I have been studying behavioral based development strategies used by
individuals who are seeking to establish their legacy and bring their
life and leadership responsibilities into full harmony. Doing so, I
have found it easy to mirror those same strategies in my life. I often
wonder why so many people don’t do this, and remain stagnant, happy to
live mediocre lives, never making a difference in themselves or
others. Is this really going to make someone happy in life?

I remember a man telling me he was happy, his simple life, simple job,
did not want to make any more money, did not want to change anything.
I prompted him with questions like what if you need a new car? Answer:
I like my car, don’t need anything else. What if you want to go
somewhere, like during your next vacation time off? Answer: I don’t
want to go anywhere. I like this town just fine. After a short
conversation along these lines I gave up also. It was painfully
obvious to me that he gave up a long time ago and had no goals or
desires he would admit. That conversation was about three years ago,
and he has not gone back to school, or changed anything about his
life. Practically everything around him has changed, and he is one
decision away from unemployment, with no skills to support him.

It is clear to me, that while I want to grow, learn, stretch beyond my
current abilities, and help anyone I can along the way, not everyone
wants to. I find that sad, but certainly OK with me. If you think the
world will continue to cater to you, while you give nothing in return;
good luck with that. I can’t help anyone who does not want to help
themselves.

If you want to learn new and exciting things in 2011, then I certainly
am interested in helping you. So I will be changing the direction of
my writing to focus on methods and principles to improve your personal
and business success. Of course I will still write about cleaning, but
I will be writing more about cleaning up your life then cleaning up
your facility.

2010 was a great year. I helped several people grow and move up in
their careers. I watched many more improve greatly beyond their
beliefs that they could, and have taken a lot of notes. While I have
been absent online, I have gathered a wealth of material, I’ve been
testing it, and I’ve seen tremendous results. I am going to be sharing
all this with you here. You will learn how attitudes can be changed,
how to start and grow your own business, how you can turbo boost your
productivity at your current job, and how you can have anything you
want, if you are willing to help others along the way.

So starting today, I want you to tell yourself “I Am A Success!” ask
yourself, “What is My Next Move?” Then begin planning it. Don’t be
afraid, don’t hesitate, don’t put it off until tomorrow. Start today.

Tomorrow we begin to look at three ways people look at failure. Since
the more action we take, the more “failures” we have, looking at this
the right way will remove a stumbling block.

I was recently at an event, and I was called to the front of the room to give a testimonial. I told my story, how I went from a front line worker to a Director. I talked about how I became a leader and gave some advice on how others can too.

Immediately after I walked back to my seat, a man approached me and asked,“how can I use the word leader if I don’t know that I am one?”

Here’s my simple answer to that, until you feel and believe that you are a leader and you are going to be successful at your business, it will NEVER work!

My biggest advice to those out there that don’t consider themselves leaders is this:  NEVER LACK CONFIDENCE, ALWAYS BELIEVE YOU ARE A LEADER UNTIL YOU ARE ONE!

Confidence is the number one skill that all leaders possess. I talk to so many people that “pass off’ their responsibilities. This is a guaranteed way to failure.

Learn from the best and then BE the best.

To your success!

John Weir

Housekeeping schedules should be planned, written and closely followed. Cleaning schedules should be developed according to the needs of each area. Without written routines and schedules your productivity and customer satisfaction are going to go up and down more often then a roller coaster.

A properly stocked cleaning cart will help prevent wasted trips to supply closets and should be equipped with any of the following items which are necessary for your work:

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The major difference between cleaning a medical facility and any other building is the focus on the un-seen enemy, bacteria. Environmental Service’s job is to not only provide good visible results, but to reduce the number of surface bacteria to a safe level in order to control cross infection. This is an extremely important responsibility because it keeps harmful bacteria from infecting the person next door or across the hall. Persons whose bodies are recuperating from surgery, injury or a primary infection are in a weakened condition and therefore, cannot put p their normal fight against harmful bacteria. A secondary infection in these cases can cause very serious illness.

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Here I continue to list cleaning standards. We use these as a guide to understanding our responsibilities in general cleaning. This is not meant to be a complete list, rather a broad overview. Enjoy your reading:

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Environmental Services (ES) is important to any business because the visible cleaning results create the first impression of a visitor or customer. You’ve probably heard that “the first impression is a lasting one” and there is a great deal of truth in that. Our job is to make that first impression a good one.

In addition to visible cleaning results, impressions are formed by the appearance of you, personally. Some important points to creating a good impression are:

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Cleaning and maintaining the built environment of a healthcare facility, or a building where healthcare services are delivered is driven largely by regulations and guidelines. These include regulations set forth by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA), The Joint Commission (TJC), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), state and local agencies such as state health departments, and guidelines established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Other organizations providing guidelines include the Association for periOperative Nursing (AORN) for the operating room setting, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control (APIC) and the American Society for Healthcare Environmental Services (ASHES).

A standard of cleanliness must be created and taught.  You will find, as long as you remain in environmental services, that you will constantly learn new methods, procedures and requirements as this is dynamic and evolving occupation.

The standards of cleanliness must include protocols for consistent cleaning and disinfecting of all high touch areas and surfaces. Areas in need of less frequent cleaning because they are not a likely source of contamination should be identified and steps needed for cleaning various rooms must be identified and explained.

One of the organizations I am a member of, and actually the first that I joined, is the International Executive Housekeeping Association or IEHA.

Since 1930, the International Executive Housekeepers Association (IEHA) has been a non-profit organization committed to raising professionalism in the cleaning industry and providing a cleaner, safer, healthier environment.

IEHA members are Executive Housekeepers—managers who direct housekeeping programs in commercial, industrial or institutional facilities. IEHA provides members with an array of channels through which they can achieve personal and professional growth. Some are: leadership opportunities; resource materials; education program designation; employment referral service; a Technical Question Hotline (1-800-200-6342); networking; an annual convention and trade show, including several educational sessions; and a monthly trade publication, Executive Housekeeping Today.

Take a moment and learn more about our professional organization:

Change Begins With Choice

by Jim Rohn

Any day we wish; we can discipline ourselves to change it all. Any day we wish; we can open the book that will open our mind to new knowledge. Any day we wish; we can start a new activity. Any day we wish; we can start the process of life change. We can do it immediately, or next week, or next month, or next year.

We can also do nothing. We can pretend rather than perform. And if the idea of having to change ourselves makes us uncomfortable, we can remain as we are. We can choose rest over labor, entertainment over education, delusion over truth, and doubt over confidence. The choices are ours to make. But while we curse the effect, we continue to nourish the cause. As Shakespeare uniquely observed, "The fault is not in the stars, but in ourselves." We created our circumstances by our past choices. We have both the ability and the responsibility to make better choices beginning today. Those who are in search of the good life do not need more answers or more time to think things over to reach better conclusions. They need the truth. They need the whole truth. And they need nothing but the truth.

We cannot allow our errors in judgment, repeated every day, to lead us down the wrong path. We must keep coming back to those basics that make the biggest difference in how our life works out. And then we must make the very choices that will bring life, happiness and joy into our daily lives.

And if I may be so bold to offer my last piece of advice for someone seeking and needing to make changes in their life – If you don’t like how things are, change it! You’re not a tree. You have the ability to totally transform every area in your life – and it all begins with your very own power of choice.

To Your Success,

There’s really no such thing as knowing too much about what you’re doing. The reason’s I joined ASHES, ASHE, The American College of Healthcare Executives, IEHA and APIC are many but all focus on one thing, staying informed.

Staying informed is a daily task, and challenge, considering how quickly our world is moving. But not keeping up is like agreeing to check out – please don’t do that. Plug in and learn everything you can. You never know when information will come in handy.

If I hadn’t studied,  I wouldn’t have been able to see the great opportunity that led to my first big success.

Resolve to move forward and to learn as much as you can – today and every day.