Monday, February 2, 2015
 

Resolution Revolution

by Marcia Simon, APR

MSE Public Relations

How many New Year resolutions have you broken so far? How about the one about not making resolutions?

Try as we might to avoid this annual self-guilt trip, we all seek improvement. It's part of the human spirit. If we worked in an environment where nothing ever changed or got better, people wouldn't stay. The reason NESHCo conferences are so popular is because we want to be better communicators and leaders.

Here are five things you can do to improve your work psyche:

1. Declutter -Wrap up each day by getting your desk in order so you can start the next morning with your priority project in front of your nose. Stay organized to remove mental clutter. Set up an effective communication plan for social media and allocate a set amount of time.

2. Wear someone else's shoes. Whether an employee, a client, or your target audience, consider their needs. Understand why solving someone else's problem can lead to your success. Corporate responsibility is a philosophy. Remember the old saying, "You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." Be nice.

3. Take a risk. It builds confidence, expands opportunities, and takes you away from the status quo. In other words, it helps you create work that is extraordinary. This may be as simple as taking your message to a new audience.

4. Escape the office. If the president of the United States can find time to exercise and take vacations, so can you. A morning walk, a half-hour in the gym or a weekend in paradise gives you time to think and gets your juices flowing, and you usually come back with a smile on your face.

5. Update technology. You can't master everything but you CAN gain new insight by spending a little time with analytics, new social media platforms for your demographic, software that helps you work more efficiently, or the endless world of mobile apps.

Little tweaks - quarterly, monthly or weekly - keep us tuned in to the people we are here to serve as we further develop our professional skills and a healthy work climate.

Wishing you a happy, healthy and prosperous 2015!

Marcia Simon is principal of MSE, a public relations company specializing in healthcare and technology. Connect with Marcia via Facebook, Twitter or send email to [email protected].

Nominations open for Evans Houghton Award

By May Kernan, APR

I was enjoying the Lamplighter dinner festivities blissfully unaware when something said by presenter Keith Fontaine, Hartford Health Care marketing executive and 2012 Evans Houghton Award recipient, piqued my attention.  Look alive, May, I thought. He could be talking about you.  I looked around the table at my dear colleagues, a few of whom had tears in their eyes, and I heard my name being called.   As I walked to the podium, I saw my life my professional life pass before my eyes. 

I always thought the reward for a lifetime of work was the work itself. I was wrong.  There is no greater reward than the acknowledgment of your peers in the form of a career achievement award. 

This is the intent behind the New England Society for Healthcare Communications (NESHCo) highest award - the Evans Houghton Award - which is given in recognition of exemplary performance as a practitioner, leader and mentor in the field of health care communications.  It is named in honor of Evans F. Houghton, one of NESHCo's founders and esteemed directors, whose untimely death 

Who should be nominated? Those who: in 1975 was memorialized with creation of this award the same year.  It has been awarded 34 times to pay tribute to some of the New England's finest communications professionals, and it is our hope that the distinguished judging panel of former honorees will select one more deserving recipient to honor at the Spring Conference in May. 

• Have made 'above-and-beyond' contributions to the field of health care communications.
• Served as a teacher, mentor, role model.
• Have become distinguished leaders in their professional work and the community.

NESHCo Board or committee service is not a prerequisite for nomination. Full details about the Evans Houghton Award and the nominating process are found on the NESHCo website [live link].  Nominations are being accepted now through April 1, 2015.  

Think about those who have made a difference in your career.  What a great way to repay them than with the recognition of their peers throughout New England!

For more information, please contact May Kernan, committee chair, at [email protected]. Or visit the Evans Houghton page on the NESHCo website. 

May Kernan is the senior vice president for marketing communications for the Care New England Health System based in Providence, RI.