Thousands of senior living professionals, operators, owners, executives, and community leaders from around the country will be gathering in Phoenix this April 29-May 1 for the Senior Living Executive Conference & Expo—the official meeting of Argentum. One of the many highlights of this event is sure to be the Keynote Address on the morning of April 30th: Doing Better (With Kindness + A Little Math) with James Rhee and Jeff Leer.
Eager to set conference attendees on a journey of enlightenment and inspiration, James and Jeff will be sharing the story of their meeting that eventually led to more than a turnaround, but a true reinvention of a senior living organization.
Their story began in 2021 when James Rhee, a high school teacher and Harvard Law graduate who became a private equity investor and an unexpectedly acclaimed CEO, was asked to speak at Argentum’s Senior Living Executive Conference. Save for his strictly consumer-based experience and perspective of senior living, James really didn’t have a lot of knowledge about the industry, but proceeded to deliver a heartful, inspirational, unscripted talk that moved many to tears.
Although this was his first exposure to the senior living industry, James had spent a good deal of time in people-oriented industries that had become, in fact, a passion of his. It was at this time that it dawned on him—senior living industry people were his people. They were people trying to live a holistically fulfilling, consistent life. They were people who care about people. And in a world where it has become so easy not to care, he was impressed at how much these people did care. James immediately took a fancy to the senior living industry—particularly to the people that he met that very day. In fact, a lot of people reached out to him following that talk, as they were drawn to the fact that he was a modern-day truth-sayer of sorts.
One of the people in the audience that day was Senior Living CFO Jeff Leer.
“It’s you…and you care.”
Jeff Leer was in the audience at that very conference with his CEO, the head of marketing, and the head of communications and corporate development. He thought what James said not only made sense, but he liked that it involved a completely different way of thinking—different from the way his organization was currently operating. And in their current state, they were struggling, both financially and operationally.
Jeff was appointed CEO shortly thereafter and suddenly found himself pelted with thousands of important questions from people pressing him for immediate answers. He recalled James’ talk and reached out to him, hoping for some much-needed guidance. He invited James to have a look under the hood of his organization, despite having already engaged a traditional consulting company to conduct an operational review, as the board was very nervous about their financial struggles.
James came in, looked under that hood, and immediately saw hope, assuring Jeff that things would indeed get better. James went on to give Jeff insights, areas to focus on, ideas on how to take a more pragmatic approach—but in a way that was very different from before—very different from his organization’s traditional way of thinking.
“Trust me…it’ll work.”
Jeff soon took to referring to James as Nostradamus—always predicting things about 6 months in advance—with Jeff often asking, “Are you sure this is going to work?” James’ consistent reply: “Trust me, it’ll work.” And sure enough, it did. James’ advice to Jeff was less like advice and more like the guidance of a sherpa…a sherpa that knows how to make money.
So here we have a CEO and a private equity guy talking about humanity, connections, and people—more than just acknowledging the human side of the business, but actually embracing it.
Prior to becoming CEO, Jeff’s 10 years at his organization had not been profitable. All through different leadership and different people trying to run it, it just wasn’t working. Everyone kept focusing on the physical—for lack of a better term, the “product.” But with the guidance of James, Jeff realized that the “product” is actually the people who are there, day in and day out.
A different mindset philosophy…
The first step is sometimes painful…and sometimes emotional. James felt it was important that he give people the permission to say, “there is another way.” He felt strongly that you can’t be in an industry where you’re serving people and yet you treat those people like commodities. You can’t…it simply doesn’t work.
Jeff came to realize that what he was measuring was reinforcing the behavior he didn’t want. It involved arbitrary rules of accounting which are just tools to report historical financials. If the goal is to drive future behavior, he realized he shouldn’t be using accounting. He came to understand that there was a need to employ different measurements. There needed to be a sort of unlearning of the business school mindset and a refocusing on measuring things like employee retention.
Jeff’s research revealed that far too many of the industry’s vital employees were struggling with food insecurity, financial instability, and social isolation. Leveraging the perspectives and processes he learned from James, Jeff and his team set out a journey of transformation through the use of human-centric methodologies that measure and unlock value using kindness and math. This meant investing in his employees, all 10,000 of them, with a compensation and benefit program to align with the company’s values and to drive home the belief that happy team members make happy residents.
Not just a turnaround…a reinvention
While James has worn many hats in his career, he feels that if you had to define him, he would say, “I care about people. I’m a good teacher.” James focuses on teaching people how to have agency in their life. He talks to them about life, money, and joy.
James and Jeff have been together ever since—with Jeff making significant strides in not only how his organization operated day to day, but in the shift of culture, most importantly, making sure people felt valued.
This upcoming jointly delivered keynote will tell the story of Jeff’s journey and the sherpa named James who guides him along the way. It will be a fantastic session that everyone on a senior living executive team needs to hear. It’s a different approach…a different way of thinking…and one that has the power to transform your organization.
“My hope for the senior living industry is that this will help reset a storyline. These are good initial steps in Jeff’s journey, and we want to share our ideas and hear yours.”
–James Rhee
James Rhee’s new book, red helicopter, which provides a refreshingly intuitive approach to change, will be available at the Senior Living Executive Conference, booth #2718, starting Tuesday April 30.
Continuing the Inspiration…
Also notable at this year’s conference is keynote address: Senior Living in 5, 10, and 20 Years with one of the world’s leading futurists, Mark Bryan.
As the senior foresight manager at the Future Today Institute, Mark advises companies of all sizes—and across various industries—on the direction in which their marketplace is headed, today, tomorrow, and in the years ahead. From Web3 to AI and everything in between, he will delve into the emerging trends and disruptive technologies that are making waves in business and society, zero in on their potential impact on the senior living industry, and explore how these advancements will revolutionize business models, customer experiences, and workforce dynamics.
Focused on building a brighter future for seniors, the Senior Living Executive Conference & Expo offers 3 days of education and innovation that includes:
- 2 inspiring keynotes
- 45+ educational sessions across 10 tracks
- 1,000+ solution partners in the Exhibit Hall
- Powerful networking with fellow executives and professionals
- And so much more
Senior housing leaders turn to the Senior Living Executive Conference to identify products and concepts that help them gain a competitive edge. Several educational sessions are designed to help busy executives get ahead of the curve and learn about leveraging tools such as Artificial Intelligence (AI).
AI is revolutionizing informed decision-making in senior living. There are a few sessions that you will want to make sure to attend:
- The Next Wave of AI: New Data Insights = New Levels of Profitability taking place on Monday, April 29, 2024
This session is designed to help you understand how the next wave of AI will create new levels of profitability in your communities, leveraging new data insights. This transformation includes the development of automatic care tracking that empowers optimized revenue. - Powering proactive resident care through predictive data and AI taking place on Monday, April 29, 2024
During this forward-looking session, leaders from Bickford Senior Living will share how their communities harness predictive data to deliver proactive care to residents. The discussion will explore the transformative potential of predictive data and AI in transitioning from reactive to proactive care. Furthermore, we will probe into how care delivery is evolving as AI progresses from being a novelty to an essential utility within the senior living industry. - Artificial Intelligence in senior housing: helping you meet increased demand without adding headcount taking place on Wednesday, May 1
In this session, Arick Morton, NIC MAP Vision CEO and member of the Argentum Board of Directors leads a discussion with Nick Lindberg, Humangood Chief Technology Officer, and Sevy Petras, Priority Life Care CEO, to discuss how AI improves operational efficiencies and drives innovative thinking, addressing many of the challenges facing the senior housing and skilled nursing sectors today. This session will discuss the AI tools uniquely designed for the senior housing industry. Arick, Nick, and Sevy will share how they use AI, best-practices in AI implementation, and how they have seen success in accelerating data collection and analysis.
Why Group Attendance Is Critical…
One person attending the conference can be blown away by something said, something learned…a specific lightbulb that got turned on. But if that one person returns to their organization without a champion or partner to support that initiative, it’s very likely to fall by the wayside.
Attending as a group ensures a collective awakening that can more readily lead to a positive transformation. It’s imperative that you get your leadership team to attend as a group so that each member can hear what there is to hear and experience what there is to experience. True transformation begins with a team experience.
Learn more about the conference that reflects the realities of today’s senior living industry, as it provides the knowledge and tools needed to address the challenges of today and prepare for tomorrow: Senior Living Executive Conference & Expo
