Data analysis helps improve airline safety

Very strong article from the Wall Street Journal showing how airlines are using big data to analyze patterns and reduce injuries and errors.

Fighting like mothers and daughters

Original post:  June 30, 2015

As the father of two sons, I must say that I can't relate to this article. That said, my wife did confirm that there is a great deal of truth to this article in the Wall Street Journal. Why Mothers and Teenage Daughters Fight - WSJ discusses the shifting dynamics in the relationship between a mother and a daughter. This excerpt describes the phenomenon:

The most consistently fraught relationship among relatives is the mother-teenage daughter bond, therapists and family-dynamic experts say. The crux of the problem: A mother often sees her daughter as an extension of herself, while the teen is trying to develop her own independence and individuality.

A mother sometimes identifies much more closely with a daughter than a son, both physically and emotionally, experts say. She wants to protect her daughter from making the same mistakes she’s made. She wants to give her daughter opportunities she never had. She wants her daughter to like—and to be like—her.

Typically, an adolescent daughter wants none of this. She’s trying to separate from her mom, and she sees the protection as controlling. And she may view her mom’s attempted guidance as criticism or disapproval.

There are times at work when we might have differing perspectives and/or expectations. We might mistakenly believe that our team understands exactly what we are attempting to do--even if we haven't fully communicated it to them!

Here are some of the key recommendations for resolving our differences:

It’s important to reframe the argument. In a typical quarrel, a mother may tell her daughter not to see a certain boy; the girl will feel criticized and become defensive and the quarrel will escalate. Ms. Brateman suggests the mother ask the daughter how she feels instead of telling her what to do.

It can help to talk about patterns of fighting—then agree to do it differently. If an argument is escalating, moms should suggest putting the discussion aside and coming back when emotions are less heated.

While at first glance it may not seem as if there are a lot of similarities between the mother-daughter relationship, perhaps there might be some lessons for us after all!

OK, but how much is it?

Original post:  Nov 19, 2014

One remedy that is often proposed in healthcare is to make it more responsive to market forces. In theory, the customer (i.e., the patient) should make informed choices and select the most cost-effective care. Setting aside the situations where you have a complete inability to choose (e.g., an emergency like a heart attack or broken leg), you should select the lowest cost provider for your procedure. That's the theory. The practice is much more uneven.

KQED in San Francisco recently collaborated with a startup called ClearHealthCosts.com. The idea was to crowdsource the prices that people paid for specific medical procedures. Hundreds of people have shared their experiences. Here is a sample from the article:

We thought we would find variation, and indeed we did. In California, commercial insurers paid from $128 to $694 for a screening mammogram. In Los Angeles,one woman's insurer paid $600 more than the lowest-cost screening mammogram reported in the area. "I'm sure every woman who's had a mammogram had the exact same experience I did," this woman said. "It was a friendly technician, but I don't think that's worth maybe 600 extra dollars."

In lower-back MRIs, we found that for CPT code 72148, insurers paid from $467 to $1,567. But when we looked beyond commercial insurers, we found even greater variation — from a low of $255 to a self-pay price of $6,221 at an academic medical center. That $255 MRI was paid by Medicare, and was just a fraction of the facility's charge of $2,450.

But the variation doesn't stop there. Yet another person went to the same facility and was charged $603 for the same procedure, same CPT code. This patient had commercial insurance but paid the entire amount out of pocket, the patient wrote, since "I had not yet met my deductible."

While price is certainly a major factor in the equation, quality is also a key component. You won't save any money if the procedure that you have is ineffective and you have to have a return visit to fix the original work! Unfortunately, it's really difficult to compare and little data exists.

Here is the link to the full article:  In California, That MRI Will Cost You $255 — Or Maybe $6,221 : Shots - Health News : NPR

For more on this topic, here is a link to the Masachusetts law that went into effect January 1, 2014 which mandates that hospitals must reveal their costs up front:

Price shopping....for healthcare?

Here is a link to a WSJ article comparing prices in Southern California:  How much will that be?

Listen up

Original post:  Jul 28, 2014

There is an old saying that we were given two ears but only one mouth. The implication is that we should listen more than we speak. According to the Wall Street Journal, most of us need to work on our listening skills. Honing this critical ability can really improve our overall performance.

The Advisory Board put together a synopsis that covers the highlights of the article:

Shellenbarger cites a 1987 study that found most people only remember 10% of what was said in a face-to-face conversation after a brief interruption.

Sadly, say researchers, our listening skills have probably only declined in the digital age. A 2006 study of college students showed they spent about 24% of their time listening to others in individual or group conversations, down from 53% in 1980.

It goes on to explain why listening is so important:

Being a good listener is important in the workplace: A 2007 study of 3,372 workers in the Academy of Management journal found that managers' listening plays a large role in employee engagement. Specifically, employees who believe their bosses are not listening to them are less likely to offer helpful suggestions and new ideas. They are also more likely to become exhausted and quit, says another study.

How can we improve? Be aware of when we "tune others out":

For instance, she writes, some people fail to listen properly because they are focused on what they want to say next, while others filter the conversation based on preconceived assumptions or expectations about the other person. Julian Treasure, an author and speaker on conscious listening, compares listening with such filters to "listening from a kind of concrete bunker."

Here are some quick tips:

Communications skills coach Barbara Miller recommends doing a "brain dump" on paper before a conversation in order to acknowledge the thoughts that could distract you from the conversation. 

If all else fails, says Treasure, remember the acronym RASA:

• Receive the information by paying attention to the person;
• Appreciate what he or she has to say;
• Summarize what the other person said back to him or her; and
• Ask questions after the conversation is over (Shellenbarger, Wall Street Journal, 7/22).

Here is a link to the original WSJ article:  http://online.wsj.com/articles/tuning-in-how-to-listen-better-1406070727

This link is to the Advisory Board summary:  WSJ: You're probably a bad listener. Here's how to be better.| The Advisory Board Daily Briefing

How to take criticism well

Original post:  Jun 19, 2014

Over the course of our careers, we will run into situations where we do not perform as well as we had hoped. If we are lucky, we'll have a mentor who can point out where things went wrong and how to do better next time. The challenge then becomes ours. If we can stay calm and accept constructive criticism without becoming emotional, we might be able to use that advice to improve.

This article in yesterday's Wall Street Journal addresses that issue. Sue Shellenbarger discusses ways to develop a rare skill:  the ability to take negative feedback well. In her opinion, the potential payoff is huge:

It is a skill that requires practice, humility and a sizable dose of self-awareness. But the ability to learn from criticism fuels creativity at work, studies show, and helps the free flow of valuable communication.

Tempering an emotional response can be hard, especially "if you're genuinely surprised and you're getting that flood of adrenaline and panic," says Douglas Stone, a lecturer at Harvard Law School and co-author of "Thanks for the Feedback."

Here is the link to the full article:  "A Better Response to Criticism at Work"

Here are some tips from the printed article that do not appear online:

When you get negative feedback at work:

1. Don't get angry. The boss will become angry and mistrustful of you. You should calm down, meet again and apologize, and ask for examples or evidence.
2. Don't cry. All the boss will remember is the tears. You should ask for a follow-up meeting, apologize for being emotional and focus on specifics and next steps.
3. Don't deny it. The boss doubts your credibility. You should meet again, explain that you failed to see the big picture at first, and ask for specifics.
4. Don't blame others. The boss will lose respect for you. You should focus on yourself and look for something you can learn from the feedback, then meet again.

Here are some samples of things you should say:

1. "I want to be sure I understand. Is this what you're saying?"
2. "Do you mind if I give that some thought and we'll talk later?"
3. "This comes as a surprise. Could you give me some examples?"
4. "I hadn't considered looking at it that way. Could you tell me a little more about how you see that?"