When Excellence Isn’t Enough

One of the greatest leadership lessons of my career came fairly early, during a season of significant pressure.

From 1983 to 1995, I served as a licensed nursing home administrator (LNHA) in north-central Ohio. I was responsible for a 100-bed, dually certified long-term care facility (1 of 3, that my family built and owned) employing up to 120 full and part-time staff members along with contracted professional services.

At that time, we were the area’s first newly constructed nursing home in nearly 40 years. As the new and modern option, we thrived. At one point, we consistently maintained an average daily census between 98 – 100%, a 75% private-pay mix, and a record of zero deficiencies. We worked hard for those metrics, and our resident care was outstanding.

Success felt normal.

But my dad often reminded me, “Times and conditions change.” And they did.

About six years after our grand opening, the landscape shifted dramatically. Hospitals began adding skilled nursing units. The local VA home expanded certified beds. Assisted living communities emerged. Hospice services gained traction. Home health care became a viable alternative.

Almost overnight, our competitive advantage began to erode.

Our census flattened. Our private-pay mix gradually declined from 75% to 30%. Meanwhile, insurance costs, workers’ compensation expenses, and infection-control requirements continued to climb. This was worrisome, unnerving, even threatening. A critical challenge if there ever was one.

That’s when I learned a lesson that has stayed with me ever since:

“Being the best isn’t enough if people don’t understand why you matter.”
-Gary L. Yonek

I hired an innovative marketing consultant who understood our industry exceptionally well. He challenged many of the conventional practices of that day and my own assumptions surrounding communications and management. Most notably he introduced me to the power of clarity, alignment, vision, positioning, hospitality, audience targeting, and packaging (both the customer experience and our staff) – a wholly integrated initiative. A concept and value I regularly lean into even today

What I discovered wasn’t just about marketing. It was about leadership. It was about clearly communicating mission, casting vision, creating buy-in, and helping people understand the value of what you do in a changing world.

I share this story, and the process that helped us navigate and survive, in my upcoming book, Welcome Aboard.

While the book focuses on building high-impact volunteer teams, its deeper message is about leading people, communicating purpose, and creating cultures where commitment thrives. Watch for it this Fall 2026.

What leadership lessons have you learned, only after performance and success stopped being enough?

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