CEO holds keen observer role. Interview by Donald E.L. Johnson.

: What tactics does the successful head of a hospital system use to keep that system in check? How does that chief interact with his or her board in running the individual institutions? In the following interview with Health Care Strategic Management's Donald E. L. Johnson, David A. Reed, president and chief executive officer of the St. Joseph Health System, a system with seven acute care hospitals in California and Texas, affiliations with additional institutions and numerous other HMO and insurance ventures, discusses developing rapport with key players as well as creating a strategic plan.