eBrownbag.com

eBrownbag DVDs are Here!

2011-02-02T16:18:00.000-05:00

The DVDs have finally arrived and will be shipped out this week to all who have ordered them. If you haven't already done so, order yours today!

Pre-Order Your eBrownbag.com DVDs Today!

2011-01-17T17:10:00.000-05:00

The DVDs can be ordered now through our website, http://www.ebrownbag.com. We had an unexpected delay in getting the DVDs, but we are taking orders now, and as soon as we have the DVDs in hand ourselves, we'll send them out. We expect to start shipping before the end of January - just a few more weeks!

eBrownbag Presentations Coming Soon on DVD!

2010-12-22T15:54:00.001-05:00

eBrownbag.com is proud to announce that we will soon offer DVDs of our presentations. We decided to switch from streaming video to DVD after receiving many requests for them in that format. The new DVDs will be available beginning January 1 at just $500 for unlimited use of ALL 10 presentations! Come back soon to get yours!

eBrownbag.com Improvements Give You Significant New Benefits

2009-12-22T14:34:00.000-05:00

eBrownbag.com has announced two important upgrades that will make the streaming-video presentations far more effective for in-office professional-development presentations.

First, the presentations are now available at three streaming speeds, meaning you can watch the presentations with no annoying buffering interruptions even if your system works at a slow connection speed; at least 256 kbps.

Second, the presentations now have a zoom feature, meaning you can easily expand the video to full-screen viewing, which is great for group instruction. Some of those watching it one-on-one on their computer screens may appreciate the zoom feature, too.

The first ten (of a planned 100-plus) eBrownbag.com presentations are available free of charge to members of ASFE. If you haven't tried eBrownbag presentations yet, you're missing out. "Enthusiastic" does not begin to describe the response of those who are using them.

Connect to eBrownbag presentations by going directly to www.ebrownbag.com.

eBrownbag Almost Ready To Debut

2009-12-22T14:26:00.000-05:00

Imagine this: You say to a staffer, “I want you to go home tonight and watch eBrownbag.com Presentation 10 on documentation.” The staffer doesn’t mind doing it at all, because the 35-minute presentation – featuring legend-in-his-own-mind John Bachner – is actually kind of funny, in addition to being informative. The backgrounds are neat; the sound effects are good; and the entire production is in streaming video. The staffer follows along with the downloadable course outline, and then completes the effort by taking a quiz and receiving credit, possibly including continuing education credit. The staffer follows up the next day with a mentor, and through some self-help, by reviewing previously written materials, as suggested.

The benefits of such a program should be evident.

Key among these is the quality of the education. It’s engaging “edutainment,” and – because it’s brief, typically no more than 35 minutes – it holds a viewer’s attention. (Compare that with a full-day live presentation, where attendees’ attention fades in...and out.) In essence, those who participate obtain nuggets they can digest easily, and then apply the next day. It’s easy to make time to participate (unlike scheduling for a full-day presentation), and, typically, the participant donates the time, given that it’s the participant’s career that’s being advanced.

About 100 presentations are planned at this point. The titles of the first ten presentations, and their objectives (in brief) are:

1. Welcome to Private Practice Objective: Let “newbies” know they have reasons to be frightened about what could happen, but reassure them that, through education and common sense, they can keep risks from materializing.

2. What Do You Really Do? Objective: Provide guidance on the principal source of risks. Inform viewers that they need to gain far more than technical skills in order to succeed.

3./4. What Client Representatives Really Want Objective: Inform viewers that clients are the principal source of claims and profits. Provide guidance on how to delight client representatives in order to reduce risks and increase profits.

5. The Standard of Care Objective: Explain the standard of care and how and when it is determined.

6. Duty of Care Objective: Help participants understand that their principal duty is to any party who could be injured or damaged as a consequence of their services.

7. Professional Liability Insurance Objective: Inform participants about the limitations of PLI.

8. Justice Theatre Objective: Help make participants lawsuit-averse by informing them about the time, cost, and frustrations associated with a lawsuit.

9. Personal Liability Objective: Strengthen participants’ backbone so they are less inhibited about asking tough (for them), important questions before accepting an engagement.

10. Documentation Objective: Equip participants with the tools they need to enhance their ability to document well.

The first ten presentations are “in the can” and will be available for ASFE members to use without limitation, at no cost, supposedly before the end of February. Others will be able to access the programs, but for a fee, the amount depending on whether the program is watched individually or by a group (e.g., in the office at lunch). Subsequent presentations will be available to ASFE members for a fee, because the producer is not ASFE. Instead, it’s

eBrownbag.com LLC, a company that will be formed and of which ASFE will own 25%, a share gained in return for its allowing use of its intellectual capital, as well as presentations 1-10. Another 25% of the company will be sold to raise capital for production of the next 20-30 presentations, and – once they’re on line – revenue should be sufficient to provide the money needed for additional presentations. These could cover the basics of writing (an estimated 12-15 programs), contracts, marketing and sales, etc. Feasibly, ASFE will return to members all the fees they pay to eBrownbag.com, or a portion of those fees, up to an amount not to exceed what the firm pays to ASFE in dues. It will help the effort if the 20-25 firms that become owners of eBrownbag.com are somewhat large and themselves heavy users of the material.

For more information about the overall program, speak directly with John Bachner (301/565-2733 or john@asfe.org).

eBrownbag Is up and Running!

2009-12-22T14:24:00.000-05:00

eBrownbag Is up and Running!

Imagine this: You say to a staffer, “I want you to go home tonight and watch eBrownbag.com Presentation 10 on documentation.” The staffer doesn’t mind doing it, because the 35-minute presentation – featuring legend-in-his-own-mind John Bachner – is actually kind of funny, in addition to being informative. The backgrounds are neat; the sound effects are good; and the entire production is in streaming video. The staffer follows along with the downloadable course outline, and then completes the effort by taking a quiz and receiving credit, possibly including continuing-education credit. The staffer follows up the next day with a mentor, and through some self-help, by reviewing previously written materials, as suggested.

The benefits of such a program should be evident.

Key among these is the quality of the education. It’s engaging “edutainment,” and – because it’s brief, typically no more than 35 minutes – it holds a viewer’s attention. (Compare that with a full-day live presentation, where attendees’ attention comes and goes.) In essence, those who participate obtain nuggets that they can digest easily, and then apply the next day. It’s easy to make time to participate (unlike scheduling for a full-day presentation), and typically the participant donates the time, given that it’s the participant’s career that’s being advanced.

About 100 presentations are planned. The first ten presentations are done:

1. Welcome to Private Practice

Objective: Let “newbies” know they have reasons to be frightened about what could happen, but reassure them that, through education and common sense, they can keep risks from materializing.

2. What Do You Really Do?

Objective: Provide guidance on the principal source of risks. Inform viewers that they need to gain far more than technical skills in order to succeed.

3./4. What Client Representatives Really Want

Objective: Inform viewers that clients are the principal source of claims and profits. Provide guidance on how to delight client representatives in order to reduce risks and increase profits.

5. The Standard of Care

Objective: Explain the standard of care and how and when it is determined.

6. Duty of Care

Objective: Help participants understand that their principal duty is to any party who could be injured or damaged as a consequence of their services.

7. Professional Liability Insurance

Objective: Inform participants about the limitations of PLI.

8. Justice Theatre

Objective: Help make participants lawsuit-averse by informing them about the time, cost, and frustrations associated with a lawsuit.

9. Personal Liability

Objective: Strengthen participants’ backbone so they are less inhibited about asking tough (for them), important questions before accepting an engagement.

10. Documentation

Objective: Equip participants with the tools they need to enhance their ability to document well.

The ten are now showing at www.ebrownbag.com, and all are available free for ASFE members to use without limitation. Nonmembers will be able to access the programs, too, but for a fee. Subsequent presentations will be available to ASFE members for a fee, because the producer is not ASFE. Instead, it’s eBrownbag.com LLC, a company of which ASFE will own 25%, a share gained in return for its allowing use of its intellectual capital, as well as presentations 1-10. Another 25% of the company will be sold to raise capital for production of the next 20-30 presentations, and – once they’re on line – revenue should be sufficient to provide the money needed for additional presentations. These could cover the basics of writing (an estimated 12-15 programs), contracts, marketing and sales, procurement, CoMET issues, etc. Feasibly, ASFE will return to members a portion of the fees they pay to eBrownbag.com, or a portion of those fees, up to an amount not to exceed what the firm pays to ASFE in dues. It will help the effort if the 20-25 firms that become owners of eBrownbag.com are somewhat large and themselves heavy users of the material.

For more information about the overall program, speak with John Bachner (301/565-2733 or john@asfe.org).

10 - Documentation

2009-06-11T14:32:00.000-04:00

Committing oral communication and observations to writing is essential, especially for purposes of risk management. Some writing is better than others, however, and – when it comes to documentation – the best writing conveys important detail. In order to do that, the writer needs to apply six content questions: who, what, when, where, how, and why. John demonstrates how viewers can get into the habit of applying this important technique to their own writing, simply by practicing on documentation they’ve already prepared.

9 - Managing Your Personal Liability Risk

2009-06-11T14:31:00.000-04:00

Professionals have personal liability exposures whether or not they are licensed, no matter how large or small the organization they work for. And in some cases, those exposures can last even after a professional dies. That being the case, professionals need to select projects and clients with care, and they need to ask what for some may be difficult questions: Have you done a project like this before? Where will your funding come from? Who have you worked with before? As John explains, there’s too much at stake to ignore the risk associated with just about any project. The first step is to learn about the project and the client – public-sector or private-sector – behind it.

8 - Justice Theatre

2009-06-11T14:15:00.000-04:00

John explains the litigation process and the time, cost, frustration, and aggravation associated with the research, discovery (file review, interrogatories, depositions), and settlement or trial (and appeals) involved. He also discusses the value of the distraction that can occur, along with loss of reputation. His purpose? To encourage practitioners to avoid situations that lead to litigation, and to employ alternative dispute resolution when possible.

7 - Professional Liability Insurance

2009-06-11T14:13:00.000-04:00

John explains the many weaknesses of professional liability insurance and why practitioners should regard it only as a safety net (and not a particularly reliable one) and not a trampoline. He discusses the nature of claims-made coverage (vs. occurrence-based), prior-acts limits, aggregate limits, and uncovered exposures, such as contractual liability. He also points out the additional, uninsurable costs of the deductible, lost time, aggravation, lost productivity, and lost sleep.

6 - Third Parties and Your Duty of Care

2009-06-11T14:10:00.000-04:00

John explains the duty of care that professionals owe to third parties (those not a party to the professional-client contract) that or who could foreseeably be injured or damaged. John also explains what foreseeability is and why abiding by a client’s wishes may be the wrong – dangerously wrong – thing to do. John uses four case histories to illustrate his points: “The Case of the Condo Conversion,” “The Case of the Hook in the Cell,” “The Case of the Angry Drunk Loser,” and “The Case of Somebody’s Gotta Pay.”

5 - The Standard of Care

2009-06-11T14:05:00.000-04:00

Professional negligence is a failure to abide by the standard of care that results in damage or injury. But what is the standard of care? John explains, using two case histories – “The Case of the House on the Hill” and “The Case of the East Tennessee Trench” – to exemplify key issues, including the concept of “no harm, no foul.” He also discusses the role of expert witnesses, and how some – “hired-gun experts” – say whatever they believe needs to be said in order for their clients to win. “Forewarned is forearmed,” John says…and he’s right.

4 - What Client Representatives Really Want, Part 2

2009-06-11T14:04:00.000-04:00

Recognition can be an extremely important factor when it comes to risk management and business maintenance/development. John focuses on what recognition involves and a variety of techniques for providing it; from telephone answering to rewarding a client representative for a referral. Active listening is another important technique for demonstrating recognition, in both business and personal pursuits; John highlights what’s involved.

3 - What Client Representatives Really Want, Part 1

2009-06-11T14:02:00.000-04:00

Client representatives are the people who represent your clients, the latter almost always being organizations. By using the term “client representative,” you reinforce he concept that your job is to delight client representatives by making them heroic within their organizations, thus to defend against lawsuits and to obtain new business, referrals, and an excellent defense against claims and losses. John discusses one of those most important techniques available for doing this – expectation management – and also addresses the many character traits you need to be aware of and demonstrate.

2 - The Roles You Will Play

2009-06-11T13:57:00.000-04:00

Technical professionals who gain responsibility in an organization also gain more roles; they are called upon to do more and need to do it well. Failing to understand that can result in poor performance, and that can lead to problems. John discusses typical roles professionals come to play, including: reporter, writer, editor, proofreader, leader, manager, supervisor, HR manager, performance reviewer, mentor, salesperson, marketer, public speaker, meeting manager, interviewer, contractor liaison, colleague liaison, client liaison, government liaison, regulatory specialist, negotiator, mediator, diplomat, risk manager, insurance coordinator, lender, bill collector, lawyer, and accountant.

1 - Welcome to Private Practice

2009-06-10T12:25:00.000-04:00

John points out that professionals are personally liable for what they do (up to and beyond death!) and, with the help of a poignant case history, he underscores some of the fundamental measures technical professionals can apply to avoid problems; e.g., don’t use jargon, prepare a written agreement, use limitation of liability and alternative dispute resolution, obtain professional liability insurance, document oral discussions in writing, and – above all – do it right or don't do it at all.