The Weekly Minute - 1.19.24
Hi all and Happy Friday!
The weather here in Ann Arbor has warmed up to a wind chill of 5 degrees, after being -25 earlier this week. Break out the shorts!
I wrote a brief intro on LinkedIn earlier today that gives new follows/friends a greater lens into me. Click here if you’d like to read that.
Now, onto what I read this week:
What I Read
What Google Learned From Its Quest to Build the Perfect Team (via The New York Times Magazine)
(This was from 2016, but I just read it this week — and the principles clearly still apply). Research revealed surprising truths about why some work groups thrive and others falter. The researchers found that there were five key characteristics of enhanced teams:
Psychological safety: Everyone feels safe in taking risks around their team members, and that they won’t be embarrassed or punished for doing so.
Dependability: Everyone completes quality work on time.
Structure and clarity: Everyone knows what their specific expectations are. These expectations must be challenging yet attainable.
Meaning: Everyone has a sense of purpose in their work (i.e., financial security, supporting family, helping the team succeed, etc.).
Impact: Everyone sees that the result of their work actually contributes to the organization’s overall goals.
What I Wish Someone Had Told Me (via Sam Altman)
Sam, CEO of OpenAI, penned this blog post: 17 bullets on things he wish someone had told him re: business. I’ve pulled a few here:
Optimism, obsession, self-belief, raw horsepower and personal connections are how things get started.
It is easier for a team to do a hard thing that really matters than to do an easy thing that doesn’t really matter; audacious ideas motivate people.
Communicate clearly and concisely.
Outcomes are what count; don’t let good process excuse bad results.
Working with great people is one of the best parts of life.
Healthcare Corner
What will be different in 2026? 65 healthcare executive predictions (via Becker’s)
Becker's asked C-suite executives from hospitals and health systems across the U.S. to share their organization's areas of growth for the next few years. Here are a few of my favorite:
Peter D. Banko. Region President of CommonSpirit Health (Chicago): In three years, the patient will – finally after all this talk – be the ultimate consumer. We will deliver uber-friendly technology to consumers like companies have delivered for every other part of our lives.
Elizabeth Wako, MD. President, CEO of Swedish Health Services (Seattle): I believe healthcare will see a continued embrace of digital technologies, an increased focus on preventive care, and a growing emphasis on personalized medicine.
Nancy Howell Agee. CEO of Carilion Clinic (Roanoke, Va.): Successful health systems will be hyper-focused on easy access and patient experience at every step of the journey. We will obsessively engage with patients and deliver care that goes beyond medical expertise and includes comfortable environments. We'll eliminate wait times and use technology that streamlines processes. As health care leaders, innovation is in the DNA of every one of us. A future in which care is convenient, easy to access, technologically enhanced and addresses patients' emotional and practical needs.
Anthony Aquilina, DO. Executive Vice President and Chief Physician Executive of WellSpan Health (York, Pa.): I believe health systems will be using technology, particularly AI, to provide a better experience to their customers and to their team members.
Hillery Shay, MBA. Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Children's Minnesota (Minneapolis): I believe one of the biggest differences for health systems 36 months from now will be the expanded presence and impact of non-traditional healthcare players entering our arena. While the concept of more organizations competing for pieces of the same pie can create its own concerns, that competition can also fuel needed improvement in care delivery models, customer experience and value.
Karyn Baum. Chief Transformation Officer of Essentia Health (Duluth, Minn.): Three years from now I expect many, if not most, systems will be actively experimenting with where they can utilize AI to augment their care delivery and operations. I do not believe that AI will be at the point of replacing the amazing people we have within healthcare, but it may improve efficiencies and supplement our work.
Our Acquisition of Summa Health (via General Catalyst)
General Catalyst, a venture capital firm, announced that Health Assurance Transformation Corp. (HATCo) — its recently launched company focused on the health system space — has signed a letter of intent to acquire Ohio-based Summa Health. The firm said their intent is to “build on and augment the system’s considerable strengths.” They’re looking to expand access adn deliver healt and wellness collaboratively.
This is part of a larger trend of healthcare transformation — and it is GC’s continued belief that realizing our health assurance vision will require deep partnership between innovative companies that embrace a technology-driven, change-the-world mindset and the experience, empathy, and vision of enlightened health system leaders.
We’ll see if this works! I’ll be watching.
