I didn’t see the movie but I remember the line by Jack Nicholson to Tom Cruise … “You can’t handle the truth!!” My new bike was delivered this past weekend and my once first place status is now middle of the pack because I’m riding on a calibrated bike. Even though I want to know the truth … the truth is a buzzkill. Sometimes people let the kid win at checkers or a card game but when the kid grows up and plays for real and loses, well, that’s how I feel. I liked winning.
We had an awesome recruitment dinner at my house last week. I made the risotto*. I, as I usually do told the story of Iowa Specialty Hospitals & Clinics and my awaking to the “truth” of healthcare. What it really means to have the best place to work, and to provide care and to receive healthcare. The “buzzkill” in this is that there are still a lot of places that don’t get it. They don’t live kindness and compassion. They see healthcare as only a business and the income statement and balance sheet as their only guide to the future. It is important to have a margin in order to live your mission … however, if you sacrifice the soul for the dollar …
We’ve had a lot of discussion regarding the truth lately. You can sugarcoat the truth. (I heard once “the mark of a good leader is to tell someone to go to hell and have them look forward to the trip.” No, I disagree with this – they left without getting the message.) You can sandwich the truth with noise … “SQUIRREL!!” You can rationalize, justify, marginalize all day … but in the end, verified truth is the only avenue to real change.
As we move forward, I hope to present the truth in a way that can be heard by all and appreciated. For me – whether or not a buzzkill – I want to know and I want everyone (including myself) to hold me accountable if they don’t understand or think I’m on the wrong path.
“WE” can handle the truth.
*It was wonderful, PM me for the recipe.
