“Blame it on the Bossa Nova”
Ted L Ramirez
Practicing Attorney/Author | Corporate Governance and Business Transactions | Counsel and Coach to Leaders, Business Owners and Boards of Directors Dayton, Ohio USA
“Blame it on the Bossa Nova” Next in this Governance Series
?We nearly named this article “Botched HealthCare System Reorgs” with a soundtrack from The Twilight Zone.
?But Brazilian music and rhythm are cherished faves, and Eydie Gormé reached number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1963 with a song that fits the scene. Here, we offer a tip of the Governance hat to the emerging “blame game” in mega American WealthCare, the industry we all grew up knowing as “healthcare.” The trending spin is clear, as these organizations dwindle down to less than 150 days of cash on hand[1] and await the inevitable down-grades and repricing of their enormous debt. Or further mergers, consolidations, and closures. Get those "for lease" and "for sale" signs ready. We don’t yet have the lyrics down, but the national anthem of the unfolding debacle is Blame it on the Pandemic! Send in your lyrics! Operators now standing by!
?Inspired by the voices of many of you, we have begged and pled in this space for an awakening by boards, officers, and other stakeholders, especially those fiduciaries in nonprofit healthcare. “Just DO something,” cry out the clinicians and staff seat-belted into the run-a-way mine train, as they ponder their mortgages and kids’ college bills. Fiduciaries, and others from clerk to C-Suite, have come to us, “as Nicodemus by night,” seeking advice, both on and off the record, risking retaliation, regarding the lasting damage wreaked upon their companies by free-wheeling, big-spending entrenched management (f/k/a “run-away administrations”).
?These experienced and subject-matter-competent patriots have tried all the front- and back-channels: appeals to the C-Suite, to the Board, to individual Board members, public officials, medical staff leadership, the religious leaders purported to oversee the “mission, vision, and values” rehashed at each five-star “retreat.” At those gatherings, oceans of money flow to plush lodgings, food, goody bags, mementos, golf outings, concerts, and other “fellowship” events. Lofty slogans, such as “Faith, Family, Work” and “The Healing Ministry of Christ” echo throughout such organizations, as pseudo leaders chase the building of a glitzy success culture on foundations of barrier-island sand.
领英推荐
?Bloated marketing and “recruitment” budgets, rarely examined at finance committees or board meetings, lead to unlimited domestic and overseas travel. Here come box cars of bling, jackets, shirts, caps, water bottles, sunglasses, all with the high-ticket-consultant-recommended logo showcasing the all-important “branding.” Brand, rebrand, and rebrand again. Oh, and let’s not forget to replace all the uniforms (forcing employees on tight budgets to repurchase), stationery, signage. Let’s repaint all the vehicles and post new banners all over campus.
?But why stop there! As we “blame it on the pandemic” and a “rapidly shifting healthcare landscape," let’s keep building bricks and mortar with dubious proformas that keep the finance departments awake at night. Love those ground-breakings and ribbon cuttings, and hobnobbing with city, county, and state officials. The chambers of commerce and business journals just love us. And behold all those photos on the wall! Then, spice up the bubbling cauldron brew with the exodus of those with a way out, and the urgent late night resumé-polishing by those for whom it is just too late.
?Why not imagine multimillion-dollar sports franchise deals in which the Pro Team’s lawyers and negotiators dupe the sheep-in-wolves-clothing and stick them with requirements that deepen the staffing shortages, drive up overtime pay, strip away more cash, and stoke the desperate frustration of the rank-and-file? All this while the suits hang out in the skyboxes and preen for photos on Facebook among the rich and famous. Sound like sound, mission-based, nonprofit finance, and administration to you? The kind of lofty goals from the last retreat? If it does, then you might not appreciate Eydie’s classic song, and the entire rich genre of bossa nova music you can find on YouTube.?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbvLuNzg--I
Yours for Better Governance
Ted L. Ramirez ? 2022
[1] Compare and contrast: https://www.hfma.org/topics/research_reports/1114.html?
Driven to Win
2 年The Cincinnati Bengals, FC Cincinnati and NASCAR are chuckling all the way to the bank. If you are wondering the connection take a look at sponsorship from three faith based non-profit health entities.