Michael E. Cafferky
2052 Gemstone Dr.
Walla Walla, WA 99362-8206
One of the few recognized experts world-wide on the topic of word- of-mouth communications, Mr. Cafferky is the author of four books on the topic including Let Your Customers Do the Talking: 301+ Word-of-mouth Marketing Tactics Guaranteed to Boost Profits (Upstart Publishing). Also, he is the author of the book Patients Build Your Practice: Word- of-mouth Marketing For Healthcare Practitioners (Practice Management Information Corp, Los Angeles, 1995) as well as the author and co-developer (with his son) of a computer simulation learning game under the same title. Also, he is the author and developer of a hypertext computer tutorial on the topic titled Let Your Customers Do The Talking.
Mr. Cafferky has presented his seminars on word-of-mouth marketing scores of times in North America and in Eastern Europe. From 1993 to 1995, Mr. Cafferky wrote a regularly featured column on small business marketing for Business Tech International a business magazine for entrepreneurs in Romania and Eastern Europe. Over one hundred of his articles have been published in magazines and newspapers in America and Europe. He is listed in Who's Who in the West and Who's Who in Finance & Industry.
Mr. Cafferky currently is a healthcare executive, consultant and seminar leader. Mr. Cafferky was formerly the Executive Director of Managed Care at Walla Walla General Hospital from 1995 through 1998 and before that the Director of Business Development of Pacific Hospital of Long Beach (CA) from 1989 to 1995. A Certified Healthcare Executive and Diplomate in the American College of Healthcare Executives, Mr. Cafferky has been in healthcare leadership for over fifteen years. He has worked for Kettering Medical Center (Kettering, OH), and National Medical Enterprises - Tenet (Montclair, CA). He is the author of the consumer book Managed Care & You: The Consumer Guide to Managing Your Healthcare (Health Information Press, Los Angeles, 1997).
An experienced public speaker and trainer, Mr. Cafferky has been an adjunct professor at the University of La Verne, La Sierra University School of Business & Management, and Columbia Union College. He has taught university graduate and undergraduate courses in Principles of Marketing, Marketing Management, Religion & Health, The Church In The World, and Medical Sociology. He has been a guest lecturer for the American Booksellers Association, several colleges and universities and professional associations.
Mr. Cafferky earned a B.A. in Theology from Atlantic Union College (South Lancaster, MA) and an M.Div. from Andrews University (Berrien Springs, MI) in Religion & Health. Mr. Cafferky also earned the M.P.H. from Loma Linda University School of Public Health (Loma Linda, CA) in Public Health Education and a Ph.D. in Business Administration (Consumer Behavior & Marketing) from Southwest University (New Orleans, LA).
An active consultant and volunteer for many years, Mr. Cafferky served the City of Long Beach Business Consulting Service as a Marketing Consultant from 1991-1995. In 1995 he began serving the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) the small business consulting services of the US Small Business Administration. The last fifteen years he has assisted dozens of companies in developing successful word-of-mouth marketing programs.
In 1992 Mr. Cafferky traveled to Romania as a volunteer consultant to serve that nation's first private, non-profit health center located in Tirgu Mures in the heart of Transylvania. In 1994 he returned to Transylvania as a volunteer to assist an American company in studying the feasibility of developing a breakfast cereal import/distribution system. In 1995 the U.S. Peace Corps sent Mr. Cafferky to Tirgu Mures, Romania to conduct training programs in marketing and quality improvement.
His book on word-of-mouth communications for churches is 95% complete. He is currently revising and preparing it for submission and publication.
Collaborating with Arlene Taylor (Michael's cousin, public speaker, and author), Michael has developed a new article on customer service.
Over the years Michael has developed a variety of tools to raise awareness to the importance of word-of-mouth marketing. He is creating games and simulations along with his essays on the topic.
Mr. Cafferky is already planning his next book on the topic of word-of-mouth communication - this one targeted to the political campaign market.
Copyright 1997 by Michael E. Cafferky
More than merely a history of my employment life, the following list explores some of the principles that I learned from the various jobs I have had over the years. One theme is evident: I learned just as much in menial jobs when I was young as I later learned during my career in business management.
Most of these jobs are not listed on my curriculum vitae, but each one offered me something of value far beyond what a resume can present: life lessons that lead to success.
Job: Sweeping the gymnasium floor after elementary school
every day - grades 5 - 8 (Idaho).
Lessons learned: If the boss plays around in the gym,
it's okay for you to play, too. When the boss leaves, put the ball
away and sweep. Work is no fun when you are a child in a
gymnasium. If you want to have time to play after sweeping, speed
is what you need.
Job: Choral singer in high school - okay, this really
wasn't a job but I learned something important anyway
(Washington).
Lessons learned: Even if you think you don't have a
chance to succeed, try anyway. I didn't try out for the select
singing group because I was sure I would not make it. A few weeks
later, I learned that the conductor wanted me to try out and had
expected that I would succeed. Someone else got the part and the
experience. I never had to learn that lesson again.
Job: Painting crew - summer job during high school
(Washington).
Lesson learned: Don't paint your boss into a
corner.
Job: Night watchman - summer job during high school
(Washington).
Lessons learned: When making your rounds to the
darkest, most spookiest places on campus, speed is what you need.
To avoid even the appearance of a problem, turn in your keys when
you quit your job.
Job: Summer camp sailing instructor on Lake Tahoe when I
was eighteen and she was sixteen (California).
Lessons learned: To give the campers a good time on
the sail boat, speed is what you need. Have a "Plan B" for the
unlikely event that the wind will stop when you are in the middle
of the lake. Graciously accept help from a stranger in the middle
of the lake if you have no other options. Don't mix romance with
work.
Job: Forest service road survey crew in the Olympic
National (rain) Forest (Washington).
Lessons learned: Get along with your team - you may be
with them in a tent in the rain for a very long time (eight out of
eleven weeks on the mountain with rain every day).
Job: Bus boy at resort restaurant (Washington).
Lessons learned: You make more money for the waiter by
making happy customers. Speed is what you need. Don't take credit
(tips) that belongs to someone else (the waiter).
Job: Grave yard sexton: opening and closing graves (New
Jersey).
Lessons learned: To avoid a nasty problem later, put
things (the deceased) in their right place the first time.
Exhuming a body and reburying it in the correct (grave) location is
a lot worse than it sounds.
Job: University medical center night janitor in the urology
department (California).
Lessons learned: Patients expect clean exam rooms.
Patients hate dirty exam rooms. The medical director doesn't like
a janitor who maintains dirty exam rooms. Stay awake on the job.
Frequent the local public library to advance your learning. Stay
in school until you graduate.
Job: College book bindery - making hard back book
covers (Massachusetts).
Lessons learned: Don't skimp on the thing that is the
key element in your success (glue). Make your product good the
first time. Speed is what you need. Haste makes waste. Send a
clean product to the next person in the assembly line. If another
worker sends you junk to work with, confront him/her with
diplomacy.
Job: History teacher for urban 7th and 8th graders (New
York City).
Lessons learned: If you are in charge, stay in charge.
It's okay to have some fun at work if you get your work done. They
are terrific kids, but teaching pubescent children is not something
I want to do the rest of my life.
Job: Nursing assistant in long term care facility
(Massachusetts).
Lessons learned: Getting old can be the pits if you
have health problems. Even when you are old and ill, you can help
your care-givers feel like they are making a difference. It's okay
to swear when you get old and ill.
Job: Construction worker (North Dakota).
Lessons learned: Anticipate the needs of your team.
Take a mindless job and make it interesting. When you supply
materials to the professionals who lay blocks and lay bricks, speed
is what you need. If you are working in North Dakota putting on a
roof in November, speed is what you need. Savor the sense of pride
from a job well done even when you are so tired at the end of the
day that you feel you cannot move a muscle. If you hit your thumb
with a hammer, it will be sore for two weeks even if swearing helps
you feel better at the moment. Don't surprise your boss by
accidently knocking him off the fork lift when the platform is
twenty feet from the ground. The image will never leave you or
him. Volunteer to learn a skill (laying bricks) from a
professional that you can use later to your advantage. Swearing
doesn't help if you hit the same thumb two weeks later.
Job: Self-employed brick layer during graduate school
(Michigan, California).
Lessons learned: If you want to make more money, speed
is what you need. Own your mistakes and make them right at no
charge to your customer (did I mention the part about speed?). The
sooner you catch and repair a mistake, you will have less of a risk
that the mistake will harden into a major problem. Don't take
yourself too seriously: After receiving positive criticism from an
experienced magazine editor, I was crushed and (unfortunately)
waited five years before writing again for publication.
Job: Church pastor, community development leader
(Ohio).
Lessons learned: Never allow yourself to be put into
a position where you will be embarrassed openly in a group. Never
embarrass someone in front of a group. Take care of your opinion
leaders. Take the job only if the former leader is gone when you
arrive. If you are a writer, keep writing.
Job: Assistant Manager of Community Health Education when
the department is being closed (Ohio).
Lessons learned: Plan ahead. Some industries change
rapidly. Never have only one career option available. Write about
things you know.
Job: Self-employed marketing consultant (California).
Lessons learned: If you have just one client, that
client controls your destiny. Spread your risks and your revenue
base by getting more than one client. Follow through on your
commitments. Learn fast. Set backs are merely opportunities to
rise higher. Perception and reputation are reality. Reality is
everything. Reputation is spread primarily by word of mouth. If
you have to do something other than writing to feed your family,
it's okay to delay your writing until you are financially stable.
Loyal customers are more valuable than one-time customers.
Job: Hospital marketing director (California).
Lessons learned: Persistence: even a one quarter of
one percent response can make a difference. After being laid off,
I made over four hundred cold calls (via telephone) in two weeks
obtaining twelve opportunities to submit resumes that resulted in
four interviews. From these I received one job offer for part-time
temporary work which I accepted. This turned into a full-time work
lasting for over six years.
Job: University adjunct professor of marketing - part
time while I worked full time at my next job (California).
Lessons learned: Help the next generation experience
the joy that comes from a sense of fulfillment in serving others.
Make it practical. Limit your comments to things you know.
Job: Hospital business development director
(California).
Lessons learned: Bloom where you are planted. The
slope of the mountain you climb is measured not by instruments but
by your heart. Apply what you learn in your personal life to the
advantage of your employer and you will benefit, too (published two
books). Don't hold yourself back in a writing project for fear
that you won't have anything to give to the next project. It is
only by giving your all to each project that you find new
resources, new energy for the next project. Publishing a book
opens up more career opportunities than you can imagine. Volunteer
to help someone in another time zone, in another culture and you
will gain from it. Using frequent flier miles I traveled to
Romania as a volunteer and received more in return than I spent.
Job: Medical group administrator (Washington).
Lessons learned: Stay with the process. Don't leave
anything on the court - give it your best. Never respond in anger.
Delegate the successes and the problems. Give plenty of positive
reinforcement. Support your team. Choose your battles carefully.
Using diplomacy, confront your enemies in private. Never stop
learning. Take the job only on the condition that the former
leader is gone when you arrive. (Some lessons are learned more
slowly than others.) When improving on your opportunities for
writing for publication, persistence is more important than
speed.
Every job has brought me a gift, some opportunity, often
unanticipated but always welcomed. What I hope to have learned by
retirement includes the following:
What have you learned from your work?
December 6, 1997
Walla Walla, WA
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