TURNING UNANTICIPATED CHALLENGES INTO UNFORESEEN OPPORTUNITIES

While long summer days here in Michigan afford us an all too brief chance to enjoy the diverse natural beauty of the great lakes, our clients in Florida are quick to remind us that our much anticipated warm weather heralds their season of greatest vulnerability. My last trip to Miami was a poignant reminder of the devastation wrought by last year's merciless series of unanticipated hurricanes. If there is one thing I have learned over the past 28 years in this business, it is that we must all be prepared for the unexpected. None of us can afford the luxury of complacency. Today's feast is quickly forgotten in the face of tomorrow's famine. Is it any different in the world of anesthesia practice management? More and more it is the ability to turn an unanticipated challenge into an unforeseen opportunity that defines that fine line between success and failure.

And so we present you with another issue of the Communiqué to prepare you for the unexpected. The following pages offer a wealth of good advice from people who have made their living preparing others for the inevitability and uncertainty of change. Each of these carefully selected articles provides some valuable insight gained at the expense of another's misfortune. Our panel of industry experts has been down a path that you may be currently on. Their experience and wisdom is your advantage. If even one of them provides you with that critical insight or option that helps you keep your practice in good stead with your customers and a viable force in the lives of your employees our investment will have been amply rewarded.

It is in this spirit of vigilance that I also share our recently revised and solidly reaffirmed company mission, vision and values. I include them here as an example of the company's ongoing strategic planning. While our core values and commitment to the specialty remain unchanged, we must each acknowledge that all too often the beliefs and strategies that got us to where we are today will not get us to where we want to be tomorrow. In addition to the continued support and loyalty of our clients, ABC's success hinges directly on its ability to identify those beliefs and strategies that no longer serve our strategic purpose and to develop and embrace new ones that will. How can we be a model of change management if we are unwilling to deal with our own sacred cows? And so it is with great excitement that I look forward to the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for all of us. May you be equally optimistic about your practice's mission and vision for the invaluable role you will play in the lives of those you serve.

Sincerely,

Tony Mira,

President & CEO