By Steve Moran
Over the last few months, a handful of industry friends have gently suggested that I have turned too negative about senior living — spending too much time on problems and challenges.
First, I am profoundly grateful for my critics. I learn way more from them than my fans. I also assume that my critics come from a place of generosity. They want to help me be better and/or see things differently.
Finally, I realize there is a risk that, because a part of our brand is challenging the industry to do better, be better, it would be easy to fall into a pit of constant negativity.
And yet …
And yet it would be wrong to pretend that things are just fine. There have been a number of grossly unfair stories attacking the industry, some of which we have written about and talked about on our various platforms.
Even right now, there is a series running on Amazon Prime titled “No Country for Old People” that tells the horrific story of an older woman with dementia receiving grossly inadequate care in nursing homes and the acute care hospital system.
It features several industry experts I know and have great respect for. And yet, there are a number of things in that series that are misleading and/or unfair portrayals of the industry, which are wrong.
Most Importantly …
Most people who are served by senior living have positive experiences. They say things like, “I wish we had made the move sooner.” And yet, there are way too many not-so-good experiences. If we want to be better, if we want to be taken seriously, if we want to be seen as a first resort rather than a last resort (the common perception today), we need to spend more time talking about problems.
Not Just Problems …
If all we do is look at problems, we miss the boat. This is a huge problem in society right now. Publications post stories around problems; individuals post critical commentary on social media about problems. Finding fault and pointing out problems is easy to do. Honestly, it takes little intellect to do that. If you ever find me doing that, if you find Foresight doing that, you should ding us and ding us hard.
It’s only fair to talk about problems when you offer a better way. Coming back to my critics, they all offered that I should focus on the positives … offering a better way.
As we publish, we spend even more time thinking about better ways and writing about better ways. When we couple criticism with a better way, the potential for transformation grows exponentially.
