Joe Sneddon
Episode 112

Narrator: Welcome friends to another episode of The Story & Experience Podcast. Join your host, Japhet De Olivera with his guest today and discover the moments that shape us, our families and communities.

Japhet De Oliveira: Hey, welcome friends to another episode of The Story & Experience Podcast. I'm delighted to have our new guest today, and they are smiling, which is obviously a very positive sign that this is going to go well, they have not recorded a podcast in forever.

Joe Sneddon: Forever.

Japhet De Oliveira: You heard their voice, forever, that's great.

Joe Sneddon: Forever.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right, so this is our first, and I'm very excited, we'll have to do more. If you're brand new to the podcast, I have a hundred questions and they progressively become more open as you get closer to 100 about stories and experiences that shaped this person into the leader that they are today. So I'm going to start with the first 10 and then I'm going to head over to you, could you tell us your name? Does anybody ever mispronounce it?

Joe Sneddon: I'm happy this is one, Joe Sneddon.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay.

Joe Sneddon: Yes, pronouncing, it's been a trial throughout my life, sometimes it's Snidden and Sneddon, and sometimes there's even an H thrown in there with Sheddon.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's nice [inaudible 00:01:19].

Joe Sneddon: I had a football coach that called me Shed, and I wasn't sure who he was speaking to the first time, but I respond.

Japhet De Oliveira: You respond.

Joe Sneddon: And then it's interesting too, many people feel I'm Joseph, but I'm not, I'm just an ordinary Joe.

Japhet De Oliveira: Just an ordinary Joe.

Joe Sneddon: Named after my father who actually wasn't Joe himself, but grew up with the nickname Joe and is Joe today. So I'm a Joe Jr, but many times people say Joseph thinking it's the proper way and no-

Japhet De Oliveira: That's fantastic.

Joe Sneddon: ... I'm an ordinary Joe.

Japhet De Oliveira: You're an ordinary Joe, that's good.

Joe Sneddon: Ordinary Joe.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right. Is there ever an ordinary Joe? I don't know.

Joe Sneddon: I don't know.

Japhet De Oliveira: I don't know, all right. Joe, what do you do for work?

Joe Sneddon: I am in RevCycle, so I've joined Adventist Health as the executive over revenue cycle, I've been in revenue cycle for over 25 years.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right.

Joe Sneddon: I love it, I love the opportunities to solve problems and to work with teams and to see what we can do to expand the mission and vision of organizations I've worked with over the years, and it's been very rewarding.

Japhet De Oliveira: Imagine me, no idea what's rev cycle, is it like an engine revving, is it a bicycle? Break this down for me, what is RevCycle?

Joe Sneddon: Absolutely. In fact, starting work, my children, all they knew that is dad went to work on a plane. And so to your point about an engine, that's funny you bring that up, my son first few years actually thought I was a pilot or a mechanic that worked on planes because my wife would say, "dad's gone to work on the plane," and my son would just think he's working on a plane.

Japhet De Oliveira: Sure, fair enough.

Joe Sneddon: No, revenue cycle is everything around being paid or reimbursed for the services that the hospital provides or the clinics provide to patients. And also really making sure that we're focused on the patient experience, we're enabling care, we're enabling people to come into the organization that likely are not wanting to be here and trying to just work with them through their journey of gathering their information, their insurance, making sure that they're covered for the procedure that they're coming in for, and then working with insurance companies to receive that reimbursement back to the organization. So in a nutshell, that's how I'd describe it.

Japhet De Oliveira: You would be responsible for helping to simplify the patient's life?

Joe Sneddon: Hopefully.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right. Because it's complicated for patients.

Joe Sneddon: Yeah. At end of the day, we get wrapped up into various metrics around revenue cycle, such as days of AR or overall accounts receivable balance agents, but at the end, there is a patient behind every one of those accounts.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's awesome.

Joe Sneddon: And I've tried to keep that as my focus as I work with teams to ensure that, yes, the greater numbers are great, but we ought to remember that individually one patient who's behind that patient account.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's great. Thank you, Joe, that's brilliant. Joe, who's not Joseph, that's what we'll have to remind everybody.

Joe Sneddon: There you go, call me Joe, not Joseph. No, it's all good.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right. This morning when you woke up, Joe, did you have coffee, tea, liquid green smoothie, water, what's your first drink of the day?

Joe Sneddon: Flavored water.

Japhet De Oliveira: Flavored water, okay. With electrolytes or?

Joe Sneddon: Yeah, electrolytes, emergency it's usually what I use, and then some type of flavoring, like a crystal light packet of sorts. So that's usually what I go to, and for whatever reason, I just crave that taste in the morning.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good. And are you an early riser or a late night owl?

Joe Sneddon: Gosh, I wish I was an early riser. I don't know why, but I've always been a late night owl and I will get up, but it's amazing too what you get up for. I enjoy running, so usually, I always get up to go run, but anything else, it's a challenge.

Japhet De Oliveira: And what's late night for you?

Joe Sneddon: Usually midnight, one o'clock.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right, that's real, that's good. When you woke up this morning, first thought that went through your mind?

Joe Sneddon: That's going back to my career, first thought that went through my mind, where was I?

Japhet De Oliveira: This morning?

Joe Sneddon: Having traveled for 25 years, I'm finding myself in hotels or a home. I always have to reorient myself to where I'm at, I'm at a hotel and the bathroom is this way or the bedroom is this way, and so usually, that's the first thought. But the main thought that goes through my head is, what challenges or what things are on the plate for today that I need to help others solve or fix? And so I use my morning times to really gather myself in terms of what things do I need to focus on today, knowing that I can't do everything, but what are really the priorities to help my teams be successful or myself be successful for that day.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good practice as well. Tell me actually, where were you born?

Joe Sneddon: Great Falls, Montana.

Japhet De Oliveira: Great Mont ... nice, I like Montana, I was just there November, it's brilliant.

Joe Sneddon: Never been back?

Japhet De Oliveira: Never been ... no?

Joe Sneddon: No.

Japhet De Oliveira: To the entire state?

Joe Sneddon: No, it's on my list.

Japhet De Oliveira: It's on your list. Do you watch Yellowstone?

Joe Sneddon: Considering I've been to Yellowstones, is that from the Idaho side, right?

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Joe Sneddon: Is that really Montana? I need to get back, I've always wanted to go back, I've talked to people going up there and the Tetons and everything else and it's just like, yes, I need to get back there, I just have not been back there for whatever reason.

Japhet De Oliveira: When you were a child there, what did you imagine you would grow up to be?

Joe Sneddon: I didn't spend a lot of time there, my parents moved around quite a bit, so really, my growing up years were in Boise, Idaho and Eugene, Oregon. Eugene, Oregon is pretty much where I say home. But growing up to be, I think everything crossed that path, early, it was some type of athlete. I love sports, I love team sports, I often found myself shooting baskets all the time, so basketball was one of my early loves and I thought, this would be great, I'd listen to various games on the radio and try to enact it on the blacktop-

Japhet De Oliveira: [inaudible 00:07:24].

Joe Sneddon: ... On the driveway and different shots and winning shots I'd make. So basketball is probably one of those things, but I quickly learned I was not the strongest or tallest or fastest, so then it just moved to, what about medical profession, doctor or something in that field? And so that's what kept me going through school at that point.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's great. If people were to describe you as an extrovert or an introvert, would you agree with their conclusion? And which one would they pick?

Joe Sneddon: This is one of those things that I talk often with my wife on. They might think I'm an extrovert, but I'm not, I really have to push myself to be out there with individuals, but I love it when I am. But large crowds, I get tired quickly and I usually find myself resorting to those who I know or who can help protect me in some shape or form. But I also spend a lot of time just evaluating life or balance by myself, and so when I'm out there, I enjoy it, I enjoy meeting people and by all means we're with teams or we're working with individuals, I love that. But I do have to work on gearing up to go to that event.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's okay.

Joe Sneddon: Once I get there, I think I'm okay, but it takes a little while to get there.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's okay, that's good. Leadership question here, are you a backseat driver?

Joe Sneddon: Well, in leadership specifically, I think there's times that we need to lead. Usually, we're the ones who have the responsibility of making the final decision, and so we need to lead. I also feel that we need to lead by example, so we do need to give the keys over to some of our leaders and enable them to grow and to develop and to more or less become leaders themselves in some aspects. So I think it's an interchangeable seat.

And as much as I'd like to say that I'm one of those car instructors riding with my own foot pedals in the passenger seat, we do need to allow others to grow and achieve. And I think sometimes too, as leaders, we need to think about what we are taking on and are we doing this because it's just easier for us or maybe there's an opportunity here to help develop or grow someone to do these things themselves. And so I think I changed seats more often than not.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good, I like that. All right, floor is open, you get to pick between 11 and 100, where would you like to go first, Joe?

Joe Sneddon: How about 12?

Japhet De Oliveira: 12, sure.

Joe Sneddon: We'll start down here low.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right. What's your favorite movie or book of all time, and why?

Joe Sneddon: All time?

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, book or movie?

Joe Sneddon: This is actually funny, someone was talking this weekend and Fletch just comes to mind. I love Chevy Chase, so when you think about some of the movie he's in, Fletch is one that I just grew up quoting and watching and it's just silly, but there are so many things in that movie that I still today just find myself quoting and thinking through. But Chevy Chase, I enjoyed his movies, seems like Old Times is another one where my wife and I, if we're just on the couch wanting to watch something, we'll put that on and just find ourselves laughing.

Japhet De Oliveira: Laughter is good for us. All right, that was 12, so where next sir?

Joe Sneddon: Let's stay some evens, how about 14?

Japhet De Oliveira: 14.

Joe Sneddon: Let's get warmed up here.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right, don't worry. All right, tell us what you enjoy doing outside of work, you alluded to it a little bit, but.

Joe Sneddon: I love trail running, I'm an ultra runner.

Japhet De Oliveira: Really? The ultra runner that does how far?

Joe Sneddon: 40 plus miles is where I've been to date. So I'm not the leanest individual, but I do enjoy running and I love running on the trails and getting out to places where you sit and you think, I would not have been here had I not gone on this kind of journey. And there's all the facets around running just fascinate me about nutrition and rest and recovery and how do you just keep going and just having that endurance. And so I'm always just inspired by those that run these a hundred-mile races and how they do it, I'm not there at that level, but I've had some wonderful experience with some friends doing some very long runs and I look back on and saying, "when's the next one?"

Japhet De Oliveira: 40 miles is no small feat.

Joe Sneddon: You're committed when you close that car door that, it's going to be a while before I get back here, absolutely.

Japhet De Oliveira: And do you do it with people or you just go by yourself or?

Joe Sneddon: We moved back to northern Utah about 13 years ago and I was just getting my bearings with where we were living and a friend that I knew in college came running out of the canyon that we live by. And so there's my friend and his friend became running partners, so we've been running together for the last 13 plus years.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's great.

Joe Sneddon: Usually, if I'm working remotely, we'll run three times a week together, we always try to hit the weekend. So it's been a great relationship, we try to do a fall event every October, it's one of my friend's birthdays, it just so happens to be his birthday wish, but we try to do a fall classic of sorts that one of them was crossing Canyon Lands National Park from the west side to the east side. So we look forward to that every year.

Japhet De Oliveira: Good for you, man, that's fantastic. All right, so that was 14, where next, Joe?

Joe Sneddon: All right, I'm getting warm up here, let's go 16.

Japhet De Oliveira: 16, all right. Tell us about one of the places you've traveled to and why you want to go back?

Joe Sneddon: My wife and I love Oahu and for whatever reason, it's been the only island of Hawaii that we've been to, but there's no agenda and we know it. We know the North Shore inside and out and we just love going there and seeing shells in the pocket sand between the toes, we just love getting up and just going for a run, going to the beach, just sitting and just watching the sunsets. And so it's probably not the most exotic place, but it's a place where my wife and I go for peace and just resetting and just being together.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's lovely, that's good. All right, that was 16, where next?

Joe Sneddon: How about 21?

Japhet De Oliveira: 21. Share the best compliment you've ever received.

Joe Sneddon: As leaders, sometimes not a lot comes back to us. I have an opportunity to work with some young man in my church and it involves Sunday lessons and some activities, and one particular young man we would invite to camp outs and various things and it's amazing, it still sticks with me. About three, four months ago, I get this random text and it's from this young man, he's now graduated college and he just said, "I want to just thank you for helping me during those teenage years and for who you were and what you said." And I'm trying to think of, what did I say other than maybe, "get up, pack up, clean up, what you guys are doing?"

But it was very, very thoughtful and it just made me sit and reflect upon the influence that we can have on individuals that we may not even know at the time. And I was probably stressed out of my mind because when you're with young man out in nature camping, my goal is just to get him home. And so-

Japhet De Oliveira: In one piece.

Joe Sneddon: ... I can't remember what I said, but I reflected upon that, it's just like, that was one of those texts that I want to save this and I've taken a photo of it and it just helps me remember that, we're doing some good things and just remember what the influence we have on others.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's really good, yes, powerful lesson. All right, that was 21.

Joe Sneddon: 28.

Japhet De Oliveira: 28, yeah. If you had to give an impromptu 30 minute presentation, what would the topic be?

Joe Sneddon: By my choice or for-

Japhet De Oliveira: By your choice.

Joe Sneddon: ... People that want to listen to me?

Japhet De Oliveira: They're going to listen to you, Joe.

Joe Sneddon: I love sharing the experiences of running and would love to just share, there's so many things about that you can apply to running, doing hard things, commitment, goals, using various data points to understand how well you're doing, both physically as well as even emotionally and mentally from getting out there and doing things. So I've been blessed with the friendships that I've had in that space, but also too, I think a lot of just the quality time of keeping my life in balance comes from running and I'd share some of that with others.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's great. All right, I like the application you're talking about, that's super. All right, where next?

Joe Sneddon: Let's go in the thirties.

Japhet De Oliveira: Thirties?

Joe Sneddon: 33.

Japhet De Oliveira: 33, all right. Tell us about the best gift you've ever given someone else?

Joe Sneddon: Well, you always hope every gift is good.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good.

Joe Sneddon: Right? I grew up in a family where it was important to express love through gifts. I think getting married, one of the things that relatively reset my perspective on some of this is, we were getting a birthday present from one of our leaders early in my consulting career, and so the team went together and bought a Tiffany silver necklace and earrings.

Japhet De Oliveira: Nice.

Joe Sneddon: It wasn't too overwhelming, but it was a very thoughtful gift at the time, and I sat there and all of us contributed $20 or whatever to this individual leader and I left there thinking, I need to do this for my wife.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right.

Joe Sneddon: And my wife is extremely frugal and doesn't expect a lot, but I just remember giving her this necklace and earring and it's just one of those experiences where she just was overwhelmed. And it's just taught me that, you know what, sometimes we may take for granted some of those individuals that are closest to us, and I quickly learned from my team, I need to do what we're doing here for this leader, for my own family and those that are closest to me.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's a good reminder for all of us, that's great. All right, where next sir?

Joe Sneddon: 38.

Japhet De Oliveira: 38, all right. If you needed encouragement, who would you call?

Joe Sneddon: My dad.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah?

Joe Sneddon: Yeah. I have three sisters, two older, one younger, grew up in a very close family, so I was the boy and I have an incredible relationship with my father and even to this day, it's a blessing to have him. I realize not everyone has that relationship, but I have a great relationship to where even though I may not like his advice sometimes, I know I can always call him. And he's always made that point, even when he was working, he would always pick up the phone and if he couldn't talk, he'd say, "Joe, let me call you right back." And I've just always appreciated that openness that he's had with me.

Japhet De Oliveira: Does he know this about you, that you feel this way?

Joe Sneddon: I hope so, I think he knows that. He had a crazy experience a year ago where we nearly lost him. And we were gathering for Christmas dinner this year and I was welcoming everyone to my home and my parents, my sisters and their husbands and it quickly hit us that, a year ago, our lives were really, really turned upside down. So he's a runner himself, he was on the treadmill and he felt a pain in his chest and for whatever reason, he decided to stop, this was the day after Christmas a year ago, and decided to go upstairs and wait for my mom to come home from the store. And she came home and knew something was wrong and so, "let's get you down to the hospital."

And after going to the urgent care and then to the ER, they were like, "we're going to life flight you to Utah Valley." And so my mom called me and told me, "can you meet your dad down there? They are life flighting." And just the reality, so I hear it was basically a dissection of the aorta aneurysm and he lived and it was one of those times where reality hits you pretty fast.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yes, it does.

Joe Sneddon: Because he is always been superman to me and it's one of those things where-

Japhet De Oliveira: That's beautiful.

Joe Sneddon: ... Yeah. We have a great relationship, so I would call my dad and just be grateful for that time that I have with him.

Japhet De Oliveira: You have to call him today.

Joe Sneddon: Yeah, no question.

Japhet De Oliveira: You got to tell him that he's your person.

Joe Sneddon: Yep, will do.

Japhet De Oliveira: No, it's a really good reminder, Joe, that life is very fragile.

Joe Sneddon: Absolutely.

Japhet De Oliveira: And the people that we love and love us are really precious to us.

Joe Sneddon: Absolutely. It was a 180 degree pivot that day, he was out skiing the day before Christmas, we had talked about getting together for Christmas and just with families and other connections. So day after Christmas when we're really trying to think of all those that are close to us, it was a reality holding my dad's hand, walking him into the hospital from the helicopter to, this is serious and so fragile, so take advantage of it.

Japhet De Oliveira: Totally. All right sir, thank you for sharing. Where would you like to go next?

Joe Sneddon: How about 42?

Japhet De Oliveira: 42, all right. Do you have a photo on your phone, and on your background of your phone, could you tell us what the photo is and what's the story behind it?

Joe Sneddon: Background on my phone?

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, or the photo that you have saved, do you have one of those?

Joe Sneddon: Yeah. Well, my screen saver is a picture basically of Christ summoning to his apostles to come follow him when they were out in their boat fishing all night where they basically had no fish and he told them to cast their nets and just the story there of him beckoning them to come follow him. And it's just a great reminder that we're here to follow him and also to serve others, and so that's my screensaver.

Japhet De Oliveira: I've got to ask you then, it's a bonus question.

Joe Sneddon: Yeah, perfect.

Japhet De Oliveira: Faith and work, how do you mingle them together? How do they intersect for you?

Joe Sneddon: I learned early faith first, family next, and then profession, and I hope I follow that. Sometimes when we're at work, we sometimes get maybe in the heat of battle to where work becomes a priority, but at the end of the day, we're all God's children and we're brothers and sisters and we need to accept each other for our strengths and our weaknesses and be willing to just be tolerant and more patient with those around us when their drivers may be different than ourselves. And so faith comes into play every day with me as I look at others, especially when I think about working together with individuals of, I may not have handled myself the right way in that situation and to seek forgiveness and to make sure that at the end of the day we're here to work together, we're one team.

And so I think having that focus on faith and family just has helped keep me in balance. It doesn't mean I'm perfect with that, in fact, I can honestly say I'm not, but I do take seriously relationships and I value all the contributions that our teams make and our individuals make in our lives and realize that we're better for it, for the work that they do. And so we also need to remember that everyone is God's children and we're all trying to figure this out, and so let's be patient with one another and forgiving and strengthen one another.

Japhet De Oliveira: Beautiful. All right, I think we have time for two more.

Joe Sneddon: My goodness, okay.

Japhet De Oliveira: I know, it flies by really quickly.

Joe Sneddon: It has, this has been great.

Japhet De Oliveira: See, we were talking-

Joe Sneddon: What was I nervous about?

Japhet De Oliveira: ... We were talking before we came in here and I'm like, it's great, all right.

Joe Sneddon: Well, let's get up to, how about 81?

Japhet De Oliveira: 81, all right, let's see here. What is something you've given you absolute best effort towards, and why was it so important?

Joe Sneddon: Back to my father, I would hope that I'm giving my best effort every day to anything that I'm doing. My dad taught me early when I was getting my first job and working, and my dad inspired my work ethic and just we're here to make a difference and to make a name for ourselves. But he basically said, "your name's attached to everything you do, and if it's the worst job in the world, think of it being the best, but also don't burn any bridges and make sure that if you have a job, that that person will want to hire you back."

And so I like to say I'm giving my best effort to everything and it's just important for me to recognize that, again, we're all trying to be successful and so we will fail along the way, but just to pick ourselves up and realize we can try again tomorrow and we can do a better job, or I can interact with that individual better next time, or I can find more data to support what I'm trying to do next time. So there's always a next time and I'm grateful for those next times that we have.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right. So I have to ask, this is a bonus on top of this, in your 25 years of all the experience you've had, have you ever been in a job where you thought, I've got to get out of this job, I'm going to end it well, or seen someone who's in a situation where they've got to get out the job and you help them to end it well? What was your secret for that?

Joe Sneddon: Well, I think many times we'll have reactions, and I think the grass is never always greener is something to keep in mind as we make these decisions, and so I'm grateful for the opportunity here at Adventist Health to join this organization. I don't think I was leaving anything per se, but I always look at this as, what's best for me and my family? And again, back to that faith family, I want to make sure that you take some time to just evaluate what's important and how is that going to fulfill that need. And if it's a reaction, you know what? Go home and sleep on it and why don't we get together tomorrow and we'll talk more about it?

We can get pretty heated in the moment, or we can get upset and frustrated and think that, my goodness, this is just terrible, this is not what I expected to be doing right now. But it's so important to have that confidence and trust in an individual at work to where you can just sit down and have that open discussion and realize, it's maybe not the best, but you know what, how about you and I work together and we'll get through this and then we'll set our eyes on the next challenge and struggle that we're having.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good wisdom, Joe. Last number, sir?

Joe Sneddon: Well, I'm not going to go to a hundred, how about 99?

Japhet De Oliveira: 99, what is the most difficult truth you ever told?

Joe Sneddon: Well, again, I think as leaders, sometimes we have to be honest with individuals we're working with. And I think nothing I do not look forward more to is when we have to sit down and tell someone that they're not maybe right for the role or right for the position or may not be performing the way that they're thinking that they are or that they're actually proving themselves to be. And so I think having those moments are hard, and I've been counseled and given some coaching in terms of if you think it's going to last 30 minutes, plan an hour.

But I think having those personal one-on-one conversations and truths about performance and about individuals, I think are hard. And I think we can do that in our professional life as well as personal life when we have conversations with our family members, with my son or my daughter, and we sit down and say, as much as we love them, "you're not doing what you need to be doing." And so how can we still lead with love and support and appreciation, but at the same time, just making sure that they understand that there's an opportunity for improvement here and that we still respect them and love them and support them. So I hope that answers your question, that's a hard one.

Japhet De Oliveira: It is, but I think I hear clearly that through love, with love, you can have difficult conversations.

Joe Sneddon: Absolutely.

Japhet De Oliveira: And they're necessary sometimes.

Joe Sneddon: And in fact, sometimes we follow those conversations with increased love for that individual, just letting them know that, we may have had a heart-to-heart conversation that you may not have received well, but I'm still here, it doesn't mean we're any less. And in fact, we're probably closer now because of that trial that we've gone through.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's true. Joe, it has been a pleasure to be able to talk to you and to hear stories and experiences that shaped you.

Joe Sneddon: This has been awesome, thank you so much.

Japhet De Oliveira: No, it's been great.

Joe Sneddon: I appreciate it.

Japhet De Oliveira: Thank you for the wisdom, thank you for the strong reminder that family, loved ones, people are very precious in our life and we should take the time today to do something about that. So it's a good reminder for all of us.

Joe Sneddon: Wonderful, thank you so much.

Japhet De Oliveira: God bless you. And for everybody else, I encourage you to do the same, sit with a friend, ask them good questions, learn about them, they will change you as well as change themselves. Until we connect again, God bless everybody.

Narrator: Thank you for joining us for The Story & Experience Podcast. We invite you to read, watch, and submit your story and experience @adventisthealth.org/story. The Story & Experience Podcast was brought to you by Adventist Health through the Office of Culture.