52 Cups of Coffee: 417 Edition - Cup 27/52 - Max Buetow

Here's the weekly boilerplate intro if you've already read anything from past cups of coffee skip ahead to the cup of coffee below the name!

After hearing about the book 52 Cups of Coffee on a Podcast, I thought it sounded like a great opportunity to connect to people in my community. Initially, my plan was to just have coffee once a week with someone I know. I was thinking of friends, family members, or colleagues with whom I could spend some quality time. But the opportunity to engage with my community is always in the back of my mind. So I thought it might be interesting to ask the same set of questions to a diverse cast of influential and interesting people in the 417 area and share them here on my LinkedIn page. At the end of the year, who knows what we'll have... at the very least it's 52 interesting conversations. It's a loose plan. I don't have any real intentions and I think that's the beauty of it. Curiosity. Community. And a chance to learn a little bit from each person. A big thanks to the folks at Travellers House Coffee & Tea for being willing to provide a place to chat and several cups of coffee throughout the year!

**I don't like taking notes while having coffee and conversation so I've trusted Otter to do the transcribing. Any editing issues are my own. I'm not a professional. :) I've included a list of books we discuss throughout the conversation at the bottom.

Max Buetow - 27/52

Max Buetow and I broke from the regular format and for the first time on this 52 Cups of Coffee adventure, we shared a meal. But don't you worry, First Watch puts pots of coffee on the table so I had roughly 52 while we talked! We met for breakfast early on the morning before 4th of July and went through the regular list of questions that you will see below, but we chatted for a while before the transcription started like we'd known each other forever. We talked about 4th of July plans with the family and how we would be right back to work on Friday. I have a tendency to start to lean on professional accomplishments in these introductions which is wholly not the point of this project. While we do talk about career and how he navigates as the CEO of a major healthcare system, we also talk about faith, family, his hockey career, and childhood memories. If I didn't know who Max was prior to our conversation I would have assumed I had just met a very kind, funny, self deprecating, incredibly sharp human being. I would have wondered what he did for a living, but I wouldn't have been surprised to have learned he was the CEO of CoxHealth. Rather I would have walked away impressed that the board of directors at CoxHealth picked such a great human being to lead the organization. I guess that is what I walked away thinking. All of that long doting introduction to say, I was pleasantly surprised by breakfast with Max. As he puts it, he's "just a dude". A good dude. Glad I got the chance to break bread with him, even if he wouldn't let me buy. I owe you one, Max.

Enjoy the discussion. I sure did.

Rhett Roberson?

What is the CliffsNotes version of the story of Max?

Max Buetow?

It's an interesting journey as I look back at my life, and it's one that, every time I hit an intersection of where I thought I was going to go, I ended up taking a different turn. It's created this beautiful story of who I am.

I was born and raised in Denver, Colorado, and I left home at an early age because I pursued hockey. As a freshman in high school, I left and moved in with basically a bachelor uncle, who was married to a wonderful woman, but always moved away for hockey season. So, I was kind of raised by this guy through my high school years. He was just an old-school hockey coach. He coached under Herb Brooks, who was the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team coach. That says a lot about who I am, but I pursued hockey at an early age. which took me through interactions that helped me grow up pretty quickly.

I continued to move all over the country to pursue this dream of being a hockey player. That brought me to Springfield, Missouri. I was on a hockey team in St. Louis that was sold and moved to Springfield. Larry Lipscomb, Lester E. Cox's grandson, was one of the owners that bought the team and moved it here.

I got a chance to meet my wife here in Springfield. Springfield, in so many ways, has become that home to me because some of the best things that ever happened to me in my life happened here.

School took me away, I went to Buffalo, New York, for school. I played hockey there. You have to go somewhere cold and miserable to be a hockey player if you're playing college hockey. But Springfield kept drawing me back in. I came back here to finish my master's degree at Drury. That was a huge, influential part of my life.

I moved away for work and made hotdog buns for a living after I graduated. Right after I graduated, I was in the construction industry and moved on from construction after the Great Recession put me in a place where I hadn't gotten paid for about six months. We had our first kid on the way, and I needed to find an opportunity to actually earn an income and support my family. So, I made hotdog buns for a living working for Sara Lee as an overnight shift supervisor at an operations plant. I ended up loving that work, but Springfield drew me back in.

A connection from Drury, a vice president at CoxHealth, offered me an opportunity to come back to Springfield, yet again, and explore this really crazy journey I've been on for the last 12 years working with CoxHealth.

In health care, I essentially grew up within neurosciences within our organization, and I had a chance to work with our Medical Group, which is working alongside the physicians. It is an incredible experience when you're working around the smartest, hardest working people on the planet.

Then, about three years ago, I was given the opportunity to be our Chief Operating Officer, and then had the chance to interview for the job of becoming a CEO and president, a job I've been doing for the last two years. That has been a surprising thing for me, because it's never been part of where I thought I would be. It's never been a desire in my heart to be a CEO of any kind, but it's also probably one of those things that I underestimated the joy that would bring me. And it's not about me and what I do, it's about the people I work around the things I get to do. I'm a husband to a woman that's way out of my league, which is a great spot to be. I'm a father to four wonderful kids...

Rhett Roberson?

And so, being able to Google these days, sometimes feels like I'm overstepping my bounds (laughs), but I noticed that when looking at your profile on the Canisius athletics website, you were playing hockey as a goalie, right?

Max Buetow?

I was. That's my dad's life's greatest disappointment.? I became a goalie. He was a hockey player, my uncle was a hockey player, he said I would have been a great forward or defenseman, but there was something about my mentality that wanted to stand in front of a hardened piece of vulcanized rubber and have people hit me with it.

Rhett Roberson?

(Laughs) I played catcher in baseball. I couldn't skate, but I have been in the net a couple of times, just because I thought maybe this lends to the skill set.

Max Buetow?

How do you think it translates?

Rhett Roberson?

Well, there's a whole lot more going on as a goalie with the big pads and skates.

Max Buetow?

You're kind of quarterbacking everything as the catcher though.

Rhett Roberson?

Yeah, and that's what I enjoyed! I didn't like standing in the field and waiting. So, I forced myself into a position where I got to touch the ball all the time.?

Max Buetow?

That's cool. I was the opposite. I dabbled the opposite way a little bit and played catcher in little league baseball. My problem was I was never patient enough to wait on the pitch when someone was stealing. So, I'd constantly stick my glove hand out and get it hit by the bat. I do think the pressure that's on the catcher is very similar to the pressure that's on the goalie. You make one mistake as a catcher and everyone sees it. That's kind of the beauty of baseball too, to an extent.

Rhett Roberson

So, slightly related to college athletics and Googling, you met your wife before going out to Buffalo??

Max Buetow

I did.

Rhett Roberson?

Okay, and she went out there too, and the reason I know this is she's a basketball player. When I searched "Buetow Canisius athletics", I found two different Buetows! Her name is Laura?

Max Buetow?

Laura. Correct!

Rhett Roberson?

Okay. I didn't even write that down. Just pulled that one out of memory! So, I saw Laura too, and I was like “is this his sister... or..."

Max Buetow?

Nope, wife! My wife is by far and away the more talented athlete. She was a Kickapoo Chief here, part of two state tournament winning teams, and played around some of the icons of Chief history. She was also a Missouri women's basketball player of the year.

Rhett Roberson?

Wow!

Max Buetow?

When we first met, she'd actually signed a scholarship to play basketball at the University of Denver, which is in my hometown.

Rhett Roberson?

Right!

Max Buetow?

I had signed a scholarship to go to Buffalo. Her freshman year in college was spent, essentially, embedded in my family. She stayed at my parents’ house all the time. She developed a personal relationship and really became my sister's best friend.

Rhett Roberson?

What a cool story.?

Max Buetow?

My dad was at every single one of her basketball games, and then went out to eat with her afterwards. So, my family got to know her as well as I did her freshman year in college. And then I said, "I would love to have you transfer out to Buffalo and spend time with me." Because she was the more talented athlete, she could transfer. I was lucky to get the one scholarship.

Rhett Roberson

(Laughs)

Max Buetow

And she said, "I'm not moving for a boyfriend. So, we can get engaged and I'll transfer, or I'll stay out in Denver." And so, I ponied up, bought the ring, and asked her to marry me.

Rhett Roberson?

There you go. Seems like it worked out and you made the right choice.

Max Buetow?

It did. It worked out for me. You'd have to talk to her and see if it worked out for her.

Rhett Roberson?

(Laughs) Speaking of your father, athletes run in the family. He played in the NFL, which is pretty cool. Was there pressure in the household, as a kid, to get into athletics?

Max Buetow?

Not in the least bit. Which is funny because he will say even today, "I wish I would have pushed you kids more in athletics so you could have really realized your full potential." I think it was a great way to grow up because if I wanted to play baseball, I played baseball. If we wanted to play hockey, we played hockey. I played a little bit of football here and there. I felt like he was incredibly supportive of our athletic desires, but it never defined who we were as individuals. As I became passionate about it, he was like, "Sure go ahead and pursue hockey." He was a professional football player, he played minor professional hockey, he was a three sport athlete in college, he threw the discus and had a chance to go to the Olympic trials to try to make the U.S. Olympic team to throw a discus. The guy was an incredible athlete.

Rhett Roberson?

Just one of those guys that whatever he decides to do, he's going to be good.

Max Buetow?

Yeah, but probably one of the most humble people you've ever met in your entire life.

Rhett Roberson?

Yeah, that's cool. How old were you when he was in the league?

Max Buetow?

I wasn't born yet. He was 32 when he and my mom had me. He probably would have been retired four or five years by that point. So, I never had that chance to see him play, but it is nice to be able to go on and Google and look up those opportunities. My cousin just sent me a link. I guess there are old Vikings football jerseys for sale on eBay, but I'm too cheap because it's 800 bucks to buy it. I'm hoping my wife will spring for it for my birthday or something.

Rhett Roberson?

Yeah, maybe the kind folks of the internet would just crowdfund it for you. (Laughs)

Max Buetow?

(Laughs) I just need to pony up to buy my dad's jersey.

Rhett Roberson?

What brings you joy?

Max Buetow?

I would say it's relationships. Which is funny because I'm an introvert. The more and more I talk to introverts, the more and more I do understand that most introverts do derive a lot of joy and passion from relationships.

First and foremost, it's my relationship with the Lord. That brings me joy. It centers me, it really defines me as a person, and the more and more I tried to unwrap what that looks like, in its complexities, but it's also its straightforward simplicity, it really settles my heart and brings me joy in a way that nothing else can.

The second piece is the relationship I have with my family. There's nothing better than the end of a really hard day or week. You were talking about your relationship with your three year old, those are just those perfect moments in life.

Just last night we watched the movie "Boys in the Boat" together. We have this huge sectional couch upstairs and we sit on the smallest loveseat side of that, and we're all piled in together. In that moment, I just reflected back with the light shining in the window. I'm like, "Lord, I am so richly blessed." because my family brings me so much joy. It's just something simple like watching a great movie together. It's those moments. Also, I get to work around, some of the coolest people every single day. I walk into work, and I work around my best friends. People I trust, people I enjoy, people that inspire me every single day. So, it's all those relationships that bring me the most joy.

Rhett Roberson?

Yeah, I resonate with that a lot and the ability to be mindful those moments when they happen, that is a multiplier of that joy.

Max Buetow?

Yes!

Rhett Roberson?

You can feel the joy, but when you're very cognizant of the fact that it's happening, you're in the moment with the joy. I can't tell you how many photos I have of my daughter cuddled up with me that I've sent to my wife like, "This is this is the best, right now!"

Max Buetow?

Your college age self never would have associated with it.

Rhett Roberson?

No way!

Max Buetow?

Like, "I don't get that!" But that daddy-daughter relationship is huge, and my wife will do the same. I'm not a social media guy so one of the things I appreciate about her interaction with Facebook is it brings up these historical moments in our lives, like 10 years ago, or whatever. She sent this picture of me and my daughter. I've got four kids, but I had a daughter that was this super cuddly girl. When she was that age, 2, 3, 4, she was just glued to dad all the time. I got this picture from my wife from that time, and it was that positive lightning strike moment in your life. It's like, "Whoa!" And you kind of wake up and realize, "I'm blessed." That's a great thing.?

Rhett Roberson?

Yeah, that's awesome. Four children. What are their ages now?

Max Buetow?

They're all essentially birthday kids right now. So, I have one that is 14, I have one that'll be 12 tomorrow, she's a Fourth of July baby, 10, and 8. We've kind of waterfalled them from 14 down to 8. We've got boys on both ends and girls in the middle.

Rhett Roberson?

It's pretty great to always have your birthday off and have it always be a celebration. ?

Max Buetow?

And it's not one of those holidays, too, that you're having to share with everybody else. I've got friends that have Christmas birthdays, or Valentine's, something like that. This is just a day that everyone is super excited to get together, and they always light fireworks off for you.

Rhett Roberson?

Yeah, it always ends with a show! So, you're the CEO of a major medical system, father to four, and husband, I'm sure there are times when there is a necessary recharge for Max. What does Max do when he needs to recharge?

Max Buetow

It's interesting, because I find that my cup is filled in multiple different ways. Relationships are a big part of that. My quiet time with the Lord is a big deal to me. I open up my Bible every single night. I'm not a morning reader, because I find my mind is oftentimes racing to what's going on. I find that if I read my Bible at night, it kind of quiets my mind and my spirit and it sets me in that position where I can take that next chapter of what I need, that's really just true rest.

I grew up in Colorado, I'm an outdoors person. So, I love spending time outside. Whether it be in the backyard, just kicking the ball with my son, who's a soccer player, or I started a little bit of gardening during COVID. I wouldn't say I'm a green thumb whatsoever. It's amazing what modern science can do for you in that respect. But, at the end of the day, right now during the season, the kids and I all walk outside, and we just start picking cherry tomatoes, or berries, and we talk about our day together. That's a big part of it.

I get recharged, too, by conversation. I love this kind of thing. The public side of the role of being a CEO was really difficult for me, but the private side of how many doors it opens or relationships or creates, I mean, this will give me a ton of energy for the rest of the day. Just sitting across from somebody that you really get engaged with and you create a relationship with. Those are things that have helped me refuel and recharge.?

Rhett Roberson?

Yeah, as an introvert, I'm sure the recharges are probably frequently necessary in tiny bits. I do see you at a lot of events where you're on stage and with a microphone and such. You say it can be difficult to be an introvert and the public facing CEO, I'm sure that when you get home at the end of the day, sometimes it's nice to just be in your space.?

Max Buetow?

And you don't get a lot of that with kids! A friend of mine sent me an article that said you manage your energy, not your time. That flipping of the switch from executive to dad is a really good one for me. Even though it takes a lot of energy to be the dad of four kids, or even the dad of one kid, it's kind of a different side of the battery a little bit.

Rhett Roberson?

I was just thinking about that. The other day I picked my daughter up from daycare, and she wants to go to the park. When we go to the park, she knows there's a gas station on the way and she wants to stop to get a snack and a drink. She's just kind of like telling me exactly how things are going to go. When you put it in perspective, it's really funny to work in an executive capacity all day and then go home and have a three year old bossing me around.

Max Buetow?

Isn't it kind of cool? Think about the relationships you've had with the key people in your life. It's those things that I remember most. I remember going to hockey games with my dad and always stopping off for Lemonheads at the gas station and a little bucket of shrimp at Jack in the Box. We did that before every single hockey game. I couldn't tell you what happened at any of the hockey games, but I remember exactly how the Lemonheads tasted and exactly how I felt when I ordered that shrimp going through the drive-thru at Jack in the Box with my dad every time.

Rhett Roberson?

Yeah, that brings back a lot of childhood memories for me. I understand those little memories well and I always wonder what resonates for my daughter when we're doing things like that. How would your colleagues describe you?

Max Buetow?

I think it's probably like most people, there's a dichotomy to every person. We're always two sides of the same coin.

(Our food comes and Max says the blessing. And while I thought transcribing the blessing was not necessary, Max exemplifies that humble servant leadership in that moment that we discuss throughout the meal.)

So, I think part of that dichotomy of who I am is that I never lack for an opinion and so you don't oftentimes find people in roles, like we both have, that don't have strong opinions about things.

At the same time, I really value the perspective of others. What it creates is a really cool blend. I'm a person that loves to debate. If you were to talk to my wife, I could debate anything. But that process, for me, is a process of honing and sharpening and trying to develop even a stronger understanding of what I truly believe and where truth lies for me.

So, I try to surround myself with incredible people that will challenge me, that will tell me I've got spinach in my teeth at the right times, all those kinds of things. I'll have a strong opinion, but I also try to pride myself on being a good listener and valuing the opinions of others and being able to change that opinion, when the perspective is shared.

So, I think that's a piece of it. I'm an introvert that draws a lot of passion from the people I work around. That's the other side of what that is. And I'm just a normal dude! Most people would probably tell you, there's nothing exceptional about Max if you really get to know me and that's a good thing, right?

Rhett Roberson?

I feel like that is maybe selling yourself short.

Max Buetow?

Yeah, well we'll get to know by the end of this. I think you'd be able to say, "Truly, there's nothing exceptional about Max." (Both laugh) Honestly, that's one of the ways that I sold myself to our board of directors as I was coming into this position. What's my superpower? I'm a guy that knows his limitations and a guy that really relies on the strength of others. I'm a team builder, and I feel like I can create an exponential component of my leadership through that.

So, not being exceptional is okay, there's nothing wrong with that. I'm just an average dude. I go home at the end of the day, I have a family, my faith drives a lot of what I do, but I think that creates an accessibility to the role. It creates an environment where people do know that they can work to the top of their license, and it's okay, in many ways to supersede what I'm doing as the CEO.

And so, I'd say that's the last part of it they’d probably just say, "He's just a dude who's just not the smartest guy in the room, ever. He's not the most eloquent guy in the room, ever. He's probably not the hardest working guy in the room, ever." But somehow there's this thing that is as results from that, that makes us better as a group.

Rhett Roberson?

In my opinion, and I have not stepped into a CEO role, so for what it's worth, my opinion is it seems like that role is best suited for people, to your point, that are team builders. I think that's been a strong suit in my life. It's not that I'm particularly the most skilled at everything, but I see gaps and I see the strengths in people that can fill those gaps. That is a specialized talent, in my opinion, as much as is the technical side sometimes. That's certainly not to say that both aren't important. The technical side gets the job done, but you've got to have the vision to lead the group to getting the technical work done.

Max Buetow?

Look at the best sports coaches of all time. Most of them weren't the best players. Coach K, for example, I couldn't tell you anything about his basketball career. That guy doesn't look like he played basketball in his life. He's probably one of the best leaders and coaches because of the impact he can have. This wasn't because he was showing exactly how to throw down a dunk or jack a three from five feet beyond the line. That's not what it was. So, you think about executives, leaders, people that are on highly functional teams, it's because they're kind of glue in some senses.

Rhett Roberson

Yes! Can you describe the work that you do? What does it mean to be the CEO of CoxHealth?

Max Buetow?

Yeah, no, I can't.

Rhett Roberson

(Laughs)

Max Buetow

That's the long and short answer of it. No day is the same, which is one of the reasons I love the job so much. I love change. It's great being a CEO because most people love change when it's done for them or with them and not to them.

As a CEO, not a lot of change is done to you, except for some external environment things. So, none of my days are the same. Except for the fact that I get to work around the same exceptional people all the time. My job is essentially a 50/50 split between work inside of the organization and work outside of the organization, which is one of the reasons I wasn't really attracted to the role or the opportunity in the first place.

When I first sat down with Steve ( Steve Edwards , former CoxHealth CEO) and tried to better understand what he does on a daily basis, he said, "You'll be surprised, about 50% of your job responsibility will be being the embodiment of CoxHealth outside of the walls of this organization."

I was like, "No, thank you, that's not for me, I'll do it differently." And here I find myself and it's 50% of the role I do. And I love it honestly, because of the community we're in. If we weren't in the community like Springfield, where the points of connectivity are about two degrees of separation with everybody, because we build real relationships.

Inside the organization, I would say it's as much about setting the tone and paving the way. In setting the tone, I'm a big believer in the benefits of culture within an organization. I love strategy, I love vision, all those kinds of things, but that adage of culture eats strategy for breakfast is wholly true.

I think the culture at CoxHealth has been the hallmark of the success of our organization. It's the secret sauce, right? We attract and retain top talent because people want to work within the culture of our organization, and we will continue to do that.

I would say, one of my greatest roles and responsibilities would be to perpetuate that great culture that's been handed down decade after decade after decade. I'm only the sixth CEO since Lester E. Cox. Each one of those leaders that was before me, was the bearer of that torch. And that handoff was so important at every one of those levels. Even now, early in my tenure in this role, I start to think about how I prepare the way for that next person to be someone that comes from within our organization that will be that bearer of that torch of the culture of the organization. I'm also in a unique position because I have, as I tell others as I go around in the organization, I have got a unique pair of scissors that can cut through bureaucracy, like no one else in our organization.

People can run into roadblocks that impede their ability to do exceptional things and it's not because we're trying to do that, but because we're just a large organization. I get a chance to be that icebreaker that the rest of the fleet can follow out of the harbor to an extent. And they do the real work. So, my work is kind of paving that way and making it easy for people to do the right thing.

Rhett Roberson?

Yeah, I've tried to use a tool, this is not my idea, I'm not taking credit for this. I've certainly stolen it from someone else, but I hold what are referred to typically as stay interviews. One of the big questions is, "What can I take out of your way to help you do your job better?" I think that's something simple that is actually a huge deal, because these people know the work. You may have the power to actually push something out of the way, but you don't really know without them telling you.

Max Buetow?

To the people that don't have the power to necessarily wave a magic wand over something and do something, it's amazing how just having that bit of information informs your broader decision making and allows you to make better decisions as you go forward. So, when I round, I always carry a little notebook with me and the question I ask everyone is "What's a pebble in your shoe, or a boulder in your way that I need to know about or that I can maybe help with?" I can remove a lot of pebbles. If it's a technology issue, if we don't have enough of this, or we need to order that, or we need some capital. Those are the things you can just like poof, it's done. Those bigger systematic things like maybe the government has told us we need to do something. I may not be able to do something about that today, but boy, it sure helps me better understand the decision I'll make tomorrow if I have that conversation.

Rhett Roberson?

Right! I also really appreciate someone in your position, because it really does have to be exemplified from the top, talking about the value of culture, first thing. I really enjoyed what Amanda (Hedgpeth, CoxHealth's Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer) had to say about it as well. I worked at Prime for over a decade, I left and got a master's in organizational psych because I was really interested in culture. That's what I wanted to do. I worked for myself for a little bit doing some culture related consulting and that's how I got into this current gig. That's really where my passion is, the culture of organizations. I've talked about this to other 52 Cups participants, but frameworks like Traction and Scaling Up are essentially strategic frameworks to grow a business, but they start with that. Culture first. Who are we? Why do we do what we do? I think if everyone's not, to use a well-trodden adage here, if everyone's not rowing in the same direction, everyone doesn't know exactly why and where we're going, then you are at the very least inefficient. You may be totally going in circles in the worst cases. But at the very least, it's inefficient. Culture, purpose, that "Why" creates loyalty and creates a reason for people to want to be there and want to stay there. I didn't tell you this before, but I worked at Cox North in college. I have been a CoxHealth employee.

Max Buetow?

What were you doing there?

Rhett Roberson?

Because I needed to work weird hours because of school, I was working the 5pm to 1:30 in the morning Emergency Department registration. So, I was pushing the computer around all night.

Max Buetow?

That's a whole other book you could write from working in the emergency department at Cox North!

Rhett Roberson?

Let me tell you, some of the best stories of my life come from that job. I still have stories that I tell on occasion from the Cox North ER.

Max Buetow?

I'm sure.

Rhett Roberson?

Not in such detail that I would violate HIPAA.

Max Buetow?

That's right! Of course not.

Rhett Roberson?

With all due respect for HIPAA. We talked about this a little bit, but how did you get into your line of work?

Max Buetow?

Yeah, I was really fortunate to have met a gentleman when I was doing my MBA at Drury. It was in kind of a random way, but through God's providence, I had reached out to him and asked him to be my roommate when we took our capstone trip to China together. I jokingly, talking about it now, I said I was at an age in my life where I didn't want to go over and be with a 22 year old that wanted to party through China. So, I thought I'd find the oldest guy in the class and hang out with him.

I think we slept like three hours a night while we were in China, because we were sightseeing and whatever else. We developed this really cool rapport and friendship. I didn't know much about his background, but he was a healthcare executive. I went away and started working at Sara Lee, with his direction. I said, "Hey, what do you think I should do with my life moving from construction?" He said, "I would go get operational experience."

He joked at that time telling me to go work for a couple years at Sara Lee and I'm going to give you a call. I'm going to move you back here to CoxHealth." I thought, "This guy's nuts." But I kid you not, it wasn't even two years later, and I get a call on a Tuesday morning at seven o'clock from this guy, Brian Williams. He says, "Would you be interested in coming and interviewing to be the Director of Springfield Neurological and Spine Institute? It's a multi-specialty clinic centered around neurosurgery." And I'm like, "Brian, are you nuts? I make hotdog buns for a living. What do I know about working in neurosurgery?" That was the beginning of it. He said, "Just come and talk with the doctors." I interviewed all day on Saturday, which was kind of rude to make someone interview on Saturday. 8 a.m. to 9 o'clock at night with neurosurgeons. These guys are the smartest...

Rhett Roberson?

That's the first interview?

Max Buetow?

The first interview. All day long.

Rhett Roberson?

Saturday, 13 hours.

Max Buetow?

13 hours with neurosurgeons, interventional neuroradiologists, physiatrists -- people at the top of the pyramid within healthcare. Maybe it says something about me, but I got to the end of this and called my wife who hates change, she's the opposite side of my coin, -- and I said, "I think this is what I want to do!"

She's like, "What are you talking about?" These guys are brilliant, and they see value in what I can bring to the table. I'm a process person, I'm a Lean Six Sigma person, I love working with people, and they see value in that. I said, "I want to do this one and take a chance on myself."

That was my entry into working in healthcare, I couldn't have been put in a better position. I was pushed further than I've ever been pushed in my entire life, having to make that leap in that job working around the most brilliant people on the planet. I was also given so much grace in that time to fail forward and I had great mentors all along the way. It was a great start.

It was a part of healthcare of which I got to learn every aspect of it. I ran a billing shop, I ran ancillary services, I ran practice management, worked alongside the doctors, I had hospital responsibilities, all those things. I couldn't start with a better spot at a small scale, but with a lot of breadth.

Rhett Roberson?

Right. As the director of that area of CoxHealth, how many people were you working with in that department?

Max Buetow?

Under my total chain, I had 100 people at that point in time. I went from a shift supervisor/department manager where I probably had a similar scope and number of people I worked with, but this was so multifaceted that it really had me wearing so many different hats. Which was really good for me. Doctors never work for healthcare administrators, we really work for the doctors, but you work alongside, and you partner with these 12 incredible doctors at the same time.

Rhett Roberson?

Yeah. It's really interesting. In that role, are you responsible for everything from environmental services to physicians?

Max Buetow?

Everything. I was the guy that had to empty out the catch pans when our HVAC system would back up. The condensation would fill these pans and you could see a little drip on the ceiling. Many times, I got soaking wet because I was that guy. Changing light bulbs and all those kinds of things to managing about $100 million P&L at that time. So, it was a big deal. You're a janitor on one day, I don't know how many times I came up to this old building right behind us here at two o'clock in the morning because the fire alarm was going off and the fire department said it's the 50th time we're not coming up there, it's a false alarm. So, I've got to go there at two o'clock in the morning. It was a full spectrum of responsibilities, but it was great for me.

Rhett Roberson?

Yeah. I appreciate the many hats approach. I have recently done some bathroom drywall at our office.?

Max Buetow?

(Laughs) Okay, good for you!

Rhett Roberson?

I try to get my hands dirty from time to time. (Laughs)?

Max Buetow?

Don't ever tell anyone that you can do drywall. That's a skill that you never want to be known for. That's like telling people you own a truck. You're going to be moving people the rest of your life.?

Rhett Roberson?

I will edit it out of this discussion.

Max Buetow

(Laughs) That's right.

Rhett Roberson

Who's the best boss or leader you've had the opportunity to work with and what made them so good??

Max Buetow?

So, mine is a different type of an answer. Probably the best leader I've ever worked with is someone that, if you looked at the organizational chart, you'd say that person worked for me. This guy by the name of Brock Shamel .

As I moved from our neurosciences into the CoxHealth Medical Group, which is our physician arm of our organization, I became a vice president. The first hire I made was for my administrative director over operations, which was Brock Shamel. He was young, I think he was maybe late 20s at the time. He didn't have a huge deep bench of experience. I got a lot of advice from others around me that was like, "Okay, you're not a super experienced guy, you're fairly new to healthcare, less than five years, you need to hire someone with 25 years of experience." But I'm just going to hire the best person I see out there. And it was this young guy, Brock.

We sat in cubicles for six years right next to each other. It wasn't even really a cubicle, just two desks on the middle of an open area with the rest of this team around us. I learned more from that guy in those six years.

I tell people, he helped me understand that I'm not 100% right 100% of the time. Which was very healthy for me. When you're young and you have a level of success in your career, you can fall in love with your own momentum to an extent. It was the perfect time period in my life for me to be surrounded by somebody who is always harder working, always smarter, always had better ideas, and who challenged me openly in a way that I knew he really cared for me. That was the biggest thing.

When people ask me about mentorship, I say the best mentor is someone that's going to care more about you than they are themselves. They're going to tell you the difficult truths. Well, that was Brock, and it continues to be Brock to this day. I know if I'm really stepping in it, the first phone call I'm going to get is from Brock Shamel and he will let me know in the most kind and compassionate way, because he really truly loves me. "You are way out of it. You need to get back in line with that." So, for those reasons, he was probably and continues to be one of the best leaders and mentors I've ever had.

Rhett Roberson?

I don't think a lot of people who experience that momentum of their career also have the introspective nature to say what you said. It's easy to fall in love with your own momentum. Was there a catalyst or a moment or someone that helped you realize that experience? That's an interesting realization to come to on your own in the trajectory that you've been on?

Max Buetow?

Yeah, it was a series of moments because of Brock and the other team members we worked around. I talked about it earlier, I love to debate, I love to express a very strong opinion. I had to after-action so many conversations with Brock, where I would say we should go right, and he would say we should go left.

Ultimately, Brock would say that's fine, it's your decision and through the process of trial and error, heavy on the error, I realized I wasn't right in that situation. For Brock to be willing to reengage the next conversation and the next conversation after that, I developed an ability to not find myself in error, but to find that my thought process was in error and catch that early enough. "Okay, we haven't gotten it right yet. I thought a lot about what you said yesterday, and I came back, and I wanted to let you know that I think I'm wrong." But I had to start with having a confidence in him to be able to say, "I don't know if I'm right or wrong yet, but we're going to go with you this time."

And now looking back on it, he was probably right at least 70% of the time. If I'm really thinking without an ego, he's probably right 90% of the time, but it was getting to a place where I'm like, "Okay, well, we're going to make it your call this time and let's just see how that works out." It was that trust and that leap of faith you have to be able to make. Then you realize, "Oh, wait, I'm glad we didn't go right. That was a waterfall. We're in much smoother sailing."

Rhett Roberson?

Yeah, that's good stuff. What did you want to be as a kid? What did you want to be when you grew up??

Max Buetow?

I wanted to be zoologist and then two things got in my way. I hate snakes. I think that's probably a prerequisite. You can't probably hate any living thing and be a zoologist.

Rhett Roberson?

Well, you certainly moved to a strange place in a country for hating snakes.

Max Buetow?

I know. That was a big question from my brother when he moved out here. How snaky is it? And then I got a D in high school biology. I'm like, "Well, that's it then. Move on from that." But I was super passionate, so I can definitely see myself at some point in my life volunteering at the zoo. I'd be the guy that'd be just happy picking up elephant dung. It'd be okay. Just to be around the animals. But I wanted to be a zoologist.

Rhett Roberson?

Well, the Denver Zoo IS pretty cool.

Max Buetow?

I think our zoo here is pretty awesome.

Rhett Roberson?

It is. We have season passes!

Max Buetow?

I got a behind the scenes tour at the zoo from Joey Powell who is in PR and marketing with Dickerson Park Zoo and Friends of the Zoo. We've got some great stuff going on at the zoo here.

Rhett Roberson?

What book has had the most significant impact on your life? And I will say there's the Bible caveat. The Bible is allowed as answer number one, because, of course it the most impactful for many of the people I get to speak with, but is there a follow up?

Max Buetow?

Yeah. So, I mean, you took the words right out of my mouth. There's no book that's ever been in my life that has had more of an influence and continues to have more of an influence than my Bible. I was an English undergrad, so I read a lot. I don't actually enjoy reading at all. I like writing. The only thing I open up every single day is the Bible. It's literally the instruction manual for my life.

I have a really good friend, who recently turned me on to this book that I've been recommending more often to people called The Psychology of Money (https://a.co/d/0dEfsatC ), because I think it helps. And it's not this get rich quick scheme, which I thought it was going to be initially when I picked it up.

It's about how you make decisions in your life around money and the influence that can have on you. It's really about not letting money have an adverse influence on your life. That's probably one book I would tell leaders and individuals who are looking to make really good decisions in life, in general. Because so many of our decisions are made around money, success, power, all those kind of things.

The Psychology of Money was one that caught me off guard a little bit, but I find myself most often going back to it in my professional life, or even quoting in my personal life.?

Rhett Roberson?

I'm putting that on the shortlist.?

Max Buetow?

Yeah, it's good.?

Rhett Roberson?

What's the most important lesson you've learned so far in life?

Max Buetow?

So, there's a biblical principle that my dad always stood on and constantly quoted to me, as I grew up. It's this idea from Micah 6:8 , the second part of the verse, to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly before your God. I would say that's probably the aspiration of where my life is at.

If we break that down into three distinct components: doing the right thing, that speaks to having character. When it's really difficult, can you suck it up and do the right thing? I'd love to think that I always do that, but not necessarily, right? Which leads you to the second piece of that, to love mercy. I feel like I'm living under the grace of God and others every single day. If it weren't for the fact of having that grace and that mercy, because of my inability to always do the right thing at all times, it would be a very difficult life to live. So, not just being accepting of mercy, because that's a lot easier to do.

My personality type is that of someone who has a very high level of expectation, I try to hold myself to a higher standard, sometimes it's hard to extend grace and mercy to others. But if you're going to take it, you'd better offer it in return. That's just how that works. I've never met a person who has talked about a leader that's been influential in their life that hasn't said that the leader in many ways has been humble. We've talked about the importance of not believing in your own hype and I sure hope that humility is one of those traits that I'm known for. At the end of my time, if I'm known for nothing else, no other accomplishment, I hope it's "he was a pretty humble guy." That's a daily task you have to submit yourself to.

Rhett Roberson?

Yeah, sure. You definitely have to stay checked in.

Max Buetow?

You do.

Rhett Roberson?

I think, to your point, like, it's easy to develop some pride around a certain career trajectory. And it's easy to hold on to some sort of pride or an idea that I am this thing with a title behind my name...?

Max Buetow?

Or the fact that you've got a great family, or you're an accomplished musician. There are so many things that define us, that in that definition we can kind of build ourselves up unnecessarily. Then you can lose yourself in that, too. I think that humility is that bringing yourself back to reality that says, "I'm not a big deal and that's perfectly fine. Because my ultimate focus, I think, should be on the Lord, it should be on others." So that humility is a big deal. We need to look at the most humble servant mindset in the history of the world. There's Jesus Christ. If anyone had the ability, "I'm all God and all man." If anyone had a chance to stand up it was Him and you just don't see that exhibited anywhere in his ministry.

Rhett Roberson?

Yeah. He speaks of serving the "least of these", you know?

Max Buetow?

That's right.

Rhett Roberson?

That was the whole M.O.

Max Buetow?

It was.

Rhett Roberson?

And that's what makes the message so powerful.

Max Buetow?

I agree.

Rhett Roberson?

What advice would you offer young professionals entering the workforce?

Max Buetow?

What I love about the young professionals that are entering the workforce today is that I believe that they're pursuing passion more than they're pursuing titles and dollars. I think that makes them really exceptional. At the same time, I think you have to have that tempered. That can create a flightiness in young professionals, and they miss the opportunity to bloom where they're planted and to really be the beneficiaries of the richness of riding a roller coaster, at times. The tough times, the hard times, and the things you earn in relationships that come as a result of that.

I would love to see young professionals start to see the opportunity they're in as the most significant opportunity in their life and not necessarily be thinking about the next thing.

And I've spent a lot of my life, whether it be my professional and personal life, thinking about the next thing. Thinking about the next meeting, the next decision, the next vacation, the next weekend, whatever else. But I've been given this moment, right now, this very moment. How do I relish and savor this moment? How do I give my best to that moment, to that situation, to that person that's right in front of me today? Not worrying about who's texting me on the other side or what I am missing out on.

I think social media is creating a lot of that, this whole fear of missing out. Don't miss out on the moment that you're in and the opportunity being given. I would say combining that passion with that "bloom where you're planted" mentality creates a richness to life that I think I've been able to realize at least in some part.?

Rhett Roberson?

Yeah. Just being present and that richness of that experience, all that stuff in the future is probably not going to turn out the way you're planning anyway. At least not exactly.

Max Buetow?

That's right. That's my life, I'll tell you. I'm not a zoologist. (Laughs)

Rhett Roberson?

(Laughs) Yeah, it's a little bit of a departure from the zoo, but I'd say you did all right. What are you most proud of?

Max Buetow?

In the smallest way, I would say trying to be a servant. Again, I go back to trying to be a servant to the Lord. My greatest hope in my life is at the end of my days, I stand before the Lord and He says, "Well done my good and faithful servant." So, if I could have any service to the Lord, at any point in my life, that would make me proud. I'd say it's my service to my family. I tell people at orientation every single week, the two most important things in my life are not being your CEO, it's my faith and my family. I've been given an immense responsibility to be a husband and a father, and that role means you need to serve.

Kids beat the selfish out of you, as they should. It's a great lesson to be learned. So, I hope I can serve my family really well. Then I get to couple that as part of a really cool trifecta, in that I get to come work to work every single day and missionally-oriented organization which has the sole goal to serve this community and to further its health. Boy, that that creates a whole energy in my life. The combination of those three things envelopes me in a sense of pride and I hope those are the things I'm known for.?

Rhett Roberson?

Yeah, a great aspiration and that leads into the last, and my favorite question, which is the legacy leaning question. How do you hope the world is better for having you?

Max Buetow?

Speaking on a personal level, my dad has influenced my life in a way that no other person has. The guy is not perfect by any means. And I'm not talking about the professional athlete, I'm talking about the guy who just got up to work at 4 a.m., every single day. He did a job that many times he didn't love to do because he was willing to go above and beyond for his family. He was a man of strong faith, he was a man of strong character. I hope my legacy is through my kids. That's the multiplier factor we talked about earlier. That's the generational impact.

Even though my great grandkids or great-great grandkids may never even know my name, I'm setting a course and trajectory for my family. I hope that, even if they don't understand the channel we've dug out for them, they're the beneficiaries of that.

In my office at my home, I've got a picture of my great grandfather, who's my namesake, Max Buetow. I've never met him, I couldn't tell you 20 facts about the guy. I have a picture of my grandfather, never met him, he died at 52 years old. And what I'll have is a picture of my father. I want to hand that legacy off to my kids, where they can look back generationally, and look at the strong men that were in their lives and the course and trajectory that set. I think that's the way I can have the best impact. It won't be as the CEO of CoxHealth. The day I'm no longer the CEO of CoxHealth, I won't have an influence as CEO of CoxHealth anymore. There is the body of work that's there. My legacy of leadership in my family and with my kids will last a long time.

Rhett Roberson?

Yeah, absolutely and I love that, because you're absolutely right. The career could change, right? Who knows? You don't change roles as dad, the family doesn't change, it's a long lasting legacy, so that's always important to have them first. Is there anything I didn't ask you that I should have, or anything that you want on record at the end of this thing?

Max Buetow?

I'd like to go on record thanking you for what you're doing right now. I think, one, I've enjoyed this immensely and I've derived a lot of benefit from just our interaction. I'm taking away four or five things that will make me different as a person and as a leader just having interacted with you. We are benefiting as a community from this work, from the visibility we're having into other exceptional people that are here, from the positivity that you're creating around the stories that are being told, and from the lessons that we're learning. And I do think at the end of this, it's going to culminate in something that goes even beyond the work you've done today.

I mean, you're doing this out of the goodness of your heart, right? You're not deriving personal benefit from this, this isn't on your job description at work. This is time away from the things that are your responsibilities, your family, the things you need to do, because you're doing it for others. And so, I think it's really important that we recognize the work that you're trying to do for us.?

Rhett Roberson?

That's very kind. Because for me, this is such a personal benefit. In the best ways I can I'm trying to be intentionally unintentional. There's a degree of networking, that's inevitable, but I'm not doing it, to your point, I'm not doing this to drive an initiative. I'm just enjoying your perspective on leadership and life. By happenstance, Mayor McClure is sitting not far from us this morning, and the discussion with him was also enlightening. To see a leader that I respect in a different capacity. I get to see him as a human being, to see you as a human being, because regardless of title, we all have to be human beings at the end of the day. How can I roll that into being a better leader, and a better husband, a better father and just generally a better part of our community and more productive part of our community? So, I really do appreciate your words. That's maybe the kindest thing anyone's said to me so far, but the joy and the benefit is certainly all mine. Thank you for your time this morning.

Max Buetow?

Thank you. It's been a pleasure.

Books:

The Psychology of Money - https://a.co/d/0dEfsatC