EYE ON OOSS

Living in Interesting Times

BY KENT JACKSON, PHD, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF OOSS

Each New Year, I set aside quiet time to wade through investment fund reports that tend to pile up on my desk. The first one I picked up this year, representing a fund valued at just under $1 billion, began with a letter to shareholders evoking the English expression, “May you live in interesting times.” The message then described current market uncertainty, volatility, and possible scenarios as evidence that we are living the curse of these interesting times. In conclusion, shareholders were crisply admonished to focus on the long term, stay the course, and act only when armed with sound information and good advice.

I read on, slogging through the details. Then, with a hopeful attitude, I turned to the section focused on the outlook for the future:

“As such, should the pronounced weakness of the last few months prove to be a relatively short anomaly, we believe risk asset classes will be positioned to recover losses if not push higher. Should that not be the case, ‘lower for longer’ will be the mantra.”

I reviewed two more reports, each conveying a similar message and revealing comparatively dismal performances. Dismayed with the impassive truth that if things improve, they do, and if not, they don’t, I was left to ponder:

• Are present times indeed more interesting than times past?

• In what times – interesting or not so interesting – would it not be a good idea to plan for the long term, to stay the course with strategy, to act based on the best information available?

Throughout the last four decades, the Ophthalmic ASC community has emerged, thrived, and survived in some very interesting times. OOSS, as the foremost professional society representing this community, has been instrumental in blazing a trail of impressive success by all measures, in all times.

Taking the long view is at the heart of the impassioned ophthalmic ASC movement. By design, the ASC is a capital-intensive, complex, and futuristic construct designed to deliver the highest quality at the most reasonable cost. This is an extremely ardent proposition, requiring an intensity of spirit and enduring loyalty to the cause.

How is it that the outlook for the ophthalmic ASC industry is so different than that reflected by fund managers in their characterization of the broader investment market? Perhaps because, like you, those within the industry …

• View all times as interesting – alive with risk and opportunity

• Play the long game and stay the course – with clarity of values, mission, and vision

• Are armed with the best of information, collaboration, and continuous learning

• View leadership as entrepreneur-ial, energetic, and active — never impassive.

Perhaps this is why, considering my own professional investment of time and effort, I choose to invest with you and the ophthalmic ASC community. ■