Letter From the Founders (November 2019)

By: Greg Gaughan and Josh Dickerson, Co-founders, Tempus Innovations

We celebrate our three year anniversary next month, and have the pleasure of looking back on the most exciting and enjoyable moments of our careers. The long hours and travel are easier when you love what you do and the people you work with every day. We created Tempus Innovations to solve problems that would improve people’s lives. We knew that we would be successful only if we could create and execute solutions that made a difference, and we’ve done that by sticking to the Tempus Promise we created on our first day - always listen to our customers, solve their problems through innovation, and serve with a sense of urgency.

Our industry leading TempusDirect business continues to grow, expand into new markets and add new, unique solutions. Importantly, it is our customers that drive the innovation process and our ability to fulfill the Tempus Promise. The key to the innovation cycle is trust and performance. Based on our service and results, customers trust us to solve other problems, which serves as a major source of new solutions for us. To that end, we are launching several new solutions in 4Q19 tackling everything from complex claims in both workers compensation and occupational accident to validating charges and collateral source payments on third party liability claims. Please make sure you sign up for email updates on our home page.

We are also excited about the infrastructure that we have built and the official launch of our ION business in 1Q20. ION has no peer, and the power of this solution to improve people’s lives with a proven, non-surgical alternative is unparalleled. This is a solution that began with consumer demand, and it will change and disrupt the Workers Compensation industry over the next five to ten years. We’re more than excited to introduce and sponsor the next generation of orthopedic treatment.

What’s next? We’re always working on the next big problem that we can solve, so we will continue to add new businesses to the Tempus family. More immediately, we decided to celebrate our anniversary by launching a new branding initiative for all of our businesses, and new website content as well.

Finally, a sincere thanks to our customers, colleagues and friends for supporting us in our journey. As we grow we want to be sure we keep in touch with everyone. Please do sign up for email updates from us as we expect to announce many exciting things in the coming months.

Sincerely,

Josh and Greg

When Leadership Calls, You Need to be Listening – Literally

By: Greg Gaughan, CEO, Tempus Innovations

I’ve always believed that great leaders possess humility, self-awareness and strong listening  skills. As I learn and grow in a new chapter of my career as a business  owner, I find that these traits and skills, while not easy to master,  are equally as important to the entrepreneur as the people leader. While  starting a new journey this year, I took pause to remember the great  teachers I’ve had and the lessons learned over the years. 

The best listener I ever met was someone I worked with years ago in  New York. He never told me he was a good listener, or that I was a bad  one. I figured those out when he would listen to me in a meeting. Two  things happened, I felt like I was the only other person in the room,  and I felt like my opinion mattered. I was an “engaged” employee and  research proved years later that “My Opinion Matters” is a key if not  the most important engagement question. (see: First, Break All the Rules). 

Watching someone role model a desired skill can bring a heavy dose of  self-awareness. I had a natural high energy and motivational style, but  also realized my passion came with talking first, interrupting and  often being distracted. I had lots to work on, so the journey began. 

As I work on my own listening, I’ve become a keen observer of other’s  skills. The best listeners look directly at me and always ask good  questions. They listen to my words, tone of voice and watch body  language and other cues to really understand me. It seems that their  listening skills are grounded in humility and curiosity, which are also  traits of great leaders.    

Less skilled listeners often over-process information. They hear only  what they need to know to sell, answer a specific question or solve a  problem. While comfortable communicating information through emails,  texts and social media, they may miss opportunities to engage through  face to face conversation.  Technology isn’t to blame, as it is a great  enabler of efficiency and scale in communicating. But it’s not a  substitute for personal interaction as intellectual curiosity and sparks  of genius come as much from listening to the sound and soul of a person  as a spreadsheet.  When conversations sound like depositions, we’re  talking, but not creating something bigger than ourselves. 

The surprise for many is how great or Level 5 leaders got  that way by working effectively out of the spotlight. Larger group  meetings and presentations are important for communication and  engagement, but what make or breaks a leader is how well and how often  they interact with people in smaller settings. Great leaders listen  well, have an interest in people and engage through actions more than  words. You can tell a strong leader by listening to people that work for  them - everyone “knows” them or feels like they do, and they want to  work for them because of who they are and why they lead. 

As for me, 20 years later I’m still working on it. Things I do to  improve listening are meditate (don’t laugh) to help me focus and  slowing down, which includes not “prepping” something I want to say next  while the other person is speaking. I don’t worry about forgetting what  I was going to say. If I do forget, it wasn’t that important.  

While I will always be working at becoming a better listener, I take  comfort in the fact that leadership is a process and a journey and, if  you have some self-awareness, you’re always moving forward. Finally, if  nothing else works, may I suggest a tactic I use on my teenager who no  longer listens to me - unplug the Wi-Fi for a couple of hours when they  get home from school. Amazing what happens next… 

Becoming an Effective Leader

By: Greg Gaughan, CEO, Tempus Innovations 

The transition from individual contributor to people leader is tough,  and so is becoming an effective leader. I’ve been around great leaders  my whole career, and they all taught me something different. Here are  the 5 most valuable lessons I learned. When combined with some grit and  self-awareness, these tactics will help you become a successful leader.       

1.     Have a purpose. Don’t start a new job  or stay in a current one without a clear purpose. If you do not manage  yourself effectively, it’s difficult to effectively lead others. Purpose  needs to be visceral, not just more money and responsibility. A  passionate leader with purpose is remarkable. There is no such thing as  status quo in leading. If you are not assessing, creating and changing,  you’re losing.

2.     Have a plan. Always know your top 3 priorities and what you need to do to win. A good plan with great execution  will always beat a great plan with good execution. By the time your  plan is “great” the circumstances have changed anyway. Pareto is key  here as the 20/80 rule works every time, just make sure you have the  right “20”. Quick test - if you come to work and do emails for most of  the day, you may lack both a purpose and a plan. You need to play  offense and defense, don’t just react to everything. 

3.     Don’t confuse strategy and execution.  Strategy involves doing different activities than your competitors to  achieve a competitive advantage. Operational excellence is doing the  same thing everyone else does, but better. If it were a cookbook I’d say  add ½ cup of strategy and 2 cups of execution. Too many teams lack  focus and screw up the easy stuff that customers want, like answering  the phone and doing stuff on time. 

4.     Hire smart people that get stuff done. Smart  means intellectually curious, energetic, resourceful. Don’t get hung up  on which schools or how many degrees. Guide people, don’t micromanage,  and make sure your A players know they are A players.

5.     Celebrate small wins. If you keep  waiting for that “big win” it will never happen. Goals change as you  achieve some success, and the goal line keeps moving back with new  expectations. Stop and celebrate small wins and recognize efforts and  contributions. Success is dynamic and thrives in a culture of recognition.  My happiest moments come from watching others succeed. I wouldn’t have  said that when I was 25, but something happened over time in my career  as a leader, and it changed my life and made the struggles of becoming a  better leader all worthwhile.  

We’d like to hear your comments and questions. Leadership is a  journey and we can all learn from each other. Interested in learning  more about us or a career with Tempus? Please reach out!