"I believe your strengths are your roadmap and a smile on your face is the best measure of success."
Jennifer Crowley is Co-founder of LCM Partners, LLC, DBA The Life Care Management Institute. Based on the teachings and foundation for learning provided in “The Life Care Management Handbook,” a textbook for professionals with a mission of helping future and current care managers start, grow, and build a successful care management practice. Jennifer is co-author of “The Life Care Management Handbook.” Since publishing the book in March of 2021, Jennifer and business partner Shanna Huber have successfully launched online courses and have presented at regional and national conferences.
Jennifer has been a private practice owner of Eagleview West Life Care Planning, a leading Care Management & Consulting Company providing comprehensive professional services in Northwest Montana and surrounding areas.
Diverse clientele include individuals who have experienced a health setback or injury resulting in functional change impacting livelihood; families needing a sense of direction when facing a progressive health condition or sudden shift in physical/mental health; medical providers & other healthcare professionals who need help in managing the treatment plan by a capable professional who meets the client where they are at and aligns with needs using a holistic approach; attorneys who need an experienced professional to assist with ongoing needs, guardianship visits, or help with the supported decision-making model, or who request a life care plan for the courts to use in understanding the current & future care needs thru life expectancy.
Jennifer is a hired expert in many cases and has trial testimony experience. She provides stakeholder solutions through understanding the situation and creating a road map for collaborative care. Jennifer is also author of “7 Steps to Long Term Care Planning,” a guidebook for individuals, families & professionals to engage in meaningful discussion and important decision making for designing a road map for aging.
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Table of Contents
We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company.
Jennifer Crowley: I started the Life Care Management Institute with my colleague Shanna Huber. We decided we wanted to help other professionals who were interested in starting their own care management practice. Like so many years ago when we started our own businesses, we knew we had a lot of information to share which would result in a little more ease in getting started and sustaining a healthy practice.
2021 and 2022 threw a lot of curve balls into business on a global scale. Based on the experience gleaned in the past couple years, how can businesses thrive in 2023? What lessons have you learned?
Jennifer Crowley: My greatest advice about thriving is diversification. In my practice, I diversify by offering a number of professional services and having multiple divisions in my business which can amp up or slow down, depending on the day or week or month. Be having a number of potential income funnels and revenue streams, there may be less worry over paying the bills in the event of an unexpected slow down.
The pandemic seems to keep on disrupting the economy, what should businesses focus on in 2023? What advice would you share?
Jennifer Crowley: This is a good time to take it back to the basics of everything. Reviewing the business plan, re-evaluating the mission, goals, and values, and understanding the things which were helping the business to thrive and what might be hurting the business. Also, reviewing the budget on a regular basis, including looking at apps to determine what is still needed, what works or does not work, and planning for needs in the future. This is also a good time to look at the health of the everyone involved and evaluate if enough is being done to support the team, promote well being and manage stress, and help improve livelihoods.
How has the pandemic changed your industry and how have you adapted?
Jennifer Crowley: More and more interactions are become digitized, which means there might not need to be as much travel for work. Less travel means more money in the bank and more time to spend doing joyful activities. On the negative side, there is nothing which can truly replace the need for human to human interaction, especially in times of need.
I have been learning about the challenges of only having devices and equipment to communicate with our typical client, and there are vast differences between the oldest members of our society and the younger generation of older adults. I’ve learned to never limit what is possible but to remain realistic in expectations. Sometimes change works good and other times we would prefer not to change the ways we have always cared for our most vulnerable.
What advice do you wish you received when the pandemic started and what do you intend on improving in 2023?
Jennifer Crowley: I wish I would have known how long it was going to last and to stay put for a while until things settled. I have learned that being content with what is happening now in the present moment is very important. It helps to take it all in rather than being so overwhelmed with what’s in the future that you may miss the lesson.
Online business surged higher than ever, B2B, B2C, online shopping, virtual meetings, remote work, Zoom medical consultations, what are your expectations for 2023?
Jennifer Crowley: I expect online marketplaces to continue to thrive. It will become customary to have an option for virtual visits and remote work, even in the healthcare setting. People will expect to have these choices, regardless of their preference.
How many hours a day do you spend in front of a screen?
Jennifer Crowley: I spend at least 6-8 hours a day in front of a screen.
The majority of executives use stories to persuade and communicate in the workplace. Can you share with our readers examples of how you implement that in your business to communicate effectively with your team?
Jennifer Crowley: I once approached a woman about a meeting I thought would be scheduled by now. She was in charge of scheduling the meeting. I stopped and asked her about it and started talking about a few things related to the meeting I felt were important. She responded, but something seemed off, as if I had upset her. I left to return to my office.
Later that day, she called me to tell me how rude I was for approaching her and asking her about the meeting. She felt that I should have asked permission to speak with her first and only when she was ready would she be okay to discuss these matters with me. I was hurt. I’m also a busy person, so why not just get right to the point? I never meant to be rude. In fact, I know I was not. But that’s not the point. I decided to learn from that interaction and apply some basic principles to my own practice from then forward.
I’m far from perfect with this but I do try to
- Ask the person if they are able to discuss something.
- Understand some people need to receive information in their own way, at the time that works best for them. I like to remind myself and my team:
- Sometimes you are unable to know for sure if something might upset another person, but we do know that kindness and respect are always good.
- Be grateful for the opportunities, although subtle and strange at times, to learn from the interactions we have with other humans.
- Perspectives are personal and may differ from your own.
Business is all about overcoming obstacles and creating opportunities for growth. What do you see as the real challenge right now?
Jennifer Crowley: Challenges exist in finances, maintaining enough capital to grow without going into deeper debt. It’s also challenging to build our audience and expand our presence so that we can grow. Understanding how to create meaningful, online connections is my new interest.
In 2023, what are you most interested in learning about? Crypto, NFTs, online marketing, or any other skill sets? Please share your motivations.
Jennifer Crowley: On line marketing and building meaningful connections online, or how to support a membership community of online professionals.
A record 4.4 million Americans left their jobs in September in 2021, accelerating a trend that has become known as the Great Resignation. 47% of people plan to leave their job during 2022. Most are leaving because of their boss or their company culture. 82% of people feel unheard, undervalued and misunderstood in the workplace. Do you think leaders see the data and think “that’s not me – I’m not that boss they don’t want to work for? What changes do you think need to happen?
Jennifer Crowley: The time which helped me become more aware of the value of the type of leadership was when I was in my earlier years as a Registered Nurse in the intensive care setting. I was on a team which was starting an open heart surgery program at our local hospital. We had a cardiothoracic surgeon in charge of the program development. We spent many months training, evaluating, and simulating the steps we would take caring for that first open heart surgery patient.
He took the time to meet with each one of us and reminded us as a team regularly that we each had an important role to play and every team member from the housekeeper to the respiratory therapist, nurse, and surgeon were equally important. We all had a part and if one of us failed to do something, it might cause the whole team to faulter. We were all held accountable but also reminded of the experience was one of greatness and excellence working together.
I think these feelings and the authority we give others to hold themselves accountable are missing. People want to perform and produce and feel in control but be led too. It’s a balance. The worst leaders are those that care very little about the person on their team and do not inspire in ways to ensure the employee knows they are valued.
On a lighter note, if you had the ability to pick any business superpower, what would it be and how would you put it into practice?
Jennifer Crowley: I wish I could share my business and our products with our audience across the nation without going broke. I’d like to be like a magic carpet, flying through the air, spreading ads here and there. Getting noticed, making sales, building businesses, and helping others.
What does “success” in 2023 mean to you? It could be on a personal or business level, please share your vision.
Jennifer Crowley: Success means growing in a manner to build revenue for continued developments and investments in the company while also aligning with our values and mission.
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Jennifer Crowley for taking the time to do this interview and share her knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Jennifer Crowley or her company, you can do it through her – Linkedin Page
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