Stanstead QC | Back when I was the newly-minted director of a small EMS service, my boss called me in for my six-month evaluation. He said, “I’ve got good news and bad news.”
I told him to give me the bad news first.
“As a leader you’re a real disaster.”
Damn. What was the good news, I asked.
“It ain’t terminal – yet.”
And with that bit of exceedingly sage advice, I learned that there’s nothing more empowering than allowing someone with a better approach, a better idea, a better way to bring the project home.
I’ve learned how to become a strategic thinker with the ability to achieve tactical wins and the wisdom to know that often you need to get mud on your face in the battle to figure out the right way to get something done.
As a former paramedic/firefighter who was trained in the time of Look, Listen & Feel, I know that’s a darned good way to stay in touch with your team, your clients, your suppliers, your stakeholders and your community.
I love working with small and struggling emergency services and organizations. I still enjoy the company of a solid global network of much smarter folks than me. Thank goodness for that as the challenges facing smaller emergency services are increasingly complex.
I am an unrepentant believer in the impossible – and subsequently have managed to be a part of teams who have pulled off a series of improbable successes.
I delight in being able to convey the heart and soul of EMS – all over the world – via the digital pages of Big Medicine. It’s been more than a decade since Big Med was launched and it still amazes me when I consider all of the amazing connections made via such an unlikely hub.
Big Medicine = the right people coming together at the right time for the right reasons. When all is right with a given situation, it will be Big Medicine.
If I can be of service to you and yours, please don’t hesitate to drop me a line via email hnewman@tems.ca
Be well. Practice big medicine.
Hal
PS. While some people will tell you that it ain’t over until the fat lady sings, I will tell you that if she appears on my doorstep I’ll invite her in for a cappuccino and we’ll find a way to make it work – together.