I am reminded of Robert Fulghum's "All I need to know I learned in Kindergarten," whose core life principles can (and should) be practiced daily. You know, share everything, play fair, do not hit people, put things back where you found them, clean up your mess, do not take things that are not yours, say you are sorry when you hurt somebody.

But life's lessons do not stop there. With knowledge and experience as teachers, we can learn something new every day. Or at least we should! Sometimes the best management lessons are found when we least expect them and in the most specific and unpredictable settings. Simplicity is where the true genius lies. Let me explain.

What I learned from going to my hairdresser:

Some people do not belong in the receptionist's chair. As I sat in my stylist's chair, it was painful to my management consultant's ears to overhear how the receptionist answered her phone. Her welcome opening was hardly welcoming. There was no greeting, no inflection in her voice, and her response to what I suspected was a request for an appointment became a missed opportunity. "No, there are no openings." Period. No offer to look ahead in the schedule, no recommendation to accommodate this customer, no thank you for calling! Barely a goodbye. Does the owner even know that her "style" is turning customers away? As the assigned receptionist of a beauty salon OR a doctor's office, they are the "Director of First Impressions"; good manners and a pleasant, polite, engaging, helpful personality should be mandatory. Their attitude can make or break a business (or a practice). Some off-hours training is crucial, where role-playing and appropriately overseeing phone calls and turning them into appointments can be taught. Sadly, it is not.

• A confident professional can work and talk at the same time. 

I have been to some hairstylists who think that they need to stop working to have a conversation with their customers. This standstill approach to hair cutting involves stepping away from the customer's head, poised with scissors and comb in hand, to tell (or listen to) a story. Being a good listener is one thing, but, no joke, it turns a one-hour appointment into two. Similar complaints have been made against podiatrists who wield a scalpel or nail clipper until they finish their conversation. Little wonder that patient schedules sometimes run behind.

What I learned from going to my dentist:

• A patient's fear and trepidation can be minimized, and adherence optimized. 

Introducing scary needles and instruments or not fully understanding WHY a procedure is necessary can be a frightening experience for a patient. However, the dentist (or doctor) who takes the time to explain what will be done thoroughly communicates what one can expect to feel during and after the procedure can put the patient more at ease. What is more, patients seem more willing to adhere to associated recommendations when they understand the consequences of non-compliance.

What I learned from going with my mother to her doctor:

• Doctors need to manage their time with their patients. 

Patients love when doctors take an interest in them and engage in personal stories and conversations. Patients DO NOT love when they become prisoners of these personal stories and discussions for over an hour. OMG, in this case, TWO hours! Many patients will walk out if they are kept waiting due to mismanaged time. Building customer relations does not mean talking incessantly. It means mutual respect and knowing how and when to draw the line between enjoyable conversation and long-winded rambling. Oh yes and staying on schedule is a big plus.

What I learned from going to a restaurant:

• Hiring people who love what they do pays off. 

A restaurant experience has so much to do with the served food. It is also about the people who serve the food—employees who love what they do exceptionally reflect strongly on the business. Excellent, efficient service combined with good-natured personalities are substantiated reasons for customers to return and refer friends and family.

What I learned from being a management consultant:

• If you do not change anything, nothing will change.

I applaud doctors who want their practice and staff to be more efficient, productive, and consistent in their standard protocols. They acknowledge that a pair of outside eyes can offer new perspectives and ideas, help create an on-board team mentality, and often recognize what is working well. Yet, when it comes to implementing recommended changes, there exists a reluctance. Usually, the desire for immediate outcomes dominates the recommendation to slowly eat the elephant, one bite at a time, turning efficient changes into a time-consuming and overwhelming project and landing them right back to where they started. Elephants aside, Dr. Albert Einstein responds: "If you always do what you always did, you'll always get what you always got."