Learning About Others, Learning About Ourselves Letter from Carolyn Merriman, President

Students across the country are firmly entrenched in yet another school semester. And even if it’s been awhile since you’ve set foot in a classroom, each of us can benefit from studying where we’ve been, where we’d like to be—and, most importantly, how we’ll get there.

In health care, there’s no better way to plan our journey than to learn more about our external customers (employers, physicians or consumers) as well as our internal customers.
This trek may take many paths, as you’ll see in this issue. But it’s one that is necessary to the beginning of any strategy—and one thatshould also be considered when you’re retrenching, enhancing or meeting increased competitive challenges.

I invite you to take a few moments to learn about the importance of this “advanced education” and the value of implementing these tactics right now. The time is here to challenge our assumptions about our customers, and do the homework to learn more about them and about us.

We look forward to hearing your feedback. Please send your comments, questions and ideas to us by phone or e-mail.

See you in school!

Carolyn