I was reading an article today by the Associated Press that appeared in DevilsLakeJournal.com. It had to do with The North Dakota Hospital Association’s negotiations with the Indian Health Service and Three Affiliated Tribes over how much North Dakota hospitals are owed in unpaid medical bills.
The article stated: “Hospital Association Vice President, Tim Blasl, tells The American News that the amount is between $13 million and $14 million. IHS area office spokeswoman Constance James says the agency and tribe together owe only $4.4 million.
“Part of the debt stems from the use of private hospitals and emergency rooms when medical services could have been provided at an IHS clinic. Blasl says among the hospitals that are owed money are large facilities in Minot, Bismarck and Fargo. Blasl says the Hospital Association wants to resolve the dispute without going to court.”
Obviously, there are some details to be worked out in regard to what facility provides healthcare to whom, and how it should be compensated. There is a lot of money at stake and I couldn’t help but wonder if Dale Carnegie’s principle of “Try honestly to see things from the other person’s point of view” wouldn’t help all parties concerned here.
Carnegie considered this principle to be among his most important edicts. In fact, he liked to quote Dean Donham of the Harvard Business School, who said, “I should rather walk the sidewalk in front of a man’s office for two hours before an interview, than step into his office without a perfectly clear idea of what I am going to say and what he—from my knowledge of his interest and motives—is likely to answer.”
In his ground-breaking book, “How To Win Friends and Influence People,” Carnegie went on to say that as a result of reading his book, if the reader got only one thing—an increased tendency to think always in terms of the other person’s point of view, and see things from his angle as well as their own—it may easily prove to be one of the milestones of one’s career.
Here’s an example of honestly seeing things from the other person’s point of view from your friends at Dale Carnegie Training:
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Photo credit: Michal Marcol
