Nearly 200 people from around the Northwest were treated to an inspiring welcoming talk by Steve Shields of Meadowlark Hills. Steve called this culture change work "revolutionary, then evolutionary" and to me that phrase captures so much of what we're trying to do within long-term care settings and in the broader community (and on-line!)

It's an insight that some find a little unsettling - that this is not about "improvement" in classical terms. It's more radical -- but not in a political sense. It's radical in terms of the assumptions it makes about how leaders must fundamentally change their own mindset before any deep change can happen.

So I'm left wondering, how do we "not settle" for a limited improvement mindset and instead make it truly transformational change? Any insights from the QIO folks out there?

I'm off to attend Steve & LaVrene Norton's session on leadership.

Update [2005-7-12 15:22:43 by joe angelelli]: I just had lunch with QIO folks from Oregon, California, & Minnesota. They're really doing some great stuff.

Update [2005-7-12 15:22:43 by joe angelelli]: I had intended to float from Institute Pathway to Institute Pathway (there are five), but I'm learning so much from Steve & LaVrene that I'm staying in this session for the remainder of the day. Tomorrow I will visit the other Pathways and describe each of them to give whomever might be visiting a sense of what's going on...

The five Pathways are: