Management Lessons from the E.R.

Life in the emergency room is often like that in the business world. Both are places of activity and excitement, unexpected developments, highs and lows, crises, and great intensity. On the treatment table and in the boardroom, problems must be diagnosed correctly and dealt with as effectively and quickly as possible. Now in Management Lessons from the E.R.: Prescriptions for Success in Your Business, Paul S. Auerbach, M.D. -- a doctor of medicine and of companies -- shows exactly how a professional healer's thought processes can be applied to a business. The result is enlightening, occasionally lighthearted advice that goes far beyond other business management tomes, offering readers real and surprising lessons.Applying such medical truisms as "The patient who isn't screaming may be the one in the most trouble" and "Don't count on luck," Dr. Auerbach provides prescriptions for solving all types of managerial emergencies. Using real-life experiences from his many years as an E.R. physician, COO of public and private medical management companies, and venture capitalist, he teaches executives how to prepare for and remain calm in difficult situations. In this unique book, he shows how responsibility, great expectations, and the impact of failure force doctors to be at the top of their game at all times. From assessing the first symptoms of a patient's or company's problem to determining the quickest and most effective means for treatment, Auerbach details the true-to-life pressures, fears, and challenges one faces both in acute care medicine and in the most vital actions of one's career, and does so with humor, style, and grace. The effect of this wisdom: the ability to deal with any business dilemma, whether it be a short-term setback or the beginning of a more serious condition. The prescriptions here are lessons for success in business and, at the same time, for success in life.

Bob Arnot, M.D. Chief Medical Correspondent, NBC News Whether it's your company or the E.R., when you're the leader there's no place to hide. You have to make decisions quickly, yet remain sensitive to every member of your team. Paul Auerbach shows us how to behave if we expect to be effective managers. His decades of experience caring for people and businesses make him infinitely more qualified than "experts" who have never faced a crisis of man or money. The lessons here will make you a better person., Joe Montana Managing Partner, Champion Ventures, and NFL Hall of Fame quarterback If you want to be an effective leader, here's the playbook. Dr. Auerbach understands people, business, and medicine in a special way, and his advice goes right to the heart of success. In my new career as an investor, I've been offered lots of suggestions, but so far, these are the most useful. This is a great approach to understanding and working with companies. If you intend to invest in people, you should read this book. It's a winner., Joel Kurtzman Global Lead Partner, Thought Leadership and Innovation, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP What is it that E.R. doctors do best? They find problems, prioritize them, and solve them in the right order without hesitation or delay. Then they do it again. In between, they formally or informally share knowledge and upgrade their skills. This recipe -- or rather, prescription -- for success in the E.R. works in business -- particularly in times of intense change. Dr. Auerbach's metaphors and models should be part of every business leader's tool kit., Rich Karlgaard Publisher, "Forbes magazine" Dr. Paul Auerbach knows well the art of extreme management, where life and death are not mere metaphors. His lessons on crisis management can teach us all to be better managers, and better people.

Paul S. Auerbach, M.D., is a practicing physician, serving as Clinical Professor of Surgery in the Division of Emergency Medicine at Stanford University, as well as a partner at Delphi Ventures. A founder of the Wilderness Medical Society, he has written classic wilderness medicine books. He lives with his wife and three children in Los Altos, California.