Over the past two weeks, I’ve been dodging rain and the lack of child care in search of a few hours to make some needed adjustments and repairs to my boat lift. I want to make sure we’re ready to enjoy warmer temperatures and maximize our Wisconsin allocation of summer.

Last Monday, the clouds finally broke for a brief period and the kids were in good hands. As my cousin and I made our way down to take care of business with boat lift, I quickly realized that I forgot about a very important consideration – the water level. As I was busy worrying about the weather and my rascals, I neglected to factor in a read of the working environment. The water level was just too high and the current too strong. It wasn’t quite ready to support the changes we needed to make.

This made me think of the many changes we’re a part of with our clients.

The leadership team wants to optimize the EHR. The calendar, resourcing, and funding are finally well aligned to move forward. But, is the environment ready to support the changes that are coming?

The success of a project is often heavily hinged on the receptivity of the environment.

With the boat lift, we could have pressed ahead and tried to make the adjustments despite the water level. That would have likely resulted in unnecessary frustrations, wet knees, and a few swept away screwdrivers. Instead, we decided to wait for the environment to be more conducive.

Are your people – from the front desk to clinicians to senior leaders – ready to be part of and support the change that comes with your next health tech project? If not, it may be worth investing in prepping the environment. Unlike water levels, you don’t need to wait for Mother Nature to take action. You can take meaningful action to prepare your practice’s environment.

Your environment will never be completely pristine for vital change.  However, if you’re at flood stage, please put away those long-handled screwdrivers!

Always here to help,