THINGS THAT NEVER CHANGE

In life and in work, the only constant is change. That is certainly true in healthcare, where we are privileged to work in one of the most competitive and dynamic industries, and where we have seen many of the biggest changes and advances over the last decade. If history is any guide, we can safely bet that the next decade will be similarly exhilarating.

You Can’t Predict. You Can Prepare.

How that future unfolds is anyone’s guess. As business leaders, we forecast and we plan, doing our best to make decisions under uncertainty. But as the saying goes, “You plan, God laughs.” Planning is important, but it’s most important to plan on the plan not going according to plan! There’s a reason that some events are called surprises—it’s not possible to see them coming. Who could have predicted COVID-19 and the profound impact it would have on our lives and businesses? As we move through our careers, we hopefully develop the humility through experience to know that the future is something we can’t know much about, while still hoping to be directionally correct in our best guesses. As a British statistician once wrote, “All models are wrong, some are useful.” We model for every conceivable risk, but the biggest risk is the one that nobody is talking about— the one you don’t see. Like earthquakes in California, you don’t know when or where they will hit, but you are hopefully always prepared. You can’t predict, but you can prepare.

I recently enjoyed reading the book Same as Ever: A Guide to What Never Changes by Morgan Housel. He quotes Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, who once said that he’s often asked about what will change over the next ten years. “I almost never get the question: ‘What’s not going to change in the next ten years?’ And I submit to you that the second question is actually the more important of the two.”

What Never Changes

In May, Med One Group announced the significant appointments of Robb Stevens as President and Chief Operating Officer and Carter Allen as Senior Vice President – Director of Medical Leasing. These two promotions were well deserved and over two decades in the making, as Robb and Carter have been prepared for these responsibilities since joining the company in 2002.

We congratulate Robb and Carter and wish them great success in their new roles, as we also pay tribute to and collectively thank Larry and Brent for their steady and remarkable leadership of Med One.

So, what is not going to change? As Housel says, “When people face an uncertain future, they try to forecast with more intelligence, data and precision. Far more effective is to do the opposite: look backward and be broad. Rather than attempting to figure out little ways the future might change, study the big things from the past that stayed the same.” The key to facing the future lies in knowing where you are, even if you can’t know precisely where you’re going. What are the universal truths and common threads that have made Med One a winning company over such a long period of time?

I can think of many, all of which are emphasized in the Med One Way, which can be readily recited by employees. Brent and Larry have cultivated a culture of courage, innovation, creativity, integrity, and above all, genuinely making customers and employees the central priority.

Larry recently wrote in this publication: “It is, to me, an unforgivable sin for any of our employees to ever say to a customer, ‘I’m sorry, we can’t

do that; it is against our company policy.’ We know that our customers do not care about our company policies! We know that they do care about finding solutions to the problem that they are having now.”

Similarly, Brent wrote about the importance of doing what is expected – “And Then Some.” “Long ago, we coined the slogan – ‘At Med One, we want to be really good at one thing – WHATEVER IT TAKES.’ This is the culture that we strive to impress upon our employees. We sincerely want each person who works for us to have the same commitment to providing excellent service to our customers that we have always had since there were only four of us.”

These are the principles at the core of Med One, and they will never change. They will always ground our commitment to our customers. As the company continues to grow and welcome new leadership, they will study the “big things” from the past that have stayed the same, and they will earnestly do all they can to preserve what is special as they provide thoughtful, decisive leadership. They won’t throw out the playbook and start over. They will stack little wins and occasional big wins, make marginal gains, and watch success build upon success. I am looking forward to the continuing legacy and bright future of Med One!

“When people face an uncertain future, they try to forecast with more intelligence, data and precision. Far more effective is to do the opposite: look backward and be broad. Rather than attempting to figure out little ways the future might change, study the big things from the past that stayed the same.”