RWL Newsletter #71 - thinking about disability

Happy belated Thanksgiving and Happy Black Friday from chilly little Durham, home of the very quiet University of New Hampshire! The students are gone for the long weekend and the streets are very empty - a prelude for what is coming next month when we go out on winter break.

I came across a Nietzsche quote last week that I have been meditating on, "Love is blind. Friendship closes its eyes." That seems like an appropriate quote for Thanksgiving week. No one is perfect and no friendship would survive without a dose of willful tolerance. I took the above picture last weekend out on the shore of New Castle. I like to sometimes compose with this little crystal ball my daughter gave me because it shifts perspectives, and you get in one picture your perspective as well as the shifted one. The key is to blend the two perspectives together to make an interesting composition. I think that is a nice metaphor for friendship, as well. 

For this week I've assembled a few links that deal with disability and society. A lot of what is called for in universal design is a willful tolerance, a willingness to integrate different perspectives into our societal composition, and a willingness to understand that we are not all the same. The glory and challenge of the American project is the bringing together of a highly heterogeneous society in relative peace. 

I'm thankful to be a part of that project.

Read

What: The Atlantic, The Digital Ruins of a Forgotten Future

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/12/second-life-leslie-jamison/544149/

Why: One of the subjects of this piece, Alice Krueger, I wrote about in a book chapter I wrote a few years ago about public health communication. I stumbled across her work in Second Life and was absolutely fascinated by the community she had helped create and nurture in this digital world. What she realized was that people with disability could be like anyone else in a virtual world, and so she started an organization to help disabled people get online and engaged in online communities. I had a bit of correspondence with Alice and shared my chapter with her after it was published. She is still working in Second Life as well as other virtual communities to help disabled people have richer lives. This Atlantic article is a bit harsh on Second Life, but it does do a decent job highlighting some of the advantages virtual worlds have for the disabled. There are about a million regular users of Second Life now - a tiny fraction of the number who go on Facebook - but to put that in perspective, if Second Life was a country, it would be the 161st most populated country out of 237 listed by the CIA world factbook, three times the size of say, Iceland, in population. That's something to consider. 




Watch

What: TEDxBoulder, Why We Need Universal Design (10 min)

https://youtu.be/bVdPNWMGyZY

Why: I first learned about universal design when I interviewed Jill Gravink, the founder and executive director of Northeast Passage, a few years ago. Northeast Passage works with disabled people in a number of capacities. They have an adaptive sports program that provides a variety of opportunities for disabled people to engage in outdoor activities and team sports, as well as a school program where they help schools create inclusive activities for disabled kids. And they do other cool stuff, too. Universal design in principle is the idea to design our built environment in such a way that it allows access for everyone, not just the fully able - ramps instead of stairs, for example. This short video is a nice explanation of the concept if you aren't familiar. The speaker, Michael Nesmith, is deaf. 

Listen

What: Design Matters, Kenny Fries

http://designobserver.com/feature/kenny-fries/39699/

Why: Kenny Fries is a disabled, Jewish, HIV positive, gay man who makes his living writing about disability. Beyond the usual discussion about what we mean by disability, what made this podcast interesting was Fries' discussion of disability in an international context: he has lived and written about disability in the United States, Japan, and Germany. I personally had not thought about the cultural specificity of disability. Other aspects of the interview are interesting as well, such as what makes a life worth living, which as many of you know is a question I perpetually think and write about.

https://tinyletter.com/markbonica/letters/rwl-newsletter-71-thinking-about-disability

RWL Newsletter #70

Greetings from cold and blustery UNH! The color has been drained from the trees and we have entered what I refer to as the long grey interlude, part 1. Summer lasts just long enough here that it feels like nothing is ever going to change. It's always going to be green and lush, and it's always going to be in the 70's during the day and just lovely and cool at night. And then all of the sudden it all changes over what feels like about two weeks. The leave change color, it suddenly gets colder, and then the leaves fall and all the trees look like dead sticks. That's the beginning of the long grey interlude, part 1. And then it snows and in New Hampshire, we pretty much get a good blanket of snow going and it stays for the next several months. It hangs on long enough that it seems like it's never going to end until what seems like, over a two week period, everything warms up, and the snow melts, leaving mud and grime everywhere, and you get so excited, except the trees go back to looking like sticks because they don't get their leaves for a what seems like forever: we enter the long grey interlude, part 2. The long grey interlude, part 2 is so much worse than the long grey interlude, part 1 because you haven't seen anything green for months and you just want it to be over, but it won't end. And then suddenly it does. Then within a few weeks we get used to having lush green all around us and we forget that this is only temporary. It takes an extraordinary ability to forget to live in New England. I think those of us who don't have it eventually move to Florida. 

Well, here's a few tidbits to chew on while you join me in the long grey interlude. Unless you live in Florida. Then I just have to say I don't want to talk to you right now. Call me in May.

Read

What: Forbes, The One Thing Every Organization Should Learn From The New England Patriots, Lance Salyers

https://www.forbes.com/sites/lancesalyers/2017/02/06/the-1-thing-every-organization-should-learn-from-the-new-england-patriots/#521a96da3c81

Why: Recommended Ryan, one of my students. The article draws some lessons from the Patriots' success - adaptability and resilience.

Watch

What: Brookings, Unpacked: What’s wrong with the congressional budget process? (4 min)

https://youtu.be/5Yse1RCqurM

Why: An interesting discussion that explains some of the reasons why Congress seems to have so much trouble doing one of its constitutional duties - passing a budget for the federal government.

Listen

What: Health Leader Forge, Timothy D. King, VP of Business Development, G. Greene Construction

http://healthleaderforge.blogspot.com/2017/11/timothy-d-king-vp-of-business.html

Why: I interviewed Tim King about working in business development for a healthcare construction firm. I got to learn a lot about two things I have never worked in myself: healthcare construction and business development. Tim is really passionate about what he does and what his firm does, so this is a great interview.
 

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Thanks for reading and see you next week! If you come across any interesting stories, won't you send them my way? I'd love to hear what you think of these suggestions, and I'd love to get suggestions from you. Feel free to drop me a line by e-mail, or you can tweet to me at @bonicatalent .

Also, if you find these links interesting, won’t you tell a friend? They can subscribe here: https://tinyletter.com/markbonica

Have a great weekend coming up and do amazing things!

Mark

Solve someone else's problem

Insight in my life often comes when I see the connection between two seemingly unrelated things. This weekend I've been listening to a The Chase Jarvis Show, a podcast about creative entrepreneurs and I've been grading an assignment for my finance class. 

I think it was Jarvis's interview with one of the co-founders of AirBnB in which the guest said entrepreneurship is about solving someone else's problem. Think about that - it's not about getting rich, it's not about being famous, it's not about being powerful - it's about finding a solution to a problem for someone else. I think most of my anti-business friends and colleagues have this perception that business people are only in it for themselves and all they care about is money, power, and maybe fame. Indeed, they do care about those things, but tell me about a politician who also isn't driven by those same desires. But an entrepreneur has to convince someone that the thing s/he has created is worth the customer spending her/his money on. That requires convincing the customer that the product is worth giving up some of their hard earned cash. 

The assignment I gave my students was to do some analysis on some financial statements, and then provide me, in briefing format (I.e., PowerPoint) an answer as if I were the CFO. For example, one of the questions was "tell me the three most important changes in this financial statement over the last year". Some of the answers were literally a list of three things with no further discussion. Just three bullets. Now some of the students got it and provided an explanation for each item that they selected. The latter is an example of solving someone else's problem. Give me a list and you haven't really added any value. Maybe you've even created more work for me because now I may not agree with you, but I don't know why you chose the three things you chose. 

We all bring different skills and abilities to the table. Some of us are very good at planning and organizing (not me), some are good at analysis, and some are good at selling ideas. Whatever it is you bring to the table, you have to figure out how you can use that set of skills to solve someone else's problem if you want to be successful- whether that is as an entrepreneur or as a junior analyst in a hospital. 

The key to success in business is being sensitive to other people's needs, and then helping solve their problems. That's what I'm going to try to explain to my students on Monday when I talk to them about their assignments. And, honestly, it's something I need to remind myself of from time to time.

RWL Newsletter #69

Greetings from the University of New Hampshire! It's Veterans Day. I kind of want to say, "Happy Veterans Day", but that somehow just doesn't seem quite right. As a veteran, I also find myself a little sheepish when people thank me for my service. While I appreciate the sentiment, it's always a bit awkward. I think a lot of us feel the same way. Serving is a big sacrifice in many ways - and that sacrifice is born not just by the service member, but by the service member's family as well (just ask my wife and kids). But it's also a privilege, and it gives you entry into a unique and special culture that people who have never served will never understand. So I guess at the end of the day, I feel like the scales are pretty well balanced. I gave a lot, and I got a lot. I didn't join to get rich, and I was successful in that. But I did leave with a wealth of experiences and friendships that I never could have had without putting on the uniform. I think the best way to really thank a veteran is to be interested in preserving our collective freedoms to be individuals, however that may express itself in your life. 

And now for some completely unrelated links!

(picture above is of my buddy Colonel (ret) C.W. taking battalion command back in 2010)

Read

What: NYT, How to Be a C.E.O., From a Decade’s Worth of Them

https://nyti.ms/2iE94xw

Why: Adam Bryant interviewed 525 CEOs for his NYT column, Corner Office. This is a summary of things he learned about leadership. Some surprises. This project is similar to my own Health Leader Forge podcast, so it was fun to compare. (HT to my colleague LS for sharing)

Watch

What: TED, Architecture that's Built to Heal, Michael Murphy

https://www.ted.com/talks/michael_murphy_architecture_that_s_built_to_heal

Why: I don't know much about architecture, so it's always interesting to listen to someone who can talk about it with so much passion. We actually had a guest speaker in class last week who is the VP of Facilities for one of the local hospitals and he talked about all the subtle ways that the environment of care can influence health outcomes. This TED Talk starts by talking about healthcare facilities, but eventually transitions to spiritual and social healing. Worth a listen. (HT to my student Megan, who writes an excellent blog, BTW)

Listen

What: Econtalk, Christy Ford Chapin on the Evolution of the American Health Care System

http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2017/06/christy_ford_ch.html

Why: Great discussion about the history of medicine and medical insurance, and the influence of the American Medical Association (AMA) in getting us to where we are today.

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NNEAHE Annual Meeting

Very pleased that the Board of the Northern New England Association of Healthcare Executives invited UNH Health Management and Policy students to participate in their annual meeting this year at the Cliff House in Ogunquit, ME. We had about 30 students attend the event. Here is a group of them standing with Kevin Donovan, the CEO of LRGHealthcare and President of NNEAHE.

trying to balance the three legs of the stool

The pursuit of tenure is in part a balancing act, I am learning. We are to be evaluated for teaching, service, and research when our tenure clock runs out - but everyone says the first two with something of a wink, acknowledging that it's really research that matters. I was at a mentoring meeting a few days ago and someone quoted advice she had received, "If you want to teach, go to a community college." No one seriously expects to earn tenure by serving on committees, so at least there's that. Though my service isn't focused on committees. I learned to hate committees and meetings after a couple of decades in management. If I never have to be on a committee again, it will be too soon. Unfortunately, I'm on a bunch.

The challenge is that when the semester is underway, teaching takes up the bulk of my time. And what's left is filled in pretty quickly with service. The volume of both is self-imposed. I try to create experiences for my students that will meaningfully prepare them for their future careers - and that means lots of written assignments. Written assignments are the worst to grade. They are massively draining. But they are the most important for professional development - they are the only meaningful way to stretch a student's communication and analysis capabilities. I am actively engaged with several professional organizations, trying to extend the brand of our program in the community, and create new professional opportunities for our students and alumni. And of course I have my podcast, which is also at it's core a branding and networking effort as well. The combination of these things is at least a forty hour week. So research stalls, and the balance is completely absent. But how to get around these other things, that for me are the most important reason for why I want to be a professor?

Don't get me wrong - I like my research. I think what I am doing is both interesting and important. But I don't really know how to establish balance. When the students are here, I feel like I need to be pushing their agenda as hard as I can, whether they like it or not.

It's hard. I even went to a writing academy over the summer where they grilled us to "write, write, write". I first authored two papers over the summer, and was a co-author on a third. If I hadn't had some teaching responsibilities over the summer, I probably would have gotten a fourth paper out as well. But once school started back up, I have been sitting with a few things almost done, but making no meaningful progress. Now it's November and all I can think is, I can't wait until winter break so I can get back to my writing, because I don't see a meaningful break between now and then.