Iowa Specialty Hospital

Notes from Steve

August 10, 2017

At the quarterly employee meetings we’re showing homemade videos that we made several years ago.  We laughed a lot making these, and we based them around our standards of behaviors.  They weren’t scripted (somewhat obviously), and we didn’t spend a lot on props or location (obviously), but the message came across pretty clear.  Sometimes throwing together something (be it a meal or a party or a movie) comes out better than a lot of planning.* 

When we started growing as a hospital, we did so with a lot of faith and desire to do the right things.  For the most part – what we did worked out.  As we continue to grow and build, throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks is not the wisest move.  We are at a point in our maturity that business plans and figuring out ROI’s** make sense.  Our strategic vision is an important guide.  In our discussions however, we know that we must remain fluid with regards to how we see things.  A black and white perspective that doesn’t allow for shades of gray will not work in our environment. 

We were discussing this in orientation this week and ok, there are some things we are militant about; saying “hi” in the hallways for example.  When we ask people why they’d travel across the state for care at Iowa Specialty Hospitals & Clinics a lot of what we get back is that this is such a caring environment.  It’s because we are committed to an environment that demonstrates care and compassion.  Rules are good for consistency, but when you focus so much on rules and structure you lose sight of big picture.  A blend of white and black with a bit of color makes for a lot better product. 

*Once my friend Pam wanted a perm for her hair (back 30 years ago in high school). So a bunch of us went to Target and got a home perm kit, didn’t read the instructions, and gave her a perm – we stuck in curlers wherever … we had no clue what we were doing.  Luckily for Pam it didn’t look horrible.  The next time she wanted one we read the instructions, and I took one side of her head and her now husband Brian took the other – I did really tight curls and he did loose curls.  She looked ridiculous.  It never happened again.

 
**return on investment

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