Peter Drucker once said, "The best way to predict the future is to create it." That's great, but may also require us to recreate ourselves in the process. With that in mind, here are three broad principals to embrace to as we imagine the future of our business: Longevity, Connectivity and Creativity.

Historically, patients have little choice in healthcare providers. Times are changing. Patients are demanding more input in their healthcare decisions, including which doctors they see and hospitals they go to for their medical procedures. Healthcare providers are often one of many options available, so their success depends on marketing to patients....patients who are now customers. Maintaining a strong brand that represents the core values of the consumers they serve, differentiating from competitive offerings and generating positive customer experiences is key to surviving in today's competitive healthcare climate. Healthcare, meet the business world.

Have you ever been to a meet-up? Well, the other night we hosted one to celebrate and honor caregivers during National Family Caregivers Month. We wanted to give those who had been active on our Caregivers Speak Up website and Facebook page an opportunity to share their experiences face-to-face. But we also wanted to see how the social world we helped create would converge with the real world, and what difference it might make to caregivers.