Chiliad

According to Merriam-Webster's online dictionary, the word chiliad is defined as a group of 1,000.  The ancient Greeks defined a period of 1,000 years as a chiliad, though we now use the Latin derivation and call 1,000 years a millennium.  I chose the title for today's post because I have officially reached 1,000 posts in Leadership Reverie.  

When I first started contributing to this blog on January 2, 2016 ("First blog post"), I never actually thought that I would ever make it to 1,000 posts.  As I stated then, I've never claimed to be an expert on leadership and management.  That is just as true today as it was back then.  However, I consider myself a student of leadership.  Thomas J. Watson, former Chairman and CEO of  IBM for 42 years (1914-1956) said, "Nothing so conclusively proves a man's ability to lead others as what he does from day to day to lead himself."  Leadership has to start by looking inward at what you do with your own life.  As leaders, we owe it to ourselves and our organizations to work hard to perfect our craft.  We all should be students of leadership.

I've always liked the poem "The Road Less Traveled" by Robert Frost.  It's an easy poem to like, as Frost's message is simple and profound at the same time.  You've probably heard it before - it's the one that ends with:

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and I - 

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

I am often asked by younger physicians and leaders what they should do to position themselves for a future career as a hospital executive.  I always chuckle a little (in a respectful way, of course) and confess to them that I never planned out my career with the intent of doing what I am currently doing now.  As a matter of record, I once told my wife that I wouldn't be caught dead being an administrator!  She reminds me of that frequently!  My journey throughout my career has been a road less traveled of sorts, and just as Robert Frost said so eloquently, THAT has made all the difference in the world.

Throughout my career, I've used writing as a way to help me remember things.  And organizing my thoughts on paper has always helped me think, reflect, and prepare myself for whatever challenges lie in front of me.  As I stated in my first post, I would write this blog even if nobody ever read it.  The fact that so many of you have read my posts is both humbling and deeply gratifying.  I thank you from the bottom of my heart.  And I look forward to chiliad #2!