The Goodman Group
Intuition, intelligence, and passion.
John Goodman of The Goodman Group of companies says that his most powerful leadership secret is “using intuition to identify opportunity, intelligence to understand it, and passion to act on it.
“ Intuition is the inner voice. It’s a sense of knowing opportunity, without immediate proof of how you know. It’s a leap from problem to solution, which transcends usual thought processes. Everyone is born with intuition; it’s God talking to us between our thoughts.
“ Intelligence is the unique ability and creativity of yourself and the people with whom you work, and how you work together. Intelligence is the collective wisdom that enables us to effectively act on opportunity.
“ Passion is truly caring about what you do, and doing it. Passion is what transitions opportunity to success.
“The synergy between intuition, intelligence, and passion is the foundation of The Goodman Group’s success.
“When I started in the senior living and health care business more than 30 years ago, we owned a handful of nursing homes. Over the years, we became known for our outstanding medical care; state surveyors consistently gave our nursing homes exceptionally high ratings.
“Every nursing home and retirement community at that time was based on a medical model, not a residential model. We were turning a profit. The state was happy. Our partners were happy. The families of our residents were happy. Why do more?
“Intuitively, I believed we had an obligation to do more than just care for residents physically, even if it would cost us more money, more time, and more labor. Even if we didn’t have to make the extra effort, I felt we were morally obligated to do so. It’s within these moral choices that intuition whispers and true opportunity awaits.
“The issue came to the forefront shortly after I started leading The Goodman Group back in the early ‘70s. I was visiting one of our Montana senior living communities when the administrator expressed her concern about what seemed to be a lingering depression among some of the residents. The usual activities—tea, outings to restaurants, and musical entertainment—didn’t seem to bring them out of their funk.
“With intuition, the inner voice whispers, and when it’s true, you’ll hear it answered in some of the least-expected ways. Within a couple of days, the administrator received a call from the local school district. They were interested in having some nursing-home residents read to their elementary school students. The residents loved the idea. They visited the school several times a month to lead story-times, and were transformed from being achy, unhappy, and depressed to joyous and brimming with zest for life.
“The program planted a seed of an idea. Intergenerational programming—giving seniors the opportunity to interact with people of all ages, be a part of the larger community, and have purpose in life—was key to helping them stay emotionally and spiritually healthy.
“It wasn’t long thereafter this seed took root, through The Palms of Largo in Largo, Florida. We had just purchased a 732-unit rental property called Imperial Palms. Right next-door were 54 unfinished foundations by a homebuilder who was eager to sell.
“I had a vision of expanding Imperial Palms into a hospitality and wellness-based model for senior living. A place where seniors could receive care and services in a residential, hotel-like setting, as opposed to a skilled-nursing setting.
“It would be far more than a residence; it would be a place where people could have a sense of community and live among people of all ages. It was a radical idea back then. But when intuition is valid, you’ll find that others will be thinking about the same concept, no matter how unconventional.
“About that time, two of our most experienced and successful nursing-home administrators—who had never discussed their idea with each other and lived thousands of miles apart—wanted to try a then unheardof concept: assisted living, where seniors receive services in their own apartment. The three of us virtually had the same idea of hospitalitybased service simultaneously.
“The intelligence we had gained from years in the senior living industry enabled us to respond to this intuition effectively, efficiently, and confidently. We could have simply continued business as usual and chosen not to innovate. After all, we were turning a profit. But our passion for service simply would not allow us to maintain the status quo.
“The result? Two pioneering assisted living programs in Oregon and Portland, and what we believe may be the nation’s first intergenerational living community—The Palms of Largo. This 96-acre community serves more than 1,700 people, ages six weeks to well over 80 years.
“It offers a learning center, independent living, assisted living, memory-centers, and skilled nursing care in several beautifully designed residences. It features a holistic health spa and wellness center, even a Zen garden, and one of the nation’s few skilled nursing centers designed especially for children. The Goodman Group cannot lay claim that we invented assisted living; however, we certainly were among the very first.
“If we were a public company that had to answer to typical stockholders, The Palms of Largo may not exist. They would demand that we do only what was necessary to provide service and turn a profit.
“We had little more than intuition and a bit of empirical evidence that a hospitality-based, intergenerational senior living concept would be a success. You’ll be hard-pressed to find stockholders who will put their faith in anything based on such scant proof—I often wonder how this mindset undermines opportunities or sidetracks organizations into unsuccessful ventures.
“Over and over, experience has taught me that intuition, intelligence, and passion can cultivate the seeds of opportunity into a harvest of success and good will.”
John’s advice for learning to become a better leader is to “know yourself—your mind, body, and spirit. This will help you to make the most of your gifts, develop areas of weakness and, most importantly, give you the power to create the life you really want rather than simply reacting. By knowing yourself, you’ll free yourself to act with wisdom, not pride or ignorance or fear.
“Remember, what you think is what you create. By knowing what you want out of life, by knowing your abilities, you will be able to envision your dreams, and make them come true. You won’t fight situations. Instead, you’ll have the strength to use your intuition, intelligence and passion to respond wisely.”