How to make even health insurance fun.

Here is the e-mail I got from the smartest health insurance company I've ever seen:

Because doctors don't offer double-coupon Wednesdays.

You can cut coupons for groceries. You can cut coupons for oil changes. But we don't recommend cutting coupons for medical procedures. And to make sure you never have to look for a doctor offering weekly specials, there's Tonik. Tonik is simple, affordable health coverage from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia. You get three plans to choose from, and chances are one's going to be right for you. If you're under 30, we can help cover you for $65 to $196 a month. Prices are subject to change and vary depending on your age, gender, where you live, and your medical history. Know someone who always keeps an envelope of coupons with them? Forward this to them.

They got my business and I am sure a number of other younger individuals who would not have taken the time to get health insurance. With plans like The Thrill Seeker, The Part-time Dare-Devil and The Calculated Risktaker I feel far more connected to their understanding of who I am as a customer. They are having fun with their business and with me. I don't want to sign up for a Differed Medical Plus package with a $500 deductible. That's not me. Oh but a Calculate Ristaker, that's more my style. $130 a month with a $40 co-pay? Sure I can swing that. It doesn't matter that the deductible is $1500. It sounds like ME. It has personality.

What kind of personality does your business have? Would you want to "go out with" your business?

The Opposite of Happiness is...

Boredom. Not sadness. This is taken from "The 4-Hour Workweek" which, while I am thoroughly enjoying the read, had some flaws and some brilliant revelations. More to follow in a complete review for BAHRA.

One of the shining elements of the book is its focus on making your NOW enjoyable instead of waiting for someone else to do it for you, or for some magical chance element (lottery, retirement, inheritance, leprechaun, etc.)

We spend far too much time in our jobs to be so miserable all the time. And should you be unable to reduce the actual time you spend in your office to 4 hours a week, perhaps you should think about transforming your dreaded drive to work, and your cubicle of desolation, to places you actually like to be.

Layoffs & Limp Logic

I'm trying to figure out where the logic is when companies make their layoff decisions. It seems companies cut a swath through the HR and training divisions early in the cutting. Aren't these the people they hired to help the rest of their employees feel better, work better and stay with the company? These are the people that have a personal desire to see your people be better at what they do, it's part of their make-up. So why get rid of them? Isn't that like cutting off the proverbial nose?

I understand the bottom-line logic. HR & Training produces no revenue. But neither does a dis-satisfied employee. I'm betting that those people working in the company that just saw their friends "let go" are not happy people. They are taking the newly released out for drinks and sitting around complaining about the company. Is that the kind of energy they want to foster?

I'm just trying to get my head fully around the idea so I can unravel it. With layoffs come change, instability, new responsibility and confusion. Wouldn't you want to have the best team you could, on hand, to make sure you can keep the remaining talent you have left? I know I would.

Change is the only constant...

He speaks yet I do not hear.
What I hear he does not speak.
The message is wrong.
He's insincere.
He sounds just like her.

She rambles on my voice mail.
She sends empty essays to my inbox.
The message is wrong.
She's insincere.
Her words, to me, are stale.

Everyday I hear these cheers.
Everyday I am disappointed.
The message is wrong.
They're insincere.
They've been saying the same for years.

Someday I will believe again.
Someday I will have faith.
A message that's true.
A message, sincere.
Someone with visions of change.

-Timuri

I wrote this piece back in February of 2003 while I was sitting in a "very important" meeting at Xerox. The words being spoken just were not penetrating my head, mainly because they were the same words I had heard at every other "important" meeting for years.

What happened to the people who wanted to make a difference? When I was hired with the company we watched videos about the visionaries that started it all off. The desire to create new and useful technology that would alter the business world. I spent the next few years being told not to rock the boat. Quit trying to change the business. Why? Isn't that what made us a great company in the beginning?

I worked at it for close to a decade and realized that I was fighting a war from the wrong side. The change I wanted to see happen was possible, but I needed to be in a different position to accomplish it. There is a great line from Utah Phillips, in his piece "Korea" he says, "I realized right then, that it was all wrong. That it all had to change. And that change had to start with me." So here I am, now armed with ideas and concepts that can and will change the businesses and people they touch.

Revolution destroys what is. I am not interested in this. But I am a fan of evolution, of embracing the changes that are happening around us. The challenge before me now, is finding those visionaries that want to see their businesses and people change in this way.