Autzen Stadium

In October 2003, Michigan walked into Autzen Stadium as third-ranked team college football team in the country.

They left with a loss.

Not because Oregon was more talented. Because Oregon was louder.

The crowd noise compressed time — taking Michigan out of their rhythm, disrupting communication before every snap, forcing decisions faster than the offense was built to handle.

Eighty-five yards in penalties. Momentum reversed before halftime.

In those moments, talent doesn’t determine outcomes. Decision pace does.

I’ve thought about that game often in the context of health systems. Because the market has become Autzen Stadium for most of them — loud, relentless, compressing the time available to think before you act. The organizations that will survive it aren’t necessarily the most talented. They’re the ones that built governance structures that function under noise. How is your health system performing under pressure?