Tag Archives: blogging

Time to pivot

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I’ve been writing this weekly blog for 8 years. It has been a weekly discipline and truly a labor of love. I started when I was the CIO at University of Michigan Health System Hospitals and Health Centers (now called Michigan Medicine). I was encouraged to launch it by the then social media coordinator for the health system. My purpose was simple – share my experience as a health IT leader and help develop next generation leaders. As my website “About” page says: “With this weekly blog, I share perspectives on the critical issues facing Health Care IT, the organizational transformations that IT organizations face, the challenges of leadership, and the work we need to do together to keep the paths of opportunity open for all. What we do matters.”

When I left Michigan and started down the path of interim management, consulting, and leadership coaching, I took over the blog and continued to write and publish it myself. I have served in both permanent and interim IT leadership roles for many leading organizations in the past 8 years. When I have been “in the seat” as a CIO, I have had plenty to share and at no loss for new topics.

But now that I am not doing interim engagements myself, I am removed from the day-to-day issues and challenges, and the many lessons learned from them. I continue to coach and help grow new leaders plus spend time connecting people to new opportunities. So even as I pivot, sharing leadership lessons will continue to be a focus area as well as commenting on significant events in our world as they relate to the work of healthcare and IT.

While blogs as a medium may have had their day, podcasts seem to have taken over in recent years. I listen to many different podcasts though I still read a lot too – finding ways to continually learn from others. I continue to share through other forums – our StarBridge Advisors blog, as a monthly host on the This Week in Health IT Town Hall/Community channel interviewing guests (my foray into podcasts), as well as speaking on webinars and panels.

So, what’s my pivot? I will continue to write but I am going to find ways to highlight the work of others and get their perspective on key issues. There are so many of you doing incredibly important and impactful work in our industry. I’m not sure how I’ll approach this change or if I will adjust the frequency of posts.  I consider it a work in process.

If you are interested in having your work highlighted or sharing your perspective on a key issue for a future post, please reach out. And if you have topic ideas, I’m all ears.

My work and writing continue…..

Related Posts:

Advice for bloggers: valuable content and discipline

Making time for reflection

Time to simplify

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The past week has been an unexpected one. I’m one week out from a bad fall and injuries that will take a while to heal. Having to limit my mobility at a time when we are downsizing, getting our house ready to list and working full-time is not easy. I thought about writing a blog this week titled “In an instant” to describe how quickly things can change or “View from the other side” to describe my emergency room experience. Other than being in the ED far longer than I expected, I can only say positives about the hard-working hospital staff and how they took care of me.

But instead, I’m just going to keep it simple.

As I simplify what’s on my to do list, I decided August is a good time for a break from weekly blog writing. Many readers are on vacation and taking well deserved breaks. If you are looking for new content, check out two recent podcasts I did:

Newsday – HIMSS Plans and Pandemic Lessons Learned with Bill Russell.

Healthcare CIO Leadership, Innovation, and the Interim CIO with John Lynn.

I can’t compete with the amount of conference level content that Bill (This Week in Health IT) and John (Healthcare IT Today) produce throughout the year. But I’m grateful to periodically be part of what they do to continually educate and develop next generation leaders.

If listening to podcasts isn’t your thing, they both have much written content to check out as well. Or you can always peruse my past blogs by category and find some of the classics.

Look for my next blog in early September!

Most popular posts in the past year:

Career advice in a competitive market

8 health experts to follow

Rounding in a virtual world

Remote work – writing chapter three

Resources for your digital health journey

Vendor relationship management revisited

When healthcare becomes personal

Looking ahead to 2021 – predictions, emerging trends and some advice

 

7 years later

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I started this weekly blog 7 years ago right before our major Epic go live when I was serving as CIO at University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers. Given my decades of experience in health IT leadership roles, I decided that I had plenty of lessons and experiences to share. A blog seemed like a great forum to do so.

7 years later, I am still writing. I have shared lessons and experiences that have included my interim CIO and CTO engagements at three other healthcare systems since I left Michigan – University Hospitals in Cleveland, Stony Brook Medicine on Long Island, and University of Vermont Health Network. Since March, I have been serving as interim SVP and CIO at Boston Children’s Hospital.

I often wonder how much longer to keep this going. How much more do I have to share and who cares? The feedback and appreciation I get in notes and comments from readers keeps me going. And the topic ideas keep coming.

I was asked recently how I find time to write each week. Good question. I am pretty busy. I am a full-time interim CIO and am helping my colleagues keep things going at our firm, StarBridge Advisors. My response to the question is that I have a lot of ideas and not enough time to write. With this week’s post I am changing when I publish. I will try to write on the weekends and publish early in the week instead of percolate an idea all week and then finally write it Thursday night when I am exhausted.

And while I have a lot of topic ideas, I am definitely open to suggestions from my readers. I was recently asked by a CIO colleague if he could suggest topics – of course I said yes.

At this 7-year mark you might be interested in knowing which posts have gotten the most attention. In the world of social media, keywords, amplification, and cross linking are key. The top 5 most read posts since I started are:

It is worth mentioning that #6 is “New year, next chapter”. Continue reading →

Most popular blogs in 2019

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It’s the new year and time for top 10 lists and countdowns so I’m adding mine to the mix. These are my most read blog posts in 2019. If you missed any of them first time around now is your chance to check them out.

I am a practitioner and always willing to share experiences pulling lessons from everything that I do. I continue to cover a range of topics from leadership to women and work to technology and healthcare. It looks like my readers appreciate the variety. Here are the top 10 as measured by total views:

A passion for health care – a classic one from previous years about why we do what we do

6 tips for successful huddle boards – another classic from previous years that doesn’t go out of style

“We’re at meeting norms” – this one is about best practices I learned from my IT colleagues during my interim CTO engagement at University of Vermont Health Network (UVMHN) this past year.

10 best practices for project success – another one from my experience at UVMHN as we approached the November Epic Go Live.

Where do new ideas come from? – another back to the classics from a previous year.

Develop women leaders, transform leadership – at StarBridge Advisors, we launched a new service early in 2019 call C-Change focused on developing women leaders in health IT. Continue reading →

2018 Countdown – top 10 blog posts

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It’s the time of year for top 10 lists and countdowns so I’m adding mine to the mix. These are my most read blog posts from 2018. If you missed any of them first time around now is your chance to check them Top10out.

I cover a range of topics and it looks like readers appreciate the variety. Here are the top 10 as measured by total views with a countdown from number 10:

#10 – Find your voice, a mentor and be bold – Career advice is always a popular topic whether you are early or late in your career.

#9 – What does a high value conference look like? – There are many ways to spend time and money on professional development, some conferences provide unique value.

#8 – Family ties – we all have a story – It’s important to know where we come from to understand who we are.

#7 – Technology making a difference at scale – One of my personal favorites! The power of technology takes many forms. In Africa, drones can be lifesaving.

#6 – 8 Signs of a strong security culture – Security is always a topic of interest as threats continue to increase and organizations are challenged to keep up. Continue reading →

7 HIT blog and podcast recommendations

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I started blogging in 2014. It was a way to share experiences from many years as a health IT leader and to teach others. When I see the number of subscribers to my blog and 100,000 views to date, I think it’scanstockphoto58340963 (1) subscribe fair to say my blogs are having an impact. As long as that’s the case, I will keep blogging.

I was honored to see my blog named for the second year in a row to HealthTech’s Must-Read Health IT Blogger List. Here are some of the ones on that list that I plan to start reading more regularly:

Susannah Fox – She is the former CTO of HHS and covers a range of topics to help people and organizations navigate at the intersection of health and technology.

Inside the Mind of a Healthcare CIO by David Chou, Vice President / Chief Information & Digital Officer for Children’s Mercy Kansas City – I knew David was prolific on social media. I regularly read and share his content. But I didn’t realize that he was also writing a regular blog on a range of topics from his CIO experiences.

Health IT Buzz from ONC – This is a great way to keep up with what is coming from The Office of the National Coordinator and their perspective.

Health Populi by Jane Sarasohn-Kahn – I have met Jane at a few conferences in recent years and always find her insight and analysis to be very enlightening. She covers broad trends in healthcare. Something every IT leader should be tracking.

AAMI Blog – I may be biased as an AAMI board member, but I think all IT leaders need to be keeping tabs on what the issues are in the health technology management (HTM) world. Continue reading →

Advice for bloggers: valuable content and discipline

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In the early 2000s, there was an explosion of blogs, but I never pictured myself as a blogger.  But that changed four years ago when I started a weekly blog to share my health IT experiences and insights with canstockphoto13207113others.

It is a weekly discipline I’ve maintained ever since.

I love data. So, I look at the statistics on views per week and per post. I’ve published over 200 blog posts and have had close to 100,000 views.

Over the four years, the posts on lean are by far the most popular – 6 of the top 20 posts – including huddles, visual boards, Gemba walks, and use of an A3. The lean community shares content broadly and openly as they learn from one another. A very good practice! So, maybe I shouldn’t be surprised at the popularity of these posts.

I ask myself “what generates views”? Is it the opening tease and blog title that attracts readers? Is it the title or general topic that causes subscribers to read a blog when they get the email notification? Is it the re-publishing by other publications or links from other sites?

Despite all the analytical tools and articles available on how to increase blog subscribers and readers, it comes down to valuable content. Yes, the catchiness of the title and the use of keywords make a difference. I learned that decades ago writing headlines when I was editor of my high school newspaper. But back then the world of content was all paper; now you can search for anything online in seconds. We all know that on social media you must compete for “eyeballs.” Hence, the importance of keywords.

When I first considered starting a blog, I sought out an expert to give me advice. I called Anthony Guerra at HealthSystemCIO.com. Was it a crazy idea or should I go for it? He encouraged me early on and I’m truly grateful for that. It helped me go from considering blogging to actually being a blogger.

I’ve learned how important amplification is in the world of social media: tagging people, likes, comments, and shares. Then there’s “going viral” – nobody knows the secret formula to that. Continue reading →

Another anniversary worth noting

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canstockphoto13207113This week marks three years of blogging for me. People still ask me where I find the time and how I get ideas for topics. My answer is always the same. I make it a weekly discipline – shaping the ideas during the week, writing a near final draft on Thursday night, then finalizing and publishing it first thing Friday morning. The ideas continue to flow though I’ll be the first to admit there are some Thursday nights when I’m still looking for inspiration.

Just think how I felt the Thursday when I saw this tweet from someone I follow?

“Tomorrow is Friday and we all know what that means! No, not just Cinco de Mayo but @sgschade blog comes out! #anticipation”

No pressure I thought. Fortunately, it was the week I had shadowed a nurse and my blog topic was obvious.

By the numbers, there have been close to 75,000 total views. Who would have thought that three years ago? I remember someone asking me who I thought would read my blog besides my family and close friends. Believe me, I have a small family who doesn’t always read it and few close friends. Continue reading →

2 years later

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With this post, I’ve reached a key milestone – 100 published posts in 2 years of blogging. I have maintained my discipline of writing a weekly post except for one or two vacation breaks and a short gap canstockphoto13207113as I migrated to a new hosting service earlier this year.

With over 650 regular subscribers and more than 52,000 views to date, my writing is reaching a wide audience. In addition, many of my blogs are re-published on various health IT online sites for an even greater reach. And I’ve been named to various social media influencer lists. Knowing that I’m having a positive impact is what keeps me finding the time to write each week.

The most read blog was “New year, next chapter“.  Many people were interested in the professional and personal transition I was making in leaving the University of Michigan Health System. I decided to go on my own offering consulting, coaching and interim management so I could live near my daughters and grandchildren. I also wanted more flexibility in my life at this stage in my career. Many colleagues have said they are watching me and hope to learn from me as they reach a similar stage in their career.

As the interim CIO at University Hospitals in Cleveland, I have had plenty of new topics to cover, similar yet different from my previous experience. In my first four months, I’ve written about IT governance, lean, innovation, customer service and project ownership. Continue reading →

A year of blogging. . .

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People often ask me, “How do you find time to write”? I have been writing this blog every week for over a year. A very senior leader in our organization who always compliments my writing told me recently, “If you can find time to write it, then I can find time to read it”. I appreciate all the comments on the posts where people share their own perspective and stories.

It is a weekly discipline. But knowing that the content is appreciated and has an impact keeps me going. Writing has also been a great method of reflection for me – Hansei as the Japanese call it.

I guess with over 450 subscribers and more than 27,000 views to date, it’s more than just my family and closest friends who are reading it – that’s all most bloggers ask for.

Regular subscribers get an email notification for each new post. Beyond that, how do I reach readers? I promote each post through the usual social media channels – Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter — each of which has its own particular audience. I also promote my posts through Next Wave Connect, a social media platform focused on health care.  I’m grateful to Anthony Guerra and Kate Gamble at HealthSystemCIO.com for re-posting most of my blog entries; my CIO colleagues who aren’t connected on social media will see them there. And now I publish some posts directly on LinkedIn at the request of one of my connections. He said it would make it easier to share with all of his connections. Continue reading →