Management Lessons from Mayo Clinic: Inside One of the World’s Most Admired Service Organizations

CHAPTER 6HIRING FOR VALUES— AND TALENT

I came to the United States from South Africa in 1978 because I had been offered a job with a prominent academic medical center in the South. During the course of the three weeks I spent in the United States, I also looked at other academic medical posts. Though I was offered a number of positions, I told a physician friend that I’d like to take a look at the Mayo Clinic, which is very well known in South Africa. So my friend said, “That won’t be a problem, I know Bob Brandenburg who is the chief of cardiology at Mayo.” I got back a very nice letter where Bob said, “I have just stepped down as chief of cardiology, and I’m going to pass this letter on to Dr. Robert Frye, who is my successor.”

One of the ...