Pharmacy leaders build pipelines

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Leaders build pipelines. They manage the future by thinking ahead while still managing the day. They forecast, they calculate, they design without allowing the anxiety of the unknown to take over. Always preparing for the next sequence greatly improves the chances of being ready to capitalize when that sequence happens.

One defining quality separating humans from less advanced species is our ability to think ahead. The greatest leaders can consider what the world is bringing them while resisting temptation to pull the trigger until it is the right time. 

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What does this mean for pharmacy?

As a pharmacist, can you:

Interview before you need someone? Getting 90% of the job done without hiring can prevent a desperation hire.

Implement automation tools? Workflow such as autofill, refill reminders, med sync, central fill, batch billing your blister packs and using full scope pharmacy technicians can all allow you to get ahead of the work so you don’t have to drink from a firehose. 

Meal plan for the long shifts? Staying one meal ahead ensures your tank doesn’t run out of gas on long days or stretches of long consecutives shifts. 

Dial in your sleep? Build the right daytime habits, bedtime routine, manage screen time and stress to recharge properly between shifts instead of gradually feeling depleted. 

Think about the future and what parameters of your life are pipelines. People, systems, equipment, software, yourself. These all have future versions that will be determined by how you execute the day to day.

What is your plan for them?

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Always having something in the pipeline puts the planner ahead of the non-planner. Pipelines are the seeds of life’s step ladder that bloom at different future steps that make or break the climb. Pipelines show you a map to where you are going.

Each day, we have opportunities to build pipelines. What are yours?