Friday February 3, 2012
- Just finished 3 days in Austin, Texas attending the Texas Hospital Association (THA) annual conference as the preferred Healthcare IT (HIT) staffing provider to THA facilities. Great town, great people, great food. Austin Convention Center feels like it's about 5 square miles when you have to walk it for 2 days.
- Shout out to an unnamed cab driver in Austin who played us the ukulele while driving with his knees from Amy's ice cream shop back to the Austin Hilton. I was riding shotgun and, amazingly, was not worried about his driving. He also had a book on physics up front with him.
- Excellent and thought-provoking keynote speech in Austin from Mike Leavitt, former governor of Utah. This was a thoughtful, informed discussion on the differences between compassionate healthcare and dispassionate healthcare, and an explanation on why this transformation is happening. The economics (based on Leavitt's experience as secretary of Health and Human Services under President George W. Bush) of this transformation alone was very interesting.
- Reading "The Lean Startup" by Eric Ries. It's subtiteld "how today's entrepreneurs use continuous innovation to create radically successful businesses." This is an excellent book but I really wish these publishers wouldn't presume readers need such subtitles in business books.
- Also reading "Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy" by Eric Metaxas on the renowned pastor/theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I loved a question he asked at an early age of his parents: "Does God sit down for lunch too?"
- Old school song of the day - "Maggie May" by Rod Stewart. The best part is the mandolin that comes in at the end of the song.
Over and out.
Posted by Jack Williams at 08:53