Notes from Steve

Yesterday was a beautiful day, and I rode my bike. Great ride. When I was going up the elevator to my loft, I saw a couple of friends who had a loft in the same building. They asked where I rode to and how it was. I said I swallowed a bunch of bugs. (…pause…) They smiled and said, "But it was good, right?" I said, "Absolutely, beautiful day". Later, when I was putting away my stuff, I thought, "How many times do I pull out the one thing that was a tiny bit of an inconvenience and ignore the great parts?" (The answer is all the time.)

I've seen it said when Iowans get complimented, we push away and make excuses - "this old thing?" or we'll talk about how cheap it was or "I've been meaning to get rid of it" or we'll show you the holes and how the quality is crap. I'm trying just to accept the compliment, smile, and say "thank you," but this is a lifelong behavior … it's not easy.

Lately, I've been getting a lot of compliments for Iowa Specialty Hospitals & Clinics, and it's really great. I love it when this happens. But to my horror - the words coming out of my mouth are "we haven't done much differently over the years; the competition is just getting worse." I know! I will stop, accept the compliment, and say, "I'm blessed with the best team in the business - I wake up every morning and thank God that I get the honor to work with them."*

This is Hospital Week, which in my mind is all-inclusive. Even though I don't always say it, I am blessed to be working with a group of extremely dedicated individuals who challenge the norm and raise the bar on a daily basis. You guys rock! Thank you.  

*or words to that effect.