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By Melissa Calkins The countdown has begun. With October 1 on the horizon, hospice teams across the country are deep into training and testing—but preparation alone won’t guarantee success. The shift to HOPE isn’t just operational; it’s cultural....
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By Melissa Calkins and Ashley Espy Panic is in the air. With the HOPE assessment tool set to replace HIS, hospice teams are racing to...
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By Lynn Flanagan and Tina Gentry Leadership is not for the faint of heart! It demands adaptability, resilience, and empathy. We all know that when we...
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Joel Garr: 1/28/25 11:09 AM
One of the biggest worries hospices face today is the threat of a cyberattack. The healthcare industry is a prime target for cybercriminals due to...
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“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” Proverbs 16:3. We continue to utilize the practice of choosing One Word for a...
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It has been a busy and rewarding year for TCN podcasts. We have produced 28 podcasts this year with nearly 11,000 downloads! In total, we have...
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Lara McKinnis: 11/15/24 12:54 PM
This morning I woke up to two bears outside, a little cub sitting on our front steps eating the pumpkin that my daughter recently carved, the mom...
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Hey there, fellow perfectionist! Have you ever felt like you’re on a never-ending treadmill, chasing perfection in every aspect of your life? Whether...
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Sailboats only move when forces are in balance, when there is wind from above and lift from below. In life’s journey, we have two forces that require...
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When I first wrote this blog, I was at my parents’ home in South Louisiana with my family, visiting during spring break. It had been a couple of...
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What if I told you that there are three recruiting tips that are sure to make your life easier? Could it really be that simple? This is a three-part...
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Each year, I like to revisit the concept of a work-life balance and find this topic especially timely as we begin this new Spring season. I urge you...
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Dr. Millicent Burke-Sinclair: 3/14/24 12:54 PM
Step 3: STOP the Chatter and START the Courage. This is the third and final installment of our blog series. The first two installments: 1- Culture of...
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Dr. Millicent Burke-Sinclair: 2/8/24 8:25 AM
Moving Forward with Creating a Culture of Collaboration - Step 2: STOP Complaining and START promoting Curiosity. This is the second of three...
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Dr. Millicent Burke-Sinclair: 1/8/24 3:49 PM
How to create and sustain a high-performance culture where collaboration, curiosity, and courage promote endless possibilities. This is the first of...
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During my four decades of nonprofit service, I participated in countless conversations with board members, leadership teams, and employees on the...
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This post is long and several of you will not read it all. That will be ironic as part of what I learned is everyone's voice is important and you...
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A deep-throated growl dripping with fear and venom escaped the dog’s mouth as the man loosened the muzzle. Just as quickly, the man backhanded the...
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Are you a great problem solver? If you are, you likely find that problems stick to you like static cling. Like you, for many years, I could not...
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Innovations to Relieve Staffing Burdens and Restore Sacred Presence
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I can remember years ago reading an early newsletter put out by Stephen Covey and in an article, he had the following picture of a person with a...
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We have all had the experience where we receive the phone call that another nurse has called in when we are already short two nurses for the day....
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We are excited to announce that our podcast, TCNtalks, recently reached over 5,000 downloads! With this announcement, we would like to remind you of...
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The Power of Synergy, The dream team: Finance and Philanthropy Having spent almost thirty years in the nonprofit field, I have been asked more times...
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As a working parent with young children, I know firsthand how challenging it can be to balance the demands of work and home life. For many years, I...
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Edie Riddlespurger: 6/12/23 4:50 PM
Mondays often get a bad reputation as the start of a long workweek. However, imagine a workplace where employees genuinely look forward to Mondays,...
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Do you have any vacations planned this summer? Summer is here and so I truly hope you do. Stephen Covey coined the phrase, “Sharpening the saw,” many...
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I have spent nearly twenty years in healthcare focused on care delivery for patients with advanced and serious illness. Like many in my professional...
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If you were able to observe yourself, do you know what your question-to-statement ratio is on a daily basis? Generally, if your ratio is more...
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Recently, TCN hosted our quarterly Visioneering Council meeting. Justin Vajko, of Dialog, was the guest speaker and spoke about the importance of the...
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Christine Lau: 2/28/23 6:00 AM
Serious illnesses, such as heart disease, stroke, and kidney and lung disease are major public health concerns. These conditions not only have a...
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Anyone reading hospice news or involved in hospice billing or compliance these days knows that the current audit pipeline is overflowing with...
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One of Shakespeare’s most infamous lines is, “All the world’s a stage.” Many may read his flair for drama here, but I believe he was describing the...
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“Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction, and skillful execution; it...
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I am alarmed, and you should be as well: since the beginning of COVID, fewer Medicare Beneficiaries have accessed hospice services than historically...
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I wanted to revisit the idea of work life blend and reshare a couple of ways that I believe we can achieve a flow for work and life. We can all use a...
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Lara McKinnis: 8/31/22 12:58 PM
I grew up guided by the Lao Tzu quote: Watch your thoughts, they become your words; watch your words, they become your actions; watch your actions,...
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One of the biggest worries hospices face today is the threat of a cyberattack. The healthcare industry is a prime target for cybercriminals due to...
3 min read
Christine Lau: 6/17/22 8:32 AM
Juneteenth may be a relatively recent federal holiday, but its observance goes back much further. The holiday is also called Juneteenth Independence...
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A few years ago, I had the opportunity to listen to a panel of physicians, hospital discharge planners, and skilled nursing center leaders talk about...
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Teleios Collaborative Network, recently had four of their TCN member organizations in the top 50 on the Modern Healthcare Best Places to Work list....
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When I first wrote this blog, I was at my parents’ home in South Louisiana with my family, visiting during spring break. It had been a couple of...
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Executive leadership coaching is distinct from subject matter specialty and organizational coaching. While there are shared elements with consulting,...
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I am often asked, “Chris, which book should I start with if I want to learn more about leadership?”
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Recently, I watched the film Kung Fu Panda 2 with my family. At the beginning of the movie there is a scene where the Panda’s sensei catches a rain...
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As a proud graduate of Teleios University, I continue to use the leadership skills I developed in ways that are valuable not only to me but to my...
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Almost all of us have experienced a time when we wanted or needed something very specific. We talked about and told others what we wanted. Yet, when...
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Accountability, by definition, is a willingness to accept responsibility for one’s actions, and the results produced by those actions. The definition...
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Last month, I led TCN’s bi-annual Growth Immersion, a sales training offered exclusively to not-for-profit hospice providers. We had considerable...
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Christine Lau: 5/28/21 10:05 AM
Now what, indeed! We have explored this topic in our podcast and in Chris Comeaux’s part one of this blog. I encourage you to look at these resources...
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We are excited to introduce you to our guest blogger, Teressa Townes. Teressa is the Director of Finance and Patient Information Systems at one of...
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Dr. Millicent Burke-Sinclair: 5/14/21 3:59 PM
Imagine if your organization was fully able to live its mission with confidence and competence. Imagine that everyone in your organization was truly...
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Recently in TCN Talks podcast, I interviewed Christine Lau, RN, LCSW, APHSW-C, about the challenge of going from a peer to the leader of a team....
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"Volunteering is a chance for me to give back and hopefully make a difference. I am lucky to be able to put my organizational, and technological...
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Growing up in Minnesota, surfing was not a sport that was native to my geography; however, my love for skateboarding, snowboarding, and wakeboarding...
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Consider this – On April 6, you get a medical records request from a patient who asks for their records to be sent so they can access them on their...
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When I was a young auditor in my first job out of college, I had great mentor and managing partner.
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Lara McKinnis: 3/3/21 2:15 PM
Imagine each night after you brushed your teeth, you went to your favorite chair, sat down, closed your eyes, and saw yourself going through the day...
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Christine Lau: 2/24/21 9:00 AM
We celebrate World Cancer Day this month with record drop in cancer deaths for second straight year in U.S. The American Cancer Society’s annual...
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The audience for our TCNtalks podcasts is wide ranging as the sessions will appeal to hospice, palliative care, and other serious illness...
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Today, more and more organizations are opening their books to share their financial information with their employees. For some, this can be a...
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Rochelle LaGrow: 1/27/21 10:37 AM
How goes it, friends? I’m Rochelle and potentially a new face for you as part of our TCN team. While my time with TCN is my first foray into the...
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What is going on with our dedicated healthcare workers? Have you spoken with anyone who works in healthcare lately? Now that we are 10 months into...
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What a long, strange trip it’s been… I have always loved New Year’s Day, and certainly never more than this year! For me, it represents unlimited...
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Years ago, I had a PowerPoint slide that had these cool dials on it and the animation would make the dials move. I would use this slide as a metaphor...
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Whether you are a turkey-lover or practice a meat-free diet, chances are when you sit down to Thanksgiving dinner that stuffing is one of the...
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A few weeks ago, we conducted our fall TCN Leadership Immersion Course. We were thrilled to have over 80 leaders from six states participating, and...
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Since mid-March, I have heard many hospice leaders share that their organizations have been unable to continue strategic sales initiatives due to...
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Do you remember back a long, long time ago when a phone call was pretty much how you got things done?
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Hospices are on the hook for all items, services, and drugs related to the patient’s prognosis. Stated in CMS language: “…services Unrelated to the...
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Edie Riddlespurger: 9/18/20 9:00 AM
A couple of months ago I ordered my groceries online and went to pick them up as I have done a dozen times. I had ordered a bunch of fresh cilantro...
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It has been said that success is frequently determined by the ability to adapt and respond to the speed of change. In years past this concept has...
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Several years ago, I wrote a blog on the rhythms of life. It was the collective wisdom I have harvested over the years from mentors, books, and daily...
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Telehealth is here to stay!! By removing barriers of time and distance, and most recently to ensure the health and safety of our patients and...
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You may have seen our tribute to Dr. Lee Thayer several weeks back. We were honored to give an ode to him and his work as he passed on from this...
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NEWS ALERT!: COVID 19 lives for 3 days on surfaces! COVID 19 can spread 30 feet with a cough outdoors! Social distancing of 6 feet is not safe...
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Over the years, I have spoken with many people including foundation directors, development directors, CEOs and board members who have said that they...
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While shopping at Lowe’s this weekend I noticed something I had looked over many times before. I was shopping for blueberry and raspberry bushes for...
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I write this post somewhat reluctantly, but I feel compelled to do so because it is such a challenging time for our country. I am not reluctant out...
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“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo. "So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for...
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What in the world is going on? I am sure you have said those words these past two weeks, I know I have. Two weeks ago, my family and I were on Spring...
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Today, in the midst of the chaos and unpredictability we’re all experiencing, a friend shared an idea with me that impacted me deeply. He said that...
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What is the difference between a $2.2 million settlement, and a 110k fine? The answer is: an effective compliance program.
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I recently did a webinar on the topic of email: how we use it, and how to use it better.
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An organization’s financial accounting system has the potential to hold incredible amounts of useful data. It is like a storage building full of all...
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Charles Kettering said, “Every time you tear a leaf off a calendar, you present a new place for new ideas and progress”. Ketterling served as the...
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Across my years of having worked at the senior sales leadership level for hospice organizations, I have heard that "the Holiday Season is not a time...
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Special Events Risk Management “Legionnaires' Disease: 4 Deaths Linked to Hot Tub Display at NC Mountain State Fair” – CBS News “Hot Tub Companies to...
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If I know one thing it’s that my Grandma loves living in the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina. There is nothing that makes her happier...
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We look forward to the yearly Employee Engagement survey and shake our heads in wonder when the results point to “not enough communication from...
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Preceptorship: An evolving definition Preceptorships have been widely used in the allied health professions, and a strong evidence-base exists to...
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What We All Want We all want Americans with advanced illness to receive comprehensive, high-quality, person-and family-centered care that is...
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A grandchild’s wedding. A second honeymoon. One last trip to your favorite vacation spot. These are all moments that we want… and that our patients...
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As I shared in my last blog, I have come to believe there is a 7th Fundamental that should be part of everyone’s organization system: cause and...
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Compliance – that’s a word that causes many people in all types of industry to flinch. But in today’s heavily regulated healthcare world, it is a...
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Elaine has experience working as a palliative care RN in a hospital where structures and support are in place. She is excited to graduate with her NP...
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I have been asked several times over the past few months about crisis communication. Thank goodness in these instances there was not a real issue but...
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In 2005, I began promoting hospice services in my community because I thought, “I love hospice, and I can talk about our care all day long.”...
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Stop the presses: there is a 7th Fundamental! Thanks to the feedback several of you have given me on the last blog titled “The Interview”, which had...
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The Evolution of the Executive and Executive Assistant Relationship: The Ingredients. Arguably the most important aspect of the Executive and...
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The story of the day that changed my life and set me on my path to cause and purpose.
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Credentialing is a loaded term. It means different things to different people. If 10 different people were asked, "What is credentialing?" we would...
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This is the last installment of the 6 Fundamentals of every great organization system. In prior weeks, we covered the other 5 fundamentals: •...
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I am sure that all Americans awoke on the morning of April 22 and waited with bated breath for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI)...
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This is our 5th installment of the 6 fundamentals of every great organization system. Please read our prior blogs on the other 4 Fundamentals we have...
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What the heck is a Carve-in? It is the opposite of what Hospice providers have enjoyed for the past many years - the Carve-out! Currently, Medicare...
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We will take a break this week from the Fundamentals of Every Great Organization System and resume the series next week.
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A commitment to “lifelong learning” has often been touted as a critical attribute of both great leaders and followers. Lately, I have begun to wonder...
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Years ago, John Maxwell developed leadership lessons which he distributed via CDs. One of the lessons he taught, which I have never forgotten, is...
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Mrs. H. was surprised with her diagnosis of breast cancer that had spread to bone. Her oncologist recommended chemotherapy and she tried it. She...
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We are in a blog series for what I call the 6 Fundamentals of every great organization system. Our last blog focused on the second fundamental of...
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Low ROI, frustration, and an increased employee turnover rate are all not just common symptoms of a dysfunctional organization, they are also...
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"One can have no smaller or greater mastery than mastery of oneself." ― Leonardo da Vinci With the popular notion of “servant leadership” floating...
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Our current blog series focuses on what I refer to as: “The 6 fundamentals needed for a great organization system.” The last blog focused on the...
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The calendar the 1st fundamental of a great organization system. In our last blog we mentioned that every great organization system had 6...
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These are challenging times where it seems there is a dearth of leadership in every industry, especially healthcare, and a high performing...
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Michelle Webb, our TCN Chief Learning Officer, introduced to several of us a book called One Word that will change your life. Here is a short video...
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What if I could give you 10 additional years on your life, would you be interested? Well who wouldn’t right? Years ago, I heard a leadership lesson...
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HENDERSONVILLE, NC – The Teleios Collaborative Network, through its member organization Four Seasons, has received a $900,000 grant from The Duke...
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Have you ever tried to do something and you found that you did not have a system to approach it? Think of a bunch of chores you must get done at...
