Quality or Excellence?

 Which one will it be?  

When it comes to choosing between quality and excellence, you have to understand what each of these terms means and how they apply to the situation. Quality is important, Deming is the grandfather of TQM. movement. He is most known for his work in Japan with Toyota.  Quality is defined as  “the standard of something as measured against other things of a similar kind; “  Quality ensures that customers get their money's worth, and businesses can compete in the marketplace.  

On the other hand, excellence is a higher standard that involves pushing the boundaries of what's possible and achieving exceptional results. If you want to be a leader in the field and stand out from the competition, then striving for excellence is the way to go. By putting in the time and effort to achieve both quality and excellence, you can build a reputation for delivering exceptional service that meets the highest standards. 

Don't settle for mediocrity, choose excellence and strive for the best possible outcome. With excellence as your focus, you'll be able to achieve results that are truly exceptional and stand out from the competition. So, whether you're a provider or a direct support professional striving for success, make excellence your priority and see the amazing results you can achieve.

Certain Uncertainy

 One thing we can be certain of is that uncertainty will find its way into our lives at any given moment. Some of that uncertainty is driven by us, other uncertainty is forced upon us. 

If you struggle with uncertainty and change ask yourself these three questions. 

How is my thinking? 

  If we dwell on the uncertainty we often end up changing our thinking about what is possible.  If you find that uncertainty is consuming your thoughts, take some time and focus on growing through this season.   

You will have to "do the work" to move out of the dwelling stage to focus on the here and now, today. 

 

Am I focusing on the present? 

Focus on just today, each thing you must do today, and don't dwell on tomorrow. Finish today with all the "WINS" that you can muster. Eat that healthy lunch,  skip that afternoon soda, and take a walk with your family or friends after work. Stop and let the sunshine on your face, Don't let today pass without.

What does this make possible? 

Some of the greatest stories of human triumph have come out of some of the greatest losses. When we shift our thinking from fear to possibility a whole new world opens up. Remember to ask questions to gain clarity. 

Begin dreaming with your eyes wide open. Make a list of what is positively possible. Review it every day. 

                                        

How you shift your thoughts to embrace uncertainty will be the greatest factor in how you can grow through uncertainty. 

Remember not to fight the old but build the new. 

Monday is here.

 I want to share a previous blog post for a perspective of where we have been. and where we could be. 

 

In the fall of 2010, I was privileged to be part of the conversation about the Nebraska Direct Support Professional Network and moving toward a registered/credentialed workforce. 

The only question was how much will it cost to hire a Direct Support Professional? 

Let's take a look at some of the costs associated with having a "professional" do the job. 

Let us say that your car needs the brakes fixed, new pads, rotors turned, and maybe a new master cylinder. 

Your neighbor will do it for the cost of parts and a six-pack of Bud Light. 

The local certified mechanic costs $120.00 per hour plus the parts. 

You choose the low-cost option. 

Fast forward, Monday morning on your way to work, brakes fail, total car, cost $ 38,000. 

Is the most important question, when providing support, for one of the most vulnerable populations "How much will it cost"? 

When looking for that direct support person, consider the cost of a true professional, Ethical action, demonstrating personal growth, displaying professional development, and excellence in practice. 

The true cost of not having professionals in place? 

Lives wasted, people abused, neglected, and abandoned! 

What will the true cost be when Monday comes?

Resolutions, Goals and Projects

We have successfully slid into the last half of January 2019 without batting an eye, barely noticing how fast this month has gone.  What January of a new year traditionally means are new resolutions, goals, promises to make changes and this is the week that 78% of us have quit on ourselves already. 

As Direct Support Professionals, we are nose deep in goals all career long. Not our goals, but the goals of those people that we have chosen to serve and support.  We have to write new goals, track performance data, write objective information for other people to review. We are charged with collecting enough information to show that the person we are supporting is making progress. 

What about you?  Do you take the time to set a goal for yourself? This second half of January I want to challenge you to develop one goal/project that you have wanted to accomplish for a long time. Is it a course at the local community college, is it that last ten pounds, climb Mount Everest, run a marathon? 

You know how to write the goal, now start thinking about the format. First up are DUMB Goals.

If you are not familiar with D.U.M.B., Brendon Burchard teaches this concept of developing goals.

Goals that are:

Dream-Driven, Uplifting, Method-Friendly  and Behavior-Driven

A great starting point

If you are in Nebraska you know that we are charged with writing S.M.A.R.T. Goals for the people we serve. 

Specific, Measurable, Achievable,  Relevant and Timely

Easy right?  As a Direct Support Professional,  the goals you propose and write should not only be S.M.A.R.T. they should be S.M.A.R.T.E.R.  They should always be ETHICAL and you should always get them RECORDED

Now that you have looked at the DUMB and SMART goals consider the STRETCH Goal.

Setting a STRETCH Goal is a push goal. It is a goal that you aren't sure that you could master but if you implement all the techniques that go along with writing a goal you will get it accomplished. Small incremental steps, objective data, timelines/deadlines and most of all that team of people who will support you, push you and stretch you all the way to your goal. My STRETCH Goal for 2019 - 4 paid speaking engagements. 

What will it be for you in 2019?  

How far are you willing to stretch? 

The world will look so very different. to you 

from the achieving end of you STRETCH goal.

 Let's get moving. 

Share your goal with us, we will cheer you on! 

The Group Home Look.

It used to be permed hair, no beards, no individuality. Just convenience of staff. No fuss no muss.

Now it appears that our convenience may have gotten even more convenient.

Couch potato wear and bed head appears to be the norm for people coming to work from a congregate living arrangement.

What a stark difference when comparing the appearance of people who remain in their family home.

 Do we just not notice those things? Or is it that we just don't value the people that we serve?

How do you like your eggs?

Appears to be a simple enough question. The first time that I recall hearing this was in the movie The Runaway Bride. Ike Graham(Richard Gere) was asking Maggie Carpenter(Julia Roberts) how she liked her eggs. Maggie was unsure since she had accepted the preferences of her future husbands. This question set her on a quest of self discovery.

I was reminded last week, having spent the day with NADSP Executive Director Joe Macbeth as he trained a room of DSP's in the Code of Ethics, of the simple yet so telling fact that we as DSP's don't know people  until we know such seemingly simple things as how they like their eggs.

With those thoughts rolling through my head, I drive the Nebraska I-80 corridor, headed home. Back to the day to day business of supporting people.

Frustration creeps in as I watch the steps of on-boarding a new DSP, the required training, the background checks, competency, side by side training with a Peer Mentor, the excitement of the person served to finally have a DSP to support them, the excitement of the DSP to begin supporting.

What I see with my new egged eyes is a person served, bending to please the new DSP in their life, the new DSP excited to try all sorts of new things(been there, done that, honey,I've been in the system 70 years ) with and for the person. Whats next, soon the bending will stop, the person served will find their true center, be frustrated, angry,  and fire us all. The DSP will most likely feel the same way,  "things were going so good, and I don't know what happened. I guess I can't support this person anymore."  The cycle continues.

My challenge in all of this, to find an effective process so all of us know people better and ensure that the next person walking through the support door has this information straight up front.

Back to the idea board.

In the Batting Cage

Have you  ever had the opportunity to spend some of your youth in the batting cage?
Maybe it was a required part for your participation in the team, spend two hours a week in the batting cage.
Were you prepared when coach said your in next.
You knew what was coming. Coach set the speed. Slow at first. By the end of season, balls were being pitched to you at 90 miles per hour, and you were swinging for the fence.

Today in the Nebraska DHHS I/DD system it feels like we are in the batting cage.
One exception, we dropped the bat.
Balls are still coming  at speeds exceeding 90 mph.
We can no longer dodge.
Some of us are battered, bruised and bloody.
Some of us are beaten.
Other of us are broken.
We continue to move toward change.
Some of us will heal, and go on.
Others will not survive the hits they have taken.