Jordan Green talks "meaningful" relationships; his father

I’ve never been a very bookish person. Lately, however, I’ve found myself curled up with a book called “The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader.” As you could imagine, it outlines 21 characteristics that all people must have in order to succeed.

If you decide to pick up this book – and I encourage you to do so – you’ll read how important it is for people to be responsible, have effective communicatory skills, and have a positive attitude. But there’s another quality that the author, Mr. John C. Maxwell, feels that all people need in order to succeed: the ability to develop and maintain meaningful relationships.

Maxwell discusses relationships in chapter 15 of the book, and he writes of several different individuals who truly cared about people. The first: Dr. William Osler, the founder of the American Association of Physicians.

Throughout his storied career, Osler educated medical students from across the globe. While he regularly spoke about the importance of devising new medical procedures, his main message to students was to treat patients like people, and to build relationships with them.

I’m fortunate enough to see that same philosophy fleshed out by my own father, an award-winning physician’s assistant in Blackwell.

Though I am innately biased toward him, I would wager that Phil Green, PA-C has the best set of bedside manners of any medical professional anywhere. Even on his worst day, he puts on a smiling face as he walks in to see a patient. And even when he has to deliver the grimmest of diagnoses, he has a way of comforting people and putting them at ease.

I wouldn’t know any of that from talking to him. I know that from talking to his patients.

Despite the flaws commonly associated with small towns, they afford their residents the unique opportunity to learn more about the people around them. I’ve heard people joke that, in small towns, your neighbors know more about you than you know about yourself. I know this to be true when it comes to my dad. Just about everywhere I go, someone stops me to tell me about how my dad has treated their health problems. I can’t count the number of people who have said that my dad has helped them regain the health of their younger days. The other number I can’t count? The number of people who tell me, “Your dad saved my life.”

The medical care my dad offers his patients is top-notch. That matters to them. But when they walk through the door of my dad’s office, they’re not necessarily looking to be treated with the latest and greatest of medical tools and procedures. They’re looking to be treated with respect, honor, kindness, and love.

My dad offers top-notch treatment in that category, too. That’s because he develops relationships with the people he works for.

Relationships are the cornerstones of any good business. Customers want to feel like they are cared for and valued as people. They don’t want to feel like another dollar sign; they want to feel like a million bucks.

Relationships are the key to friendships. Friendship is a two-way street, and it takes sacrifice from both parties to make it work. You’ve got to communicate with, understand, and support one another.

The same goes for families. You’ve got to love the people you call your brethren, even if you’re not related by blood. Family is a bond of passion, and it must be reciprocated.

At the end of the day, relationships are important to everyone. Nobody truly wants to be alone, and everyone wants to feel like someone is there for them. Relationships solve the issues of human inadequacy: They make lonely people feel whole again.

We’ve all got relationships in our lives. Perhaps some are stronger than others. So, what about those relationships that have fallen apart over the years? The friend who drifted apart, or the lover who lost her way? What about those relationships?

They matter, too. And to that end, I have a challenge for you: This week, start looking for ways to repair broken relationships in your life. If you have none that are in need of mending, make new relationships that will carry you through the lowest of valleys to the highest of mountain-tops. With your old foes, bury the hatchet; and with your new fellows, plant the seed of togetherness.

Relationships are important to all people, and we need to foster joyful ones with those around us. Today, find ways to build new relationships with people, and bring new life to relationships lost.

Relationships are some of the best cures for life’s ails – just ask one of my dad’s patients.