Scott Lehman

Watching the Denver Broncos loose to the Indianapolis Colts in the NFL playoffs and reading Woody Paige’s Denver Post article Sole reason Broncos aren’t No. 1: no soul got me thinking.

I’ve spent the last 16 years working in healthcare. I’ve had the pleasure of working with a number of awesome, truly remarkable people like … Grady Floyd, Barry Adelmann, Dr. Ram Dandillaya, Hunt Russell and Jake Wengroff. They truly stand out. I remember being at RSNA and hearing Grady Floyd’s employees from Cemax-Icon/Kodak just rave about what a great President, COO and person he was. It gave me goose bumps. Grady has true soul in spades.

I’ve been watching Dave Grohl’s Sonic Highways show on HBO. Grohl has also collaborated with Lorde. I tell you, their music really inspires me. Take your inspiration from where you can get it, right? I guess I’ve always identified with artists. I worked on Showtime’s The Chris Isaak Show up in Vancouver a few years ago. We’d go surf on Vancouver island on the weekends. Memories.. Anyways, I love songs that have great “hooks”. They draw you in. They’re memorable. And they inspire. I saw Donnie Iris (Ah! Leah!) when I was a kid. I also saw The Gap Band in concert as a kid (You Dropped A Bomb On Me), Joan Jett (Do You Wanna Touch Me), AC/DC, Ozzy. There were many others, but I remember them the most. They had a big impact on me.

Lorde’s Royals is equally awesome. Lorde has drawn her inspiration from some unique places, like a conversation between Mae West and Dick Cavett. Lorde’s inspiration for Royals came from Kansas City Royals baseball player George Brett signing baseballs.

In many industries these days, you’re seeing a somewhat-renewed focus on “people” — Fast Company just ran an entire cover package on “Generation Flux,” the focus of which often came back to finding purpose in work and building a people culture.

It should be something we all continue to embrace. I’ve been thinking about it in the context of healthcare — where I’ve spent the bulk of my professional existence — and for me, it comes down to one aspect:

Healthcare needs more rebels.

I’ve been reading recently about hockey legend Gordie Howe, the former Detroit Red Wings and NHL and WHA superstar. I played hockey and met “Mr. Hockey” when I was just a kid. I skated with him and he coached my team’s practice (that’s me, number 14). Recently, he’s been suffering from dementia and has been in the hospital. Howe’s gift to hockey and to people was his resilience, character, hard work and the ability to come back from adversity. He also mentored younger players. Howe had a big impact on me, both personally and professionally.

I find myself drawn to the outsiders — people who push boundaries and carve their own paths.

I admire people who step out and take chances.

I recently read about why Continuous Improvement May Need To Be Discontinued. I appreciate the nuances between innovation, imitation and ‘Git-R-Done’.

I first learned about ‘Git-R-Done’ from my high school gym teacher coach Bob Gregg. Larry The Cable Guy might have come up with the catchphrase, but coach Gregg lived it.

Coach Gregg would set up obstacle courses in the gym for us to jump over — five feet high stacks of wood boxes, metal chairs and gym mats. He’d yell, “My pet monkey can jump higher than you.” I always wanted to meet his pet monkey, but never did. Reflecting back, it got me thinking about jumping obstacles and not being concerned with the outcome. No planning, just go for it.

Notice a theme here?

One of the most impressive qualities you can develop as an effective leader is the ability to do what you say you will do. As a kid during the 70′s, I first learned about real integrity from Evel Knievel — an American daredevil and international icon. Watching Evel on ABC’s Wide World of Sports taught me that integrity matters the most. “Do what you say you’re gonna do” is the motto Evel Knievel lived by.

Evel has said, “You have to have a dream. You’ve got to get out from where you’re at and realize your dream with that someone you love.”

Evel was one of the good guys. My brother met him once at a bar in Hollywood. He was so excited to see his idol that he raced up to Evel and promptly spilled his drink on him. Evel was incredibly gracious, offering to buy my brother another drink.

Evel Knievel said it best, “You can’t say you’re going to jump the Grand Canyon and then jump some other canyon.”

Your word means something.