A mentor of mine once made a statement to me that has continued to resonate throughout the years. He told me that “one of the only constants in life is change”. I’ve certainly learned this to be true in the world around me, in my personal life, and business as well. The weather never stays the same; it changes weekly, monthly, and seasonally. A country’s economy never stays the same; different factors can cause an economy to be in a constant state of flux. And finally, each of us is in a constant state of change as human beings. Our bodies and their ability to function are constantly affected by a rate of change called aging. Our perspectives and perceptions continually change through new experiences and the gaining of knowledge in this journey we call life. The question becomes, how do we handle change? Change can bring about positive outcomes that might be unexpected, but often, change brings challenges that we must adapt to and seek to overcome.
Different branches of our country’s military have established mottos that instill an attitude and belief to adapt and overcome any obstacles they may encounter. These mottos produce an ethos that illustrates a team or community’s commitment to addressing the unexpected…to adapt and overcome change. This also establishes an acknowledgment that the element of change exists, whether in the present or on the horizon and should be continually addressed. Murphy’s Law, coined by Dr. John Stapp, states that “anything that can go wrong, will”. Our nation’s military forces, specifically our special forces, take this adage very seriously, to the point that they institute ruthless prioritization within their planning and strategy. This enables their teams to exist in a mindset that expects the unexpected. They know they can’t remain to stagnate and must adapt, and overcome any change that may arise in any situation.
3 years ago, the world experienced an entire slew of changes brought on by the pandemic. For businesses such as ours, we had no choice but to learn how to communicate a little differently, conduct meetings or conversations differently, and come to grips with the reality that materials and hardware would become impossible to obtain to provide our day-to-day offerings for our customers. The latter creates a huge opportunity for adaptation. Fast forward 3 years later and we are faced with even newer changes that we must adapt to and overcome. These changes are represented through trends within the Healthcare space that are brought about by technology, innovation, and the need for predictive analytics; all compounded by the pressures and exhaustion faced by acute caregivers within our hospitals every day.
So, what does this mean for our team at Lone Star? How do we go about addressing the changes we see on the horizon? First, we must understand ourselves. That is, understanding our strengths and weaknesses. Second, we must leverage the understanding of our organization and business to adapt to these trends that will bring about change. This could also involve understanding our threats. One great example of this is recognizing that our offering cannot be affected by the unavailability of materials or the lack of innovation by others outside of our team. Through this, Lone Star finds itself in a position to provide system-agnostic solutions that will improve the caregiver’s experience, improve the experience of the patient, while giving hospitals the ability to improve their quality measures.
Finally, we must operate as One. In General Stanley McChrystal’s book, Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World, he states “instinctive, cooperative adaptability is essential to high-performing teams”. We are a team of teams that has the opportunity to be the tip of the spear in providing much-needed solutions for acute caregivers. It is paramount that our team has buy-in and complete cooperation to adapt and make the changes that we need to make. Lone Star Communications is primed to not only adapt and overcome change, but also be a catalyst for change within the healthcare space, customers, and communities that we serve.
- David Stewart, Sales Leader, LSAR