It’s All About the Benjamins

I’ve been reading an amazing biography of Ben Franklin. Talk about an underachiever. (Sarcasm.) He grew up poor, couldn’t go to college, yet ended up co-founding a nation.

Franklin applied a natural curiosity and a sense of vivid detail to every project he undertook, whether it be his studies with electricity or even coming up with the idea of a “matching grant,” a technique fundraisers use today.

Franklin is credited with founding America’s first hospital, so he might not have imagined the day when hospitals would need to compete to attract patients. Yet I think we can learn a lot from Ben.

So what advice would Ben give us in health care marketing?

Emphasize the collective achievement over personal gain. Franklin understood the power of mobilizing people for a common goal. He was a master consensus builder, relenting on smaller points to achieve a greater good. It’s how he organized schools dedicated to educating black children, organized the first American public library and first American volunteer fire department.

Given the political firestorms we manage each day, how can we be better statesmen to achieve our greater goals? Franklin’s method was indirection. He avoided confronting people, especially in public. Franklin used a version of the Socratic method of debate, which emphasized asking questions of opponents that allowed them to draw the right conclusion – in Franklin’s case, the point he wanted to make. (See the video below of Franklin advising John Adams of his technique.)

Tell simple stories to persuade audiences. Franklin’s “Join or Die” political cartoon (the first American political cartoon) rallied colonists to band together. Rather than tell people this needed to happen, he used a popular metaphor at the time to emphasize his point.

Franklin believed in the power of simple, memorable phrases to communicate points. His Poor Richard’s Almanac sayings have lasted centuries, like “Fish and guests smell after three days.” The great campaigns revolve around a simple, bold idea that is well-executed. (Kind of like the Declaration of Independence.)

Surround yourself with smart people and listen to them. In his early 20′s, Franklin established The Junto, a weekly meeting group of others to talk about the issues of the day. (What a coincidence! That’s the name of our blog!) Every participant had to share a challenge they face, and other members had to provide their ideas on solutions. Organizations like SHSMD and The Forum for Healthcare Strategists are great resources, along with our state conferences. Make a point of attending at least one of these events a year to refresh and energize your ideas. If nothing else, you’ll take comfort knowing you’re not alone.

Use the press to your advantage. Franklin used his printing background to sway public favor to the issues of the day. Writing under pseudonyms like Silence Dogood, Franklin wrote op-eds in his newspapers and others, and invented controversy to stir a public dialogue.

With traditional print media and local network reporting in a decline, bloggers are excellent resources for building relationships, and can help micro target very specific audiences for your brand. Make a point to build your contact list and partner with them on initiatives.

A great design can change anything. Franklin observed that lamp lights often had so much soot that their light was encumbered. He designed the lamp light design still popular today that has removable panes on all four sides, which made for easier cleaning. Our brands live and die by their design – not just in look but in functionality, such as the experience patients and visitors have when they enter our hospitals or spend time in waiting and patient rooms. What’s your hospital experience like? How can you apply design to making a better guest experience?

If at first you don’t succeed… Despite his vast achievements, nothing seemed to come easy for Ben. He grew up poor under the shadow of an older brother who wanted to keep Franklin as an apprentice rather than letting Ben find his own path. (Ben eventually had to run away in order to gain his freedom.) Despite his gifted mind, he couldn’t afford to attend college. He sailed to London on the promise that he would be awarded supplies for his printing business, only to find upon his arrival that his financier was broke. But somehow Franklin made his own luck.

Few of us feel we have the resources we need to be successful, yet each day we press forth. Our goals might be slightly less ambitious than creating a nation, but looking at Franklin’s life, there’s inspiration – and hope – for us all.

Saving Lives on a Global Scale: How Physicians Helped Reshape Our View of Nuclear War

Here at Franklin Street, we take pride in the fact that our work helps make a difference in the lives of thousands of people every day. In the spirit of making a difference through medicine, I would like to share this story about one extraordinary doctor’s efforts to promote peace and avoid nuclear war:

In the history of medicine, Bernard Lown, MD, is best known as the inventor of the heart defibrillator. Yet his contributions to global politics may have saved more lives in the 50 years since his invention than even his heart defibrillator has.

Early in his career, Dr. Lown became an activist to abolish nuclear weapons and promote world peace, founding Physicians for Social Responsibility in 1962. In 1980, he partnered with Dr. Evgeni Charzov, a Russian physician, and 150,000 other physicians world-wide, to form International Physicians for the Prevention of War, an organization that won him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1985. The medical evidence Dr. Lown and his colleagues had collected eventually convinced the world that humanity would not survive a nuclear war—a monumental feat of science, politics and communication.

Today, our fear of nuclear war and the relative peace we enjoy are their legacy.

Interact with Dr. Lown on his personal blog.

Learn more about Dr. Lown’s career by viewing “Dr. Bernard Lown: A Documentary.”