Don’t Wait Until The Doors Are Closing To Reach Out For Help
Posted by Mitch Mitchell on Apr 30, 2012
Around the end of December I had someone reach out to me to provide some services for their hospital. It sounded really good and I was pretty enthusiastic for the opportunity, as it would have been a great financial start to the year. After I sent the proposal I heard nothing, and finally after 3 weeks I contacted the CFO, who was interim. He responded that they decided to do the work internally and thanked me for the proposal.
The thing I found interesting after thinking about it is that it's not the type of work that one can just decide to do internally. In essence, if the hospital already had the person in place who was responsible for the work then they wouldn't have called me to begin with, but to suddenly say they were going to do it internally... nope, I wasn't buying that one. Nothing I could do at that point but I knew there had to be something amiss.
Turns out I was correct. The hospital was in financial distress and, unfortunately, just closed its doors for good a couple of weeks ago. It's too bad because it's an area that needs all the hospitals it had for its population, and now a large portion of people will have to be absorbed by the remaining facilities in the area.
I'm not saying that I could have saved the hospital, but I know I definitely could have helped. For that matter, I think these are the times when facilities need to reach out to consultants for help, before things are at a critical mass. Without knowing everything this hospital was going through, my bet is that I could have increased their revenue by at least 50 to 75%, if not more, based on the fact that I know they didn't have anyone already doing the kind of work that I provide services for. I'm also betting I know at least 3 or 4 other consultants that I've worked with in the past in addressing these types of issues in the past who could have gone in and worked with the administration there to help turn things around.
Does this type of thing always work? It always does at least temporarily. I know that when I did one of my consulting gigs that lasted over a year and helped them increase their daily revenue by more than 100% that they had turned the corner and were profitable for the first time in a decade; no, I wasn't the only one working on that project.
I also know that in the last two years, which was about 4 years after I and most of the other consultants were gone, that hospital has once again reversed fortunes for the worst, based on the fact that they hired a lot of people to replace many of the positions consultants were holding that were "good enough" to put bodies into position that needed more than that, and that's led to multiple layoffs and the closing of the nursing home, with more coming.
No matter what it is you do, or what your business is, if you know things aren't going great or on the right path don't wait until it's almost too late to ask for help and assistance. If you feel you're capable and will reverse things, then fine. It's never a bad thing to look outside for help; it could save everyone and everything in the end.
I agree with you, Mitch some work have to be done by 3rd party, especially when the situation is difficult, but even from my experience rarely somebody ask for help or ask when it is already too late.
I have the same experiences Carl, and it’s too bad.
Reminds me beginning of my career and I can say that I was shy even to make conversation, there was a whole chapter in a book called “Negotiations”, well about 20 pages were telling exactly one thing – you can’t know until you ask and that nothing is predetermined in business as buying services is not buying a retail stock, this always goes to negotiation and mutual benefits.
Very true Carl. I work on overcoming certain things every day myself and I know if I go through it, others do as well.
Sad story but a really good life lesson here, reaching out for help can definitely only benefit you, especially if you’re on a slippery slope downwards.
Thanks Ella. Sometimes all of us need a little professional help in some fashion.
You are right about that, pride should not be given room in our daily lives. Ask and it will be given to you.