The Gary Bisbee Show

Meet Ceci Connolly:

Ceci is a recovering journalist who now is in passionate pursuit of a better, more equitable, more affordable health system. She is President and CEO of the Alliance of Community Health Plans, a national organization of leading nonprofit, provider-aligned plans. Ceci is also the host of the Healthy Dialogue podcast. After 25 years in the news business – at outlets such as the Washington Post, the Associated Press and Congressional Quarterly – she worked at both McKinsey and PwC in health care thought leadership and consulting. She is a founding member of Women of Impact for Healthcare, co-author of Landmark: The Inside Story of America’s New Health-Care Law and What It Means for Us All, and serves on the advisory board of Fannie Mae’s Sustainable Communities Initiative.

Key Insights:

Ceci Connolly is a thought-leader who has years of experience advocating for better healthcare policies:

Value Based. Ceci argues that the fee-for-service model has substantially hampered the effectiveness and affordability of the health system. 

Leveraging Influence. As the largest payer, the federal government has significant opportunity to modernize the healthcare economy while keeping it relevant.

Recent Successes. Under Ceci’s leadership, the ACHP has helped to normalize telehealth and successfully encouraged greater transparency in drug pricing.
 

Relevant Links:

Read more about Ceci

Follow Ceci on Twitter

Read about the Alliance of Community Health Plans (ACHP)

Meet Howard Kern:

Howard P. Kern is among the most innovative healthcare leaders in the country. Throughout his 42 years of health care management, he has a strong track record of executive leadership success. He served as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Sentara Healthcare, from 2016 through August, 2022 and now serves as CEO Emeritus, advising the CEO and Board of Directors on strategy and policy issues and programs. Mr. Kern has led numerous strategic initiatives to achieve performance goals relating to significant organic and merger/acquisition enabled growth and financial success as well as improvement in clinical care, consumer experience, and operational outcomes at Sentara.

Key Insights:

Howard Kern’s executive experience has led him to some important insights on leadership: 

Think Ahead. Kern suggests that the role of a CEO is comparable to a chess game: one must think ahead—not just one move, but five or six moves in advance. 

Plan Ahead. Aspiring leaders must plan their careers intentionally. Kern suggests that young people can keep the idealism as long as they understand the trade-offs.

Diversity of Thought. It’s crucial for any sizeable company to have leadership that is willing to give voice to a variety of different and even divergent perspectives. 

Relevant Links:

Read more about Howard

Learn more about Sentara

Meet Shellye Archambeau:

The former CEO of MetricStream, author Shellye Archambeau is an experienced CEO and Board Director with a track record of accomplishments building brands, high performance teams, and organizations. Ms. Archambeau currently serves on the boards of Verizon, Roper Technologies, and Okta. She is also a strategic advisor to Forbes Ignite and the President of Arizona State University, and serves on the board of two national nonprofits, Catalyst and Braven. Her book, Unapologetically Ambitious: Take Risks, Break Barriers and Create Success on Your Own Terms, will inspire you and provide the tools to enable you to fight the battles, make the tradeoffs and create the life you want.

Key Insights:

Shellye Archambeau offers important advice for aspiring leaders, based in her experience, on recognizing opportunities, finding mentors, and creating effective networks.

Helping Others. Shellye’s path to leadership began when she noticed that helping others led them to respect her as a person, and as an effective organizer.

Stick to the Plan. Very few people have a plan and make a consistent effort to orchestrate every day in accordance with the plan. Shellye believes this is the path to power. 

A Good Director. Having served on a number of boards, Shellye advises board members and directors to contribute in their own expertise, and to speak up to raise important questions.

Relevant Links:

Check out Shellye’s website

Follow Shellye on Twitter

Order a copy of Shellye’s book

Meet the Guests:

This episode features three leaders previously interviewed on The Gary Bisbee Show. Listeners will hear from: Howard Kern, Former President and CEO, Sentara Healthcare; Sandra Fenwick, Former CEO, Boston Children’s Hospital; and Bill Zollars, Former Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, YRC Worldwide Inc.

Key Insights:

Our guests offer valuable insight and advice on how to make the best transition to retirement.

Pursue Your Interests. Retirement allows an active person to be more selective about how and where they can continue to contribute. 

Be Choosy. Recent retirees should not say yes to every opportunity; instead, find the balance that works best. Drop some of the old obligations; explore new avenues.

Take time. Bill Zollars recommends taking up to six months to “reset” before committing to anything. This allows people to make wise decisions about how to allocate their time.

Relevant Links:

Read about Howard Kern

Read about Sandra Fenwick

Read about Bill Zollars

Meet Ben Lytle:

Ben Lytle is Advisor to Lytle Healthcare and Author of “The Potentialist.” He is the former Chairman and CEO of Anthem, Inc. He received a Bachelor’s in Psychology from Texas A&M and a JD from Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis. 

Key Insights:

Ben Lytle explores the potential healthcare has for change. 

Anthem’s Story. Ben Lytle was CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield Indiana when they faced an existential threat from UnitedHealthcare. He helped diversify the company by founding an insurance brokerage business and grew the company by merging with other state Blue Cross Blue Shield groups. 

Room for Innovation. America has an aging population and healthcare staffing shortage. There is great opportunity for entrepreneurs who can develop technology that makes existing healthcare staff more productive. 

The Potentialist. Ben is a “potentialist,” meaning that living up to his full potential is how he defines success. He encourages leaders to reflect on their lives and examine who they are and if what they are doing positively impacts the people they love.

Relevant Links: 

Check out Ben’s website

Read about his book “The Potentialist”

Meet John Phipps, M.D.:

Dr. John Phipps is an internist and endocrinologist, currently serving as the Chief Care Transformation Officer at Inova Health System, where he is accountable for quality, safety, patient experience, care design, virtual care delivery, enterprise care management, and other areas critical to care delivery. He has 20 years in clinical practice and has spent 15 years as a health system leader and physician executive, including roles as President of one of the largest integrated medical groups and CEO of one of the largest independent specialty practices. John's personal mission is to lead leaders towards the quadruple aim, at scale, with urgency.

Key Insights:

This episode is part of our Excellence in Leadership Series, presented by Citi. Dr. John Phipps is an expert in improving patient care. 

Always Improving. The key to improving health systems is to identify excellent performance and make it the norm. A Care Transformation Officer leads the journey from inconsistently great to consistently great.

An Exhausted System. COVID stretched the limits of the system and of caregivers. In order to maintain high quality care going forward, health systems must first look after the well-being of caregivers. 

Humility and Learning. John reminds administrators and caregivers alike: there is always more to learn. An advanced degree is merely a starting point; serious leaders continue learning throughout their career. 

This episode was made possible by our partnership with Citi.

Relevant Links:

Read about Inova Health

Meet David Marchick:

David Marchick is the Dean of American University’s Kogod School of Business and the former Director of Partnership for Public Service's Center for Presidential Transition. He is co-author along with Alexander Tippett, and collaborator A.J. Wilson, of The Peaceful Transfer of Power: An Oral History of America’s Presidential Transitions.

Key Insights:

David Marchick discusses his tenure as director of the Center for Presidential Transition. 

An intense transition. A Presidential transition is the period between the November election and the subsequent January inauguration, during which phase President-elects must make numerous key appointments.

Historical Depository. The Center for Presidential Transition keeps records and suggests helpful strategies for negotiating these crucial moments in the democratic process. 

Governing Business. Business leaders must understand government—how it operates, what it requires, and how to negotiate. 

Relevant Links:

Read more about David Marchick

Read about the Center for Presidential Transition

Buy The Peaceful Transfer of Power

Meet Alexis Stiles:

Alexis Stiles leads Spencer Stuart’s Global Healthcare Practice. She is also a member of the Firm’s CEO and Board Practices and currently chairs the firm’s Nominations Committee. Prior to Spencer Stuart, she was an Engagement Manager for McKinsey & Company. She received a Bachelor’s in Psychology and an MBA from the University of Michigan.

Key Insights:

Alexis Stiles discusses career progressions and the CEO recruitment process. 

• CEO Selection. CEO candidates are evaluated on track record and results. Alexis also utilizes an “executive intelligence assessment,” which measures potential. The assessment measures conceptual and analytical thinking, and decision making with limited information.
• Supporting Women. Alexis shares that men can support young women leaders by serving as active mentors and sponsors. You can break down barriers and perceptions to promote the next generation of leaders.
• Career Agency. You own your own career. Think purposefully about your career goals. However, don't be so stuck on those goals that you don't seize unique opportunities that come your way.

Relevant Links: 

• Read more about Alexis Stiles
• Read “Spotlight on Innovation at the 2022 Health Evolution Summit” By Alexis Stiles

Meet the Guests:

For this special Thanksgiving episode, we reached out to leaders from all three of our Think Medium shows. Leslie Norwalk is a Strategic Advisor at Epstein Becker & Green. Stephen Beeson, M.D. is the founder and CEO of Practicing Excellence. John Halamka, M.D., M.S. is President of Mayo Clinic Platform. 

Key Insights:

For this holiday episode, we asked leaders what they are thankful for this Thanksgiving.

Thankful for Family. Leslie Norwalk is thankful for friends and family. She recently lost her father, and that event has highlighted the importance of her sisters and other family. 

Thankful for the Journey. Dr. Beeson is grateful for the pain points and rollercoaster that is founding a company. It provided perspective on what is important in life and family. 

Thankful for Young Leaders. Dr. Halamka is thankful to be able to mentor and pass on knowledge to the next generation of healthcare leaders.

Meet Carladenise Edwards, Ph.D.:

Carladenise Edwards, Ph.D. is a Strategic Advisor. Previously, she was the EVP and Chief Strategy Officer for Henry Ford Health System and Providence St. Joseph Health, as well as Chief Strategy Officer for Alameda Health System. Dr. Edwards serves as a board member for Heluna Health, RAND Health, American Board of Internal Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, and Healthcare Financial Management Association. Dr. Edwards received a bachelors in Sociology and master’s in Education and Counseling Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. She received a Ph.D. in Medical Sociology from the University of Florida.

Key Insights:

This episode is part of our Excellence in Leadership Series, presented by Citi. Carladenise Edwards, Ph.D. is a healthcare strategy expert.

• Mission Creep. Health systems try to be all things to all people all the time. Health systems need to refocus on their goals in the community and do a few things exceptionally well, rather than many things inadequately.
• Public Health Infrastructure. We need to invest in public health, rather than expect health systems to manage it. Public Healthinfrastructure will enable more people to get the fundamental care they need to be healthy and secure.
• Hard Work. Work is not easy. It is hard and takes energy, but if you’re pushing uphill that means you are producing something of value.Nothing is insurmountable if we collectively work towards change.

This episode was made possible by our partnership with Citi.

Relevant Links: 

• Follow Dr. Edwards on Twitter
• Read more about Dr. Edwards