Medical diagnosis is not always as logic as you think – Rodric Leerling

My insurance company was one of the first to show compassion with my knee injury. “How long did you say you have had this knee injury? Wow, almost three months without a clear diagnosis. Let’s try a 2nd opinion before you see yet another specialist.”

I felt mentally supported after seeing 3 GP’s, the orthopedist (more of his assistant). Swallowing three different anti-inflammatory drugs, getting injected with cortisone and being X-rayed and MRI-ed.
The sport medical doctor was the one to give me the obvious word: you have stressed yourself too much as referee in futsal and field football. After such a hectic season the knee can’t cope any longer and blows up. Layman’s talk.

Well, none of that. He studied both the X-ray and MRI scan in my presence. Read the accompanying GP letter with their procedures so far. Checked my swollen knee and just nodded. His verdict was shockingly direct: this is clearly not a sports related injury. At least, it’s not the way a knee reacts to being overly stressed – even after a total inner-meniscus removal (40 years ago) and a heavy season where I pushed hard to get promoted. No mechanical cause to be found, just like the orthopedist told me.

He simply would have given the same advice: go and see the reumatologist. He will probably ask for a puncture and examine the excess fluid. Maybe he has a an idea what causes the knee (and possibly other body parts) to react so vehemently. He wished me luck and said to be sorry not to be able to help any further.

And just when I wanted to hit the ‘publish’ key, the reumatologist called me if I wanted to fill a last-minute opening in his agenda. Sure, let’s do it! Seeing him in 60 minutes. To be continued.

Stuck In The Medical System Without Perspective – Rodric Leerling

Today, I visited the student orthopedist again in hospital. His injection of three weeks ago didn’t have the expected effect. I enjoyed a short three days of a non-swollen knee. Since ten days it’s back and hence limping time again. And that for ten weeks on a row now.

I called and asked the hospital reception last week if I could just have a phone call to tell the doctor that the injection didn’t work for long. No, I was told, you have to come in person and see the doctor again (hence the expression ‘pay them a visit’?).

It was the usual 30 minutes delay and then within 2 minutes the conclusion: “hmmm, this is not good, I have to consult the specialist. I will be back soon.” They basically ticked the same boxes as my GP had done four weeks ago. The verdict: an MRI scan to check the tissues around the knee. See if there is something wrong that couldn’t be spotted on the X-Ray. Another injection was not possible, unfortunately.

To my big surprise, the scan could be scheduled on next Saturday with the follow-up consulting visit on Tuesday. If that’s not going to produce any clarity, a tube operation will be the last resort.

I think I’m going to call the Dutch football association telling them that I’m not going to  be ready for the season opening games. In the higher ref league. Four weeks to get back in shape is basically too little time.

Don’t Put Your Trust In The Rain Radar App – Rodric Leerling

We were kindly advised to evacuate the hotel terrass within 15 minutes. The waitress looked pretty serious and pointed to the sky. The rain radar was predicting heavy rainfall with thunderstorm and we’d better move indoors.

We decided however to wait a while and not immediately follow her sincere advise. While we continued our conversation I thought I felt a first raindrop while temperatures were close to 30C and getting very humid. But nothing happened and it stayed dry for the rest of the day. Well, at least in Amsterdam, while other places got the full rain menu.

The rain radar tool is supposed to predict rain. A no-brainer. Predicting rain at a specific time and location. But it’s apparently not very accurate where the delivery will take place. Aren’t we focussed too much on our smartphone and at the same time getting dependent on information from our electronic devices? Why not check things with our own eyes and study the skies instead of our screens.

Here’s my analogue weather approach: check the position of birds flying high or low (flying low is due to low pressure). Smell the air of plants discarding their waste at low pressure, producing the smell  of compost. Sudden low pressure is known for predicting bad weather. Can I recommend a combination of digital and analogue assessments for future local weather predictions? It might save your outdoor meeting.

Laat Je Het Social Media Management Over Aan Een Stagiair? – Rodric Leerling

Je piekert over de vraag hoe en welke social media platforms te gebruiken voor je bedrijf. Welke kanalen passen het beste en hoe vul je die met goede content? En wie zetten we daarop, en vertrouwen we dat hij of zij snapt wat er gebeurt als je het domein social media betreedt? En gaat het wat opleveren?

Social media is geen nieuwtje meer maar inmiddels een serieus kanaal om je b2b zaken te laten groeien en verstevigen. Je wilt immers relevant zijn en blijven voor je klanten. Goede content op social media is daarbij de ultieme sleutel tot succes. Maar het is niet zoals het oude ‘broadcast’ model waar je media zoals vakbladen gebruikt om je producten aan te prijzen. Met social media content ontwikkel je traffic richting je website. Je content wordt gedeeld in andere netwerken en de olievlek breidt zich uit. Het maakt uiteindelijk van lezers business leads, en uiteindelijk ontstaat de conversie naar nieuwe klanten. Die weer je ambassadeurs worden. Een lange adem soms.

Maar ik hoor gelijk een zucht, want social media is nog niet helemaal je terrein. We hebben toch een strakke website waar klanten ons kunnen vinden en onze producten en diensten bekijken? Waarom niet de social media overlaten aan een stagiair die dit beter snapt dan wij? De generatie-Y zit bijna constant op die platforms en weet beter hoe je dat moet inzetten. En ze zijn nog eens goedkoop ook.

Maar ben je bereid om het social media management uit te besteden aan een student? Meekijken en een beetje gokken dat het wel goed zal gaan? Besef wel dat toekomstige werknemers, potentiële investeerders en prospects, voordat ze de bedrijfssite zoeken, vaak eerst googelen op je naam en bedrijf. De op Google page 1 genoemde social media slots worden bezocht om te beslissen of ze wel of niet contact gaan opnemen. Denk aan aspecten zoals of je interessant bent en betrouwbaar. Of de bedrijfsmissie met passie uitgedragen wordt door de CEO. En of er dynamiek in het bedrijf zit en er een visie is voor de sector. Hier kan zomaar de externe belangstelling ophouden.

Dus naast de bedrijfssite vormen social media het dynamische raam waardoor bezoekers naar je bedrijf kijken. Instappen op deze platforms is een prima move, maar is het het risico waard om het management ervan over te laten aan een stagiair? Kan die wel goede long- en short form content maken, zoals blogs, interviews en tweets? Video interviews en reportages plannen, opnemen en editen, en professionele fotografie maken? En niet te vergeten een goede content planning en consequent het management er aan houden. Dit bij elkaar vergt senioriteit en ervaring.

Bezuinig er niet op en huur een professional. En tenslotte …. Google jezelf nou eens?

 

“Is social ghostwriting a solution for you?” – Rodric Leerling

Rodric Leerling, Leerling,biz, RefRod

It really came up as a practical solution. The manager I met the other day realized he needed to produce social content in order to contribute to his industry and to attract more customers at the same time. But he simply had no time. Or wasn’t particularly good at writing, but didn’t want to admit it. I believed it to be a mix of both.

I suggested I would write a draft text of 300-400 words and he would finish it. Tune it to his own ‘voice’ and swap certain words he would not use for his own ‘lingo’. This could be done in less than 30 minutes. I contributed with a relevant topic-of-the-week, an easy to read piece of content and a good header. And provided a planning for 10 weeks ahead. He happily agreed and it worked really well for as long as he was in the position of manager.

Mind you, I wasn’t running his social accounts. We agreed he would still read other people’s postings, give likes and leave comments. And he would respond to questions or comments by himself. Learning about some ghostwriting horror stories, I realized the potential negative implications of being in control of his social accounts. Imagine the manager having conversions with people he would have met in real life and me handling them in social media. Or I could (in theory) be tempted and reply to heated conversations with an opinion that he doesn’t share. Or I could be contradicting something he has said somewhere else. Too risky. And easy to find out.

An alternative way of getting personal and relevant content out is in the form of an interview. This way, there is a natural encounter and quotes can easily be used on other social media channels like Twitter. Is social ghostwriting an idea worth considering for you? Let’s talk!