How to Save 25-50% from Previous Years Claims

I am almost as excited as our clients to announce that after the pass of the first quarter we’ve been able to demonstrate to our new self-funded clients a savings of up to 50% from the previous year’s quarter on behavioral health and substance abuse claims.

Providing our clients with cost-containment mechanisms to counter the effects of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act has been, in their words, “a major relief.”

For some groups this isn’t a big deal.  But if it is for you – ASK ME HOW?

Posted By Ian H.

(303) 953-4083
Sales, MINES and Associates

Psychology of Performance – 12 Role and Performance

The social psychology of role has been extensively researched in psychology. Elliot Jacques in his book, Social Power and the CEO, discussed how role in organizations, clarity regarding accountability and authority, and cognitive complexity (Jacques refers to it as strata) account for higher performance more than other constructs such as personality, motivation and so forth. In addition, role is more predictive of behavior than the previously mentioned constructs.  Role is defined in Jacques’ business applications as front line producers, supervisors, managers, vice presidents and CEOs. Those with the budget authority are accountable to the level above them. When roles are collapsed (one person from a higher role also functioning in a lower role) performance can suffer in the organization due to a number of issues that arise such as “being spread too thin”, confusion from subordinates regarding which role, therefore, which authority their boss is operating from, which accountability should be assigned to the person by upper management, having title with no authority (e.g., being a director, an assistant vice president, assistant medical director, captain in a fire department (leads the team, no authority to deselect, veto a new hire, no budget). These problems result in inaction, misallocation of resources, consensus decision making (one of the worst ways to run a business as decisions are political, not informed per se for better business results), poor morale on the part of those who appear to have authority and do not, yet are still held accountable for results. There are many other problems in ill defined vertical accountability and authority. The senior staff in the MINES BizPsych division regularly consult on managerial hierarchy and organization design problems related to the above problems.

 The second area that is associated with numerous referrals relates to cross functional (dysfunctional) communication between departments related to accountability and authority. I will address this topic in my next blog.

Have a day filled with clarity in your role (s)!

Bob

Robert A. Mines, Ph.D.

CEO & Psychologist

MINES and Associates

Psychology of Performance – 11 What happens when the C level is impaired?

As a business psychology firm, we get to consult and intervene with top performers in the C-Suite whose performance has dropped. There are many factors related to the performance drop. For this blog I am addressing those at the C level who are using enough alcohol that it affects their performance in overt and subtle ways. More than two drinks a day puts a person at risk for health and behavioral problems. It is not uncommon for one a C level person to get referred to us who is drinking 4-8 oz of alcohol per day and they report that they do not have a problem. How this shows up at work comes in the form of “fuzzy thinking”, just not as sharp as they used to be; missed deadlines (which at this level can be disasterous for the company; health markers deteriorting, which creates succession concerns; interpersonal behavior becomes unskillful or unwholesome such as kissing employees who do not want to be kissed, irritable outbursts, avoidance of difficult decisions; behavioral risks such as driving while under the influence, emabarrassing the organization at public functions. The costs to the company and the individual can be enormous. The good news is that the majority of alcoholics who are employed can get into treatment, return to sobriety and regain their previous level of performance. The motivation to get into recovery is provided by the employer requiring them to get help or lose their job. We have seen many successes. If you think you may fit any of these descriptions please contact your employee assistance program or if you do not have one, call us, we will help you get treatment.

Remember, I like you.

Bob

Robert A. Mines, Ph.D.

CEO & Psychologist

Mines and Associates

Psychology of Performance – 10 Sean White

Sean White won the gold medal at the X games. How he did it was an amazing testimony to perseverance and facing the failure of his practice run. My description can not do service to how much pain he must have been in physically and how vulnerable he may have been psychologically (all of us would have been when you see the video). Please go to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygOIy7b9mR8

Sean White went back and did the same sequence again so he would not get a fear response. He succeeded the second time and went on to nail the sequence in his first run. That run was good enough for the gold medal.

This is a perfect example of the old cowboy psychology of getting back on your horse after falling off. We need to face our negative cognitions related to performance, learn how to relax and be centered and execute one more time.

Remember: I like you

Bob

Robert A. Mines, Ph.D

CEO & Psychologist

Psychology of Performance – 9

 

How are you doing with your goals and intentions for the new year? At this point, the enthusiasm for the new year may be starting to slip due to unexpected events interfering, not enough “buffer” built into the execution plan, perfectionistic beliefs or all or none thinking sabotaging your decisions to execute, old thought patterns and self-limiting beliefs becoming the default again. These are normal experiences resulting in more of the same unless they are persistently challenged. 

It is time to evaluate the initial start and make refinements in your goals, plan and thinking. Worst case; remember 10 percent of something is better than 90% of nothing when it comes to making change and performing better. 

Have a day filled with loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, equanimity and impeccable sobriety, 

Robert A. Mines, Ph.D. 

CEO and Psychologist

Psychology of Performance – 8

As the new year approaches, this is often a time for people and organizations to review their performanace in the past year. How did you do compared to the goals you set? What did you do? What did you accomplish? What factors are interdependent with your success? What factors were interdependent with under performance or failure? What psychological autopsy do you need to do on the outcomes that were less than optimal as well as the successes? This might include a review of your assumptions, skills, systems, strategies, tactics and the “messiness” factors associated with resources, people, external events, internal events, resiliency and execution. The adherence and relapse information is also relevant on this point. The outcome is to learn what you can and move on in 2010 with a higher probability of success.  Where your mind goes, the energy goes…so set goals that are worthy of your attention and your organization’s attention.

Have a Happy New Year filled with prosperity, optimal health and equanimity.

Robert A. Mines, Ph.D.

CEO & Psychologist

Psychology of Performance – 7

I have the opportunity to observe and participate with businesses and organizations going through growth and contraction. In either scenario, execution is essential. What makes it so interesting from a psychological perspective is the role beliefs and assumptions play in the analysis, planning and execution. The beliefs and assumptions are often associated with a variety of emotional states that the leaders, managers, supervisors and employee experience under either scenario. Yesterday, I had a conversation with a friend who said he wished he did not worry as much as he did during his very successful career. I had a colleague who is a risk manager and is worries about executing on a very aggressive growth plan. I have other colleagues who have laid off significant numbers of their staff due to the impact on the recession and experience depression and anxiety. In each case, the negative emotional states can can contribute to inefficiencies or delays in the execution of the plan. As one cognitive perspective says “Suffering comes from attachment”. One needs to present and nonattached while performing and executing on a plan. Look deeply into this and see if you are limiting your execution in some way.

Have a day filled with equanimity,

Robert A. Mines, Ph.D.

CEO & Psychologist

Mines and Associates

Psychology of Performance – 6 Impeccable Sobriety

Impeccable sobriety is a phrase I first ran across in Carlos Castaneda’s work. To paraphrase, it is doing nothing that detracts you from reaching your goal. In the psychology of performance this is a powerful concept. We visualize what we want to achieve, see a process/plan for getting there, identify the resources we need to get there, attain the resources, and start. Impeccable sobriety implies that we do not deviate from this course. What happens to most people is that they run low on resources (i.e., dont get enough sleep and are too tired, did not work out and have less stamina, drank and were unfocused, did drugs, overate, let their high risk tendencies get them into situations that were not on track, let their risk aversive tendencies prevent them from effective action, let their all or none thinking get them into a relapse or untenable position, and so forth).  In Castaneda’s world, having less than impeccable sobriety for a shaman or an apprentice, would most likely get the person killed. What about your world, your dreams, goals and aspirations?

Have a day filled with compassion, sympathetic joy, loving kindness, equanimity and impeccalble sobriety.

Robert A. Mines, Ph.D.

CEO & Licensed Psychologist

Mines and Associates

6 tips for lazy workers to get ahead

Some great advice from Anthony Balderamma at CareerBuilder.com

Posted by Ian Holtz, Sales Consultant 9/28/09

On a recent flight I sat next to a businessman who told me that, even at that young age, his children were exhibiting very different personalities.

He saw signs of his wife’s overachieving tendencies in their son. In his daughter, he saw himself. In the first grade she was getting lectured for not applying herself enough. She, too, was a slacker.

He was frustrated by her slacking ways, but he also sympathized because she showed traits of his business mindset.

“She does her own little cost-benefit analysis,” he said. “She realizes that she can do just enough to get by and use the rest of that time for playing and having fun.”

I had never thought of slacking off in those terms, but he was right. I’ve known my share of slackers, and most of them are intelligent people who could easily upstage everyone else’s efforts if they applied themselves a bit more. They knew that. Yet, while everyone was in panic mode trying to get ahead, the slackers knew how to fulfill their obligations, get decent marks and enjoy a relatively stress-free existence.

I’m not saying we should all strive to be slackers. The balance between laid back and high strung workers is probably beneficial to everyone. But in this culture where we’re constantly being told to be better than everyone at everything, slacking off can be the right way to go for your health and your career.

Once upon a time work was a busy place. You showed up, worked hard, stayed late during your busiest periods and then went home.

Today, many people don’t escape work. Before they even arrive at the office, they’ve already sent a dozen e-mails from their phones and held teleconferences with people all over the country. Once you’re actually at work, things are even crazier.

The workplace is different today than it was 10, 20 and 30 years ago, but you should be able to pull back in some areas. You don’t need to overextend yourself to the point that you never relax.

Here are some ways you can be a “slacker” at work and benefit from it:

E-mail can wait. No, really, it can. You don’t have to answer an e-mail the moment it pops up on your screen. Unless you’re waiting for that one message that could make or break your career, you should designate time to check e-mails so that you don’t get distracted while doing other tasks. You can even disable the new message icon and noise alert to help with this.

Saying ‘no’ won’t get you fired. If the boss or someone comes to you with a task that’s part of your core job duties, by all means accept it. If you’re drowning in work, however, telling co-workers that you just can’t get to their request right now won’t necessarily hurt you. If you tactfully explain that you’d like to help them but you’ve got too much on your plate shows you care about the quality and promptness of your work.

Don’t multitask. The ability to simultaneously talk on the phone, send an e-mail and heat up the meatballs for the monthly potluck is an admirable quality but not necessarily the most beneficial. Multitasking has become the de facto approach to daily operations in many workplaces. The problem is that we often end up doing a little of everything and never making much progress on any one task.

Give yourself a break. Literally, just get away from work for five minutes. Take a walk around the floor or step outside for some fresh air. Without Saturday and Sunday off, you’d probably go a little stir-crazy. Think of brief breaks throughout the day as small-scale versions of weekends. You’ll return with a clear head and produce better quality work.

Don’t eat lunch at your desk. Eating at your desk can be an occasional necessity, either because you’re close to a deadline or you’re in a productive zone that you don’t want to interrupt. Having your lunch in front of a computer every day, however, doesn’t give your eyes or your mind time to relax. You might feel like a slacker if you’re the only one taking your sandwich outside for 30 minutes, but your mental health is worth it.

Schedule some “me” time. Go into your calendar and block off a period of time for whatever work you need to do without interruption. Treat that time as if it were an important appointment with your boss and consider it non-negotiable. If someone tries to schedule a meeting with you, tell him or her that you’re busy but can try for another time. If possible, book a conference room so you won’t be interrupted by a chatty co-worker or a phone call.

Psychology of Performance – 5

In past posts I have discussed various concepts such as where your mind goes the energy goes, beliefs and assumptions, relaxation techniques, managing stress for optimal performance and other techniques. Today, I want to discuss the role of curiousity and non-attachment in performance. When you awaken, do you start your day with a sense of curiosity or dread? Today’s Bronco/Bengal football game was a perfect example of being curious, nonattached to the outcome and realizing that life presents us opportunities to perform that we could never plan for. The Broncos were behind 6-7 with 38 seconds left. They were on the 14 yard line, had one incomplete pass and attempted a second. The pass was tipped away from the primary receiver and a second receiver from the Broncos was in the area. He caught the ball and ran 86 yards for the go ahead touchdown. The Broncos won the game.  Each day we get to train/prepare for opportunities that may occur tomorrow. Being curious and nonattached to outcome allows us to perform to our best and the outcome may not be in our hands as the Broncos and Bengals found out today. This is the case in business and our personal lives as well as sports.

Have a day filled with equanimity,

Bob

Robert A. Mines, Ph.D.

CEO & Licensed Psychologist