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Presidents Message – February 2010
 

Letters

I am not old enough to be in the work force when one would type a letter on a “typewriter” (antiquated word processors came out when I was in college). After completing the letter you would put it in your “out box” sitting on the corner of your desk. Then wait for the mailroom guy to come pick it up. Have it sorted in the mailroom to go out. Get delivered to the post office. Mailed to another mailroom…sorted…delivered to the “inbox” on the door…picked up and read and then put on a pile on the desk hopefully put in “priority” for a response. If your letter was a “priority” then that person would start the whole chain over…typing the letter, etc.. Wow…that could take weeks for one letter with an idea, task or solution to be communicated. But was it all that bad?

There used to be a fear that by the 21^st century developed nations would be so advanced technologically, that stress and work would be relieved or eventually removed. We would have nothing to do leaving all this time for gaining knowledge (remember the aliens started all having these huge heads in the sci-fi movies? - until Star Trek, but I digress).

But now that we are here, does it seem that way? We are much less active and combined with an overabundance of stress; our society is learning terms like “morbidly obese.” Our company’s lights are always on. You can work third shift. Work comes home. You can log in when you are out. Work from home! Phones go with you. You can get emails on your phone. Text messaging is faster than emails and Facebook is faster than that!

Margin

As financial executives we have heard, read and used the term “margin” in respect to our professional roles. Look up the word “margin” in the dictionary and the definition is very professional (deep voice implied): “In finance, a margin is a collateral that the holder of a position in securities, options, or futures contracts has to deposit to cover the credit risk of his counterparty.”

There are “margin accounts, margin buying, minimum margin requirements, liquidating margin, variation margin, premium margin, additional margin” and of course you want to be home for the “margin call.” ROM is “return on margin” and if you are into futures there is “margin-equity ratios” to be watching. We like to stay away from “reduced margins.”

But what about you? Do you have margin?

“Margin is the space that once existed between ourselves and our limits. It’s something held in reserve for contingencies or unanticipated situations. That is the definition given by author Richard A. Swenson, M.D. See if this describes you or “someone you know:”

“Overload is not having enough time to finish the book you are reading on stress. Margin is having time to read it twice. Overload is fatigue. Margin is energy. Overload is red ink. Margin is black ink. Overload is hurry. Margin is calm. Overload is anxiety. Margin is security. Overload is the disease of our time. Margin is the cure.”

HFMA can help!

The chapter leadership recognized the future success of the Chapter in Central Ohio depended greatly on this “margin:” current officers needed it, prospective leaders realized it was not there, and volunteers lost it when they got involved! We have been dedicated to developing a chapter structure that supports margin as it fosters education and networking. Our model now offers the chapter the ideas and the mass to carry out the management of the group while providing the resources you need to develop margin in your life both personally and professionally.

You can get out of the office environment and stimulate ideas in education and events outside the corporate umbrella. You can garner ideas from colleagues and create friendships that last across borders and time zones. You can take a personal talent or a favorite hobby and share your passion for it with others on committees and councils. You can have the opportunities to take a moment off and enjoy a social activity, meet a new peer or become the advocate of a younger member.

Good Medicine

As you know, I believe your greatest resource is time. You will never get back any second that just went by you. Studies have shown over and over again that the benefits of giving of our most precious resource for others stimulate a physical response with a euphoric sensation. Contradictory to many societal views, it seems like we are designed to help or give back in some manner or another. Central Ohio HFMA will be offering an opportunity soon for you to create margin, give time, and help out as a group to those in need. Look for announcements to come as part of our April meeting.

Maybe

Maybe the wait for that letter to arrive was stressful enough and I am sure that there was another in the pile to get to next. And using typing ribbon and white-out certainly had its drawbacks. Some romanticize the past forgetting how there have been many conflicts and struggles society has overcome. I am not trying to do that. However, getting lost in a book, a conversation, or a project can be a precious experience. Dr. Swenson points out the benefits of having this margin in our lives, expounding on the differences between where most of us are and where we could be.

Maybe you can add a little margin in your life in 2010? Maybe…

President, Central Ohio HFMA

Reference: Dr. Richard A. Swenson, M.D., “Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives.