Podcast

Cut the BS: According to the American Job Satisfaction Survey, 49.6 percent of Americans are satisfied with their work. That’s the highest level since 2005 and yet still only about half of  us like our jobs. The major reason cited by unhappy workers is they don’t find their jobs interesting.

Economists say the lack of passion will hurt productivity while health care practitioners worry about the impact on our well being.

Since I’m neither an economist nor a physician, I’m going to focus more on creative productivity. Miss Krueger, my eighth grade English teacher, had a sign above the blackboard with only one word in big, bold letters: Think. While I’m guessing she was addressing our inability to think clearly about punctuation and grammar, her sign can actually help us focus on the big picture from a career standpoint.

How much time do you spend thinking beyond your daily, repetitive activities? Do you take the time to figure out what you want to achieve throughout the year as opposed to the day or week? When was the last time you really wrote down a personal and/or professional growth goal?

Maybe strategic thinking is misperceived as “pie in the sky.” Or it could be a lack of confidence or time management abilities. Whatever the reason, you can change by taking the time to think.

What is the one thing that would make your professional life better? Write it down. Now, brainstorm and list three or four tactics to move you towards achieving this goal. Put deadlines next to each one and begin working your plan. After you achieve some success, think about another goal and write down the action items to reach it.

You might think your situation is more complicated and you won’t be able to do it. But, you can. It all begins with taking the time to creatively focus on the big picture. Or as Miss Krueger’s sign said: Think.

Guest: Dave Watson, President and CEO of Phoenix Rehabilitation and Health Services, founded Phoenix with four other physical therapists that all recognized a need for comprehensive rehabilitation and physical therapy services. Headquartered in Blairsville, Pennsylvania, the company opened their first center in 1997 and have since opened an additional 60 locations.

Background: BS in Physiology from University of California. Masters in PT from Duke University. “Ideal” first job was working for United States Public Health. How many of the 7 Uniform Services in the United States can you name?

Dave moved all the way to the Caribbean to open a PT practice, fished for his own lobster every night the first two months and stayed four years. He was the first professional physical therapist on the island.

Next he was recruited to Indiana, PA  with Keystone Rehab. Phoenix Rehabilitation and Health Services metaphorically rose from the ashes of the crumbling Keystone Rehab, hence the name of the new entity.

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