Painting a picture is important because your hospital customers will remember your stories much more than the technical advantage or cost of your flea and tick recommendation. Source: Veterinary Advantage, February 2024. Link. Your story transcends the straightforward selling of a product. It connects with your customer on an emotional basis.” INSIGHTS: They are at your … [Read more...]
The seal of approval
We now measure our approval in likes, comments, followers, job titles, houses, holidays, and little blue thumbs. Social media has poured gasoline on this trend, turning being liked into a scoreboard, says Ben Hooson-Jones. Source: 1 Minute Read, Substack, September 21, 2026. Link. …there is enormous freedom in realizing that you don’t have to audition anymore.” INSIGHTS: … [Read more...]
Integrity in your hospital
In another lifetime I authored an article for distribution about integrity and sales leadership. It occurs to me that the challenges cited in that article are the same today for personnel within veterinary hospitals across our country. Source: Veterinary Advantage, April 2019. Link. If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don’t have integrity, nothing else … [Read more...]
Role reversal
Sometimes you need to take off your name tag and lab coat and put on your customer jeans and a tee shirt to fully understand your customer’s experience. Source: Today’s Veterinary Business, August 1, 2026. Link. Many “difficult” conversations became difficult because we waited too long to have them or avoided them altogether.” - Heather Prendergast RVT, CVPM, … [Read more...]
Leadership’s dark side
There is a darker side of the leadership perspective that is rarely discussed. The same strengths that attract others can become weaknesses that repel followers. Many leadership skills are amazing at their best, but at their worst, they can be painful and damage teams. Source: LinkedIn, September 8, 2026. Link. Any strength overused, on a bad day, becomes a … [Read more...]
Minimize costs by maximizing value
An effective lunch-and-learn event can increase productivity and financials for sales teams. Consider a parallel “open house” approach to explain the value of your services to clients and prospects. It can produce the same results. Source: Veterinary Advantage, October 2023. Link. Time is an ingredient best used judiciously. Just as diners would be displeased with an … [Read more...]
Lost credibility can take time
Credibility is rarely lost in a single dramatic failure. It leaks. It drains through small verbal habits that feel invisible from the inside and register clearly from the outside. The listening brain is a prediction machine. It is constantly deciding, below awareness, whether the person in front of it is a reliable source. Speech patterns are one of its fastest proxies for … [Read more...]
It’s all about trust
The people in front of you size up whether to trust you in the first few seconds, before your logic ever arrives, and everything you say afterward gets filtered through that verdict. René Rodriguez describes that gap: the one between what you project and what you actually deliver. The gap was doing all the talking, and it was saying, Don't trust this yet.” Source: LinkedIn, … [Read more...]
The Platinum Rule overcomes differences and gets things done
One of the wake-up calls of the business world is the realization that some people are not like us. Different values and different drivers. Bill Treasurer uses a boss/employee relationship to demonstrate adapting without losing yourself. As a coach, his first question is always, “Have you figured out what kind of communication lands with this person?” Source: Giant Leap … [Read more...]
AI in your hospital?
The manufacturers’ reps who call on you are using AI to better serve your hospital. Why aren’t you using it to better serve your customers? Brian Sullivan’s suggestion could also apply to pet service businesses or retailers. Source: Veterinary Advantage, June 2025. Link. AI can help you send a message that earns a response. Think of it as your ghostwriter – minus the … [Read more...]
It’s the journey, not the destination
The brain is wired to propel pursuit, not to celebrate arrival. It is a navigation system, not a destination. What René Rodriguez questions here is the premise underneath the ambition, the belief that the point of all this striving is to eventually feel good enough, long enough, to call it a life well-lived. Source: LinkedIn Pulse, June 30, 2026. Link. The goal of a life . … [Read more...]
Small moments leadership
When your words say one thing, but your actions say another thing, your people will always choose what you do over what you say to do. As Bill Treasurer points out, your people are always paying attention. Source: LinkedIn, June 30, 2026. Link. …we're constantly teaching others what leadership looks like, whether we intend to or not.” INSIGHT: Small moment leadership has … [Read more...]
The power of questions
There is so much focus on the probing process, we are missing the opportunity for enormously powerful follow-up questions that demonstrate our genuine concern for our customers. Source: Veterinary Advantage, December 2022. Link. Leaders are naturally inquisitive, and your customers will appreciate your genuine interest in helping them solve a problem or capture an … [Read more...]
Professional burnout
It’s not whether we can train more veterinarians. We clearly can. The question is whether we are willing to change the machine before we build eight more of it. We have been trying to treat the wound. We have not touched the machine that makes it.” – Gershon Alaluf DVM, MBA, DBA Source: LinkedIn, June 25, 2026. Link. A person walks into veterinary school carrying something I … [Read more...]
Choose thriving
I am amused by the number of articles focused on executive-level leadership or women in leadership that have application throughout the ranks in an organization. This Forbes blast from the past is a good example. Source: Forbes, June 19, 2017. Link. When you take time to recharge you are more effective and more productive and this has become even more important because of … [Read more...]
Killing innovation
Most leaders assume that a quiet room means everyone agrees. It often means people have decided it's safer not to disagree. But, quiet ≠ agreement. Source: LinkedIn, May 31, 2026. Link. What answer does the boss want?" Once that shift occurs, innovation slows down because people are no longer optimizing for outcomes. They're optimizing for approval.” INSIGHTS: Leaders need … [Read more...]
Seasonal drift
Most organizational momentum doesn’t disappear all at once. It fades gradually. Priorities become less clear. Communication becomes less intentional. Source: LinkedIn, May 28, 2026. Link. The organizations that navigate summer well … are the ones whose leaders continue creating connection, reinforcing purpose, and keeping teams focused even as the pace and rhythm of work … [Read more...]
Hard or easy, it’s your choice
Engineer your environment so the hard choice becomes the only choice. Source: LinkedIn, May 22, 2026. Link. When you choose hard things, hard things become easier. Not because they change. Because you do. Your neural pathways adapt. Your tolerance for discomfort increases.” INSIGHTS: The question isn't whether you can do difficult things. The question is whether you're … [Read more...]
Gratitude
Gratitude is a grounding force that protects us from pride, strengthens resilience and supports long-term career fulfillment. Source: LinkedIn, May 19, 2026. Link. Gratitude doesn’t require pretending your job is perfect. No role is without challenges. Instead, gratitude invites a broader, more balanced perspective, one that acknowledges difficulties while still recognizing … [Read more...]
Bad and good pain
Hard days if you stay in a safe job. Hard days if you leave. Hard days if you keep doing what drains you. Hard days if you try to build something better. Source: The 1 Minute Read, May 14, 2026. Link. Which kind of suffering is worth it? Some suffering only takes from you…but some suffering builds you.” INSIGHTS: Stop expecting life not to hurt. Choose the pain … [Read more...]
Deciding is the first step
The fear of making the wrong decision creates a barrier to acting because we falsely believe there is only one right answer. That belief is the trap. We don't develop judgment skills by waiting for the perfect decision to practice on, shares Andy Williams. We develop it by deciding, observing, learning, and deciding again. Source: LinkedIn, April 24, 2026. Link. You don't … [Read more...]
Words + Action = Trust
There was a time when keeping your word was considered a given. If you said you would follow up, deliver by Friday, or call someone next week, it was expected that you would do exactly that. Source: LinkedIn, April 13, 2026. Link. Follow-through reduces friction. It creates clarity. And it enhances performance across the board. When you consistently do what you say you’re … [Read more...]
Canine sales training
My dog is better at the fundamentals of selling than half the reps I’ve trained in the last 20 years. Source: Veterinary Advantage, March 2026. Link. Somewhere along the way, selling became a grind for a lot of animal healthcare professionals. The joy left. The enthusiasm became a performance. People can feel that. INSIGHTS: Everyone in a hospital is in sales. … [Read more...]
Great to good to average to mediocre
When we dive deep into innovative customer service, Brian Sullivan underscores the necessity of breaking free from self-imposed limits. Source: Veterinary Advantage, June 2024. Link. Embrace what many might consider ‘stupid’ – creative, unconventional, and seemingly absurd strategies that could lead to breakthroughs in satisfying clients and establishing new … [Read more...]
Speaking with conviction
There is a particular kind of silence that falls in a meeting room when a leader speaks with genuine conviction. Rene Rodriguez explains why conviction is more powerful than your recommendations. Source: LinkedIn, March 20, 2026. Link. Small adjustments heighten confident communication, writes Rene Rodriguez. He outlines these elements: Reframe your internal definition … [Read more...]
The wise leader
The wise leader knows when the output isn't the whole truth. Something nags. Source: LinkedIn, March 6, 2026. Link. Smart asks: do the numbers add up? Wise asks: does something feel off? Discerning asks: what is true here — and can I lead with it?” INSIGHTS: Consistent results come from a solid decision-making process. … [Read more...]
Personal responsibility
Finger pointing has gotten out of hand – from, “my parents didn’t love me” to, “the dog ate my homework.” It is time to shoulder the blame and forgive yourself. Source: AXIOS, March 5, 2026. Link. Article PDF. Hans Nichols shares the authors’ self-help acronym from the book From Mistakes to Meaning to confront and conquer your mistakes: DUET (disclose, unpack, empathize, and … [Read more...]
Defining the decision
If you cannot write the decision in one clear sentence, you are not ready to decide. Source: LinkedIn, February 21, 2026. Link. The moment you define the actual decision — one clear sentence, one real question — something shifts. The noise settles. The right considerations rise to the surface. You can finally think. Define the decision. Not the situation. Not the context. … [Read more...]
Customer hesitation
Whether you like it or not, everyone in a hospital is responsible for the success of that practice. Your job is not selling something. Your job is to help your customer decide about buying something that will help their furry friend. Source: Veterinary Advantage, October 2024. Link. If you’re tired of losing deals to “no action,” change the game. Focus on your customer’s … [Read more...]
All work and no play?
Play is good for your health, and it could make you and your team more productive at work. When we're in a playful state, we're in a more exploratory, open-minded, experimental place, and that's usually where solutions come from.” - Piera Gelardi Source: AXIOS, February 19, 2026. Link. To find more opportunities to play, identify the grown-up version of the thing you loved … [Read more...]