Mike Williams has served as the President and CEO of Community Hospital Corporation (CHC) since its inception in 1996. Based in Plano, Texas, CHC offers practical solutions for community hospitals to help improve effectiveness, efficiency, quality, and financial stability, while preserving and protecting community control of the hospital.   During a recent in-depth interview, Williams’

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Persian poet and mystic Jalal ad-Din Rumi, who lived in the 13th century, is credited with first writing,   “Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”   Though they may be listed as synonyms in a thesaurus, there is a significant difference between

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Life and leadership seems to become more demanding every day. We are expected to go above and beyond in every area. Many leaders are expected to take on more responsibility and work longer hours, often with fewer resources. We are expected to carefully prioritize our family and our health, but still be superstars at work.

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October 23, 2012

I am attending the 2012 Healthcare Supply Chain EXPO in Orlando, Florida.  The meeting is co-hosted by the Healthcare Supply Chain Association and the Healthcare Industry Supply Chain Institute.   Thus far, the sessions have been excellent and highly relevant to healthcare leadership today and into the future.   If you have the opportunity to

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October 16, 2012

I recently conducted a fascinating hour and a half one-on-one interview with Peter Fine, President and CEO of Banner Health. Peter Fine has been in the healthcare business since 1977 and has made his share of tough personal and professional choices. When asked to reflect on key decisions and turning points in his career, Fine recalled

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I recently conducted a fascinating hour and a half one-on-one interview with Peter Fine, President and CEO of Banner Health. Peter Fine has been in the healthcare business since 1977 and has few regrets. He’s come a long way since his first ‘real’ job – driving a taxi just outside of New York City in

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In a recent blog post, Michael Hyatt shared five characteristics that he considers to be marks of authentic leadership. Michael Hyatt has practiced and written about authentic leadership for many years, and I’ve come to admire and respect his insights and perspectives.   According to Hyatt, authentic leaders:   Have Insight Demonstrate Initiative Exert Influence Have Impact Exercise Integrity   Hyatt

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Author and motivational speaker Vivian Greene coined the famous phrase, “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning how to dance in the rain.” This phrase is particularly appropriate for healthcare leaders in this time of dramatic and unchartered “storms” and change.   The phrase brings to mind a whimsical image and has

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September 18, 2012

Ben McKibbens led Valley Baptist Health System in southern Texas, for twenty-five remarkable years. During that time the health system experienced unprecedented growth, guided by the servant leadership of McKibbens, whom I am privileged to call my friend and colleague. Though now retired, timeless insights and wisdom for current and future healthcare leaders can still

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I had the privilege of interviewing Jim Wetrich, President of the U.S. Wound Care Division and General Manager of Mölnlycke Health Care, United States & Latin America. Jim graciously shared some of his insights and perspectives in response to a wide-range of questions; below are a few nuggets of wisdom and advice from this successful

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Many healthcare leaders, particularly new leaders and those who have been recently promoted, do not fully realize and appreciate the power they possess as leaders. Author Michael Hyatt addresses this important issue in a recent blog post, noting that leaders possess more power than they think, but can only use it for good if they truly

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Brent Johnson is Vice President of Supply Chain & Imaging Services and the Chief Purchasing Officer for Intermountain Healthcare, based in Salt Lake City, Utah. In the six years that he has been with Intermountain, Johnson has helped achieve approximately $220 million in savings.   Including his time at Intermountain, Johnson has spent more than

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Smart, ultimately successful healthcare leaders look far beyond “just the healthcare industry” for leadership lessons, inspiration and wisdom. In a recent blog, Jeff Lefevere of Fusion Alliance identified common leadership threads of “Tech Titans” such as Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and Google: Align your business toward a big mission Think long term Hire good, smart people

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In his recent blog post titled, “12 Ways to Know if You Are a Leader,” Michael Hyatt asserts that while he believes everybody has the potential to be a leader, not everyone is a leader.   Based on nearly 40 years of personal experience, I believe many healthcare ‘leaders,’ particularly those at the director, senior director and VP level, may

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Dictionary.com defines the word static as: 1) “Pertaining to or characterized by a fixed or stationary condition.” 2) “Showing little or no change.” 3) “Lacking movement, development, or vitality.” The word stagnant has a similar meaning: “characterized by lack of development, advancement, or progressive movement.” Do you know someone with a leadership style that could be characterized by one

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In a brief audio clip featured by Success Video, world-renowned speaker and author John Maxwell shares his insights from creating a healthy growth environment early in his career.   Maxwell explains that as a young leader he was not in an environment conducive to growth, and he realized that he needed to create his own growth

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In an article posted on his blog titled “Five Characteristics of Weak Leaders,” Michael Hyatt, who is the former Chairman of Thomas Nelson Publishers, said, “Sometimes you learn from positive role models. Often you learn from negative ones. This is one of the reasons I love to read history — you inevitably get both.” In our

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In the HBR Channel Management Tip video “Conduct an Informal 360°,” released April 13th, 2012, Scott Edinger, the founder of Edinger Consulting Group, gives some advice regarding leadership. He states, “to be a more effective leader you must identify your strengths, then decide which ones to develop – but you have to start with a clear view

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Even within rapidly evolving industries like healthcare, we should never take for granted the lessons that can be learned from those leaders who have gone before, as well as from our former and current successful colleagues. I recently had the privilege of spending a fascinating hour interviewing Mark Dixon, who until recently served as Regional President

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I recently visited, studied and photographed the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum in West Branch, Iowa. While there, I took the opportunity to learn some valuable lessons from the life and leadership of Herbert Hoover. Those who serve in healthcare know that it is an industry that requires a certain kind of character. The

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