Adam Flood, 32

Adam Flood was the trailing spouse when his family relocated to Fort Myers from Raleigh, N.C.

Flood worked in the restaurant industry in North Carolina. He met his future wife, Allison, while he was a bartender and she was an North Carolina State University student. Allison Flood, a fellow 40 under 40 winner, got a job at LeeSar in 2013, and Adam Flood, a graduate of Rasmussen University, joined her there soon after.

Adam Flood’s first job at LeeSar was as a part-time weekend material handler. But like Allison Flood, he has a can’t-say-no work ethic, and three months after he was hired he was named a supervisor. He  also earned a reputation within LeeSar, a nonprofit cooperative that distributes medical devices and sterilized surgical equipment, as an expert in eliminating waste. He’s so good at it LeeSar, founded by Lee Memorial Health System and Sarasota Memorial Health Care System, created a position for Flood, manager of process excellence.

“I’m a hands-on guy,” he says. “I like to be working with people and seeing people.”

Flood’s supervisors say last year he saved the organization nearly 6,000 hours of work by improving supply chain management practices and removing unnecessary steps. That includes the revision of a single task that alone saved five-and-a-half hours of work per day.

Flood also has significantly deeper job satisfaction in health care over serving food and beer. “The hospitality business is fleeting,” he says. “This is so much more meaningful.”

— Mark Gordon

Q&A

Name: Adam Flood

Age: 32

City of residence: Cape Coral

Twitter handle: @Afloods_coming

Employer: LeeSar

Title: Manager of Process Excellence

Birthplace: Norwich, NY

Years on the Gulf Coast: 3 years

Marital status/children: Married, wife: Allison, and 2 children, Jackson and Alexis (coming Oct. 28!)

College: Rasmussen University

Best place to network: I’ve been given amazing opportunities to travel to other healthcare service centers that utilize the same software we do.  Getting insight on how other professionals harness similar applications can do a lot to get the creative juices flowing!

Coolest business experience: I’d have to say that while there have been more than a few, one really resonates with me and has given me a true appreciation for how important our jobs are in the healthcare industry.  I’d like to believe that I’m someone who goes out of their way to help others.  One evening, we received a call after midnight from a member hospital over an hour away who needed a product immediately for a teenage boy that was clinging to life.  Before anyone really discussed HOW to get the product to them, I volunteered to drive it up there without delay.  I heard a day or so later that the boy survived thanks to LeeSar’s quick response in this critical situation.  Being a part of a team affecting that kind of an impact is beyond fulfilling, and just goes to show how much we value our customers and the communities they serve.

Messy desk or clean workspace: Messy desk for sure!  Studies show that a messy desk is related to creativity and problem-solving skills.  I have a tendency to break free from conventional thinking. 

Best business lesson ever learned: “Don’t present a problem without a potential solution to fix it.”

A website that makes your job easier: Workfront.  Many of our company projects require input from several departments.  Having a web-based project management application allows us to set firm due dates, assign tasks, and have real time, full visibility of a project, regardless of who is in charge.  And, let’s not forget Google.  Yes, it is also a search engine, but it gives me a chance to ask questions, or even look for images/designs that could help create a product or process that makes the company more efficient.  And if it’s on the internet, it has to be true, right?

Community group you’re most involved with: Homeless Coalition

Favorite off-hours activity: SPORTS (with co-workers or family members)

Two people, dead or alive, you’d like to have dinner with: George Carlin.  What an all-time great.  I was fortunate enough to see his stand-up in person once and I will never forget it.  His comedy was thought-provoking and engaging, while still managing to be “LOL” funny!  I even enjoyed how much more cynical he became as he aged! 

The other person would be my Grandpa Borchardt.  Unfortunately I only knew him when I was young, but he touched my life in many ways.  He introduced me to the sports world and the teams that I love today (still not sure that being a Buffalo Bills fan is a positive takeaway).  He really assisted my parents in making sure that I was given the chance to learn positive core values that I believe have helped me become the man I am today.

What you would be doing if you could pick another career: I’d be in the movie business for sure.  It would more than likely be behind the scenes (like the guy in charge of lunch), but I have such an appreciation for the business.  If I were fortunate enough to be an actor, then every new performance is a chance to create another character, which is something I believe would be exciting and challenging!

Top item on your bucket list: I have an obsession with roller coasters!  I love the thrill and sensation you get as you plummet down that first drop.  So top item on my bucket list would have to be to rent a few RVs, collect friends and family, and go visit the best amusement parks in the country. 

Skill you’d like to learn: Oh geez.  Eidetic Memory, which is used interchangeably with Photographic Memory.  Some children have been known to exhibit this ability, but it is lost on them once they begin to acquire language and verbal skills, due to thinking more abstractly and not relying on visual memory nearly as much.

Who would play you in a movie about your life: Probably Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite)?  He’s a complete goof, has a weird sense of humor, and we have similar facial features.

If I had a magic wand I’d: Create a portable teleporter (I’d need it to get back home!).  With it, I could go anywhere I could dream up, learn about other cultures, take impromptu “day-cations,” and save a FORTUNE on travel!