With the close of 2021, and the onset of 2022, New Year’s resolutions begin to present themselves. With more time off from the clinic during this holiday season, my husband Tim and I have had more time to discuss our plans and the changes we would like to implement during the new year. While Tim acts as the medical director of Quinn Healthcare and I as the operations manager, there are opportunities for growth and improvement in the future. These goals come with their fair share of change that must be embraced. One book that has helped us better discuss change is Dr. Spencer Johnson’s quick read, Who Moved My Cheese.
As a Master’s of Business student at Belhaven University, Dr. Johnson’s book has been recommended as a good read by multiple professors. This holiday break served as the perfect time to read and discuss this book with Tim. Who Moved My Cheese tells a story within a story. It begins with a few high school graduates who meet at their class reunion and recount a story of four characters – two mice and two people. Each day, the mice and the people race through a metaphorical “maze” to find “cheese”, which may to many readers represent their version of happiness. This could be family, money, or any accolade. The mice, not as complex as the people, prepare and make changes when necessary to search for the metaphorical cheese each day, regardless of the amount that they possess. At the same time, the “people” in this story become complacent. While they possess a more complex mindset, it is to their detriment at certain points in the parable. Eventually, one of the “people” in this parable learns to adjust to change which occurs only when he has gone without for so long.
In recounting this parable to my husband, I successfully attempted to relate it to our medical practice, Quinn Healthcare. This always is the best way to get him to hear me out. With our desire to grow and improve this year, we must embrace change. Tim has run Quinn Healthcare for nearly 20 years successfully, and as a married couple working together, we have had our fair share of disagreements in regards to embracing change. Whether we have a debate on embracing change with the operations involving patient care or management of our Quinn Healthcare family, including nurses, front office staff, and medical providers, normally there is a debate before we compromise. While change and innovation are in many cases a good thing, sometimes both can be scary.
One great example of fear of change would be the day when I approached Tim about no longer having our nurses call our patients about their appointments. We’d just agreed to purchase a new patient management system that now had the capabilities (if needed) to text patients about future appointments. This would free up our front office staff and allow our clinic’s operations to become just a little bit more efficient. Initially, Tim was a little worried. But after seeing more patients come in after we implemented the system, the change came as a relief. This small act helped Tim to realize that change isn’t always so scary and doesn’t always lead to failure. While his fear was warranted, sometimes fear of change can lead us to downfall.
In 2022, let’s not fear change; let’s embrace it. While change is scary, it can be good. So embrace it with optimism, move through fear, and enjoy the rewards! After all, it’s coming whether we like it or not. So, my question for you (and my husband) is, ARE YOU READY FOR CHANGE?
