November 2020 Newsletter

This week I was asked by a professional contact from my past if I would participate in his podcast Profiles in Leadership. He felt his listeners, mostly health care entrepreneurs, would be interested in how I transitioned from the physical therapy private practice space to Urgent Care/Occupational Health and then to Gastroenterology. At first, I wasn’t keen to participate, but later agreed to the interview.

One of the key themes that emerged from the interview was that we all must follow our passions, and we need to be in a line of work that aligns with our personal values. For me, my personal values are responsibility, integrity, and helping others. It was these deep-rooted values that drove my ambition to enter healthcare, private practice, and later into leadership roles. Aligning personal values with our career and work choices is critical to being happy, stimulated, successful, and ultimately proud of our work.

As this relates to Gastroenterology of the Rockies, I can tell you (as I did in the podcast) that I am enthusiastic and energized to come to work because we work to eliminate and prevent colorectal cancer, every day. As Simon Sinek highlights in Start with Why, great organizations define themselves not on ‘what’ they do, but ‘why’ they do it. To expand, if we understand our higher purpose is to work toward eliminating and preventing colorectal cancer—we should be able to attract talented colleagues who share these values, and are passionate about their roles within our organization.

It’s our ‘why’ that is our point of difference and it’s what makes GI of the Rockies stand out from our competitors. Working to eliminate and prevent colorectal cancer defines why we exist as an organization, it defines our priorities, and it defines how we will expend our energies.

I wish all of you a healthy Thanksgiving! Stay well!

Jason Richardson
CEO
Gastroenterology of the Rockies