Making a difference with your career
OK, I know this has nothing to do with “day-to-day” operational planning and execution, but this article resonated with me so strongly that I felt compelled to share it with those of us who have, through our work, made contributions to the overall betterment of the human condition.
Some days it feels like we spend an inordinate amount of time in contentious discussions “convincing” individuals and organizations to “do the right thing” for the health, safety, and wellbeing of their stakeholders.?It is often frustrating and dehumanizing to discuss an organization’s significant adverse events with recalcitrant leadership where there is an obvious solution to improve the clinical and human impact of product performance where the contrary position is either economic (reticence toward?more cost) or an acceptance of the status quo which presents as an unconscionable disregard for patients.
My personal story could be considered a case-in-point.?In the 1980’s (Reagan years) increased spending in defense awarded big contracts to military equipment producers.?In this boom, I found myself at a career threshold.?After successful interviews, I was offered a leadership position at a global defense/aerospace organization (>$50 B) at what for me was a HUGE salary increase (100+ %).?Concurrently, I was also offered a position with a small medical device company (<$6 MM) at a significantly lower salary than was being offered by the global defense contractor.
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I was faced with what I would describe as a “moral” dilemma.?Should I do what was best for my immediate family (more $$$, and job security) despite my work efforts being utilized to create and perfect instruments of war, or should I mitigate my personal financial desires and accept a position where I hoped my efforts could contribute to the betterment of public health both for individual patients and overall healthcare delivery in general?
Well, I chose the latter, and have spent almost 40 years as a process and product excellence, public health and consumer/patient advocate, hopefully guiding individuals and organizations to an understanding and appreciation of the critical role their organizations play in not only the lives of individuals, but to the betterment of public health and the human condition globally. I have been blessed to have been provided the opportunity to contribute to the development and distribution of both mundane and novel medical technologies which contribute to better quality of life for, dare I say, millions of individuals, most of whom I will never know.
As I now face the winter years of my career, what I treasure most is not the professional recognition or financial rewards I have achieved, but the uncelebrated knowledge that in whatever small way I may have contributed, I “made a difference” in the immediate lives of unknown numbers of people who were the beneficiaries of the outcomes of those difficult and critical conversations, and the changes they inspired.
I write this to perhaps put those “bad” days in perspective and to express my gratitude to each and every one of you for having the “intestinal fortitude” to engage in those difficult conversations and sticking to your principals despite how difficult it seems at the time.?From an “Old Guy” with a long career perspective, in the aggregate, the efforts and frustrations are worth it. I sleep well each night (mostly) secure that I have put my talents to what I believe is “Best use”.