I just purchased the ACHE book of the year for 2005: If Disney Ran Your Hospital by Fred Lee. I purchased it from the publisher earlier this week and got it yesterday. I took interest in this book because 1) it was the ACHE book of the year for 2005, 2) I want to be a hospital administrator, 3) I like Disney and had contemplated working there at one point in my life.
I actually applied for a professional internship at Disneyworld. I got a call from a Disney representative as a preliminary screening process. One of the questions she asked me was whether or not I would be available for any shift any day. I expressed some concern about working Sundays and I thought she got a little snippy with me. She said something like, "most people are christian and want to worship on Sunday, why should you expect special treatment even though they have put in the time?" Really all I was looking for was some clarification on the policy. I thought that was poor showing of courtesy which, according to Fred Lee, is one of the main things Disney can teach hospitals. Now that I am remind of that experience, I think it's kind of a funny irony.
I thought that I would post some of my thoughts on this book as I go. I'm into the third chapter now and I think Lee has brought up some interesting points. I really like the way he distiguishes between selling and marketing. Selling is getting someone to want what you have, and marketing is making sure you have what people want...or something to that effect. I don't feel like looking up the exact reference. Afterall, I'm not writing a book report or anything like that; I'm writing what I got out of it. If I look up the reference and it turns out that I'm remembering it wrong, that stinks. I like it the way I remember it.
I actually applied for a professional internship at Disneyworld. I got a call from a Disney representative as a preliminary screening process. One of the questions she asked me was whether or not I would be available for any shift any day. I expressed some concern about working Sundays and I thought she got a little snippy with me. She said something like, "most people are christian and want to worship on Sunday, why should you expect special treatment even though they have put in the time?" Really all I was looking for was some clarification on the policy. I thought that was poor showing of courtesy which, according to Fred Lee, is one of the main things Disney can teach hospitals. Now that I am remind of that experience, I think it's kind of a funny irony.
I thought that I would post some of my thoughts on this book as I go. I'm into the third chapter now and I think Lee has brought up some interesting points. I really like the way he distiguishes between selling and marketing. Selling is getting someone to want what you have, and marketing is making sure you have what people want...or something to that effect. I don't feel like looking up the exact reference. Afterall, I'm not writing a book report or anything like that; I'm writing what I got out of it. If I look up the reference and it turns out that I'm remembering it wrong, that stinks. I like it the way I remember it.
Since this post, I became a lawyer instead of a hospital administrator. Maybe I'll comment on that later. But for now, I think what I learned as an aspiring hospital administrator rings true as a lawyer. I don't want to sell my legal services, I want to make sure I'm providing the types of legal services that my client (or future clients) want. Scratch that: no one wants legal services, so I will instead say I strive to provide the type of legal services my clients (or future clients) need because they ran out of alternatives and have realized that maybe they have to get a lawyer after all.
P.S. I still like that book.
