Stuck in a Hole? Stop Digging.

When you find yourself in a hole, stop digging. Einstein said it differently—doing the same thing over and expecting different results is the definition of insanity.

I spent fifteen years consulting in what used to be the Big 8 accounting firms. I spent the last fourteen years going through a self-contrived twelve-step program to cleanse myself from the prior fifteen. I left during the period I was told I was up for partner—be careful what you strive for as you may attain it.

That brings us to last week. I was invited to meet with one of “those” firms. For what purpose? To discuss leading their Healthcare IT consulting practice. And, met with them I did. The gentleman walked into the room and extended his hand toward me. One his ring finger was a large gold nugget ring—I kid you not—the kind worn by Texas oil men and Philly gangsters. His pompadourish hair was over-gelled, and his pocket handkerchief was flamboyant enough to have come from a belly-dancer’s chiffonier.

I started getting the willies two minutes into the conversation as he was explaining how the much the industry had changed, how much more genial it had become. Indeed. Sort of like saying Satan had mellowed.

I was getting angrier by the minute. Not at him, but at me for having ignored my hard-earned good wisdom and thinking maybe things would be different this time.

There’s the expression saying if you don’t study history you are destined to repeat it. I’ve decided to get a better grasp of history.

Paul M. Roemer
Chief Imaginist, Healthcare IT Strategy