Well, as I mentioned previously, I'm off to Haiti today and will be back June 5th.

I'm excited
A year of preparation has finally culminated to this day, when we get on a plane to Miami and then a puddle-jumper to Cap Haitien. We've been learning Creole as best as we can. As part of the medical team, maybe the most important phrase we learned: "Se pa fom mwen" (I didn't to it on purpose).

I'm a bit anxious
Although I've been to many different countries, I think Haiti will be the poorest and least politically stable country of them all. Especially with almost-daily news about riots, prison breaks, U.N. peacekeeping politics, I can't help but be a little concerned for my own health/safety and the safety of my team. Nonetheless, as hokey as it might sound, we have felt led to go every step of the way. Plus, most of the instability is in Haiti's capital, Port Au Prince, an 8-hour drive away from Cap Haitien.

I'm thankful
This trip is possible only through the support of our church and the faithful prayers of hundreds of friends. Also, a shout out to King Pharmaceuticals for donating ~$80,000 of medicine that we have carefully packed into 50-pound luggages.

See you on the other side!

hey, per my last post, you're not supposed to be reading this!! =) (and I'm not supposed to be posting)

oh well, while you're here:

So, what would it take for our hospitals to be the best run organizations on the face of the planet?

What do YOU think?
tony [at] hospitalimpact [dot] org

If you've been a regular reader of this blog, thanks! I've had a lot of fun blogging, and I hope you've had a lot of fun reading.

Now, for a weird suggestion... I encourage ya'll to take some time this week to do nothing but think. Too many people (myself included!) have lost the ability to think - to truly think out of the box (as cliche as that is). For me, information overload has caused thinking underload. Great leaders must be great distillers of information just as much as they are great learners.

It's like we all have a big bag of puzzle pieces (of information). Too often, I don't take the time to put the puzzle together - I'm too busy collecting more pieces and putting them in our bag. I'm so proud of how big my bag is even though I don't know what the puzzle is trying to tell us. What is the meaning of it all?

This week, take a break from all the blog-reading (even this one!), blogging, the craziness of work, and our hectic lifestyles. =) And actually, I won't be posting anything for the rest of this week. Here's why...

The timing actually works out pretty well. I'm going to Haiti next week on a medical missions trip with my church for ~2 weeks. Have no fear - I already have two entries that will be posted here and there (on time-delayed release). Plus, Lord willing, I come back in one piece, I'll tell ya about the medical experiences I had in Haiti, the poorest country in our hemisphere.

So, I'm going to try to follow my own advice. Instead of blogging this week, I'm going to take that time to reflect. There are too many puzzle pieces that I still need to fit together so that I can be fully ready for my trip.

It's time to take a breather and revisit the original vision that hospital impact was created for. what will it take for our hospitals to be the best run organizations on the face of the planet?

World-class organizations are sustained by world-class organizational cultures. We learned quite a bit in the If Disney Ran Your Hospital series. Your organizational culture may very well be your greatest weapon to beat out competitors, or it could be the achilles heel of your organization. With so much potential to harm or help, culture has to be treated with extra thoughtfulness by hospital leaders.

World-class organizations are run by world-class leaders. These people have to be second to none. They have to be more motivated, more wise, and more skilled than the majority of other leaders. That's why we looked at Jack Welch's take on leadership and thought through hospital implications. Leaders find a way to deal with the inherent tensions of leading - long-term vs. short-term, being positive vs. skeptical, living an example vs. relentlessly coaching others.

World-class organizations are constantly changing to stay world-class. That's why leaders have to be absolutely masterful in motivating change. if the Change Agent series taught me anything, it's that truly changing human beings may very well be the greatest challenge in business, in hospital management, and in our own personal development.

World-class leaders have world-class information at their fingertips to make their decisions. No way am I claiming that this blog is "world-class," but I hope that some of the news analysis and links have been helpful.

What else do you think is important to talk about? What have been the most helpful resources for your hospital or your organization? Leave a comment or email me at tony[at]hospitalimpact.org [at] is "@"].