Forward Janesville - TheReport - Second Quarter 2018

I am a lifelong student and love to read. Growing up, I set new reading records in our local “Book It” reading programs. Our Pizza Hut, which sponsored the program, knew me much better than they would have liked. I think I nearly put them out of business. I’m currently reading Team of Teams by Gen. Stanley McChrystal and recently finished re-reading Leadership and Self-Deception by the Arbinger Institute. At a young age I learned a great deal about our special country, and travel was a foundational vehicle for that. Learning more about our lands and history through travel invited in me a curiosity that continues today. My wife and I share that same appreciation for our lands and history with our children each day. HOW DID I GET HERE? s u c c e s s • c h a l l e n g e s • l i f e l e s s o n s • e d u c a t i o n • c a r e e r • f a m i l y • i n s p i r a t i o n s Be accountable. Nothing will help an organization move forward more than accountability at all levels. Accountability builds strength, resilience, and collective courage for the journey ahead, but it has to come from inside each of us. The most successful organizations have accountability in their DNA. 1 2 3 Our family moved to Janesville seven months ago and each day find ourselves grateful to be a part of the Janesville community. There is a level of community engagement here that you’ll often find missing in other places. Janesville has a magnetism about it that attracts resilient and highly talented forward thinkers. Each day I see this community honoring its remarkable history while actively engaging in the design of an even more remarkable future. As a new resident of Janesville, Forward Janesville helps me to better connect across this great city and county. I remember my first Business After Five in the heat of a warehouse in late September. Despite the conditions, this was great fun thanks to the new friends made that evening. As I scanned the crowd, I thought to myself that it was remarkable to have this diverse body of people all coming together, and the energy, wow! Forward Janesville provides an extraordinary opportunity for each of us to be engaged and connect across our different professions and passions. Coming from a family of many doctors and nurses, I had a natural inclination toward directly being a part of how we transform healthcare in America. • Both my wife and I come from a long line of adventurers. Being active in the outdoors was a foundational part of my life growing up and continues to be so today. There is a sense of both wonder and peace in the great outdoors that is impossible to find elsewhere. This summer we look forward to introducing our children to the many wonderful features of Wisconsin. { LIFE LESSONS } Following my service in the U.S. Army and an adulthood spent on the West Coast, we determined that a return to the Midwest was what we wanted for our family. We are so pleased to now be in Wisconsin, a state we have always admired. BEN LAYMAN Always engage with your frontline staff. Nearly every decision I make, or our team makes, will have an impact on our frontline staff. I view the frontline staff contribution to solutions just as important as my own. Over the course of my career I have found some of the most successful initiatives were started by a frontline staff person who had the courage to speak up, and a leader who had the respect to listen. Be a frontline leader. Build relationships and connections. Be genuinely interested in and amazed by the people you meet. Everyone has an interesting story to share and although we may not see it in the moment, their story and yours may intersect in the future. • • • { EDUCATION } 2011-2013 Sonoma State University Masters, Business Administration Rohnert Park, California 2001-2005 Walla Walla University B.A., Business Administration College Place, Washington { WORK EXPERIENCE } 2017-PRESENT President St. Mary’s Hospital Janesville Janesville, WI 2015-2017 Assistant Administrator (Chief Operating Officer) Spectrum Health Grand Rapids, Michigan 2014-2015 Director of Advanced Business Development Spectrum Health Grand Rapids, Michigan 2013-2014 Administrative Director Adventist Health St. Helena, California 2010-2013 Director of Client Services Adventist Health St. Helena, California 18 • W W W . F O R W A R D J A N E S V I L L E . C O M