Why do we do what we do?

In thinking about what to write about in this blog post I searched -- fruitlessly, as it turns out -- for alternative expressions of the centuries-old idiom, "you can't see the forest for the trees." But the reason that phrase has been around for centuries is that it rolls off the tongue a lot easier than "if you focus too much on minutiae you will miss the larger meaning in your endeavors."

Regular readers of this blog have probably figured out that OnShift is a technology company. What that means, in practical terms, is that the OnShift team develops technological solutions to staffing and scheduling problems that are particular to long-term care and senior living. We're very good at that.

But as good as we are, it's a good and useful thing to be occasionally reminded of the underlying purpose to what we do, to be reminded of how what we do fits into the vast ecology of providing the best possible care for those human beings who find themselves in need of care, and how the quality of that care affects the family and friends of those in need.

It's about so much more than business, staffing, and overtime costs. If you look beyond the technology, pull your nose out of the spreadsheets and reports, and broaden your perspective, you just might see the forest, see how all the elements are connected. You just might see how all those points of connection lead to individual human stories.

You can see one such human story in this touching video produced by Silverado.

Watching that video, it is impossible not to feel a sense of connection, to feel the humanity of the situation. The video is both a profound and poetic reminder of how long-term care and senior living touches the lives of real human beings, and well-deserved recognition of the providers on the front lines of that care.

It's also a welcome reminder of why we do what we do.