Mission must be visible to be powerful

By Rob Ferguson, FACS, MD, MBA, Peaks Region Chief Medical Officer

Grateful for the opportunity to speak at the Intermountain Health Well-Being Summit. I shared reflections from an HBR framework on culture that resonates deeply with healthcare: the idea that strong cultures maximize play, purpose, and progression, while intentionally minimizing inertia, emotional pressure, and economic pressure.

A few takeaways that continue with me:

• PLAY matters because we have more joy and curiosity when we are engaged in what we just love to do.

• PURPOSE fuels resilience when we can clearly see how our daily work (clinical, operational, administrative) directly contributes to our mission.

• PROGRESSION inspires hope by reminding us that growth, learning, and improvement are not optional extras, but central to professional fulfillment.

• INERTIA erodes culture when systems make it harder to do the right thing than necessary (reducing friction restores energy).

• EMOTIONAL PRESSURE diminishes well-being when fear or exhaustion replace trust and shared meaning.

• ECONOMIC PRESSURE becomes unhealthy when numbers are disconnected from values rather than understood as reflections of the patients and communities we serve. It also drains personal energy and culture contribution when it is becomes the only motivation for being at work.

I closed by emphasizing something simple but essential: Mission, and the connection to it, must be personally visible to be powerful. When we can see how our own work connects to caring for patients, supporting caregivers, stewarding resources, and particularly helping the those in a vulnerable situation.

Even our metrics tell a human story. The ‘numbers’ represent people we care for, families we serve, and colleagues we support.

Thankful to be part of conversations that center culture, meaning, and well-being. How we care for ourselves and one another ultimately shapes how well we care for our patients and our communities.