Category: Stories

  • It Pays to be Lazy

    Throughout my career, I have learned that it pays to be lazy. Whenever I have been assigned a new task, I always ask myself if the task is necessary. It usually is, but not always. If it is necessary, answering this question forces me to understand the user needs behind the task – this is…

  • My Encounters with Famous Gifted Children of Salt Lake City

    Clayton Christensen It was 1969 or 1970. I was a senior at Skyline High School in Salt Lake City. Miss Hickman the guidance counselor called me into her office. She was looking for a student to take with her to watch Governor Rampton sign a piece of legislation dealing with gifted and talented children. I…

  • A Tale of Medical Accounting

    In the fall of 2021, Mom went to the hospital for a procedure to correct a condition that had been bothering her for years. This was an outpatient procedure that usually takes about an hour, but because of her advanced age, the surgeon wanted to keep her in the hospital overnight for observation after the…

  • Mom Loves the Emergency Room

    A trip to the ER! Mom loves to go to the emergency room. It’s quite the drama and she is the center of it all. She calls 911. They dispatch a large red fire engine to her house. The paramedics examine her and then call an ambulance to take her to the University Medical Center.…

  • Taking my dad to the doctor

    My father is now ancient. When he walks, he shuffles his feet a couple of inches at a time and hobbles from handhold to handhold. When he comes to a step, he stops, deliberates, grabs the handrail and carefully places a foot on the step. If he leaves the house, he takes a cane or…