What I'm Reading (Jan. 25)

Non-profit hospitals have very small margins and often report losses in their day-to-day operations when feeding at the federal trough. But they paint a very different financial picture when they turn to investment firms to sell bonds used for construction and other functions. Did you know that

“Intermountain, a 33-hospital system based in Salt Lake City, has almost $16 billion in cash and investments, about half of which could be available within a week’s notice, CFO Clay Ashdown said during his presentation. He did not say that the system’s latest operating margin hovered around 1%.”

From Stat, Non-profit health systems plug their strong cash reserves at JPM — a very different pitch than they make elsewhere

As a writer and reader, I have become increasingly attached to word usage and meaning.

“The term influencer is entirely functionalist and results oriented. There is no credentialed baseline of presumed or demonstrated authority. You don’t need a degree; you don’t even have to have graduated from high school. You become an influencer not because you know anything, or are accredited in any way, but solely on the basis of your demonstrable influence, the size of the audience you are able to gather around you and hang on to—in other words, your ability to carry out the function of influencing.”

With the death of expertise, we have the rise of influence. It is unclear whether this is an equal, let alone good, change. From The Hedgehog Review, Influencers Looking beyond the consensus of the crowd

When everyone is in charge, no one is in charge – and no one will be held accountable.

“The investigation pinpointed a lack of oversight as a key driver of the White House Medical Unit violations. Military Health System officials were unable to identify which organization was responsible for overseeing the office, though it is governed by the rules of the Navy, according to the medical unit. But the Navy told investigators that it was not in charge; the Defense Health Agency, which coordinates care on behalf of the different branches of the military, and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center were. Walter Reed told investigators that it supplies the White House’s pharmacy, but that Walter Reed was not in charge of it. The Defense Health Agency admitted to investigators that the White House Medical Unit actually has “no clear line of oversight.”

From Stat, a look at a dysfunctional pharmacy in the White House, The White House has a pharmacy — and it’s been a mess, a new investigation found

One hobby that has stayed with me over the years is woodworking. There are similarities between working with your hands in two very different materials. Wood is often easier because errors can be more often corrected than buried. That said, I wanted to share this blog from a fellow craftsman who runs one of the best and only remaining woodworking stores in NYC.

“small shops are now using computers, outsourcing and other methods and now have access to some of the efficient processes that previously were only available to giant companies. Computers in general, and modern software including AI, certainly make it much easier to be an efficient tiny company - and that's good.”

From the blog of Tools for Woodworking, AI - Artificial Intelligence and Woodworking

I must agree the biggest enemy of small businesses is big businesses.