Month: September 2012

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Superbugs – a Hospital-Bred Threat

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Antibiotic-resistant bacteria raise deadly crisis management questions

There is no arguing the fact that modern medicine is saving lives every day. Unfortunately, there is also a downside. By making the use of certain medications, specifically antibiotics, extremely prevalent, we are creating new and deadly “superbugs” that threaten to wreak havoc on unsuspecting hospital patients.

Think we’re exaggerating? You won’t after you read this quote discussing the intense measures taken by staff at a National Institute of Health Clinical Center in 2011, from a Washington Post article by Brian Vastag:

As a deadly infection, untreatable by nearly every antibiotic, spread through the National Institutes of Health’s Clinical Center last year, the staff resorted to extreme measures. They built a wall to isolate patients, gassed rooms with vaporized disinfectant and even ripped out plumbing. They eventually used rectal swabs to test every patient in the 234-bed hospital.

Still, for six months, as physicians fought to save the infected, the bacteria spread, eventually reaching 17 gravely ill patients. Eleven died, six from bloodstream superbug infections.

What’s even more frightening is the fact that the NIH kept the outbreak under wraps for nearly a year, finally releasing not an apology, but a scientific paper detailing the methods used to track the movement of the superbug Klebisella pneumoniae. Apparently, CDC rules do not require mandated reports on this particular bug, and the NIH chose to throw its moral obligations out the window and stay mum.

This outbreak was certainly not the only one of its kind. Hospitals across the country have been encountering strains of bacteria that simply do not respond to antibiotics for more than a decade. Reality is, a threat of this measure is something that simply cannot be managed properly without prior crisis management planning covering both operational and communications response. Every medical facility, be it hospital, nursing home, or pediatrician’s office, absolutely must prepare for a superbug outbreak. Because of the often large number of employees and numerous complex procedures already in place, this is a crisis that begs to be simulated and have its response practiced regularly and thoroughly. Lives, quite literally, hang in the balance.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., an international crisis management consultancy, author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training, and co-host of The Crisis Show. Erik Bernstein is Social Media Manager for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

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Charts And The Technical Writer

Colleagues going through a chart survey

One of the most essential components of a document is charts. As Technical Writers, we always write concisely, and clearly, but there will be times, when we need the assistance of charts to communicate what was written. Whether it’s for qualitative or quantitative explanations we sometimes need charts to truly present the whole picture. There are many types of charts.

  • Graphic Charts are great at immediately presenting visual quantitative analyses at one glance. We use bar, pie, line, graph, spacial charts to show percentages, amounts of data, comparisons, changes in data, compositions, etc.
  • Charts are effective for organizational charts by displaying the chain of command within a company. They are also known as hierarchical charts when we need to describe data structures.
  • Pyramid shaped charts are used to show relevancy (most to least valuable assets), how one moves from top to bottom, or for showing relationships of how one element is connected to another.
  • Gantt charts are used for scheduling project start and finish dates (managing project time lines), problem areas, different tasks, historical events and how one project might lead to another or intersect.
  • Flow charts show how one occurrence leads to another. It clearly defines what occurs at various stages of an event. As an example, for any complex process, break it down into components. For each component, you can again simplify it further. When the images cannot fit on a sheet of paper or on one screen, you can use numbers or alphabets to point to another location to continue the diagram.

Charts are one the most common graphics. The type of chart you are going to use depends on what you need to define, explain or outline to the audience. Make sure it’s applicable, meaningful, and clear. Some graphic designs are more flexible than others. As a simple example, to show percentages, a pie chart would be appropriate, but you could also have used a scatter diagram with characters or figures instead to provide more interest. Scatter diagrams unlike the pie chart, can be used to also show a comparison over time using different colors for each entity. For this example, you could also have applied a line graph and blend colors using another graphic pattern to display overlaps. The best graphic image to use to get your explanation across to the audience is up to you.

To make it more appealing, think of how you would like to see the data and how the audience would like to see it.

  • Sometimes adding pictures of items or subjects are helpful to make the chart or image more appealing.
  • Use color, but not too much as it can cause confusion.

As a final note: There are a number of open source applications or tools which can be used to help you display your data. Make use of these tools and suggestions to clarify your document.

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Differences in How Change in Practiced in East Compared to West

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(Guest post from Ron Leeman.)

I have also recently undertaken some “rough and ready” research into the different dynamics that impact the way change is practiced in the East to that of the West. I am looking at the dynamics from three perspectives:

  1. From Western Consultants who have had experience of and have practised Change & Transformation in Asia.
  2. From Asian Consultants who have had exposure to Western style Change & Transformation tools & techniques and who are actively practising in Asia.
  3. An overall consolidated view from both of the above.

Feedback from my Change in Asia Group and many of my LinkedIn 1st Connections enabled me to compile the following 15 key dynamics:

  1. Religion – central to beliefs and ways of doing things in Asia.
  2. Pace of change – slower in Asia.
  3. Reasons for resistance – different reasons in Asia than in the West.
  4. Change awareness – understanding of the need for change is less prevalent in Asia.
  5. Cycles – not as important as in the West.
  6. Families – Asia is heavily focused on the family unit.
  7. Indigenous knowledge – more focused on the output rather than the process in Asia.
  8. Group focus – more focused on groups than individuals in Asia.
  9. Cultural integrity – an understanding of the Asian way of life.
  10. Inter-country obligations –less in Asia than in the West.
  11. Consensus – a need to understand and engage at all levels in Asia.
  12. Regulatory environment – not as strict as in the West.
  13. Education – less creative learning in Asia than in the West.
  14. Hierarchy – bosses in Asia find it harder to let go, to empower their staff.
  15. Responsibility – Asian staff find it difficult to express their opinion until the boss has and then they all agree!

Following agreement of the 15 dynamics I asked respondents to rank their “Top 6” in order of importance and I then assigned scores to the “Top 6” i.e. 6 points for the No1 challenge down to 1 point for the No 6 challenge to ascertain importance.

Whilst the research is not in any way finished yet there are some clear differences to what Western consultants think to that of Asian consultants e.g.

  • Change Awareness is a clear inhibiting factor as cited by Asian consultants but Western consultants don’t see this aspect as important (I have yet to get under the skin of this).
  • Also there are some consistencies starting to emerge e.g. Change Awareness and Hierarchy are clear leaders followed by Responsibility, Cultural Integrity, Consensus and Education.

What do you think?

See these topics in the Free Management Library:

  • Organizational Change
  • Organization Development
  • Consulting
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    You Don’t Want to Be Successful

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    The Big Lie

    There’s a big lie you’re telling yourself. Not to worry, you’re not alone. Many of us are telling ourselves the same lie. The lie is that you want to be successful.

    But the vast majority of us don’t want to be successful. Not really. What we do want is to be fulfilled. We want to be flooded with joy in our work and our play, challenged to our limits, living in great abundance, and knowing that we had the courage to create it.

    Success vs. Fulfillment

    Success and fulfillment aren’t mutually exclusive. And, in fact, they may well look the same from the outside. But they come from very different places.

    The path of success is extrinsically motivated (doing because you think you should), while the path of fulfillment is intrinsically motivated (doing because, when you listen carefully, your heart tells you that you must).

    The missing ingredient for most people who are successful, but not fulfilled? They have an idea — uniquely theirs — lurking in the depths of their soul that they have never brought to light, and on which they have never taken action.

    3 Steps to Move from Success to Fulfillment

    A vast majority of leaders have awesome Big Ideas. And, many Big Ideas die with their creators because the path of success somehow feels safer than the path of fulfillment. But, the best kept secret?

    Once you make an unequivocal decision to honor within yourself the choices that fulfill you, the life force that is tapped swamps the draw of perceived safety that mere success dangles in front of us.

    Is it time to move from success to fulfillment and bring your Big Leadership Idea into the light?

    Step 1: Ask the Big Question.

    Be willing to ask yourself, “Is this it? Am I doing what I’m here to do?” and then challenge yourself to sit still long enough to listen for the response. There is a still, quiet voice in each of us that knows the answer. The more respect you give it, the louder it will speak.

    Step 2: Have the Courage to Act.

    Being willing to release who you are in order to stretch into who you are becoming takes a lion’s courage. There’s part in each of us that will valiantly protect the status quo – “C’mon… why rock the boat? This isn’t all that bad is it? I mean I [pick one: get paid well, have the right house, drive the right car], right? Can the grass really be any greener elsewhere?” But the status quo impacts your spirit the way a room without oxygen impacts your body. It’s only going to stay alive so long before there’s nothing left to breathe.

    Step 3: Embrace the Hard Stuff.

    “Hard stuff” is the stuff shines a spotlight on the areas of yourself that are begging to be ‘scrubbed up’ so that you can evolve as an leader, as a manager, and as a person. It is the gremlin of scarcity that coaches you not to do it. It is the voice of the reptilian brain that beckons you to stay small. It is the insecurity that drives you to say ‘yes’ to any opportunity, instead of having the courage to say ‘no’ unless it is the right opportunity.

    The ‘hard stuff’ is just a collection of opportunities disguised as challenges. Instead of avoiding them, embrace them and….well, let the games begin!

    It’s as easy as that…. 1…. 2…. 3…..