The Contented Cow Blog

Building Workplaces That Work

Saturday’s big news was the Bush colonoscopy. Although I didn’t need to know the precise number of polyps his doctor found, I’m glad he had it done – and this is irrespective of political views – I’m glad the procedure uncovered no apparent cause for concern. I hope the more definitive tests bear out that conclusion, and I wish him well.

The story raises two points in my mind. First, if you were born before Kennedy became president, and you haven’t already done so, why not talk to your doctor about having a colonoscopy yourself? Before I had mine (before age 50, by the way), my doctor told me, “There’s nothing magic about the number five-zero. There are probably a few good ways to die. Colon cancer is not one of them.”

You’ve heard this before, and it’s true. While the day before is inconvenient, the actual procedure, for most people, is a piece of cake. I had my teeth cleaned later the same week, and that experience was worse than the colonoscopy.

If you’re clean, the peace of mind is worth a lot. If they find something, that’s even more important. With early detection, colon cancer has a high cure rate. Don’t put it off.

Second point. While President Bush was in a state of compromised consciousness (resist the temptation to make cheap jokes, please), Vice President Dick Cheney was officially in charge. (Moratorium on jokes is still in place.) That’s taken care of under the U.S. Constitution’s 25^th Amendment.

What provisions have you got in place in the event of your illness, incapacitation, good night’s sleep, vacation, resignation, termination, or death?

Let’s focus on the more temporary of these interruptions in your availability. You say your people are “empowered” to make decisions without you. Are they really? Could you go under general anesthesia, without notice, and find everything humming along when you came to? Can you unplug when you go on vacation? Will people know how to handle things? Will your customers be served?

Can people find stuff without you? Can they make tough decisions? Can bills get paid, questions get answered, purchases get approved, sales get closed, even when you’re in a physical or electronic blackout?

If not, you’d better be able to find a doctor, like President Bush did, who does colonoscopies on the weekends.

Richard Hadden is an author, leadership speaker, and business consultant, who makes the business case for creating a great place to work. For more information about Richard, his partner Bill, and their work, or to book Richard or Bill to speak for an upcoming event, please go to www.ContentedCows.com.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.