Courage: A Requisite For Change

Mark Twain once said that “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear – not the absence of fear.”

Few things elicit fear as much as “Change”.  Making a change requires risk, and risk is scary.  Risk is scary because we’re afraid of failure, we’re afraid of disappointing someone, or we’re afraid of criticism.  I get it.  Failure hurts, even when the stakes are low.  We do not enjoy failure, or disappointing people, or being criticized. 

This is why patterns of behavior and thought are extremely durable.  This is why the status quo is so strong, so resilient. 

When contemplating changes that can potentially disrupt people’s health care, where they get that care, from whom they get that care, and how they pay for that care, the fear factor is elevated.  I contend that the status quo is more entrenched in health care/benefits than any other industry or aspect of life.

We all know our health care system is in dire need of reform.  We all know that health insurance has gotten so expensive that fewer and fewer are able to afford it.  We all know that health care is the leading cause of personal bankruptcy in this country.  We all feel the frustrations from ever-increasing premiums and declining benefits.  We all know something needs to be done, and yet we are still extremely reluctant to change anything.  So we do nothing. 

That’s what fear does.  It paralyzes.  It holds people and organizations back from realizing optimal potential.  Fear is a poison, and courage is the antidote.

In the last year, I have had numerous prospective clients decline alternative health benefits proposals that dramatically reduced costs, improved benefits, and in many cases, completely eliminated employee deductibles and out of pocket expenses.  All of those things are amazing, but all of them had one thing in common; the business would have to cease doing things the way they’ve always done them (procured health benefits), and do things differently.  In each case, the fear of change won. 

But that’s ok, because courage, much like a muscle, gets stronger as you exercise it.  Muscles don’t evolve from pure weakness to total strength overnight.  Courage doesn’t appear out of nowhere.  Developing courage is a skill, and I want to share a few ways employers and business leaders can develop more courage when it comes to facing necessary changes in health care and employee benefits.

1. Know the business of health care.  It is virtually impossible to feel courageous enough to ever change anything in your organization’s health care benefits if you are unclear or uneducated about the industry.  If you are a researcher, dive in, get to know this industry and how it operates, how the players make money, what the incentives of your vendors and brokers are, and where the revenueS originate and flow.  If you’re not a “do it yourself” type of leader, then hiring the RIGHT partners is paramount.  Health care has become a huge item on the P&L, and you can no longer afford to ignore this business unit.
2. Do what’s right, not what feels good.  Have the courage to corrupt the “norm” if it means a better outcome.  Loyalty to relationships is an admirable quality in people, and I admire loyalty…..in personal relationships.  But for business, loyalty may be costing you money, and it may be preventing your employees from receiving the dividends of that savings, ie: better benefits, higher salaries, lower deductibles, lower health care costs.  It may also be robbing your company of valuable resources that are better spent elsewhere in your organization. 
3. Be willing to make mistakes.  I know that health care is a “high-stakes” decision.  After all, your employees are accessing our health care system via your company-sponsored health plan.  That represents a very influential piece to people’s actual care, and that is a big responsibility.  But your employees also recognize something needs to change in health care and health benefits.  They too feel the crunch of rising premiums, rising deductibles, and decreasing quality.  They may be afraid of change too, but many quietly and secretly admire companies that are choosing to at least attempt to solve the problems.  Don’t be afraid to try.
4. Know that NOT changing is potentially harming you.  Staying paralyzed by fear can be just as harmful as any failure from change you can imagine.  In the status quo health care system, people are literally going bankrupt because of often times, unexpected health events.  What is even more shocking, is 70% of those people had health insurance!  Health care inflation has gobbled up virtually all wage gains earned by the middle class over the past 30 years.  Your employees feel this in their paychecks, and an embarrassing percentage of Americans report that they delay and/or forego health care altogether, simply because they can’t afford it.
5. Take action….Do something!  Even taking small steps can make a positive difference, and enough small steps still lead to big change.  Commit to learning more about the health care and benefits industries.  Talk with experts who understand healthcare’s profit motive.  There are lots of people who are working tirelessly to bring more transparency and clarity to this industry, including our firm. 

Employers desperately need a fresh perspective when it comes to health care and employee benefits.  That fresh perspective could be the catalyst for bigger changes, or it could simply be an opportunity to better understand a very opaque, complex, and evolving industry.

All of us, on some level, understand that things need to change in health care.  Take some time to learn what actually IS changing, and how it can impact your organization.  Change may be scary, but think about the opportunities that exist on the other side of that fear.  It’s worth it.