As we approach the Thanksgiving week and prepare to celebrate with friends, families and a few football games, I thought it would be a good idea to post what I am thankful for in my life. I am absolutely thankful for my family and my friends. I am also thankful for those who stand up for freedom and serve our country. There are so many ways to serve our country. Teachers, Police and Fire, Parents raising good kids who understand what it means to be an American . We also have many brave men and women serving over seas who make a great sacrifice and deserve our thanks not just next week but every day of the year. If you see a military member in full dress, just a hat or even a license plate that states veteran, take a moment and say thank you! It is one regret I have in my life that I never served but as a good friend told me as he headed off to serve, my job was to take care of my family and help his while he was gone. I hope I served him well.
I am also thankful for what I do in health care. It was not long ago when I did not know what I wanted to be when I grow up. Do you know what is interesting? I am so passionate about what I do in health care, it actually feels like it is keeping me young. It is a great feeling and every day is a challenge. Some days end very well and others not so well but I just continually learn and adjust. One of my colleagues recently told me " If you were in a job that you were not intellectually challenged, you would probably go nuts!" She is right!
The intellectual challenge is not only from people much smarter than me but also from front line staff who have wonderful ideas that I have never even thought of over my fifteen years doing what I do. I have a very open door leadership style. If you have an idea, I have a large whiteboard where you can draw it and have a discussion. I love to see the passion in the eyes of people when they talk through their idea. Some of these ideas work and some do not but the process is what counts at the end. This brings me to the next thing for which I am thankful.
I am thankful for the supervisor (at an unnamed vendor) told me that I would not succeed when I openly told her I was interested in interviewing for a position with a large client. I used the chain of command at that organization all the way to the VP to explain why I was interested in this move. Everyone else was supportive except for the supervisor. So I am thankful that she challenged me by telling me I would not succeed! I moved on and did an excellent job!
I am thankful for a great man I worked for at a national health care company who taught me the working parameters of a good project manager. Increased my confidence and allowed me to make the decisions needed for the success of the project. I am thankful for being mentored by a CEO in a small community hospital in CA who taught me the relationship between a CEO and a young IT Director. My job was to provide him information, he would add his judgement and together collaborated on decisions. I am thankful for another great person who recognized my talent and then called me three years later for my first CIO role. I am thankful for the many physicians, nurses, executives, board members that recognized my talent and provided me with great opportunities. However...I am most thankful for my staff whose talent, dedication, hard work and passion make things happen and make me look successful! Thank you to those dedicated professionals and folks that I have the privilege to recognize as colleagues.
Also, one other thing. A great quote I recently read:
"Behind every successful man is a woman saying "Who? Him? I don't think so."
Thank you especially to my wife and kids who have dealt with the many career moves and they smile every step of the way but at times, I know they want to kick me in the pants.
So on this Thanksgiving take time to appreciate and be thankful for the important things in life. Your family, friends and opportunities that you have been presented with through your life. Without these, I would not be where I am today but rather somewhere else with less passion and less happiness probably...and certainly not feeling younger. I could not imagine doing something different than working in health care to make it better!
I am a Thankful CIO!
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