I’ve always enjoyed being on the factory floor watching how people, machines, and materials flow together to create something that customers value. I appreciate the roles people play to make things happen – the planning, the processes, the problem solving, and the results – results that matter. Repeat.
It’s easy to see the parallel in a hospital’s surgery prep area. The machines are quieter, but there’s no less activity. At this ridiculously early hour, the process is in high gear. There is a guy stocking shelves with medical kits, and there are surgeons, anesthetists (hey Chris Nichols!), nurses, technicians, and patients. To me there is only one patient in here, yet to them there are dozens on this ordinary Tuesday. There is comfort in knowing they do this all the time. Confidence.
The waiting room is full of anxious relatives who will be replaced by others tomorrow. Good luck to them all. It’s clear that in this one room, we’re all waiting – not for medical reform, not for better technology, not for better research. Not today, anyway. Today we’re simply waiting for news on how our patients are doing and we’re hoping that the teams in the operating rooms are
having a good day. We’re hoping that everything that they are working with was made well in some factory somewhere, because results matter. A lot.
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