Robert FrombergEditor-in-Chief, HFMA
Each night, when I say goodnight to my 6-year-old son, he gives me something to leave in front of his door. Usually, it’s a book or toy or drawing that he’s particularly enamored of that day. In the morning, he picks up the item as he leaves his room, carries it downstairs, and resumes enjoying it until something else takes his attention.
Once I asked him why he feels the need to leave an item in front of his door each night, and he replied that he believes if the item isn’t there for him to see first thing in the morning, he might forget it.
His practice fascinates me for two reasons: One reason is the idea that, no matter how important something is to him, he is concerned that he might forget it overnight. The other reason is the idea that it is possible, even crucial, to choose just one item out of the many that interest him.
I find myself thinking about how this practice might apply to work life. Do we worry that we will forget something overnight, even something critically important? Sure we do. We all have a reminder system, usually more than one. (I used to know someone who supplemented high-tech techniques with writing notes to himself on his hand, although I suppose that wouldn’t work too well overnight unless he didn’t wash his hands.) No matter how important a project, enough other things compete for our attention that reminders are critical.
More interesting to me is the notion of choosing just one thing—something that, more than anything else, we want to guarantee that we remember immediately, something that demands continuity of attention.
If you had to choose something that fit these criteria, what would it be? Something creative? Something strategic? A report you started writing yesterday that is due today? A project that will help a staff member grow?
For a hospital leader, setting priorities is a core competency. The ultimate priority is realizing the hospital’s vision and mission. Yet, what might the specific activity in pursuit of that goal look like on any given day? On one day it might be evaluating a new clinical service. On another day it might be spending time with a community group. On another day it might be taking steps to change the hospital’s capital structure. On another day it might be spending time walking through the organization listening to staff’s accomplishments and concerns.
What I take away from my son’s practice of leaving an item in front of his bedroom door is that no matter what any of us leaves in front of our bedroom door to remember the next day as part of our professional lives, the important thing is to recognize and appreciate that thing for its role in the larger purpose of our work. And for hospital leaders, that purpose is as important as any professional purpose a person could have.
Remember Me
