By Madison Rohn, Lead Editor
Cover photo from McKendree University Marketing and Communications
Last Thursday, students received life and business advice from William Davis, the Illinois Region President for Deaconess Illinois and Chief Administrative Officer of Crossroads Community Hospital in Mt. Vernon and Heartland Regional Medical Center in Marion.
Davis oversees multiple hospital facilities in Illinois and is known for his thoughtfulness, giving back to the community and leadership skills. He was nationally recognized as a “Rural Hospital CEO to Know” and “Black Healthcare Leader to Know” by Becker’s Hospital Review. Davis received his Master of Business Administration degree from McKendree, and he returned to his alma mater as a part of the Lanter Lecture Series.
The Hett’s annual Lanter Lecture Series allows McKendree students to hear insight from influential business leaders. The day began with speed networking in the Hett, where students could network with local business leaders from the O’Fallon Chamber of Commerce over coffee and donuts. Afterward, Davis spoke with students over lunch and talked to business and communication classes.
In the evening, Davis spoke in the Hett and answered questions submitted by students and professors. Gracing the stage with his sparkly black shoes, he shared his leadership and business advice. One piece of advice he gave was to do “the one more thing,” which he described as, “Living life differently. It’s knowing you can make an impact on someone’s life by being kind.” By going the extra step to do “the one more thing,” Davis says that you practice “looking outward … you’re not just living for you.”
He also provided insight from his years of experience in the professional sphere. He went through multiple career changes, which prompted him to say, “Comfort is, a lot of times, the enemy of innovation,” and because of this, “you cannot be afraid to fail” when trying something new.
During the evening, Davis spoke a lot about taking opportunities: “The life ahead of you has the opportunity to be better than what’s behind you.” When it comes to opportunities to lead, he said, “Don’t shy away from leadership and those opportunities to lead teams. … Each one of you are a leader in your own right. … Stretch yourself.”
Towards the end of the evening, Davis shared his formula for success on the screen behind him: “Anticipation + preparation + opportunity = success.” According to Davis, “When you can anticipate where you’re going, you can move with purpose.” Even though he has had many professional victories, Davis said that success in his life would be setting up a legacy for his children and seeing his children graduate.
Davis left students with a challenge to live with purpose: “Life is what you make it, so why not make it a good one?”
