Business Updates for the Hospitalist: The Top Business Articles of 2025 that Will Change the Way You Lead, Do Your Job, and Practice Medicine

This highly engaging talk by Christopher Russo, MD, reviewed high-impact articles from outside the medical literature and examined how knowledge from fields outside medicine can change the way hospitalists lead, do their jobs, and practice medicine.

The first article discussed ambiguous language around people leaving a project.¹ The common phrase “creative differences” is widely used in the entertainment industry. This attribution is used often to shield the reputation of the departing party, minimize the damage to the project, and send a positive signal to future collaborators. This study of the film industry showed that using an ambiguous reason for departure, as opposed to a specific reason such as “scheduling conflicts,” was ineffective at preventing reputational damage. Departing directors had worse future opportunities after leaving for ambiguous reasons. This was more pronounced for higher-status individuals, for whom ambiguity heightened curiosity and discussion. For hospitalists, the takeaway is that vague explanations can be risky. Teams are common in hospital medicine, and this also applies when giving feedback to colleagues and learners, as well as communicating with patients and families. We should strive to be as specific as possible, as vague attributions can be risky and more damaging. In addition, we should consider developing clear processes for managing departures to maintain trust and credibility.

The second article looked at managing multiple conflicting goals.² This talk highlighted that we often pursue multiple goals at once, such as work, family, health, finances, and leisure. As many of us have experienced, these goals can often feel conflicting and difficult to balance. This study used a writing exercise to encourage participants to identify how goals could be interconnected. These participants reported greater goal harmony and increased motivation to pursue their goals. A similar exercise focused on healthy eating and found that people who perceived greater harmony between eating healthily and enjoying food reported more success with their dietary goals and had a lower body mass index. We can use the concept of goal harmony in our own personal lives, within our healthcare teams, in mentoring learners, and with our patients. Instead of presenting goals as tradeoffs, framing them as mutually reinforcing can increase motivation and buy-in.

The third article examined the “token-effort effect.”³ Promotional pricing is a common marketing strategy to increase sales, and effort is generally seen as a barrier to participation. However, the studies in this paper found that requiring a very small amount of effort, such as entering a discount code or completing a CAPTCHA, increased the likelihood that people would redeem a promotion compared with receiving a similar automatic discount. Surveys indicated that this effort made participants feel they had earned the discount and that the return on their effort was worthwhile. Too much required effort eliminated this effect. In practice, groups could consider adding small-effort tasks to increase engagement with protocols, wellness initiatives, medical education, or quality improvement work. These tasks should not be overly burdensome, but a small, meaningful action can make people feel more invested.

The fourth article looked at how leaders should respond to feedback.⁴ Rapid change in response to feedback can show responsiveness, but these studies showed that rapid change can also feel inauthentic. This was more significant if the requested behavior change was felt to be difficult. Gradual behavior change was felt to be more authentic, more responsive, and more likely to increase the chances of people giving subsequent feedback. Employees often believe true, meaningful change takes time, particularly for difficult behavioral shifts. Hospital medicine leaders should consider acknowledging feedback promptly while creating a plan to address this over time. This preserves credibility and encourages continued feedback in the future.

The fifth article reviewed the use of hand gestures when speaking.⁵ This study used automated video analysis to review thousands of TED Talks. They found that more hand movement was associated with improved audience response. More specifically, “illustrator” hand movements, or gestures that visually represent the ideas being discussed, were more effective than general emphasis or unrelated hand movements. This has significant value for hospitalists in the clinical and educational spaces. Using illustrative hand movements when discussing difficult topics with patients and families can improve engagement and understanding. Similarly, using these movements while teaching may signal competence with the subject matter, boost understanding, and perhaps even improve evaluation scores.

The final article discussed in this session looked at psychological detachment from work.⁶ Many employers say that they value employee well-being, and it has been shown that psychological detachment during non-work time boosts employee well-being and productivity. However, studies have shown that employees who visibly detach outside of work, such as by using out-of-office replies or taking vacations, can be viewed as less committed and less likely to be hired or promoted. This occurs even when the reason for the detachment is virtuous, such as caring for an ill family member. When the studies looked at organizational culture, they found that if the organization explicitly supported detachment through policies and normative behavior, following these policies was viewed favorably. Hospital medicine groups can use this to inform efforts to improve the wellness of their group. They can do this by enforcing expectations about after-hours or weekend communication, celebrating hospitalists who take breaks or vacations, modeling detachment, and ensuring that rewards are based on outcomes rather than availability.

Overall, this discussion offered useful tools and lessons for clinical, educational, and leadership missions. A common theme among these articles was that while intention matters, perception often determines how our actions affect others. While we do not need to adopt every business trend in the hospital setting, we can benefit from a better understanding of how communication, behavioral intent, and organizational norms shape the way people respond. These lessons can help hospitalists lead more effectively, communicate more clearly, and build healthier and more functional teams. 

Dr. Miller

Dr. Miller is an associate professor of medicine and vice division chief of hospital medicine at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, N.M.

References

1. Harrison SH, et al. Point break? The efficacy of creative differences as a protective label for future work. Academy of Management Journal. 2026;0. doi:10.5465/amj.2023.0759.
2. Wang J, Fishbach A. Goal harmony. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 2026;130(4):701–720. doi:10.1037/pspa0000452.
3. Zhang K, et al. The token-effort effect: trivial redemption effort increases price promotion effectiveness. Journal of Marketing Research. 2025;62(6):1125-1141. doi:10.1177/00222437251338050.
4. Chon D, et al. Not so fast? Rapid response to voice leads to perceived inauthenticity. Academy of Management Journal. 2025;0. doi:10.5465/amj.2023.1044
5. Cascio Rizzo GL, et al. Talking with your hands: How hand gestures influence communication. Journal of Marketing Research. 2025;63(3):518-537. doi:10.1177/00222437251385922.
6. Buechel EC, Solinas E. The detachment paradox: Employers recognize the benefits of detachment for employee well-being and performance, yet penalize it in employee evaluations. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. 2025;188:104403. doi:10.1016/j.obhdp.2025.104403.