I've been working on a few different posts, but have yet to finish any of them. I always feel guilty when I sit down to blog a little as I have so many other things that I should be working on.
It was a pretty uneventful weekend. Being that the weather was so nice, on Sunday my boys and I went for a few mountain bike rides. Can't beat the quality time with the kids. Ryan (my 12yo) and I went up to the Country Club trail head and did three laps which I believe comes out to about 10.5 miles. Our goal was to complete 5 laps, but after lap 2 Ryan's butt was starting to get a little sore. So I told him that if he gave it everything he had for one more lap (he was sandbagging the first 2 laps) we would call it good after 3 laps. Well what a surprise!! This kid went to town on his dad. With the exception of the few technical parts, Ryan hauled some major butt. He is in a lot better shape than I thought he was. I better make the most of this time, in a few years he will be leaving dad in the dust.
After about 2 hours of riding with Ryan, as soon as I got home, Coby (my 9yo) wanted to go for a ride. So I loaded up Coby's bike and we heading over to the Mogollon Rim overlook. We did a few laps there and luckily Coby said that was good. I was wore out. This is truly something I need to do more often. I really enjoy the one on one time with the kids. Soon maybe I'll get little Keevan out there (he's almost 3):) .
Work has been going really well. I'm really busy trying to get ready for accreditation. I believe I've mentioned before, but we've switched accreditation agencies so I'm having to go back and review all of our policies and procedures so that they are in line with the new standards. Very very time consuming. The rest of the crew are taking care of day to day operations. Speaking of the crew, in the last few weeks, I've had more cards sent and more phone calls telling me how much they appreciate what we do. It's incredible how many people take the time to call or write a note. It's awesome to see that the hard work everyone puts in is seen and felt by many. I've been trying to think of a good way to show my thanks, but right now I'm still undecided on how to do it.
Well it's time to get back to work on policies. Hope you all have a super day.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Gotta Change Some Things.
The other night I found myself cruising the net and reading a ton of different blogs. Off hand I can't remember the name of any of them. I came across one that was focused on social media and it led me to this video (let me fore warn you that there a few cuss words but nothing big) I enjoy a glass of wine every now and then, but had never heard of Gary Vaynerchuck. He started out (and still is) some kind of wine guru, but in this video he speaks of his ideas on social media. I'm not a big social media fan, but after watching the video, I'm definitely more interested, both from a personal stand point and a business one as well. Being completely open and transparent were two of the biggest points that struck a cord. I have found that as I'm writing things that others may read, I'm careful about how I speak about business related items. I'm careful not to offend anyone who may use the services of our competitors or referral sources who may use different companies. I rarely brag about how good AOM is. This is something that is surely going to change. I believe whole heartedly that I have the best team around. Don't get me wrong, I have no doubt that the employees at other companies care about their patients, they wouldn't be there if they didn't. I do believe though that our company as a whole goes above and beyond more than any other DME company here on the mountain. I will give examples in future posts.
My biggest down fall while blogging, is saying what I think people want to hear. While trying not to hurt or offend anyone, I tend to sugarcoat a lot of things. In the future I'll still do my best not to hurt feelings but hopefully you will see more "brutal honesty" and less sugar coating.
As a DME company I'm not sure how much of a role a blog can play on how you connect and affect the relationships with your patients. My goal for next year will be to get as many of our regular patients that I can involved with our blog and other media outlets (these don't exist yet) . I think it would benefit both the company and our patients if we can connect on a variety of levels. I want our patients to be able to hold us accountable for our services. If they can find a simple way to communicate their needs, we will likely be more successful all the way around. As I've told my staff time and time again, I don't want to be that company (and yes we have failed at times) that you hear people say, "I haven't seen my oxygen man since they dropped off the equipment months ago". Being the leader of this team, the buck stops with me and failing when it comes to service is not an option.
Anyway, lots of changes on the way. I'm really looking forward to it.
My biggest down fall while blogging, is saying what I think people want to hear. While trying not to hurt or offend anyone, I tend to sugarcoat a lot of things. In the future I'll still do my best not to hurt feelings but hopefully you will see more "brutal honesty" and less sugar coating.
As a DME company I'm not sure how much of a role a blog can play on how you connect and affect the relationships with your patients. My goal for next year will be to get as many of our regular patients that I can involved with our blog and other media outlets (these don't exist yet) . I think it would benefit both the company and our patients if we can connect on a variety of levels. I want our patients to be able to hold us accountable for our services. If they can find a simple way to communicate their needs, we will likely be more successful all the way around. As I've told my staff time and time again, I don't want to be that company (and yes we have failed at times) that you hear people say, "I haven't seen my oxygen man since they dropped off the equipment months ago". Being the leader of this team, the buck stops with me and failing when it comes to service is not an option.
Anyway, lots of changes on the way. I'm really looking forward to it.
Monday, October 17, 2011
I'm still here.
Ok sorry it's been a while. Lots going on but really not much to talk about.
We'll start with my weight loss progress. Uhhhh there is none!! I can't believe it. I've been eating unbelievably good and I haven't lost a pound. I've been working out at the gym every day so I could use the old excuse of "muscle weighs more than fat" but I'm not even gonna go there. Today was the 2nd time in 2 weeks that I weighed myself only to find myself frustrated with the darn scale. I spoke with the physiologist today (this guy is a muscle physiologist and his knowledge is incredible) and told him I was having no luck with losing any weight. He knew that I had my gallbladder removed 2 yrs ago and asked if I was taking any supplements to make up for having no gallbladder (no gallbladder means no bile storage, and no bile storage means minimal break down of fats). Apparently this is a bad thing. So he recommended some supplements and said they should help with the fat breakdown. I sure hope so because I'm about to take a baseball bat to this scale.
Work has been good. Minus the politics of medicare and regulations, things are really good. I must say that running this company has taught me a lot about myself and others. It's forced me to step out of my comfort zone and step up as a leader. Delegating is something I've really had to work on. I'm realizing that I can't do it all. With accreditation coming up, all my focus is on policies and compliance. One thing that makes it all easier is the team I have now. Everyone is exceptional at taking on more tasks. Something else I've had to learn is the ability to seperate friendship from work. I would consider every employee of AOM a very good friend and I would do anything in the world for each one one of them. When things aren't going how I like them to , it's tough to bring it up, but over time I have realized that it's nothing personal. Sometimes I just have to put the interest of the company first. So far nobody has taken anything personal but instead learned from the experience.
I've got more to say about work but it's gonna have to wait till the football game is over.
So I'm going to go for now. Hope you all have a great night.
Rusty-------Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
We'll start with my weight loss progress. Uhhhh there is none!! I can't believe it. I've been eating unbelievably good and I haven't lost a pound. I've been working out at the gym every day so I could use the old excuse of "muscle weighs more than fat" but I'm not even gonna go there. Today was the 2nd time in 2 weeks that I weighed myself only to find myself frustrated with the darn scale. I spoke with the physiologist today (this guy is a muscle physiologist and his knowledge is incredible) and told him I was having no luck with losing any weight. He knew that I had my gallbladder removed 2 yrs ago and asked if I was taking any supplements to make up for having no gallbladder (no gallbladder means no bile storage, and no bile storage means minimal break down of fats). Apparently this is a bad thing. So he recommended some supplements and said they should help with the fat breakdown. I sure hope so because I'm about to take a baseball bat to this scale.
Work has been good. Minus the politics of medicare and regulations, things are really good. I must say that running this company has taught me a lot about myself and others. It's forced me to step out of my comfort zone and step up as a leader. Delegating is something I've really had to work on. I'm realizing that I can't do it all. With accreditation coming up, all my focus is on policies and compliance. One thing that makes it all easier is the team I have now. Everyone is exceptional at taking on more tasks. Something else I've had to learn is the ability to seperate friendship from work. I would consider every employee of AOM a very good friend and I would do anything in the world for each one one of them. When things aren't going how I like them to , it's tough to bring it up, but over time I have realized that it's nothing personal. Sometimes I just have to put the interest of the company first. So far nobody has taken anything personal but instead learned from the experience.
I've got more to say about work but it's gonna have to wait till the football game is over.
So I'm going to go for now. Hope you all have a great night.
Rusty-------Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Friday, September 9, 2011
Day 3
Two days and 6 pounds. I'm down to 179 today and feeling a bit hungry but not bad. I did cheat a bit yesterday with one piece of beef jerky and this morning I wasn't going to deny myself of my yummy cinnamon dulce latte. I did though get nonfat milk vs whole milk and you can definitely tell the difference. Not as good, but for now I'll live with it.
I brought my bike to work today in hopes of getting in a ride but it's looking pretty gloomy outside. I enjoy riding in the rain but not when I have to go back to work. I'm hoping to get in at least 20 miles and build from there. My back is feeling really good, and though I don't want to push my luck, I want to really start getting in the miles.
Work is really starting to come around. I brought in a new billing person (my awesome mother) and she has taken a ton of work off of me. Having done billing in the past, she has caught on really quick. Steven and Michael are just doing outstanding work on the road. They are really good with the patients, very self driven, and always thinking ahead. Denice is learning more and more every day and on the phone I couldn't ask for more. She has the best personality I could ever ask for.
Anyway, time to get back to work. Gotta go fill the liquid oxygen tanks and get my rear back to work. Have a great day.
I brought my bike to work today in hopes of getting in a ride but it's looking pretty gloomy outside. I enjoy riding in the rain but not when I have to go back to work. I'm hoping to get in at least 20 miles and build from there. My back is feeling really good, and though I don't want to push my luck, I want to really start getting in the miles.
Work is really starting to come around. I brought in a new billing person (my awesome mother) and she has taken a ton of work off of me. Having done billing in the past, she has caught on really quick. Steven and Michael are just doing outstanding work on the road. They are really good with the patients, very self driven, and always thinking ahead. Denice is learning more and more every day and on the phone I couldn't ask for more. She has the best personality I could ever ask for.
Anyway, time to get back to work. Gotta go fill the liquid oxygen tanks and get my rear back to work. Have a great day.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Day 2
Day one ended on a pretty good note. I made it the entire day without cheating at all. I never really felt that hungry for most of the day. The run at then end of the day went ok but I'm very sore and think I'm going to get back on the bike for a while. The jarring of running really takes a toll on my knees and back. I must say, I loved the trail and tried to make the most of scenery while hobbling through the woods, but I'm going to start pedaling these pounds off for a while. Speaking of pounds, I weighed in at 182 this morning, so that leaves me with 17 lbs to go.
Today I awoke with a major headache and very sore from the running. Determined to beat the headache, I'm chugging the water along with my 3 bottles of "stuff". Today in bottle number one I have 3 apples and 2 bananas, this one of course is pretty good. Bottle number two is gonna far from my favorite and consists of a ton of spinach, a lime, and a tad of ginger. I had it tasting pretty good, but once I added the ginger (I don't have a clue about spices and all that other stuff) it destroyed the taste. I didn't have the time or the product to start over so I'm going to choke it down for lunch. Finally in bottle number 3, I've got an entire cucumber, about 10 strawberries, and a banana. This one tastes pretty good, but so far I can't compare any to a good pizza:) .
I'll try and post more a little later, but this headache is kicking my rear and looking at this screen is driving my eyes crazy. Oh and I guess I should get a little work done. Hope you all have a good morning.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
I Wish I Could Run
I just finished running 3 miles of the Country Club trail near Sky Hi Retreat. Every joint from my back to my toes just aches like crazy. I look like a 90 year old man when I'm running (no offense to any 90yo that can run faster than me). I started running last week with my 12 year old who is running cross country for his school. The first day was too bad. The next day I could feel it. Now, holy cow I hurt all over. I really enjoy the running but I'm thinking it may be time to put some miles on the bike. Maybe I'll just start mixing things up a little. Whatever I decide, I'm gonna get back down to 165.
I gotta get back to the office to close up and get home for my smoothie dinner:). Yum!! Hope you all have a good evening.
Rusty-------Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Are You Kidding Me!!!????
I'm not sure if I'm in shock, disbelief, or just a deep depression. I've been assuming all this time that I was back at my original weight of around 172lbs. Ya, I wish. I just weighed on my office scale and check this out:::
185 Pounds!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've never weighed this much. I'd love to convince myself that it's from working out more but ya right, it's called "eating too much crap". Well if I needed motivation for this juicing diet, I sure have it now. Unbelievable. Looks like I'll be bringing my bike to work. Dang I can't believe it!
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