Leading Greats #13

Hello Friends,

Thank you for reading my newsletter - Leading Greats!

This is where I bring reflections from my wealth of knowledge and experience in healthcare and leadership incorporating well-being, plus new innovations.

I hope that you benefit from this information if even in some small way.

I appreciate your support!!

Thank YOU for being GREAT!

It has been another week of interesting conversations, discoveries, and breakthroughs…

AI | ChatGPT | Humans of Customer Service

I have been putting in a few more queries into ChatGPT lately. For my purposes I find It is a super quick generator of ideas and information around topics that I inquire about.

I do see points that I don’t agree with from the output I get at times. Some output is simply generic.

Other generated ideas are repeated a few times with only a line or two separating them. And some ideas have been confusing.

As all indicators are that AI is well beyond taking off - with or without us - I try to put more eyeballs on what is happening there and at my fingertips.

While ChatGPT seems optional for some - for now - no question this is a useful tool. I plan to keep close as AI is on a steady climb. Get to understand more about it so that you are not too surprised when the next leap occurs.

My plan is to be conversant about ChatGPT at a minimum, holding off on any aspirations of being an expert - others are far ahead on the curve with that.

???

I would be curious to learn from my readers what, if any experiences you have had with ChatGPT or AI in general recently that you did not agree with or that was incorrect - or where AI failed to deliver for you. Or was there a pleasant surprise?

I made an airline reservation recently online.

Afterwards I needed additional support. The next step was to activate the AI chat bot. This went quickly to requesting a live person.

Within minutes I was connected to a live person who was able to process my issue pretty much on first request without a list of potential menu items I could choose from that the chat bot was trained on.

The tradeoff? This still took some time.

There are apparently fewer and fewer of these humans available to do this customer service work - so the delays and pauses were notable as I was convinced the human representative was fielding many other customer requests at the same time as mine.

Still, I appreciated the human touch that human placed on my customer service issue.

June is National Gun Violence Awareness Month in America

Healthcare and Gun injury/violence

Reportedly on June 14th a patient in a 430-bed Florida hospital shot themself, in a non-fatal injury. No others were reported injured.

Details were vague on how the gun appeared inside the hospital.

What an experience to live through for staff attempting to deliver healthcare, and for others present at that time of gun injury - inside a sizable hospital!

The origin of National Gun Violence Awareness Month is not widely documented though the movement gained significant momentum through grassroots efforts of various gun violence prevention advocacy groups in recent decades.

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, named after James Brady, who was seriously injured during the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan in 1981, is one of the prominent organizations that have been involved in advocating for gun control measures in the United States.

https://www.bradyunited.org/history

On June 2nd President Joe Biden made a White House address stating “in the past year alone we’ve lost more than 40,000 Americans to gun violence”.

• A broad majority of Americans want to see commonsense reforms that would curb our gun violence epidemic - such as establishing universal background checks, requiring safe storage of firearms, and finally banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.

• This comes at a time when guns are the number one killer of kids in America. A majority of responsible gun owners also support commonsense actions to save lives and keep our communities safe.

• This will require Congress to act on further requirements and regulations on guns at large.

At the personal level I grew up around game hunters practicing gun safety and education.

These were some of the most cautious and care taking people I knew with guns - for game hunting.

There was always conversation around education and safe handling and positioning of guns, locking the trigger, keeping them without ammunition until ready to use. And keeping them behind lock and key when not in use - and monitored.

This was decades ago, in a less urban setting.

Later after university I moved to Manhattan - New York City, where I worked in healthcare at a large university medical center.

Shortly after moving there, reaching home from work one day there was yellow caution tape around the entrance to my apartment building.

Two teenagers had shot each other dead out front of my building.

That took a bit for me to process and come to grips with!

This was quite a while ago.

We have an opportunity to do so much more for gun safety - still!

The color orange is encouraged to wear in support of National Gun Violence Awareness.

This token was taken from the orange often worn for safety by game hunters.

Nature | Self-Care | Well-Being

For my repeat readers (Thank You!) you know I was in Los Angeles the previous week for meetings. I drove, it was six-hour trip each way. I have done that drive hands full of times. I have a car that handles the road well with many comforts, so it is fun to do this sometimes.

The landscape and scenery were magnificent - after such generous rains we received in recent times - following way too long in a sad drought phase. I mention this for those not in this region.

When I moved out here a decade ago, this was all fantastically new and different terrain. Not quite like the pine and pecan trees I grew up around back east. I have lived in a few states, I have quite a lot to compare!

Bear with me, this is addressing nature and well-being. 

Time in nature is therapeutic.

As California is such a long state there are notable changes in the flora as one drives between Northern and Southern California.

There is something magical about driving along the coastal route for hours - if you pay attention to the nature and scenery along the way, as I did! The return trip was mostly in silent reflection - nothing boring there.

Today I was out playing catch up tending to my many potted plants - legal in all states! I got a surprise that stood out for me.

I was trimming a plant by hand - no motors, no noise, all in a quiet still of the dim early morning light. Then a small bird flew close to me and perched two feet away. We had sure eye to eye contact!

I thought not much of this other than maybe this bird was thirsty or seeking food in the soil of my plants(?). Stranger animal things have happened since Covid & droughts.

The bird flew to a new position soon. And I moved on to trim another plant. I slightly noticed through the leafy blades of a plant - inside was a discrete small bird’s nest, complete with a small egg inside!

I then moved the potted plant to a more quiet place so that the cycle of bringing about a new bird life may take place in more privacy.

How refreshing to meet my new bird family and to realize - they are expecting a baby bird soon!

Nature is relaxing and rewarding to expand your thoughts, while thinking of other things for a time besides the frequent digital extensions of ourselves - when possible.

Remember quiet and reflective times help prevent and recover from burnout.

Practice self-care in whatever form is rewarding and available to you.

Summer Camps are a launch pad for future leaders!

The World Needs more Great Leaders!

I live amidst Stanford University and a few smaller colleges, and well developed grade school campuses.

It is easy to see the school activities that student body are involved in. For the lower grade schools this includes parents, coaches, referees, volunteers, and other supervision.

One small college close by holds a summer camp for youth this time of year. The standard school year is out so there is useful space on campus.

I cut through these campuses for my exercise often. I get to see how well planned out these camp activities are.

In recent weeks I have observed the various skills training taking place with these young camp participants.

The activities ranged from athletic agility drills, to football, baseball, biking & kayak trips, motivational talks in a close-knit group, up to alternating focus activities of the day - a variety.

It is great to see these youth out there giving it their all!

Last evening, I passed by one of these pods doing a group dance, with energetic music filling the air as these kids were singing and dancing along to a simple routine all wearing a white top and khaki bottoms.

This was clearly symbolic of unity and belonging as there was a dress code of sorts, though relaxed.

These kids were seeming to have a blast. The leader of the event was sure to recognize the participants and there of course was plenty of smart phone image capture taking place.

While I only catch a small portion of what these groups are engaged in at a time, I see that they are exposed to challenge, leadership, discipline, self-expression, and inclusion.

These groups seem happy. This is inspiring to notice. I give a nod, smile, or sign of approval if we have eye contact.

These are great development steps for the future of these youth.

I am curious how many of these youth will be drawn to leadership(?).

The World Needs more Great Leaders!

That is all - for this issue - of Leading Greats!

I hope that you got something of benefit here - Thank You for your support!

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Til next time - Keep it Great,

-Ronnie

Transformational Leadership Coach | Healthcare Leader | Advisor

• I help transform limiting beliefs - lead with increased engagement, effectiveness, and well-being.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronniekinseymba/

• Reach out to schedule a call to inquire about my work @ ronniekinsey.net