We’re here at an exciting gathering of health and risk pools that serve schools, towns, and other governmental agencies.
WAIT!
Before you grumble, “doesn’t apply to me,” STOP!
Your roads, your emergency services, your parks, your town halls, your city clerk, your schools, and your communities are deeply affected by this topic. In other words, your tax dollars are hard at work here. Don’t you want to know that it’s all efficient and productive?
Well, that’s why we’re gathered, to network and grow “efficiency” skills. Pools help municipal groups come together for better purchasing strength, better knowledge dissemination, and a myriad of efficiencies we can’t even imagine, making them smarter on our behalf – many minds, many hands. Imagine the small county in West Texas with 10 employees and the nearest hospital is 100 miles away. Imagine the mountain and valley towns in Vermont with 5 employees who are facing the rebuilding of miles of roads after Hurricane Irene’s flood. Imagine towns in the far corners of Maine and Alaska in January.
To avoid tossing people into the wilderness of isolation and potential ignorance, our friends at AGRiP (Association of Government Risk insurance Pools) and PRIMA (Public Risk Insurance Management Association) help: A) Build smart pools for support, knowledge, advocacy and efficiency; and B) connect those pools once or twice a year to share resources, ideas, surprises and challenges.
Maybe you had no idea your local government was so well intentioned! Having spent the better part of 15 years hanging out with government risk pools, I can testify that they are working their tails off to help towns and schools run as effectively as possible, from the tiniest detail to the worst disaster. In the wake of so much sad disaster lately, your local government and state agencies have been fully stretched and we want to take a moment to say how proud we are of their effort. We also want to say how much we support their growth and development as community support and leaders, however they feel they may struggle.
Organizational development guru and friend Bob Burg pointed me to a lesson of how healing might work from a community leadership perspective. It really applies here:
A passage, written by Thomas Cleary in his Translator’s Introduction of Sun Tzu’s, The Art of War:
According to an old story, a lord of ancient China once asked his physician, a member of a family of healers, which of them was the most skilled in the art.
The physician, whose reputation was such that his name became synonymous with medical science in China, replied, “My eldest brother sees the spirit of sickness and removes it before it takes shape, so his name does not get out of the house.
“My elder brother cures sickness when it is still extremely minute, so his name does not get out of the neighborhood. “As for me, I puncture veins, prescribe potions, and massage skin, so from time to time my name gets out and is heard among the lords.”
“To overcome others’ armies without fighting is the best of skills.”
Pools serve local government with the intention of being all three of the above, thwarting even the notion of war (or disaster in this case) before it twinkles an eye.
Most often the one whose name is never mentioned – the proverbial unsung hero. That’s the goal. Quietly on the scene, but also behind the scenes so disaster is averted. Prevention first. And that’s why we, as an employee wellness company, support pools nation-wide. Pools and wellness go together like ram-a-lama-ding-dee-dong! (Sorry, couldn’t help it – Grease movie fans get it) The one-two punch of prevention.
Let us know how we can support your pool!
If you’re not in or aware of a pool, let us know who you are and how your local government supports you. Then… Become a part of it today. Your local community needs you!
See you on the community PATH Ahead.