Value

Some things never change. Instead of working on my theology paper with discipline and focus, I keep finding myself staring off into space and procrastinating.

[Wow! I really need to dust the blinds.]

[Must Google where Manning is going after he leaves Indy.]

[Man! That trash can needs to be emptied *right* now!]

[Should I flip all the clocks up an hour now, just to save myself some time later?]

[Hmmm. I'm hungry. What can I cook that won't mess up the kitchen too much?]


Don't you love it when I tell you what's going on in my head?

[#@$&%, she's crazy!]

All procrastination aside, this week was freakishly productive. It all started with our executive Lean training on Wednesday. Somehow, by the grace of God, all 19 execs from our region sat in the boardroom for eight hours of training from Purdue University. They absorbed the subject matter, asked difficult and engaging questions, and actually ran around the boardroom in "Lego hospital" simulations designed to help them realize the impact of Lean.

I was VERY nervous about having organized all of this. I considered it my one shot to get Lean on the map.

And it simply could not have gone better (by no doing of mine; it was Purdue's genius that made it happen).

While we were all brain dead after an all-day training, something magical happened....in several meetings Thursday and Friday, key execs asked the question, "Does this add value?" Does what we're doing add value to what we're ultimately here to do--serve the patients? Are we meeting in circular committees that far out-stayed their welcome? Are we doing things just because we always have?

I about cried with relief when, during a strategic planning meeting, one of the VP's repeatedly asked that question, "does this add value for our patients?" What better way to focus a diverse group of minds into one context?

So guess what I'm doing? I'm creating banners asking this question and I'm hanging them in every conference room and boardroom to continually remind us of why we're doing what we're doing.

[So far, my keys and security badge still work!]