Category: Videos

What Are You Missing?

World-renowned violinist Joshua Bell experimented with the power of Noticing when he played for 43 minutes in the Washington DC metro during rush hour – completely unNoticed. Over the course of the performance, just seven people stopped to listen, and he collected only $32 in his violin case.

This is a fantastic example of the need to Notice the music all around us – to take the time to take time. With only so many moments in our day, it’s critical that we give ourselves permission to truly LOOK and Notice the diverse elements that surround us.

Think of a time you missed out on something because you were distracted, either personally or professionally? What got in the way? How might you stay present next time?

Empathetic Signage

“Children play here. Pick up after your dog.” If you Noticed this sign on your morning walk, would you feel more compelled than usual to clean up? This is the power of empathetic signage, which business thought leader, Daniel Pink, masterfully brings to life in this recording of his PechaKucha presentation on signage. When we design solutions with human emotions in mind, we not only encourage empathy, we also LEAD customers and team members to change their behaviors for the better. Creating this type of signage and reaction takes dual-sided Noticing: not only did you have to Notice the heart-wrenching dog sign, the individual who designed the sign had to Notice that you are, in fact, human.


Invisible Threads

Orchestration is the invisible thread that pulls us together and ensures every small part of our work, whether service, a team member, or a software system, unites as a cohesive whole. Let’s continue to explore ways to understand our own power as leaders, the keepers of the thread, of the “Big E Experience” work in our health care systems.


Singing Together in Siena

This widely shared story from Siena, Italy reminds us all of the part we can play to bring joyful spirit and solidarity in difficult times. During the nightly lockdown due to COVID-19, one man began singing Canto della Verbena (And While Siena Sleeps), a local folk song that expresses pride in the beautiful Tuscan city. It was just the wholehearted invitation needed for neighbors to lean out their windows and join in singing together and remind each of them that we are in this together—we are not alone.

There are so many other beautiful examples that happened worldwide from neighbors exercising together on their balconies in Spain and Italy to physicians and nurses dancing in Iran to keep their spirits high. Always be on the lookout for the good out there.


Orchestrating Without Words – The Ignorant Maestro in Action

How much can we say without speaking? This charming TED Talk with Itay Talgam, conductor and author of this month’s book, The Ignorant Maestro, shows us how six great 20th-century conductors rise to the challenge with their own unique styles. Great conductors use small gestures to create perfect harmony while bringing out the best in their musicians. Each player feels special and valued, plays their unique part, and is absolutely essential to creating the great joy of music.

Use this video to spark conversation around the book and leadership styles. How can we enable others through our leadership? How can the Experience of working together become joyful?

Finding The One Moment

This mind-blowing video, “The One Moment,”  from Chicago rock band OK Go shows more than musical Orchestration – it shows life’s Orchestration. OK Go’s thoroughly crafted music videos paired with upbeat, catchy songs tend to go viral immediately when they hit YouTube. They have a knack for striking a chord in humans right along with their musical chords. With more than 25 million views, this video and its Rube Goldberg-machine-inspired wonder is well worth the watch.

The song behind this incredible video digs into something deeper that parallels perfectly with the visual cues. Frontman Damian Kulash explains in the video’s credits that the song is a “celebration of (and a prayer for) those moments in life when we are most alive. Humans are not equipped to understand our own temporariness; it will never stop being deeply beautiful, deeply confusing, and deeply sad that our lives and our world are so fleeting. We have only these few moments. Luckily, among them there are a few that really matter, and it’s our job to find them.”

When we are the leaders, or conductors, of the work we do every day, we have the potential to surprise ourselves and our team members alike. How can we Orchestrate surprise and child-like wonder into some of our everyday processes?

Orchestration and the Symphony of Healing

This month, we dive into the concept of what it means to Intentionally connect-the-dots to ensure a seamless, harmonic, Orchestrated Experience. We also explore the parallels of music and conductors. How does a conductor LEAD without speaking? What are some of their techniques for bringing out the best in their musicians? How is the whole of a symphony greater than the sum of its individual instrumentalists?

We will also look inward at our own organizations. Neither are we defined by a single “instrument” or “musician”— our brilliance comes from our physicians, nurses, technicians, and administrators working together as a harmonic whole. We are defined by the Experience created by our entire Orchestra of virtuosos. Though one violinist may be the very best in the field, it’s the coming together of all instruments that makes an orchestra magical. So it is for us—a bedside caregiver is only as great as the many experts who come together in service for that patient.


The Trust Economy

Success of innovative Connections depends solely on a new form of currency in today’s economy: trust. This TED Talk by Oxford University’s Rachel Botsman explores how the world’s most successful companies not only have built customer trust but truly depend on trust from a financial perspective. Take Airbnb–the company would be nothing if they weren’t able to foster a sense of worldwide trust between strangers (the host and the guest) through their platform.

How can we actively foster a sense of trust, not only for our patients but also for our providers, team members, and guests?

Bridging Others: A LEGO Connection

We love discovering and celebrating the extraordinary health care heroes who have an innate gift of being a Connector for and between others. At Cincinnati Children’s, KJ Upshaw a floor tech, noticed that two boys in treatment isolation were both passionate about LEGOs. As he watched each of the boys build and had conversations with them, he innately knew they would love sharing with each other. And he could be the bridge.  

Each day, KJ joyfully shared messages and photos of progress between the two boys as they built in their separate rooms. This brief moment brightened each child’s day. It was a simple and meaningful gesture, above and beyond what was expected of Upshaw, yet an important reminder that every person who enters a patient room is part of the healing journey. The boys were able to meet face to face before leaving and plans for future playdates are underway.


EQ, Not IQ

“According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report, emotional intelligence will be one of the top 10 job skills in 2022.” We found this eye-opening stat in a great piece in Fast Company. When we place value in someone’s ability to forge Connections and label that as a strength, we build great leaders and great teams. What once was deemed a “soft skill,” emotional intelligence is increasingly one of our greatest professional assets.

Celebrating you and your team’s ability to LEAD in a way that’s emotionally intelligent helps create meaning in your work each and every day. Emotionally intelligent individuals are not only better at Connecting with others, they’re better at Connecting a problem to the best solution.

When we tune into the way in which we are Connected to everyone and everything around us, we create more compassionate services and servants. Our Connection to the universal “we” helps us find greater meaning in our purpose within our organizations.