Are you underestimating yourself?

Have you ever thought, wow, that’s the best thing I’ve ever done? I have and fortunately, I’m glad that I was wrong.

National Surgical Hospital. I remember completing the first version of the Business Office Series and thinking that I wouldn't be able to do any better. Needless to say, I had completely underestimated myself.

We were working on customizing the Business Office Series for facilities owned and operated by National Surgical Hospital (NSH). As I began making the changes requested by NSH’s taskforce members, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was seeing the course in a whole new way. Getting feedback from customers and having time away from the program enabled me to see new possibilities. We began making significant enhancements to the program.
As I revisited other courses, I made more enhancements to those too. Now when I sit back and look at the courses, I can't believe we showed anyone the original version. Sometimes when you're so close to something it's hard to see new possibilities.

CASA. I gave a Materials Management presentation at CASA this year. It's not something that I speak about often. I was rather stressed by the thought of presenting after Kim Alvord, the very knowledgeable Director of Materials Management for NSH. I started my presentation with an analogy to grocery shopping. My premise was that shopping for medical supplies is much like shopping for groceries—both are essential and yet, not all that exciting. I launched into the five types of shoppers. The room seemed awful quiet. The blank stares of my audience confirmed it. My domestic analogy didn’t hit home.

The next day some audience members shared with me how much they enjoyed the analogy and could totally relate to the 5 types of shoppers. Too bad they didn’t share their enthusiasm during the presentation. At least I know what to work on for the next time.

I generally think of myself as some who explores the next frontier rather than one that maintains the home front. I like working on new things rather than doing things over and over. However, I think there is enormous value in repetition. The more you do something the better you get, if you keep pushing yourself to a higher level of performance. No matter what you do, I guarantee you can always find a better way to do it. Challenge yourself to try!

Presentation. I'm posting the presentation in case you missed it.