I walk in through the front door. I am nervous. The technology is over my head. Complex equipment surrounds me. People are milling around everywhere. I am not sure what to expect. I decide to approach a staff member, smartly dressed in blue, and ask for help. Where am I? If this is a hospital, I am in for a challenging time. It is an Apple store, I am in for an inspiring time.

So why can’t these two experiences be the same? Fundamentally, the two organizations are identical: they are both performing a service that I need, using sophisticated technology and specialized staff and their purpose is to improve my life.

But the experience most people have in a hospital is quite different from the experience in an Apple store. Hospitals tend to be†formal, bureaucratic, dismally decorated, never on time, expensive, and swarming with†too many arrogant, overworked people.

Apple stores are bright and airy, decorated in a contemporary style, with friendly people and efficient service. Above all, they are inspiring places to visit. And there we have the key.

Much of our work at the Secretan Center is with healthcare organizations, and I often wonder why hospitals feel like they are part of the government (sometimes the North Korean government!), and how simple it would be to change this. If every single employee in the hospital made the commitment to be inspiring and to run every process in an inspiring way, the hospital visit would be transformed from an ordeal to an inspiring experience. If you work in healthcare, transform your organization today by making a commitment to be inspiring – you can sign the Inspire Pledge here.