned to me with a disgusted look on her face. I thought of all the things I could say to her, but it seemed shortest and best to say, with confidence, “You know, this is going to seem really easy once you’ve done it a few hundred times.” She laughed and went back to practicing.

Doing the Right Thing
and Achieving All Your Goals at the Same Time
www.mariannepowers.com

They Will Use It Every Day

2009-11-09T01:00:00.001-08:00

The things I was teaching them were things they were going to use every day. It wasn’t going to matter that it took them two days instead of one, or even if it took them a week to learn it. Once they had learned it, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between the way they did it and the way someone that had picked it up right away did it. I knew from experience, they were going to be just as fast and accurate and self-assured once they had done it enough. And even though I considered myself to be very smart (and still do) and even though I had been the one to teach them, I knew that it wouldn’t be long before they would be better at it than I was.

Doing the Right Thing
and Achieving All Your Goals at the Same Time
www.mariannepowers.com