Adversity, Action, and Opportunity
As the Summer Olympics enter the second week, I find it an opportune time to reflect on the nature of success. Success is defined differently for everyone, but the common thread is that it requires constant effort and application. Success can be divided into several categories: personal, professional, financial, physical, and spiritual. The concept of CANI (constant and never-ending improvement) signifies that becoming successful is a lifelong pursuit.
Balancing all aspects of success is challenging, especially with the demands of sleep and work. The first step to becoming successful is the desire to be the best version of yourself, and then applying effort to whatever needs attention. Success comes from you, not to you. It is an inside job. Everyone wants to improve some aspect of their lives, but the key difference is the willingness to put in the work.
The pursuit of success that Olympians chase is lifelong for the mere chance of showcasing their unique abilities on the world stage. Often, that pursuit is dashed by a mere hundredth of a second loss to another competitor. Is the fourth-place finisher any less successful for not having entered the medal round? Some would say yes, but I think the opposite. Like athletics, the business pursuit is a lifelong endeavor. It is the continual action of pursuit that makes a person successful, not necessarily the medal. Not every Olympian makes it to the podium, but their hard work and dedication are what truly make them successful.
Success is driven by three constructs: Adversity, Action, and Opportunity. One or all of these aspects may come into play, but action is the primary driver of most successful outcomes. Adversity is also a powerful motivator, as evidenced by numerous rags-to-riches stories. Opportunity plays a role too, as sometimes all the stars must align for success to happen. Sorry, some people just don’t want to buy a stainless steel car (DeLorean). However, action is always the clear leader in achieving success. Incremental excellence, the idea that how you do one thing is how you do everything, is key.
Before deciding to expand Fed-Hurt’s efforts nationwide, I met with my team to gauge their commitment to this undertaking. I explained the importance of providing our unique service to the governmental sector and how we would essentially be starting from scratch in many areas. The team bought into the challenge, and their dedication has been instrumental in Fed-Hurt’s application toward expansion. At any point in time, our team is made up of college students pulling double duty by working at our Headquarters in Fort Lauderdale as well as pursuing their college degree. I know they are only just passing through until their next phase, and I only ask one thing of them. And that is to do the best they can do while you are with us. It has been an interesting challenge navigating a much younger workforce, and I feel the benefits have more than outweighed any difficulties.
We recently created an online version of the old Superbill/Charge Slip, which used to be printed, signed by the patient, scanned, and sent to each office’s secure Dropbox. Through trial and error, a pilot program with our Pensacola office, and the dedication of our team, we launched the Jotform Charge Slip and Sign-in sheet today, August 5th. Incremental excellence was the cornerstone of improving the 4-step billing process for our remote practices. I would like to thank all the remote locations that participated in Zoom training with Sabi. We will be shipping every office an electronic signature pad to complete the new billing procedure. Change is good, I promise.
I also want to take a moment to wish Sabrina “Sabi” Narain all the best as she enters her first year of medical school at the University of Florida. Sabi has been instrumental to Fed-Hurt’s success during our nationwide expansion. Success leaves clues, and I hope Sabi’s time with our company left her with many valuable lessons. Good luck, Sabi, we will miss you.
