Jon Harder, Sunwest, and the assisted living future

I’ve never met Jon Harder, even though we live less than 40 miles apart, and have roots in the same community.

What I know if him I’ve learned from colleagues who are friends and from the media.

A few weeks ago I wrote about the challenges facing many assisted living companies that focused more on acquisition than on servicing the people in their care. Many have now been caught up in bank and mortgage crises, leaving them with little ability to managing the debt that rapid growth bought them.

Of course, hindsight being so clear, we can now see that these companies were over-leveraged and under-managed, in most cases. They banked on a future of free-flowing money, allowing them to continue to build and acquire; and a healthy economy allowing seniors to sell their homes for a profit and continue to fill their new buildings.

For Jon Harder, it has all collapsed around him.

This week’s Oregonian’s front business page posted a brief article, “ Jon Harder resigns as Sunwest CEO. ”

Jon Harder has resigned as CEO of Sunwest Management. The 41-year-old Salem man, who built Sunwest into one of the largest senior housing companies in the country, agreed to step aside as the controversy and anger swirling around him has become an impediment to the company's reorganization attempts…

This follows Harder’s personal bankruptcy filing on January 1.

It has to be an incredible low point for a man who built one of the largest senior care companies in the U.S.

One of our readers sent me this email last week:

When I was hired, there was a marketing meeting in Oklahoma City, John Harder came and visited, along with Joe Stephenson, his then VP of Marketing. As a seasoned administrator, I was impressed with their aggressive acquisition phase, but nervous as well. One of the managers asked Mr. Harder what his business plan was. He was a little irritated and told us that they (Sunwest) will keep on growing and looking for opportunities for growth and that was about it. I left that meeting feeling hesitant about my job security.

I had a momentary flash on this subject of my own narrow field of vision yesterday, listening to Barak Obama’s inauguration speech when he said,

…We understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted — for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things — some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom…

It evokes a mental image of the person who determines to make a difference; who takes a risk to create something profound and worthwhile. And perhaps, who does it all without looking for - or achieving - personal glory.

I don’t know Jon Harder. I can only imagine the personal agonies he may be experiencing as he watches the work of his lifetime disintegrate.

What I do know, though, is that our industry will succeed, and will come out of this time of challenge stronger.

Because behind the scenes, every day in every city of our country, men and women “obscure in their labor” work hard to make sure that they are focused on the people in their care – and the people providing that care.

Because in the end, if it isn’t about the people, it isn’t going to stand.