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...]
Imposter syndrome (video)
Axios CEO Jim VandeHei shares turning a perceived weakness into a positive tool. Source: Axios, Just Lead, YouTube, February 20, 2026. Link. <BQ> “Take your insecurities and turn them from weaknesses into strengths.” INSIGHTS: Everyone has some degree of insecurity. … [Read more...]
You are in charge
Your reality is formed from what you read, see, listen to and experience. It's no longer mostly shaped by the "news.” Source: AXIOS, February 10, 2026. Link. It's possible, if not likely, that the biggest threat to future happiness and success is landing on the right side of information inequality.” INSIGHTS: You can choose to do nothing but at what personal cost. … [Read more...]
Decision goals
Every meeting should have a clear, concise DECISION goal and that is the responsibility of the person calling the meeting. Source: LinkedIn Pulse, February 6, 2026. Link. The meeting organizer is responsible for keeping the meeting focused on the DECISION goal.” INSIGHTS: Only invite those with direct decision-making responsibility and expect them to gather input from … [Read more...]
Avoiding difficult conversations
Conflict avoidance thrives in a fast-paced digital world, where it's easy to push off a text, ghost someone or outsource writing to AI. Avoidance is destructive in the long term to relationships, shared Colette Jane Fehr. Source: AXIOS, February 3, 2026. Link. Repair by owning your part, clearing up misunderstandings, and apologizing when needed.” INSIGHTS: Conflict … [Read more...]
Waiting is not free
The status quo is certainly comfortable and safe, but what is the cost of doing nothing? Source: LinkedIn Pulse, January 30, 2026. Link. Stop viewing ‘waiting’ as a free action. In business, standing still has a burn rate.” INSIGHTS: When the cost of doing nothing exceeds the perceived cost of other options, change becomes profitable. Be sure to see Andy Williams’s … [Read more...]
The pro/con list – useless
The pro/con list puts options before clarity. It skips the criteria completely. It flattens the discussion and distracts us from what matters, asserts Andy Williams (not the singer). Source; LinkedIn Pulse, January 16, 2026. Link. Remember to maintain agency over the ends you design. Navigate your <decisions>. Don't just compute it. Human nature is in a rush to … [Read more...]
The business of pragmatism
In high-performing cultures, a "Yes" is expensive. It means resources have been allocated and focus has been locked. Source: LinkedIn Pulse, January 9, 2026. Link. A ‘Yes’ without the capacity to back it up isn't ambition. It is a breach of trust.” INSIGHTS: When your heart says “Yes,” make sure your head is on board. … [Read more...]
Me time
Each day brings plenty of windows for reflection . . . during your commute . . . at the dentist . . . waiting for that friend who's always late. Daydreaming has surprising perks, but scrolling gets in the way. Source: Axios.com, January 8, 2026. Link. We pick up our devices 50 to 100 times a day . . . they constantly fill our minds with content that crowds out time to … [Read more...]
Benefits or features?
Features may describe the product or service, but benefits sell them. Caitlyn DeWilde’s article provides notable examples of applying benefits in a practice environment. Source: Today’s Veterinary Business, December 1, 2025. Link If better medicine is our goal, benefit-based communication is one of our most powerful clinical tools.” INSIGHTS: Your customers want to know … [Read more...]
Uncertainty
From global pandemics and economic shifts to industry disruption and technological transformation, professionals across all sectors have faced waves of unpredictability. Source: LinkedIn Pulse, December 15, 2025. Link. Those who acknowledge, adapt, and evolve will move forward with clarity, connection, and courage.” – Stacy Pursell INSIGHTS: Uncertainty is uncomfortable, … [Read more...]
Music as medicine
Scientists are learning how music can do more than lift our mood — from easing anxiety to helping experimental drugs reach the brain. Source: AXIOS, December 8, 2025. Link. Music has the power to stimulate our body’s reward system, like the way that warmth, food, and social connection do. Music may relieve stress for your patients, customers, and animal healthcare … [Read more...]
“We” mode in the practice
While the examples used here are outside of veterinary practice, the application of these principles can produce amazing results in the practice. Source: AXIOS, November 25, 2025. Link. Watching other people take part in something isn't enough — even if you're there with them.” INSIGHTS: Every practice success is the result of the team’s effort. … [Read more...]
Beyond bias
Cognitive biases shape how teams think, decide and collaborate. Anchoring biasmakes the first idea or opinion in a meeting disproportionately influential. Confirmation bias turns brainstorming into an echo chamber, reinforcing what leaders already believe. The bandwagon effect pushes teams to conform, silencing innovation in the name of agreement. Source: LinkedIn … [Read more...]
Give away your happiness
Stop trying to be happy. Start figuring out how to make other people happy. Source: Axios, October 29, 2025. Link. What's exciting about the preliminary results of this Cornell study is that we can all replicate it by thinking of ways to give our time and resources. The Joy of Giving isn’t just a Christmas slogan.” … [Read more...]
Ownership model frames lasting change
You might not own a piece of the practice, but you certainly own the beliefs that drive your behavior, which impacts the practice’s result. Source: LinkedIn Pulse, October 20, 2025. Link. Lasting change isn’t about fixing results – it’s about taking ownership of the beliefs behind them. INSIGHTS: Your brain learns through repetition and evidence. … [Read more...]
The power of your brain
Doctors and educators agree that there may be tangible benefits to training your brain to focus on a meaningful intention. Source: AXIOS, September 29, 2025. Link. Manifesting reinforces constant, disciplined practice, reminding the brain of an intention repeatedly. INSIGHTS: Your brain has the lifelong ability to change. Editor’s note: We envision that AHD Bulletin … [Read more...]
What do they value?
Editor’s note: Whether a sales rep, pet services provider, a retail associate or part of a veterinary clinic team, when a transaction is involved, a sale is taking place. Sales interactions with clients of the practice have much in common with distribution reps calling on it. So, consider these tips for managing those barriers to sales success. Source: Veterinary … [Read more...]
Bad advice
For every piece of good guidance out there, there's plenty of bad advice too. Author Mel Robbins shared some of the worst tips she hears — and what you might do instead. Source: AXIOS, October 9, 2025. Link. We need to learn to do the things we want for ourselves — whether that's waking up early, hitting the gym, or changing our diets — even if they don't feel … [Read more...]
Competitive rivalries
Nursing a rivalry, whether it's with a colleague, friend or sibling can sound stressful, but the right kind of competition can be a powerful motivator and push us to be better. Source: AXIOS, September 10, 2025. Link. Warning - people may be more likely to be unethical or cutthroat when competing against a rival because they really want to win.” INSIGHTS: Constant … [Read more...]
It’s the process that counts
What’s the point of coming in and doing the same thing? What difference do we make if the problems we solve never end? In practice, there is no finish line, no graduation and no mission accomplished, says Andy Roark, DVM, in this thoughtful article. Source: Today’s Veterinary Business, August 1, 2025. Link. We can choose to embrace the process and find joy in our … [Read more...]
No title, no problem
Leadership begins the moment you care more about the success of others than your own. Source: Veterinary Advantage, May 2025. Link. One of the biggest mistakes I see young professionals make is thinking leadership means talking more. Nope. It’s about talking better.” INSIGHTS: It starts with listening to understand. … [Read more...]
Job #1 – Getting results
As a mid-career leader, your development is well underway, but nowhere near complete. You are formed but not finished. Your employees want your time, guidance and recognition. Your boss wants your loyalty, diligence, and competence. Both groups want your leadership, but each toward different aims. Source: Giant Leap Consulting, August 2025. Link. Advancement as a mid-career … [Read more...]
“What Else?”
To fully understand the situation, you need the customer’s perception of the NEED, its IMPORTANCE, QUANTIFY it, then consider the positive/negative CONSEQUENCES and LOOK at the options. Many times, you need to ask follow-up questions. Examples are included in this article. Source: Veterinary Advantage, December 2022. Link. Every practice team member is in SALES . . . and has … [Read more...]
Feedback, a valuable part of the culture
What if feedback wasn’t something to fear but instead something to offer? A tool for growth. A sign of respect. “Silence doesn’t keep people,” writes Heather Prendergast, RVT, CVPM, SPHR. “It makes them feel invisible.” Source: Today’s Veterinary Business, August 1, 2025. Link. If production is the only thing you measure, you miss the big picture, and you will burn out your … [Read more...]