Episode 8:10 John Gonzales on Hard Choices and Fundamental Transformation

Proud industry disruptor John Gonzales, SVP of Consulting at Haven Senior Investments and President at Haven Senior Living, has been involved in every aspect of the business of aging well. Listen to his opinions on a healthcare versus hospitality approach, solutions for the middle market, and how to use social media to attract prospective staff and residents.

About John

John Gonzales has over 30 years of successful and progressive experience in the senior housing industry holding a succession of facility, regional and corporate level positions including Executive Director, Director of Marketing, Regional Manager, Director of Operations, Vice President of Operations and Chief Operating Officer. He brings a depth of experience to a broad range of senior housing environments including Independent, Assisted Living, Alzheimer’s and Skilled Care.

With a unique ability to identify, motivate and direct resources, John deals effectively with cost containment, creative problem-solving, increasing work force productivity, and also possesses excellent human relations skills. He has a solid track record in developing leaders within our industry and is passionate about serving seniors guided by the culture of exceptional customer service.

John attended the University of Texas at San Antonio where he majored in Music and minored in Computer Science. He is an accomplished trumpeter and plays for military ceremonies and funerals and is a member of the Jazz Disciples.

Key Takeaways

• Senior living operators need to become adept at “reading the tea leaves” to look forward and craft the right message not only for today, but tomorrow.
• Marketing and operations need to have synergyand pull in the same direction. You can't fool people with your marketing. Bait and switch will backfire.
• Operators need to use the same social media tools to attract new employees as well as prospective residents.
• There are two camps in the industry: One thinks we can tweak the current model and the other thinks we need fundamental transformation.
• The population of middle-income seniors is growing the most rapidly, and finding solutions is always a hard trade-off. Conflict and difficult choices are the nature of the business.