One of the most enjoyable parts of helping health departments go from obscure to well-known agencies is when administrators have “light bulb” moments.

These “ah ha” moments often come when they discover simple steps that were right under their noses, many they can adopt immediately. How did I see these lost opportunities when they did not?

When you are on the outside it is easier to be objective and to notice things others would not, simply because they are too close to the problem. I often spot lost opportunities and the cost associated with those losses in money, human capital and low staff morale.

If you don’t believe me, just walk into an art museum and look at a painting up close, real close! If you are fortunate enough to have a van Gogh, upon close examination all you will see are dots. As you move away from the painting the image will start to appear. This is why your health department’s lack of a marketing plan can be revamped by an outsider.

When Henry Ford invented the Model T it was too expensive ($950) for the average American to afford. Then on a visit to a Chicago meat packing plant, he observed the carcasses hung from the ceiling progress through the plant to different work stations where the cow was “processed.”

Ford’s idea for an assembly line began by viewing a “dis-assembly” line. He stood there watching the beef going from station to station and processed by specifically trained workers only doing one task.

At some point the light bulb went on and he figured he could put together a car the same way these guys were taking apart a cow. This concept helped him slash the cost of an automobile to $280–low enough for many, many more Americans to afford.

We all know that It is human nature for us to stick with habits and behaviors even after it is proven time and time again they do not benefit us. Most health department administrators are copy cats, duplicating the same unfruitful marketing strategies everyone else in public health is doing. You must look outside your industry to have quantum change. Breakthroughs rarely happen within an industry.

The pandemic has presented the single best opportunity for your health department to be seen in years. Be open to new idea and take full advantage of post Covid life!