The Story . . .

“It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you stop caring who gets credit for it.” This is one of many important quotes I heard from Annette Logan, CEO at the Cure 4 The Kids Foundation. Last week, some of our team had the honor of kicking-off a project with this organization. It is not often in one’s life when passion, purpose, and business all align, but it just happened to us.

In 2007, Cure 4 the Kids started at Annette’s kitchen table. The foundation started because she got fed up as a parent as she navigated care for her son after a significant accident. As a nurse, she knew that he was consistently getting substandard care and knew that there was a better way of doing things. When she launched the foundation, she committed to helping all kids, no matter of their socio-economic backgrounds. We were in the car with her when she blurted out one of the most profound statements I have heard in a long time: “The price of poverty shouldn’t be death for a child.”

This is exactly what I meant by the alignment of passion, purpose, and business. This organization is committed to transforming the pediatric patient experience. They’ve spent the past decade defying the odds as they’ve moved from the kitchen table into serving over 40,000 children. I will share more on Cure 4 The Kids as the journey continues. If you want to follow them on social media, here’s how to connect: Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

What We Learned And What You Can Learn . . .

Out of everything we learned in our two short days with Annette and her team (which was a lot), the quote that stuck with me is Annette’s take on communication issues that typically plague companies. She surmised that when people are frustrated by communication issues, they are really frustrated by a lack of connection.

Over and over, I hear executive coaches, trainers, and thought leaders share about it’s all about communication. I myself, have talked about this and have written and studied the art of communication between leaders and multi-generational workplaces. But, Annette reframed this issue for me.

How would it change the “health care” (two words) experience if we focused more on connection than communication? How can we take empathy to a whole new level by focusing on authentic connection with those around us?

What I Will Do And What You Can Do . . .

I challenge each of you to think about what it means to connect with people as you strive to communicate with them. Here is a little exercise to do on your own or with your team.

I Like, I Wish, And What If

Take five-minutes after you read this and ask yourself these three questions as you move from communication to connection. We would love to hear from you as you work on this in the future.