Robert Fromberg
Editor-in-Chief, HFMA
A friend of mine recently returned from Switzerland, where he spent a couple of weeks and dropped off his son, who would be working there for a year. He told me he learned one thing from his time in Switzerland. “The people there have a very strong work ethic,” he said. “But they don’t run around with their hair on fire the way we do. When they’re not working, they are truly not working. They actually relax.”
This conversation popped into my mind twice recently. The first time, I was flipping through a book on leadership that an acquaintance of mine recently published. I paused at an appendix in the book that presented a tool for developing yourself as a leader. The tool asks you to identify development goals, steps to achieve those goals, and due dates. A great idea, I thought, but what leader has the time even to make this plan?
The second time, I was reading the cover story for the October issue of hfm magazine, which identifies several ways to accelerate your achievement of competency in hospital pricing. The accelerators include choosing the right starting point, establishing a common pricing formula, and creating a pricing toolkit. The article makes clear that creating rational prices is a broad initiative that requires a well-conceived plan--in short, something that requires time for thoughtful consideration.
Whether your goal is to improve your organization, improve yourself, or just relax, a certain type of time is necessary--time when your hair is not on fire, time when you are not worrying about the next time your hair will be on fire, time to allow your mind to explore issues in a nonlinear fashion, time to allow your mind to wander. Anyone who writes an article published in HFMA's magazine or newsletters, anyone who presents an HFMA seminar, anyone who posts on HFMA Views has found this type of time.
My goal here is not to add to the literature about the dangers of Americans addicted to their cell phones and Blackberries. It’s tempting, but it’s a story you’ve all heard. There is nothing I can say that will suddenly make it less imperative to return a call or check e-mail.
However, I can say this: Even if your hair is on fire today, even if you can’t quite find the time for that sort of perfect calm my friend witnessed in Switzerland, others found that time. And they chose to share the results with you through HFMA. So thanks to those experts for sharing the insights gained from the moments they seized for quiet contemplation. Those insights provide a remarkable jump-start for HFMA members as they pursue their most important goal: serving their communities.
