By Steve Moran
We live in a world that is full of knowledge — so much knowledge that it is impossible to assimilate it and figure out how to use it. I find myself wondering if we value knowledge more than we should.
I more and more worry that our biggest problem is that we are not asking the right questions.
I got to thinking about the questions we should be asking, as leaders, as operators, as capital providers. Here is my list. What would you add to it?
- What is the perfect senior living experience?
- What could we do to improve the resident experience right now?
- What if older people start living longer then just drop dead?
- What if we cure Alzeimer’s?
- How can we tell our story better?
- What is our story really?
- How do we set proper expectations for residents and their families?
- What are proper expectations?
- Should we have federal regulation of senior living?
- How would federal regulations make it better?
- How would federal regulations make it worse?
- What would we do differently if there were government funding for assisted living?
- What would the perfect senior living system look like?
- What would the perfect health care system look like?
- Where would senior living fit into a perfect health care system?
- What are the questions the public is asking about senior living?
- What are the questions the public should be asking about senior living?
- What are the biggest reasons people are not moving into senior living?
- If senior living were free, what percentage of older people would move in?
- Are we really making the lives of older people better?
- What impact would a drop in life expectancy have on senior living?
- What is the product we are selling?
- What is the product we should be selling?
- What does an ideal experience of growing older and dying look like?
- Are we providing that experience?
- How does senior living fit into the health care system currently?
- How could we do a better job of fitting into the health care system?
- What does being a great boss look like?
- What does being a bad boss look like?
- What would make team members love to come to work every day?
- How do we get rid of bad players in senior living?
- Do we really need senior living at all, or do we need something else?
- What are the things we could do to make senior living less expensive?
- What is the best way to make money in senior living short-term?
- What is the best way to make money in senior living long-term?
- Is there a difference between the two goals?
- Is there a way to provide quality care at a low cost?
- Do we really need nursing homes?
- Do we really need assisted living?
- Does memory care need to be locked?
- What would make residents feel physically safer?
- What are the opportunities to serve family members better?
- What are the obligations that we have to the families of team members?
- Why do we do senior living the way we do it?
- Why do I lead the way I lead?
- Why do I sell senior living the way I sell it?
- Why do I do my marketing the way I do it?
- Why do I use the technology I use?
- Why do I hate the parts of leadership I hate?
- Why do residents die when they die?
- Why do residents choose to move into my communities?
- Why do they reject my community?
- Why do they reject senior living?
- Why do families reject senior living?
- What would happen if I raised my prices by $500?
- What would happen if I lowered my prices by $500?
- How do I decide what experiments to try?
- How do I decide what experiments to not try?
- How do I know when an experiment is a success?
- How do I decide when to abandon an experiment?
- Who should do the experiments?
- How long should they last?
- How much should I invest in experiments?
- Who will decide on the progress of the experiments?
- What do I do if an experiment is an amazing success?
- What if overnight there were no senior living communities in the country?
- What if you had to pay a minimum wage of $25/hour?
- What if families wanted to work in your communities to help pay for care?
- What if a new community were built next door to you?
- What if Amazon went into the senior living business?
- What if the life expectancy of older people dropped?
- What if Facebook advertising were no longer available?
Steve, this is next-level thinking, sir.