By Steve Moran

I see senior living operators that have lots and lots and lots of buildings that are underperforming, and they brag about small, incremental improvements as if they were changing the world, even though everyone can see they are still underperforming. It is a classic case of the old parable about the emperor having no clothes.

I am completely baffled at the apparent self-delusion, and even more baffled that, given that there are resources and people who know how to make it better, the leaders of those organizations persist in running their organizations the same way, hoping that something — a miracle, an “age wave” or silver tsunami — will magically make it all better. They even bring in traditional big-name expensive consultants to help them. And yet …

It doesn’t get better!

Why Won’t They Change?

It’s ego; it’s holding on to the old stuff; it’s about having people around you who tell you how great you are, even though deep down in your heart you know you aren’t.

But here is the thing. YOU ARE A GROWN-UP. You have complete control over your life. You can, you can try something different. There is no one forcing you to keep doing the same old thing. In fact, there are people that depend on you who are praying and hoping and longing for you to do something different.

The heartbreak for me is that as a leader, you are not the only one languishing. So are your residents, their family members, your team members, and your investors.

You can try something different. You are the CEO, the leader, the boss. You can reinvent yourself. It only takes one thing, and that is:

COURAGE.

Regrets

In Daniel Pink’s new book, The Power of Regret, he talks about how people who are bold enough to make big changes and try new things — in other words, reinvent — ultimately have fewer regrets than those who stay the course, muddling along.

I Know

I have done more reinventing than I can count. So many reinventions to get to start a media company in senior living. And then, since we started, we have reinvented again and again and again. Some things were fantastic, and others failed, but each taught us something. We are consistent in our mission to make the lives of people who work and live in senior living better.

Your Mission

If you are unwilling to reinvent, to be a grown-up and go be the thing you really want to be, it is impossible for you to be true to your mission … unless your mission is to languish.

It is 100% up to you.

Credit to Ash Ambirge, founder of The Vivette, for inspiring this article.