How to Set Up a Strong Alliance with Other Certified Legal Nurse Consultants
Everyone knows that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Every Certified Legal Nurse Consultant knows at least one CLNC® consultant, if not more. If you’ve attended one of our CLNC® Certification Seminars, you’ve made lifelong CLNC® friends. When you attend the NACLNC® Annual Conference, you reconnect with CLNC® consultants from all over the country. But all too often you only do it for those short periods of time. Not everyone capitalizes on their connections to make a strong chain or develop a mini-network.
In this information/communication-driven world of Facebook®, Twitter®, Skype® and the Internet, the only thing holding you back is the lack of a plan. Given the myriad ways we can communicate these days there is nothing, and I mean nothing, stopping any Certified Legal Nurse Consultant from setting up their own CLNC® Connection Chain (or “CCC” for short).
Facebook’em Danno. Next, set up your own private group on Facebook and send an invite to each of the Certified Legal Nurse Consultants you’ve identified and ask them to join your group. You now have the second link in your CCC, a place where you and the CLNC® members of your group can communicate freely and network with each other that doesn’t require any special skill. Remember to set your privacy settings to keep others from seeing your group’s discussions. CCC Link 2 is complete.
Get Yourself a Glam-Cam. Your next step is to go out and spend less than $60 and buy a USB web cam with embedded microphone for your computer (unless you’re lucky enough to have an Apple® laptop or iMac with one built in). Install the camera. (Tom installed mine and claims it’s so simple even a caveman can do it.) Then sign up for the free version of Skype. This will allow you to have weekly video conferences in pairs or in groups with your CCC members. It’s much more fun than telephone conferences and much more rewarding in terms of retying the connections with the other CCCers. You can also use this to check in with your hi-tech attorney-clients. Link 3 checked off.
Tweet Like a Tweety-Bird.Join Twitter but be sure to protect your “tweets.” Protecting your tweets allows only those Twitter members you specifically approve to see your tweets. You can still follow Ashton Kutcher, but your tweets will only be seen by those you approve to view them. Use the initiation function of Twitter to send email invitations to your list of CLNC® colleagues. If you have a texting plan for your smart phone, turn on the mobile tweets function of Twitter and select only those people in your group to update you via cell phone. You can read the rest of the twitterers using Tweetdeck or on Twitter. This way you’ll get texts of important updates from your CCC. Use Twitter to schedule your Skype calls, update your CCC on new attorney-clients or just to tell them what you’re doing. Link 4 in place.
Meet Up to Keep Up. When you attend the NACLNC® Annual Conference, plan on flying in at least two days early to brainstorm with your CCC members. You’ll want to meet before the conference to get your face-to-face time in with your CCC members. Focus on learning from your group and grab new ideas for your legal nurse consulting business so you can rock back and enjoy the conference. Link 5 done and your CLNC® Connection Chain is ready to pay off big!
Now put your CLNC® Connection Chain to use. Set accountable and measurable objectives, and share them with your CLNC® chain members. When you complete an objective, send out a tweet. Schedule at least two Skype calls a month so that everyone can update each other on the steps they’ve taken towards their accountable objectives. Research shows that being accountable to others for the action steps in your strategic plan help you implement them. Celebrate each others’ successes and brainstorm over what went well and what didn’t. This is your private brain trust, exclusive board of directors and personal planning committee – make use of them!
A CLNC® Connection Chain is a great way to make sure your legal nurse consulting business succeeds. Here’s my challenge to Certified Legal Nurse Consultants – set up your own CCC and put it to the test for 60 days. I’ll be waiting to hear from you when you share with all of us how your CCC has helped your legal nurse consulting business.
Success Is Inside!
P.S.Comment and share whether or not you have a CCC right now. If not, when will you begin?
2 thoughts on “How to Set Up a Strong Alliance with Other Certified Legal Nurse Consultants”
I love this post. Thanks, Vickie, for providing an easy-to-follow framework/plan for leverage these tools, i.e., Twitter, Facebook, etc. and other communications technology as a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant. I personally have been feeling somewhat isolated in my business venture, and this is something that could certainly help address that! I’ve been wondering lately how to separate the personal fun and sometimes goofy tweets and posts from a more business-oriented (but still fun) use of social media. I need to learn more about how to create private groups within Facebook and/or Twitter for this purpose.
Here in Wisconsin, the Certified Legal Nurse Consultants have started meeting every other month to support each other in our business pursuits. We also invite those who are considering taking the CLNC® Certification Program to join us during our meetings; this gives them a chance to ask questions while exploring the possibility of enrolling. So far, we had a meet and greet where 10 people came. The group emails ideas for topics and then it’s up to the host to plan the date and time for the gathering. Of course, each meeting involves food! So, each of brings a dish to pass, making it easier on the host!
We also have developed a spreadsheet with Certified Legal Nurse Consultants in our sections of the state and update it periodically, when others tell us they’d like to be included! This spreadsheet includes each person’s nursing specialties, contact numbers, email and towns where we live. That way, if we’re meeting in a place, we have an opportunity to drive with someone else that lives nearby. Or, if one nurse needs a subcontractor, we know who we can call for help.
I’ve met so many people at the annual NACLNC® Conferences, and keep that contact going through the year with those who are close to home.
Our biggest criteria is that everyone is a graduate of the Institute or those considering taking the class.
How is this working? Quite well. We have about 40 people listed on our spreadsheet, and about 6-10 come to each meeting. Not bad for just beginning a few months back!
LegalNurse.com is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.
The National Alliance of Certified Legal Nurse Consultants (NACLNC®) is the largest and oldest association of legal nurse consultants.
Need tuition assistance? We've partnered with Sallie Mae to provide financing options.
*The opinions and statements made by Vickie Milazzo, the founder of Medical-Legal Consulting Institute, Inc. are based on her experiences and expertise, should not be applied beyond the specific context provided, and do not guaranty or project actual results. Vickie Milazzo is no longer involved in the operations or management of the business, but is involved as an independent education consultant.
I love this post. Thanks, Vickie, for providing an easy-to-follow framework/plan for leverage these tools, i.e., Twitter, Facebook, etc. and other communications technology as a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant. I personally have been feeling somewhat isolated in my business venture, and this is something that could certainly help address that! I’ve been wondering lately how to separate the personal fun and sometimes goofy tweets and posts from a more business-oriented (but still fun) use of social media. I need to learn more about how to create private groups within Facebook and/or Twitter for this purpose.
Here in Wisconsin, the Certified Legal Nurse Consultants have started meeting every other month to support each other in our business pursuits. We also invite those who are considering taking the CLNC® Certification Program to join us during our meetings; this gives them a chance to ask questions while exploring the possibility of enrolling. So far, we had a meet and greet where 10 people came. The group emails ideas for topics and then it’s up to the host to plan the date and time for the gathering. Of course, each meeting involves food! So, each of brings a dish to pass, making it easier on the host!
We also have developed a spreadsheet with Certified Legal Nurse Consultants in our sections of the state and update it periodically, when others tell us they’d like to be included! This spreadsheet includes each person’s nursing specialties, contact numbers, email and towns where we live. That way, if we’re meeting in a place, we have an opportunity to drive with someone else that lives nearby. Or, if one nurse needs a subcontractor, we know who we can call for help.
I’ve met so many people at the annual NACLNC® Conferences, and keep that contact going through the year with those who are close to home.
Our biggest criteria is that everyone is a graduate of the Institute or those considering taking the class.
How is this working? Quite well. We have about 40 people listed on our spreadsheet, and about 6-10 come to each meeting. Not bad for just beginning a few months back!