Page 12 - JSOM Spring 2018

from the
SOMA PRESIDENT

Greetings SOMA members, family, and determine the requirements, (b) re-
friends, and volunteers, I hope that Steven Viola visit those requirements (because, hey,
this note finds you all healthy and Command Master Chief (SEAL) (Ret) things change—resources, priorities,
happy at heart! timelines, etc.), and (c) give direction as
ATP, NREMT-P needed on those requirements as things
few housekeeping notes: During change. Concurrently, trust them (chain
A the SOMA Scientific Assembly in May, we will be cel- of command) to champion the causes that will help the mis-
ebrating our 30th anniversary! It promises to shape up to be sion’s goals and help with unit and personal development.
quite an experience. All the volunteer committees have done a I’ve come to find that the real currency in the world is not
spectacular job putting together what promises to be a great money . . . it’s trust! Share actionable items in the interest of
event. With the advent of our Communications Committee, we time and trust they will be completed. “Trust, but verify.”
have been passing the word on through our social media feeds 2. Energy: Energy can be in finite supply and it is a precious
on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Be sure to follow, like, resource. The first imperative would be the economy of
and share to keep up with the latest information from SOMA, motion. To “go” and do something relies on one of the pre-
TCCC, and PFC. Recent posts included announcements about vious tenets, time. Carve out the time to “go” may sound
abstract deadlines, open applications for Board of Director like a simple enough task, but as a former NCO there is al-
positions, and the launch of our Scholarship Award process. ways something competing for your time and energy. This
is also predicated on having a few things well defined: (a) a
And now for something completely different. clear understanding of the tasks, (b) a process that helps ex-
pedite the tasks, and (c) a program that keeps track of the
resources for that specific task and follow-on tasks. This is
Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF)
perhaps the most important infrastructure in whih to in-
This is the last installment in an effort to continue to improve vest. Lots of time and energy are lost/wasted if you have
the communications of those in extremis (the supported ele- a weak process and program, which, incidentally, comes
ments) and change the way we do business (the supporting from a poor understanding of what’s asked of you.
elements) for the next right step. 3. Commitment: “Slow is smooth and smooth is fast.” The
uninitiated will look at you like a dog that tilts its head
As always, I would never assume to tell you anything. I am when it has heard a strange sound. What I mean to say is
merely sharing my experience with what helps to build an effi- that the most important lesson I learned from the proficient
cient and effective team. There are three elements that manage healthcare providers with whom I have had the privilege to
change and improve our position: work is this: those who took the time to prepare, practice,
and set the standard of care were the ones setting the pace
1. Time: There is never enough of it and we tend to undervalue for others to follow. In regard to standards, there are those
it. It is the (emphasis added) most precious resource avail- who enforce the standard, those who set the standard, and
able to us. We may go on the false assumption there will al- those who don’t even know the standard exists. I chose to
ways be more time to get what we need done or that we can learn from the first two and shun the third as I would poi-
do it later, but invariably there is always “something that son. Those who set the standard will spend hours upon
just came up.” There is never enough time to fit 18 months hours on the planning and practice on their craft and will
of training into 10 months. Anyone in the SOF community garner a wide experience that supports their arguments.
will tell you there are not enough hours in the day to com- Stated another way, making the commitment to invest in
plete those tasks. This may be true, but something that I their trade is like going into action with the greatest speed
have found to help the economy of time be mutually benefi- that a person’s muscles are capable, but staying mentally
cial is sharing the load. “Sharing the load” means delegat- unflustered by an urge to hurry or the need for complicated
ing tasks and asking for help within your organization and nervous and muscular actions which have already made the
perhaps outside as well. This is not a new concept I assure commitment to be ready at a moment’s notice. Mentally fo-
you, but it has been my experience that “we” are greater cused and muscularly faster than thought. In the immortal
than “me” and if you start with the end in mind and trust words of Wyatt Earp, “Fast is fine, but accuracy is final.
your competent and capable coworkers, things get done You must learn to be slow in a hurry.”
faster and will run a lot smoother. You have to trust those
in your chain of command. In simpler terms—you DON’T When I took office as the SOMA president, it was fast and it
have to do it all yourself. It’s the leader’s job to (a) introduce felt like it was in a hurry. In my tenure as the SOMA president,

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