Notes from Steve
I was telling everyone I saw today that I rode 75 miles on Saturday and 30 miles on Sunday and ran a 5K on Monday. No one cared. Meh. Just for the record, I was very impressed with myself.
This is the way of life for me. I obsess over details that no one cares about … or maybe they do. I was talking to some friends the other day whose mom is in a nursing home in a big city in Iowa. She’s now on Medicaid after spending down her funds. They were telling me that her room was very dirty (like built-up dirt in the corners and lack of housekeeping). They asked, “Is it because she’s on Medicaid?” I said “I hope not” … I felt bad for her and the family that they assumed she would get a lower quality of basic care because of her financial status. They noticed the details. When they told me this I thought, “I wonder if anyone assumes that about us?”
My goal in life is to be the best example of myself that I can be. I want the organizations that I am involved with to show the highest level of engagement and quality possible. Brooke (our wellness leader) talked to our leadership last week and said that if she is going to lead wellness, then she wants to demonstrate in her life what wellness looks like. I love this perspective. We have celebrations at Iowa Specialty Hospitals & Clinics, we have running clubs, we have parties, we have engagement activities … not everyone does everything, but I want people who work here to be able to have pride in how we try and engage everyone, even if they don’t take part of the activity. (“I’m not going to ride RAGBRAI, but it’s cool we have a team!”) I like to think people notice. I want to think people notice.
When we think of winning teams or successful businesses or people who make an impact - it’s usually the ones who obsess over the details. Maybe running that extra drill at practice, picking up the little piece of trash in the hallway, or saying “hi” with a smile in your voice won’t make all the difference, but it won’t hurt and it’ll potentially help.
