Hospitals

Words to lead by: Retired Cleveland Clinic CEO Floyd Loop writes book on leadership, medicine

Health care reform, rising costs, falling reimbursements, tough financial markets and burgeoning patient demand are combining to cause a storm-of-the-century in the health care industry. And Dr. Floyd D. Loop, retired chairman and chief executive of the Cleveland Clinic, is offering some guidance for captains navigating those seas of change in his new book, Leadership and Medicine.

By Mary Vanac on August 13, 2009

Updated 3:57 p.m. Friday, Aug. 14, 2009

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Health care reform, rising costs, falling reimbursements, tough financial markets and burgeoning patient demand are combining to cause a storm-of-the-century in the health care industry.

And Dr. Floyd D. Loop, retired chairman and chief executive of  the Cleveland Clinic, is offering some guidance for captains navigating those seas of change in his new book, Leadership and Medicine (Fire Starter Publishing, 2009, $32.95), which is available at bookstores and booksellers nationwide, as well as from its publisher.

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Dr. Loop retired from the Cleveland Clinic in October 2004 after leading the health care system for 15 years. Loop ascended to the executive suite as an internationally recognized heart surgeon, according to his Forbes.com profile.  He practiced cardiothoracic surgery at the Clinic for 30 years, heading its Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery from 1975 to 1989, Forbes says.

But Loop was about more than hearts. He led the Clinic through more than a decade of change from an institution known mostly for heart care to a fully integrated medical delivery system of acquired hospitals, newly constructed outpatient clinics and an expansion into Florida. He also oversaw the building of research, eye, cancer and heart institutes, and the inauguration of a new medical school in 2002. The growth pushed Clinic revenues to $3.6 billion in 2004 from $645 million in 1989, the year Loop took over as CEO. 

Today, Loop is a director for Cleveland biopharmaceutical company Athersys Inc., as well as Intuitive Surgical Inc., the Sunnyvale, Calif., maker of the da Vinci Surgical System, and for-profit hospital company Tenet Healthcare Corp. in Dallas, Texas. Â He also directs private companies Passport Health Communications in Franklin, Tenn., and Visible Assets Inc., according to Tenet.

Loop also is a partner in Radius Ventures LLC, a New York-based health and life sciences venture firm. Here are some of Loop’s insights on change and leadership from his book:

Remember that we are not in the business of business; we’re in the business of medicine. Medicine is a unique field, Loop says. The business of medicine is giving advice that saves life or treatment that adds quality to living, not about making money.

Change is inevitable. As leaders, we can manage it in one of four ways: Resist change, whine about it, panic, or the preferred way, pull together with colleagues to grow through it.

Strive to live by the four proven principles of enduring success. 1) Exploit (existing assets) before you explore (new assets), 2) Diversify the business portfolio, 3) Remember your mistakes, and 4) Be conservative about change.

Make sure your growth efforts fit a deliberate strategy.

Pay close attention to competitors. Their vulnerabilities can provide good ideas — even a new direction — for your organization.

Even if the people on your team don’t like each other, they must trust each other.

Before you make a decision, ask yourself three key questions: 1) Do I really understand the issue at hand, and can I explain it to my colleagues? 2) Will there be any unintended consequences of the decision? and 3) What will happen if I don’t decide now? 

Learn the fine art of partnering with community physicians.

Call an ideological truce regarding health care reform.

Support efforts to urge consumers to take control of their health care costs.

Never forget the importance of a satisfied patient.