CEO summit. The leadership experience--roundtable discussion.

All across the country, hospitals, physicians and insurers are sizing each other up as potential strategic partners. But there's much ground to be covered before a final agreement is reached, and not every decision is based on facts and figures. Sometimes it's the personal interaction between CEOs that makes the deal happen--or not. McManis Associates and Hospitals & Health Networks brought together a roundtable of CEOs to talk about the ups and downs and the ins and outs of the leadership experience. Following is a series of first-person accounts by roundtable participants.