As the keynote speaker at AdvaMed 2011, former President George W. Bush's speech to the more than 1,000 AdvaMed participants attending the conference’s plenary luncheon on Tuesday was eagerly anticipated. After attending a private luncheon at which he and AdvaMed leadership hosted four soldiers from the Wounded Warrior Project, the 43rd President of the United States launched into his speech and the follow-up interview hosted by James V. Mazzo, President of Abbott Medical Optics and Chairman of the board of AdvaMed.

After expressing appreciation for the attendance of the medical device trade council's leadership, membership, and conference attendees for their role in healthcare innovation and contribution to the American industry and economy, President Bush described the importance that he had ascribed to effective healthcare systems during his tenure in office.

"Medical technology represents life-changing innovation," Bush said, "but in order for us to innovate we need hope." Bush indicated that before the days of healthcare reform, he had worked across party lines to establish effective healthcare policies to improve access to healthcare by the poor, domestically, and globally.

He reminded the audience that these efforts were made both at a local level thought the Health Center Initiative/Community Clinic Initiative and successful expansion by 1,297 clinics in poor and underserved communities in the US, and the doubling of federal funding for those initiatives during his tenure. Bush also referenced his global efforts to reduce the spread of HIV and malaria in other initiatives begun from the start of his administration, and the role of optimism and faith in tackling such overwhelmingly difficult challenges.

The medical device manufacturers constituting AdvaMed have supported the Wounded Warrior Project's vision to foster the most successful, well-adjusted generation of wounded warriors in this nation's history by collaborating with the US military to advance wound care, improve protocols and outcomes, develop new prosthetics and diagnostic tools, improve neurological outcomes resulting from trauma, and to prevent infection and other complications to which a soldier might be exposed in combat. President Bush's acknowledgement for the responsibility a leader takes on when sending any man into combat and his appreciation for the soldiers' service and sacrifice was well-received. "The toughest decision anybody ever makes is putting people in harm's way. In the medical device industry you're doing more than something in a small way; you're making a difference in the people's lives."

The main focus of the former president’s speech was centered on themes that resonated with both his recent book, "Decision Points," and with the medical device industry, as well as the nature of Bush's strategy post-911. These topics centered on the protocol for making decisions under duress, in times of crisis. As fiscal policy shifts, and the medical device community tackles regulatory, tax, and environmental challenges in unprecedented quantities, the chairman of the industrial trade council for the medical device industry agreed that the timing for such a message was appropriate.

The former President's advice to leaders making decisions in a complex environment, be it a country, a company, or a corporation, was this:

• Let your principles guide you, and make sure those principles are consistent.
• Remember that your most important job is protecting the people of your institution.
• Set up your organization so that you have sound advice and make sure you are accessible.
• Work optimistically for a better tomorrow and don't make leadership about you; make sure you are working for something greater than yourself.
• If there is a crisis, the leadership of any organization needs to remain calm, relate the available information calmly, and fill the void in people's knowledge with information as soon as possible.
• Take the blame and give the credit elsewhere.
• Use your organization's tools to build your culture.

At the conclusion of the speech and interview, George W. Bush was given a standing ovation by AdvaMed leadership and attendees. While much of the focus of the speech and the interview was not healthcare specific, the applications of these principals for the challenges facing the industry and the former president's optimism for a positive outcome in the face of considerable duress were inspiring.