You may not have signed up for this, but it’s the reality. Don’t accept this reality? Fine. Know this: denial of this reality means xxxxxxxxx will die.

And, if you ask me, it’s a pretty incredible reality.

Because it means you have the opportunity to fix arguably the largest problem in our country: overpriced, opaque, excessive and uncompetitive healthcare. (I will buy you the book. Tell me your address. Seriously. Don’t like reading? Fine. Watch this interview. )

That is what you get to work toward every day.

Good news: unlike those punk kids one-year out of college, you can leverage the insights of an actual money-making business to inform your startup.

Bad news: this leverage can turn into a crutch and halt innovation – xxxxxxxxx becomes merely another version of xxxxxxxxx. (more…)

Oooh. I like that.

My general answer is to deliver tremendous value.

What is value?

One form is making the company money by doing things that aren’t being done today. The xxxxxxxxx program is a perfect example of this.

Or by fixing things that lose us money in both the short and long-term.

Measuring the long-term, more indirect effects of your actions is a bit challenging. But through creativity and logic, it can be done.

Value is also visible when you innovate. (more…)

(more…)

Mr. xxxxxxxxx,

Not since Marilyn Manson have I heard one of life’s keys so beautifully explained as you did in your recent conversation with xxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx.

(more…)

subject: You are a smart, deep thinker about healthcare,

which is what made your interview with Pramila Jayapal so disappointing. 

—

(more…)

I learned a lot in your piece today. So, thanks for that.

What most stood out to me was that the errors and inconsistencies you correctly identified regarding men and sex are errors that essentially apply to all humans on all topics.

Rationalization to maintain a positive self-image? Yea, we humans do that when we cheat, lie, steal or perpetuate anything else that we “know is wrong,” but that we, for reasons both conscious and unconscious, do anyway. (Most perversely, we tend to give ourselves the ultimate benefit of the doubt and never extend that same generosity to other people who commit identical acts: “They are bad people. I’m just a good person who one time did this one thing that made sense in the moment and is no way indicative of the ‘real me.'”)

In many ways, human interaction is driven by a give-to-get (GTG) system. Yes, we want to give things (time, money, presents, help, etc.) to others. This is genuine. Just as genuine, though, is a ubiquitous desire to get something in return.

Given the omnipresence of this system, it’s conspicuous whenever someone operates outside of it. And that someone is both xxxxxxxxx and xxxxxxxxx.

I legitimately know of nobody else who repeatedly gives gifts without ever receiving any in return. I mean, yes, of course, you receive the good feelings one gets from being generous, but something tangible? Nope.