I was recently in a meeting with the CIO of a healthcare operations company, specifically long-term care and assisted living facilities.
We were speaking of different technology trends, with terms like 'Cloud' and '____ as a service/aaS' peppered throughout the discussion.
We expressed excitement, seeing several true paradigm shifts that are changing the world of technology, but with both of us still being a bit weary from our years in the industry.
We expressed something that I see often in veterans of the tech world, we were looking for something to excite us, to inspire us, to wake us from the day-to-day grind, and show us a brave new world that we can harness to change the way that world works.
We expressed that, simply put, we were tired. We wanted a revolutionary change to sweep us up into it, and make our world the sort of fun that only world-altering technology can.
It was then that the CIO interrupted...we should, he reminded me, never lose sight of the true need we serve, the actual function of the business, for him a pretty specific client base.
"Meds and diapers. That's the most important function we {his company} serve, handing out meds and changing dirty diapers. All of these things we do, they should serve to make those two tasks easier, they should serve those who fill that role, the task of handing out meds and changing dirty diapers."
We looked at each other and smiled, and with an audible "hmm...wow" things came into a slightly different focus. Without saying another word, we shared a moment where we realized that our weariness was maybe just a lack of perspective, that no matter how monotonous our days were, we were there to help a group of people that spend their days handing out meds and changing dirty diapers.
It's funny...when you realize you have no right to feel weary, you don't feel so weary anymore.
We were speaking of different technology trends, with terms like 'Cloud' and '____ as a service/aaS' peppered throughout the discussion.
We expressed excitement, seeing several true paradigm shifts that are changing the world of technology, but with both of us still being a bit weary from our years in the industry.
We expressed something that I see often in veterans of the tech world, we were looking for something to excite us, to inspire us, to wake us from the day-to-day grind, and show us a brave new world that we can harness to change the way that world works.
We expressed that, simply put, we were tired. We wanted a revolutionary change to sweep us up into it, and make our world the sort of fun that only world-altering technology can.
It was then that the CIO interrupted...we should, he reminded me, never lose sight of the true need we serve, the actual function of the business, for him a pretty specific client base.
"Meds and diapers. That's the most important function we {his company} serve, handing out meds and changing dirty diapers. All of these things we do, they should serve to make those two tasks easier, they should serve those who fill that role, the task of handing out meds and changing dirty diapers."
We looked at each other and smiled, and with an audible "hmm...wow" things came into a slightly different focus. Without saying another word, we shared a moment where we realized that our weariness was maybe just a lack of perspective, that no matter how monotonous our days were, we were there to help a group of people that spend their days handing out meds and changing dirty diapers.
It's funny...when you realize you have no right to feel weary, you don't feel so weary anymore.
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