by Tony Chen

Usually, it's us in healthcare that is learning from other industries. Previously, I've posted on what we can learn from the likes of Disney, Toyota, Jiffy Lube, autobody shops, and others. So, I was quite surprised to stumble upon a book that turns the table - it's meant for leaders of other service industries to learn from us hospitals. More specifically, the Mayo Clinic.

Management Lessons from Mayo Clinic is the most recent book I've booked up to sharpen the saw a bit more. (What are other folks reading these days?) And in the coming weeks, I'll be posting my reflections as I read through.

In some sense, it is a stretch to think that any other service industry is like hospitals. After all, our "customers" don't "want" us, they need us reluctantly. They come to us in the most vulnerable moments of their life, and our services can make them even more uncomfortable/vulnerable. Nonetheless, hospitals provide "services" just like anyone else - it's a hard-to-scale, labor-intensive, one-on-one experience that is provided to increasingly demanding and diverse consumers. When done right, folks can't stop talking about you.