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    Lead with Imagination
    Lead with Imagination
    Lead with Imagination
    Ebook236 pages3 hours

    Lead with Imagination

    By Brian Paradis

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    About this ebook

    We have moved past the Information Age and are now living in the Imagination Age. Intuitive and creative thinking skills are as valuable as “hard skills” and are unique to each one of you. You have these innate skills—all you have to do is unleash them. Join up.

    What does imagination have to do with leadership?

    Ever since he was in college, Brian Paradis has been intrigued by the question, “What does imagination have to do with leadership?” For thirty years, he studied this puzzle as he honed his business and leadership skills, and one thing became crystal clear: imagination has a powerful influence on leadership. The compelling combination of leader + imagination = an opportunity to unleash all kinds of potential.

    The world is increasingly complex, knowledge is advancing at an unfathomable rate, and the problems in our world seem unsolvable. Organizations are in near constant and disruptive transition, and the cultures that define them are disconnected, disaffected, and divisive. Too many leaders show up to work wondering if any of it matters. We are “smarter” than any generation in history, but that isn’t the problem. The problem is imagination is not advancing at the same pace. But where there’s a closed door, there’s an open window of opportunity for those willing to walk through, to take a risk, and see what others don’t. 

    Lead with Imagination promises three returns on your investment of time from reading it:

     
    • You will be inspired by the possibilities and strengthened against the challenges. 
    • You will gain power and confidence to imagine, create, and innovate. We are all born with innate imagination and curiosity—learn how to use it. 
    • You will release your fullest potential and help release the potential of those you lead.


    We all learned as kindergarteners to assimilate quickly by giving the teacher (society) the desired answer, and to “fit in.” That colored our thinking from that moment forward and restricted our thinking and use of imagination. 

    But now, it’s time to color outside the lines. 

     
     
     
     

     
     
     
     
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherForefront Books
    Release dateFeb 5, 2019
    ISBN9781948677158
    Lead with Imagination
    Author

    Brian Paradis

    Brian Paradis is a senior partner with CSuite Solutions, a national strategic advisory firm. CSuite Solutions is led by former healthcare industry CEOs focused on the transition and practical strategies to move the healthcare industry from “volume to value.” Previously, Paradis was president of Florida Hospital’s Central Region, a $4 billion enterprise with over 25,000 employees and 2,000 physicians. Under his leadership, Florida Hospital became the #1 ranked hospital in Florida by US News and World Report for three years. They also launched a new children’s hospital through an innovative collaboration with Walt Disney World to create an immersive patient experience. Paradis’s understanding of the role of imagination in organizational leadership helped develop a creative, results-oriented team based on a shared vision driven by a Strategic Innovation Agenda (SIA). He always asked: “How are we growing our business?”, “How are we making our product better?”, and “How are we building our teams capabilities?” Paradis serves his community by focusing on children, family health, and the arts. He earned a BA in business administration from Southern College, Chattanooga, TN, is a CPA, and is a Certified Management Accountant. He is married, father of five children, and the unexpected owner of three dogs.

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      Book preview

      Lead with Imagination - Brian Paradis

      THE ART OF THE AND

      FINDING OUR WAY AT FLORIDA HOSPITAL

      There is no passion to be found playing small—in settling for a life less than the one you are capable of living.

      —Nelson Mandela

      LEADERSHIP LYRIC

      CREATIVE CONCEPT: YES, AND

      There is a powerful concept at the heart of improvisational theater: Yes, and replaces Or. It is the idea of staying open to any possibility. It creates a tension to facilitate finding or creating a way through the current scene or place to the next.

      SUMMARY

      We learn early to put more emphasis on the or. You can have this or that, but not both. You can have a vibrant, creative, and innovative culture and achieve sustained business results. Leading with imagination makes this possible, not easy, mind you, but possible. If we commit to this journey, to live and lead in the art of the "and," the adventure will change us forever and for the better. Each of us has a story to live, dragons to slay, and a world to change. It matters, now more than ever. Your imagination is the superpower to open the door and sustain your leadership journey.

      A JOURNEY BEGINS

      I can describe the first time I visited a hospital, sort of. I know I was born in one. In fact, I had a rare condition that required a blood transfusion to survive, so I even had an extended first stay. I just don’t remember it. I next visited a hospital when my brother had his tonsils removed. I remember him bragging about all the ice cream he was getting, but not much else.

      The first time I truly remember visiting a hospital, I was twelve. My mother was in a coma. I wasn’t told much but it was clear that things were uncertain. I tried to take it all in. The room had an odd quietness. People in uniforms spoke in hushed tones, with the silence interrupted by the rhythmic beeping of the oxygen machine assuring my mom had taken her next breath. The space was also sparse: two chairs, a trash can, a single window with the blinds pulled, and multicolored wires and blue tubes that seemed to come and go in a confusing array. I was overwhelmed and intimidated, and fascinated.

      Fast forward some thirty years later. I was leading one of the nation’s largest hospitals. In truth, I felt like that twelve-year-old boy all over again. I was overwhelmed and intimidated, and fascinated.

      Each time I entered a patient’s room, visited an operating room, or walked through the emergency department, I felt those same feelings. This time, those feelings were accompanied by a deep respect for the people who every day provided medical care for the vast needs expressed in and out of the hospital walls. That is why I am humbled to have played a part in the amazing journey of transformation that took place at Florida Hospital over the nine years I was privileged to lead it. I am even more humbled by the team’s patience, teaching, and trust in me as I struggled while learning to LEAD WITH IMAGINATION.

      SO WHY HEALTHCARE?

      With all the attention on HillaryCare, then ObamaCare, to now TrumpCare, you might think this is a book about healthcare. It is not. It is where I have focused my career and calling, and, for the purpose of this book, is the backdrop for dialogue and discovery. It also happens to be a very interesting place full of stories and drama. This likely explains the popularity of television shows like ER, Grey’s Anatomy, and Chicago Med. It’s often said that a hospital is the most complex organization on the planet. While that is a bold statement, and perhaps, an overstatement (especially with rocket scientists only a short distance away at Cape Canaveral), I cannot come up with an alternative setting more complex in all its moving parts. Hospitals deal exclusively with people—people who are in some form of trauma, crisis, pain, anxiety, uncertainty, or stress. This alone creates an environment with a wide and nearly endless range of dynamics.

      You also might be tempted to think medicine is mostly science and should be reasonably straightforward. Did I mention hospitals deal exclusively with people? Each person is different in every aspect of his or her makeup. However, the science and practice of healthcare was designed to meet the needs of the average person, not the individual. It often looks at men and women the same, and yet we know they are not. Given the uniqueness of individuals and the current limitations of science, overlaid with the explosion of information, shortages of clinicians and physicians, and financial constraints, medicine must, of necessity, also be art. Sprinkle in patient and family expectations and we have the makings for real trouble.

      The business models for healthcare are also complex and often confusing. To simplify things, there are three major groups of healthcare customers. Those using Medicare is the first one. As you have already likely assumed, they are the more seasoned and experienced of us. They tend to be sicker and visit more often. They make up 40 to 80 percent of some hospitals’ business. Most hospitals lose money or barely break even on Medicare patients. Medicare generally pays a single price for a specific service. If someone comes to the hospital with a heart attack, a hospital is paid a predetermined price set by the government no matter how long the stay or what other conditions are treated (though some adjustments are made for significant complications).

      The second group, where almost all a hospital’s profit is made, is the commercial insurance segment. This group is mostly funded through healthcare benefits from employers or by individuals purchasing insurance through the government exchanges. This is where most of us fit, the twenty-five to sixty-five-year-olds. Each healthcare system or standalone hospital must negotiate with these insurance companies to get

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