Not far from legendary Fenway Park, MGMA hit back-to-back home runs with their opening keynotes: Simon Sinek and Mel Robbins. Both had us completely enthralled and hanging on their every word. It was an incredible way to start a conference.
I have never been more excited for a set of keynotes than I have for the 2018 MGMA Annual Conference #MGMA18Annual. When the agenda for the conference was officially released I was pleasantly surprised to see not one, but TWO well-known keynote speakers.
Simon Sinek is best known for his TEDTalk – “How great leaders inspire action” which became one of the most popular ever produced. In it Sinek talks about getting past WHAT you offer and HOW you offer it in order to reach the crucial WHY you do what you do. It is one of my favorite videos to watch.
Sinek’s #MGMA18Annual keynote was based on his latest work on Finite vs Infinite Games of Leadership. For a preview you can watch this video of his presentation at Google.
According to Sinek a finite game is one where there known players, fixed rules and an agreed upon objective. Baseball, football and hockey are classic examples of finite games. Infinite games, have known and unknown players, changeable rules and the objective is to keep the game going. With infinite games there are no winners or losers. The only way the game ends is when the second-to-last player loses the will or the resources to continue playing the game.
Sinek used the Cold War as an example of an infinite game. The Soviet Union was the second-to-last player and they dropped out when they lost the will and the resources to keep playing. Sinek warns that when you pit a finite player vs an infinite player you are in fact playing an infinite game and inevitably the finite player loses. That is because the finite player is playing to WIN whereas the infinite player is playing to keep playing. Sooner or later the finite player will drop out – not prepared to dedicate as much resources to the game as the infinite player.
Sinek applied this finite vs infinite game analogy to business and found that too many companies are finite players in an infinite game. “We talk about being number 1.” said Sinek. “We boast about beating the competition, but in fact that isn’t the case at all in business. There is no winner. You are either ahead or behind, but you can’t actually win in the game of business. You just have to keep playing.”
According to Sinek, one of the keys to succeeding in an infinite game is to have a Just Cause. Such a cause will help you rally the necessary resources and will to keep playing the game. Ending child poverty, and making the sum total of human knowledge searchable are examples of Just Causes.
Healthcare clearly has a Just Cause – to help people live longer, healthier lives. So why is healthcare in such a quagmire? (something Sinek claims is typical of finite players in an infinite game). This was one of the questions posed by a member of the audience at #MGMA18Annual. Sinek’s answer was brilliant.
“I believe that the problem in healthcare is that many organizational leaders have mistakenly taken the industry’s Just Cause and made it their own. Healthcare as industry is supposed to keep people healthy. However, the job of the leaders of healthcare organizations isn’t to make people healthy. No! Their job is to take care of the people who deliver care to patients.”
Imagine how different healthcare would be if administrators, healthcare leaders and government officials all had the same goal: taking care of the physicians, nurses and support staff under their influence. Think about the level of care a patient would receive if the doctor and the nurse felt that the organization they worked for had their back? How different would the patient experience be?
Home Run #1.
Mel Robbins, #MGMA18Annual’s second keynote speaker, kicked off Day 2 of the conference with a rousing session centered on her transformative 5 second rule. Her simple rule has helped people stay sober, save their marriages and turn-around failing careers. The rule is so simple that she felt obligated to call it out in her opening: “After I tell you the secret of the 5 second rule, most of you will likely say to yourself – that can’t possibly work, but trust me it does. And that’s the beauty of it, it’s simple.”
In a nutshell, Robbins method involved counting down from 5 whenever you find yourself starting to have a negative thought or when you feel yourself making an excuse NOT to do something you know you should.
Roll out of bed and see your running shoes, but then look outside and see that a few dark clouds. Don’t let the excuse fully form in your mind. Instead, change your mental soundtrack by counting down 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 and then do it. See a task that you’ve been putting off all day, 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 and dive in. Sounds too simple right?
Robbins spent much of her time on stage giving scientific evidence and examples of how this 5 second rule actually works. She talked about being on “autopilot” – a mental state where your brain falls back on learned behaviour to guide the actions you take. Procrastination and self-doubt are the autopilot settings for most of us. According to Robbins, in order to break free of autopilot, you need to engage your frontal cortex – which is what happens when you count down from 5.
This simple brain hack puts you back in control of your actions and suddenly the excuses melt away and you get on with the necessary task. That essay suddenly gets written, the house gets painted, the phone call gets made and the important email gets sent.
Robbins was quick to point out that her 5 second rule did not apply to life-or-death medical decisions, nor should it be used to make important financial or life-altering decisions. It was meant to be used when we start hearing the voice of our inner doubts.
I must admit that when I first watched Robbin’s TEDTalk I did not internalize her message. I fell into the trap and thought it was too simple to be effective. Hearing her deliver her message live at #MGMA18Annual changed my mind. It’s only been a day but already I’ve used Robbin’s 5 second rule to climb the stairs instead of using the escalators at the convention center, opt for water instead of soda, and write this blog before going to bed.
Home Run #2
Thank you MGMA organizers.
