Sachin H. Jain: One of the best pieces of advice my Dad ever gave me

Sachin H. Jain, President and CEO, SCAN Group & Health Plan, shared a post on LinkedIn:

“One of the best pieces of advice my Dad (Subhash Jain) ever gave me (and partly why I write here on LinkedIn as much as I do) was: learn to write.

He would often say, “Sach, I’m not a good writer and it’s always held me back. Work on becoming a better writer. Write as much as you can. I could have done so much more if I could have written and published more—it will serve you in so many ways.”

And so in college, with his guidance in mind, I made the deliberate decision to choose a major (Government) that would force me to write…a lot.

And took on some and term-time and summer jobs through which I could hone my writing skills.

And though it was hard for me at first (painful, in fact), I became a faster and clearer writer—and continue to work on the craft all the time.

And I owe it to my Dad.

When I write something I enjoyed drafting, I think fondly about him and wish he was still around to read it and offer some feedback (which was usually more positive than my work deserved).

In reality, my Dad was a great writer/thinker in his own right. In his last years, after retirement from a rewarding career in pain management, he self-published a volume of Hindi poetry.

Among his belongings we posthumously found many unfinished writing projects—more poetry and some religious histories—which were quite excellent.

But English was his second language and he did struggle to put pen to paper at times.

I think sometimes of what more he had in his mind that he would have shared with the world had it been a little easier for him. I wish he would have been able to share some of his clinical and scientific ideas. And more meaningfully, I wish he had written more about his rich life and stories of our family.

Regardless, I am forever grateful for the advice he gave me which I pass on—on his behalf—here today.

Write as much as you can.”

Source: Sachin H. Jain/LinkedIn

Sachin Jain is the President and CEO of SCAN Group and Health Plan and an Adjunct Professor of Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine. He also serves as a Board Member at The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans, an Academic Hospitalist (WOC) at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and a Board Member at America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP). He is also a board member of Omada Health.