“We’ll handle the downtime penalty. Take the production system offline immediately.”
About ten years ago, I remember our CEO declaring that decision within seconds of hearing that a bug in our portal software had the potential to display lab results associated to the wrong patient.
We had an “uptime” guarantee. We paid penalties to our clients when the system was down. Taking the system offline would be costly – both financially, and in terms of our relationship with the client.
But underneath this decision was a deeper principle that was repeated often around the office. That principle was this:
“It’s not a transaction; it’s a patient.”
It wasn’t plastered on our walls. It wasn’t attached to our logo or affixed to our email signature. But it was embedded in the character of our leaders.
Helping care providers make good decisions for the benefit of patients was why our company existed. Any mistake that could cause harm to a patient was unacceptable and had to be addressed immediately – even when it cost us.
This was a core value. It was one that our leaders held personally, and it made this financially costly decision the obvious and only right answer. It’s what allowed the CEO to make the right call instantly, with no deliberation.
If you want ethical decisions to be your default response, you need to be intimately familiar with your own personal core values. How clear are your core values to you? How well are they aligned with the person you want to be?
One of the services I offer my clients is to help them uncover the core values that truly motivate them and identify what is important to them. The exercise is available for no cost at https://northwayinsights.com/exercises . Look for the Discovering Personal Values download and the free webinar recording.
And if you want even more clarity on applying those personal values to your decisions, let’s talk. Visit https://stevedwire.com/connect for a complimentary conversation.
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