Insights and inspirations: SHSMD Connections 2025

Welcoming the audience – made up of many first timers – on the opening day of the conference, SHSMD board president David Grandy addressed the importance of community and supporting each other during turbulent times. David spoke passionately about how having a community to learn from is essential to personal development and driving change in our organizations. His words hit home.

This was my last SHSMD conference as a board member. I’ve had the privilege of serving on the board since 2016 and as board president in 2023. After an unexpected second term as past president this year, this chapter of my SHSMD journey is coming to an end. I’ll write more about that later, but suffice it to say, the experience has been amazing in countless ways. First and foremost are the personal friendships and professional relationships I’ve made. They are priceless.

OK, enough about me. Let's get to the conference highlights. Below are key takeaways from the sessions I attended. Next year, the conference is in Baltimore. I hope to see you there!

TLDR: My top insights in 5 sides!

Want more? Keep reading below!

Day 1

💡  𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐤𝐞𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐞𝐭’𝐬 𝐊𝐞𝐲𝐬

🎤 Tucker Bryant

“Transformation requires doing different things differently.”

“Breakthroughs don’t come from just doing the same things differently.”

“We must ask ourselves if we’re improving in the right direction.”

“We need to stop improving and start evolving.”

“When we remove something, something better can take its place.”

“A bad idea is just a good idea that hasn’t found its editor.”

“Every so often, try the thing that probably won’t work.”

“Aim to be wrong in the right direction.”

“Sometimes constraints aren’t an obstacle ­­– they are an opportunity.”

“Say ‘yes’ to more of your unconventional ideas.”

💡  𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

🎤 Christine Albert; Dan Miers, Jennifer Horton

“Almost everyone goes through a career transition at some point.”

“It’s important to take the stigma away from layoffs and job loss.”

“New career chapters are exciting, but also intimidating and stressful.”

“Career transitions often come with a feeling of lost identity.”

“A critical question for those in career transitions: What stands between you and what you want?”

“You might not be CEO of where you work, but you can be the CEO of your life.”

“Your life deserves more than half your attention. It’s not a dress rehearsal.”

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Day 2

💡  Keynote session: Beyond Boundaries – Transformational leadership

🎤 Valerie Montgomery Rice, M.D.

“Don’t underestimate the power of your words and the guidance you provide. It matters.”

“Numbers don’t move people until they understand what’s at stake.”

“Stay focused on clarity of purpose and be consistent.”

“Transparency isn’t vulnerability – it’s credibility.”

“Be direct without being demeaning. Be clear without coldness.”

“Resilience is not endurance it’s regeneration.”

“Leadership isn’t about softening the truth. It’s about making sure the truth can be heard.”

💡   Navigating Thought Leadership in a Politically Charged Environment

🎤 Shannon McCormick and Jeb Phillips

“Thought leadership is not just a brand or visibility exercise. It ensures patients trust you and have the information they need.”

“The more you are in the public conversation, the more people turn to you for expertise.”

“Being loud on every political issue is no longer as effective as it once was. You want to balance visibility and relevance with risk.”

“Putting effort into maintaining good relationships with journalists is vital.”      

💡   Decisive Brand Strategy in M&A

🎤 Chris Bevolo and Philip Guiliano

“The sooner you can go out and tell your new story, the more impact you can have.”

“Making the tough decision to integrate under one name saves pain down the road.”

“A name doesn’t make the brand, it’s the other way around.”

“Names change all the time. As long as the value isn’t changing existing patients will be fine.”

“Whatever direction you take, make it intentional.”

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Day 3

💡   Why your experience is your brand

🎤 Kristin Baird and Steve Koch

“No amount of advertising will fix a bad patient experience.”

“The brand won’t dictate the patient experience. The patient experience will dictate your brand.”

“Don’t invite people to the party if the door is closed.”

“People, process and place: the three biggest considerations for patients.”

“Stories that reflect patient feelings will really move the needle on experience.”

“Engage the heart to drive change.”

“Culture is how you REALLY do things.”

💡   Keynote: The Optimism Quotient

🎤 Michelle Gielan

“When we are positive and happy, productivity and creativity increase.”

“Social connection is the best predictor of long-term happiness.”

“A barrage of negative information makes us think our behavior doesn’t matter.”

“You don’t need to change the behavior of others who aren’t optimistic, you need to make them aware of the good things that are happening.”

“Send a 2-minute email or text praising or thanking someone. Do it every day.”

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Special highlight from Day 3:

💡   Is Rome Burning? The Future of CMOs

🎤 Chris Bevolo, Matt Gove, Victor Reiss and me

The premise: Marketing’s value in health systems is under siege. What began as a quiet elimination of CMO roles across top health systems is now a full-blown reckoning: healthcare economics, financial pressures, and the rise of AI are forcing healthcare marketers to face new realities, or face dwindling influence, budgets and job security.

I added my thoughts during a panel discussion on this topic through the lens of a former marketing, now communication, leader.

My key advice to marketers? Find ways to show your value, increase access to the C-suite and become essential. Often, marketing leaders wait too long to have conversations about what they’re doing, why they’re doing it and what results they are getting. It’s too late to do that when budgets or positions are being cut.

In all honesty, communicators often make the same mistake although they typically have a higher degree of visibility within an organization and thus more opportunities for influence.

The bottom line? Justifying investments in marketing isn’t going to get any easier in the future. You must be proactive and intentional about establishing what resources you need to benefit your organization in service to its business objectives.

Read more from BPD here.

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Bonus: The story behind the hotel's art

Did you notice a few interesting pieces while you were walking around the property in Dallas? I did! And I wondered what it was all about. Here is what I discovered on the hotel's website:

The Hilton Anatole is a large art museum with over 1,000 pieces displayed throughout the property, including notable works like sections of the Berlin Wall, marble elephants from Thailand, and brick murals. It's the largest hotel art collection in the country. Guests can find two life-size elephants just outside the Chantilly Ballroom. Each elephant stands eight feet tall and weighs three tons. These elephants were hand-carved in Thailand in 1983.

The two smaller elephants pictured above were located outside near the pool.

Read more here.

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One more perspective on the conference

I love this video from Colin Hung. He always captures the essence of SHSMD conferences in such a unique and uplifting way. Here is his summary of this year's event in three emojis.