Precision

We expect the world to have exact answers for all our issues no matter what.  General answers today are unacceptable.  That’s why the time “about a quarter after” was replaced by the Apple Watch.  Regardless, people still set unrealistic time-frames for their lives without any ability to meet them.   “Let’s meet at 3:13 PM”. What if my watch is two minutes off, will I be early or late?  Similarly, “our baby was conceived on March 17th”.  You don’t actually know that for sure even though St. Patrick’s Day involved some late night shenanigans.  The same with getting COVID, you literally don’t know who gave it to you unless someone sneezed in your face (who also had COVID).  Perfection is so important we don’t even end up in the ballpark.  I personally like the 80/20 rule even for big ticket items, it least gets you in the paint most of the time.

Years ago I used to purchase hospitals, sometimes many at once.  It’s like buying a house, but with lots of moving parts – employees, underfunded pensions, malpractice cases, sex scandals, etc.  There are so many variables you have to eventually punt on details and generalize just to get to an endpoint.  Also  tons of money is thrown around to match huge expectations.  A city once wanted me to promise their downtown facility would always be a hospital in the future.  I’m thinking to myself “twenty years from now most people will be treated at home.” Rather than debate the mayor, the scene in “Airplane!” popped into my mind,  “Hospital?  What’s a hospital?  It’s a big building with sick people in it.”  So I said with my fingers crossed,   “Of course it will always be a hospital.”  Another deal involved buying six hospitals at once worth around a half billion dollars.  On the day of closing, Diane told me she had arranged to sell the boys’ bikes on Marketplace.  “Could you take care of this when you get home tonight; they’re worth at least $80 dollars.”  After the hospital deal closed I met the guy in front of my garage where we settled on $65 for both bikes.  Diane was livid I blew $15 bucks.  God invented Jameson precisely for these special moments.

In healthcare we have medical and surgical treatments.  Surgery is very exact and needs to be.  “Hey, we ran out of left knee implants, so I put in a right shoulder implant, it fit perfectly.  What time is lunch?”   Surgery involves an exact process and an exact outcome.  Medical care, however, is just the opposite.  Your physician is guessing what’s wrong with you and she is estimating the best treatment.  The variables are wide – you the patient, the disease, the doctor’s choices, etc.  With medical care be prepared for the outcome not to work 100% or at all and it may require you to constantly shift gears the rest of your life with new medicines and therapy.  With advances over time most illnesses have shifted from acute to chronic care, so being precise is not as important.  Take it from me, I’ve rung the cancer treatment bell a bunch of times and happily cheered along with everyone else.  Most saw those celebrations as precise endings, but actually they’re the beginning of a long story which I am more than happy to be in.  Life is a marathon not a sprint.  Slainte.