Rick Schooler, CIO, Orlando Health
With an ever-growing number of projects on their plate, many CIOs are struggling with prioritization challenges. And what often happens, according to Rick Schooler, CIO at Orlando Health, is that tasks that are deemed urgent take precedence over projects that are essential to an organization’s growth. As his organization continues to expand, Schooler is working to balance immediate IT needs with Orlando’s long-term strategy to deliver a clinically integrated model of care, which is no simple task. In this interview, he talks about his concerns with the proposed MU stage 2 rules, why CIOs will need to put pressure on vendors, the importance of being plugged into the executive team, why enterprise analytics can’t be put on the back burner, and the skillset that today’s CIO must have.
Chapter 4
- Involvement in supply chain
- “What you permit, you promote”
- Still learning after two decades
- Giving back to the community
- Setting limits to avoid burnout
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Bold Statements
I don’t care what your title is; it’s how you do your job and how you work. And if you don’t have a competent team under you, then you’re spending a lot of your time running the shop, and you’re not going to be able to focus on those other things that are going to make you successful as a CIO.
We have a saying here: ‘What you permit, you promote.’ That’s an expectation we have of our leaders here — if it’s going on under you, then you’re allowing it, and that means you’re promoting it. When you find out about it, you stop it, and then you don’t promote it.
We work long weeks, but life is really not about our job. That’s a lesson that some people have to learn the hard way. And we’ve all had different experiences with that, but when the meter gets too high on one side, you have to keep it balanced. And there’s so much that I think we can benefit from by getting involved in something that’s bigger than we are.
I met someone at HIMSS who works like that and I turned to one of my colleagues and said, ‘Just keep your ear to the ground on this person, because it won’t be long until something happens. It’s either going to be in their personal health or their health.’ Because I don’t think we’re made or wired to do that; it’s just too much.
My job is always on my head. It’s always there. I’m always connected. Any time of the day or night typically you may see me send an e-mail, but on the average I’ve got a number that I try to keep it at, and I think to keep balance in my life, I have to do that.
Gamble: Do you find that to be pretty challenging, having a foot in the supply chain area too? I mean, not that a CIO wouldn’t, but maybe in your case being a little more involved in that aspect.
Schooler: I spend probably 80 percent of my time on CIO work and about 20 percent on supply chain, or maybe 85-15, but when I’m in an executive meeting, I’m expected to understand and know what’s going on in supply chain, because it reports up through me. But our supply chain people are very well-established, very well-known supply chain executives that have done phenomenal work. You better have those kind of people under you on the IT side as well, because if you’re CIO and you’re acting as an IT director, if you’re at a really a small organization, that might be okay. But if you’re in a $700 million or $1 billion-plus organization and you’re acting as an IT director, that can be dangerous. That may not be your title — you may have a VP or CIO title, but I don’t care what your title is; it’s how you do your job and how you work. And if you don’t have a competent team under you, then you’re spending a lot of your time running the shop, and you’re not going to be able to focus on those other things that are going to make you successful as a CIO.
Gamble: I would think that now more than ever, it’s vital to have a really good team and be able to keep that team together, even though there’s so much going on and there’s a lot of pressure, there’s a lot of work.
Schooler: Right. I still you subscribe to the notion of inspecting what you expect. We have a saying here: ‘What you permit, you promote.’ That’s an expectation we have of our leaders here — if it’s going on under you, then you’re allowing it, and that means you’re promoting it. When you find out about it, you stop it, and then you don’t promote it.
So whether that’s got to do with aligning with business or whether it’s got to do with properly implementing software changes, it doesn’t matter. Those two concepts we keep in our minds — that we inspect what we expect, and what we permit, we promote. And that’s all about accountability. There’s nothing that goes on below me that isn’t my responsibility and my accountability. Period. It doesn’t mean that I control everything and I do everything and that I know everything, because I definitely don’t know everything. It seems like I know less every day because you keep learning more and more about this business. It’s just amazing; after 21 years, I’m amazed. Every day I learn something that I had no idea about.
Gamble: I can imagine. Being in the midst of this flurry of activity, are you able to ever carve out time to do something outside of work? I heard at the CHIME Forum that you’re involved in volunteer work. How important do you think it is to take some time out to do something that doesn’t involve being up to your ears in Meaningful Use and all that good stuff?
Schooler: I think everybody has a responsibility to do something, whether it’s for your church or your community or even through your organization. And it’s important to give money, it really is, but it’s also important to physically be involved in something that is in support of your community, because that’s where you live. Or on a national basis, maybe doing something for the country or what have you. A lot of people do mission work, and I think that’s great. As long as people are just somehow giving back, I think in some way it helps us from becoming one-dimensional. My wife has always helped me stay grounded.
We work long weeks, but life is really not about our job. That’s a lesson that some people have to learn the hard way. And we’ve all had different experiences with that, but when the meter gets too high on one side, you have to keep it balanced. And there’s so much that I think, as individuals, we can benefit from by getting involved in something that’s bigger than we are and that is not necessarily what you do eight hours a day. It might be something to do with healthcare, like in our case, but there are all kinds of opportunities to volunteer for things related to community health. Or it could be something completely unrelated—go build bicycles for kids or go build a house, things like that. There are all kinds of things.
So I personally think it’s important to try to do that as much as you can. I think all of us would say that we don’t do enough of it because we do have a great responsibility to the organizations in which we work and who fund our lives if you will. So in terms of service, that’s got to be our first priority — to serve the organization and be a servant leader, but we do, I think, as individuals, owe it to each other, quite frankly, to do stuff outside of work.
Gamble: And sometimes you’re not being the best leader if you have to put in long days every day, because it’s going to take a toll on you and take a toll on your family. And that’s something that I think must be a really tough challenge right now for CIOs.
Schooler: I remember in the 80s and 90s and even into the early 2000s, people were always saying, ‘Wow, I work so many hours. I work a 70-hour week.’ I don’t know many people that work 70 hours a week that actually have much of a life. And eventually, I don’t care what you do — 70 hours a week is going to get you. Just think about the logistics of having to work 70 hours in a week.
Gamble: I’m just breaking that down and doing the math in my head.
Schooler: Eight hours a day times seven is 56, so go get two more days. Or make it 10 hours a day.
Gamble: It’s not healthy at all.
Schooler: You’re going to tell me that you’re going to work 10 hours a day, every day? I met someone at HIMSS who actually works like that and I turned to one of my colleagues and said, ‘Just keep your ear to the ground on this person, because it won’t be long until something happens. It’s either going to be in their personal health or their health.’ Because I don’t think we’re made or wired to do that; it’s just too much. And I know a lot of doctors that work a lot of crazy hours, but they too will tell you eventually that it’s too much. We don’t let pilots fly more than eight hours a day, so why do we let doctors operate on people more than eight hours a day? Think about that.
Gamble: It’s a really good point.
Schooler: Isn’t that the law now with pilots — eight hours a day? Or maybe they have to have eight hours sleep or something like that. So just think about what the pilots have to go through. They’ve got people’s lives in their hands — are you going to tell me doctors don’t?
So I’m not just a big fan of people who talk about how many hours they work. We all work long hours, but to me, it should be that we work long hours because we have to — not because we want to. We do it because we’re dedicated to our job. We commit ourselves to the organizations we work for, or if we’re an entrepreneur, we commit to ourselves, and that’s fine. But if you tell the average person, ‘you’re going to work 12 hours a day for five or six days a week,’ they’re not going to last long. My job is always in my head. It’s always there. I’m always connected. Any time of the day or night typically you may see me send an e-mail, but on the average I’ve got a number that I try to keep it at, and I think to keep balance in my life, I have to do that.
Gamble: You have to set some types of limits, you mean?
Schooler: Yeah, I think we have to set limits for ourselves and the bigger job you have, the limits change, because the higher up you go, the more time you’re going to put into it. But you’ve got to keep some level of balance that you’re committed to. It may be a little off-balance from time to time, but you’ve got to make up for it if you can, because all work and no play is no good.
Gamble: I think that’s really a great advice, and it’s good for CIOs to hear that from their peers.
Schooler: I know.
Gamble: It’s good to get that reassurance, I’m sure. Okay, we’ve touched on a lot. I don’t know if there’s anything you wanted to go through, but this has been great. I really enjoyed speaking with you about everything that’s going on with your organization and in the industry.
Schooler: Well, my pleasure. Just let me know when you plan to publish anything, but I’m here if you ever need me for anything.
Gamble: Okay, great. Thanks so much of your time. I really appreciate it.
Schooler: My pleasure, have a good day.
Gamble: Thanks, you too.
Schooler: Take care.
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