This week I went to a leadership seminar featuring leadership Guru Ken Blanchard. He made the point that great leaders have to know what line of business they are in.

Would you say that Disney is in the theme park business? Actually, they're not. They're in the "happiness" business. In the same way...

Citibank is not in the financial services business, they are in the "peace of mind" business.
The Chicago Cubs aren't in the baseball business, they are in the memories business.

Somehow this subtle but seismic change of perspective transforms how we can see our work. It's a more visual/emotional vision for what our business is all about - inspiring and motivating the average staffer to buy in an go the extra mile. In the famed story from the halls of NASA: the night before the shuttle was to take off for the moon in 1969, the janitor was hard at work mopping the floor. Someone asked him, "what are you doing?" His answer: "I'm helping to put a man on the moon!"

This got me thinking about whether I know my business. Working in a professional membership association for hospital executives, our vision is to be an indispensable resource for healthcare finance. We talked around our table about what our business really is - is it professional development? is it the "business of caring?" is it advancement for growth?

I think that we are in the business of making "AHA!" moments for our customers. Whether it be an article, a live seminar, an interaction with a fellow member, we are in the business of creating AHA! moments - moments that forever changes someone's perspective, life, and career path.

But you probably don't care about HFMA's business. What about hospitals? What are hospitals in the business of? healthcare services? healing? caring? hope and comfort business? quality of life? helping people? What would you say?