Sometimes you need someone from outside your circle to come in to your world and remind you how good you have it.  When I first ‘met’ MedMan I was working in an independent medical practice here in Boise.  We were one of the biggest games in town and the management team that had been formed to run this enterprise was smart and diverse.  Still, we had our share of challenges to face and obstacles to overcome and I distinctly remember not really having anyone outside of that group to reach out to.  As much as I hate to admit it, there were times when I felt like we were isolated (either by geography or competition) from a bigger world out there that had the knowledge and experience to deal with the issue at hand.

One of our newer MedMan colleagues visited Boise recently.  It was gratifying to hear him talk about how impressed he was with our business model and how excited he was to have instant access to over thirty years worth of resources, knowledge and experience.  I guess I took notice of this because his words sounded so familiar.  I remembered having that very same sense of amazement and wonder when I joined MedMan.  I’ve been with MedMan long enough now that I’ve grown accustomed to the power of our network, the accessibility of information, and the willingness of my colleagues to aggressively transfer information amongst the team.  It is quite amazing that almost 30 people in 4 different states can liberally share information with absolute confidentiality and trust.  So, it is no accident that Sharing made the short list of core values.  But seeing it through someone else’s eyes last week reminded me not to take it for granted.  I don’t want to ever step outside of this family to know what it’s like to go home.