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52 THOUGHT LEADERSHIP microcosm. When I came to Cleveland Clinic as a neurologist, someone came to me and said, "You should have some support outside of where you are," and that's something I've stuck with. Kevin Lofton, CEO, CHI (Englewood, Colo.) is [piece of advice] came to me early in my career during an adminis- trative residency down in Corpus Christi, Texas. Early in your career, the question is always if you can handle what's coming your way. I remem- ber as I was getting ready to head to my first real ED administrator job, the department head who mentored me said, "Kevin, you know you can handle this stuff, it's just another dog and pony show." Earlier in my career, there were a lot of times — whether it was public speaking or any other high-profile meeting — where I would always re- member that phrase and think to myself that I could handle it. As my career has gone on and I've talked to more people, I've gotten the same kind of advice, whether it's about preparation or the concept of lifelong learning. Healthcare's always changing, so just being willing to change and acknowledging the ongoing and continuing nature of education to stay abreast and stay ahead of things is essential. Elaine Thompson, PhD, CEO, Lakeland (Fla.) Regional Health Our CFO, Evan Jones, who is just an amazing leader, once said to me, "Surround yourself with people of character because character is some- thing you exercise every day." It's a lot easier to exercise character when you're around people who are doing the same. It's really been a blessing to have an executive team and a board that are selfless. ey have high character when it comes to doing what's best for the patient and their family. at piece of advice is a beacon for me in terms of who I choose to be on my teams and how we elect our board. Alan Kaplan, MD, CEO, UW Health (Madison, Wis.) I can't narrow it down to one piece [of advice], but I believe life and lifelong learning is a series of many lessons with lots of advice. When I was an emergency physician, I believed very strongly in helping anyone anywhere for anything, and I never let artificial barriers get in the way of helping people. As I moved through my career I felt my role was not about me, it was about the organization I represented and the people I took care of. I think if there's any one thing in leadership or healthcare that really serves as the guide, number one is to put patients at the center. Sometimes we have very hard decisions to make, but we have to come back to patients as our North Star. Michael Maron, CEO, Holy Name Medical Center (Teaneck, N.J.) I came up through the financial ranks because of my accounting back- ground, so I started off in budget reimbursement. My first boss, Rich Keenan — a brilliant man who's very well respected and still active as the CFO of Ridgewood, N.J.-based Valley Health System — gave me some great advice. He told me to never ever lose sight of what is behind the numbers on the page, and if you're not sure what's behind those numbers, get out of the office. Get out on the floor of the hospital and go to where patients are cared for. Make sure you can connect the reality of what's going on there to the numbers you're seeing on your balance sheet or income statement. People have a tendency to bury themselves in their computers or the data, and they have no idea what's happening in the ER or the patient floor or in the operating room. I enjoy actually putting on scrubs and rounding through the OR when I get the chance, engaging with the sur- geons while they're in surgery, understanding the business and what's going on — that's very important. n 4,200+ ATTENDEES FROM HOSPITALS AND HEALTH SYSTEMS ACROSS THE NATION REGISTER BY MARCH 1, 2019 AND SAVE! CELEBRITY KEYNOTES BY 10TH ANNUAL MEETING APRIL 1-4, 2019 HYATT REGENCY | CHICAGO, ILLINOIS REGISTER HERE www.beckershospitalreview.com/conference registration@beckershealthcare.com, jcole@beckershealthcare.com, sbecker@ beckershealthcare.com or 800.417.2035. Great topics and speakers focused on strategy, health system alignment and growth, physician integration, improving profitability, ACOs, key specialties and more 300+ GREAT HOSPITAL AND HEALTH SYSTEM LEADERS SPEAKING George W. Bush 43rd President of the United States of America and Founder of the George W. Bush Presidential Center Bill Clinton Founder of the Clinton Foundation and 42nd President of the United States of America Katie Couric Storied News Anchor, Producer, and Documentarian