WDCast

Cramming in patients, barely having time to eat lunch, spending hours at the end of the day writing notes from visits, and so many billing codes. This is not why Rushika Fernandopulle became a doctor. Rushika became a doctor because he wanted to help people and he realized he couldn’t do that given the current healthcare system. In this special episode, WD Partners’ Dan Stanek takes over as host of WDCast and sits down with the founder and CEO of Iora Health – Dr. Rushika Fernandopulle. They discuss what’s broken in the US healthcare system, how Iora Health is attempting to fix it, and what it means to be a human-centered healthcare organization.

1:14 – Rushika’s background & journey
3:31 – I’m gonna change the system
6:05 – The Iora Health difference
10:25 – Human-centered principles
12:13 – Value-based payment
14:01 – The primary care lever
18:20 – Changing the delivery system
21:27 – The impact of the pandemic
23:20 – The role of technology
26:54 – CEO + MD

The digital channel and an on-demand retail world are here, front and center. There isn't a retailer out there who doesn't realize that digital retail is one of, if not THE most important element of their future. The amount of online order fulfillment that retailers are doing today is about 3 times what they were doing a year ago and the physical boxes (aka stores) are becoming less and less practical to fulfill that volume. In this episode we catch back up with Jordan Berke, Founder of Tomorrow Retail Consulting, who we spoke with almost a year ago about the notion of and need for dark stores. Jordan shares his expert opinions and predictions on the true rise of dark stores over the next year and what it means for stores to become fulfillment centers.

01:04 – A refresher on Tomorrow Retail
02:06 – An on-demand retail world
05:37 – The rise of dark stores (for real)
09:10 – Stores as fulfillment centers
17:18 – “Blank” from home
20:17 – The boardroom’s reaction
24:22 – US vs. Asia (digital adoption)
26:47 – Predictions for the future and obligatory football talk

Human Centered Design – type that puppy into google and you’ll get a myriad of definitions and approaches, but this episode’s guest defines it quite simply as using empathy, ideation and experimentation to put the needs of the human (end user) at the center of the problem-solving process. Meet Stephen Wurth, Sr. Manager of Category Experience Design at Purina. He chats with WD Partners’ Lee Peterson on how his team works with retail partners to design solutions in an omni-channel world, how Design with a capital D can (and should) be used as a thinking tool across an organization, and why design thinking is not a linear process.

1:01 – Getting to know Stephen
5:00 – Human centered design
9:20 – Leveraging design thinking to help solve problems
12:15 – The advantage of design led companies
18:58 – Cultural ways of working
20:27 – How does tech fit into human centered design
24:29 – Direct to consumer models
29:08 – Why bonobos is killing it
33:36 – Predictions for 2021
36:15 – Advice for public speaking
38:00 – Cardinals fan through and through

Here’s some solid career advice: Identify a brand you have a passion for and seek out an opportunity. That’s exactly what our guest Gina Peterson did. Gina has been with Hershey for the last 11 years and to simply say she is passionate about her work is a massive understatement. Gina is the Sr. Manager of Retail Experience for the confections giant and has an amazing opportunity to identify new opportunities and holistic solutions (beyond selling another candy bar) with retail partners. Gina’s work is grounded in the voice of the shopper and her team partners with Hershey’s retail customers to create and activate playbooks and principles to drive growth in the space. In this episode Gina shares with Lee Peterson (EVP, Thought Leadership & Marketing at WD Partners) what digital first means for Hershey, the impact the great accelerator has had on the CPG industry, and how sweet it is to work at a place you love.

1:30 – Hershey in her heart
4:58 – A day in Gina’s life
7:20 – Insights to activation
9:42 – Voice of the shopper
11:12 – Digital first for Hershey
14:14 – The impact of the great accelerator
18:26 – The 15-minute city
20:46 – Who’s doing it right?
24:15 – A take on social media
25:38 – 2021 Predictions
27:25 – The personal side of Gina

We pick up where we left off from our previous episode with Toby Barnes (yes, there was a part 1 episode and yes, you should definitely go back and listen to it if you haven’t already) and Lee Peterson as they discuss the future of retail. They kick off the conversation dissecting the term “digital first” and what Toby thinks it really means and dive into live stream shopping, tik tok, and the good and bad of social media.

Helped launch some of the most innovative Nike concepts and has a British accent? Yes please! Meet Toby Barnes, Retail Futurist and former Nike Exec, in episode one of a two-part series as he discusses the future of retail and stores with Lee Peterson. Toby and Lee dive into the differences between the function of retail versus the function of a store and how retailers must rethink about what they deliver to the customer.

Businesses are just now realizing the importance of digital, but consumers have known this for a longtime. What was once an afterthought or bolt-on solution for brands, has become the place that people go to first when beginning their buying journey. Even when they don’t know that they actually want to buy something. Our guest this week built his company on knowing that a brand makes their first impression online. Joey Zornes, Co-Founder and Creative Director at Bonfire Red, sits down with Lee Peterson to talk all things digital. From staying up on trends, to the beauty of digital storytelling, and the role of digital in the physical space, Joey shares why his company was built on a digital first mentality.

We haven’t met anyone with a resume like Nita Rollins. She’s a journalist, meets film and art critic, meets marketer, meets critical studies major, meets cultural semiotician and futurist. And a doctor. Did we mention she’s a doctor?! While the organizations she’s associated with are impressive to say the least, Nita is on a new adventure. A company she launched called Stylograph—at a fundamental level, it’s a full-service organic content marketing consultancy, but with Nita at the wheel, it’s so much more. In this episode, Lee Peterson and Dr. Nita Rollins discuss how she got to her current career of choice, why it’s important for her to bring her personal passions into her everyday work, how brands (at least the good ones) recognize the importance of being a publisher, and her love of a beautiful head scarf.

1:50 - One of the most interesting resumes in the world
9:55 – The world could use Nita Rollins
16:40 – Talk to us about Stylograph
22:07 - The modern expression of a brand
24:20 - The juxtaposition of Jumbo Shrimp
27:48 - Sustainable fashion
30:34 - Being inspired by nature
33:14 – Cuba & the National Hotel
36:23 - Fearless fashion

A self-taught artist, dad, avid reader, project doer, music lover and self-proclaimed imperfectionist, Joey Monsoon joins Lee Peterson in this week’s episode to discuss his process when creating art, how he handles criticism, what his legacy looks like and why children are the artists we should be watching and encouraging the most.

The customer is in charge. This isn’t a new idea, but it is new to the world of healthcare. As consumers have grown accustomed to receiving products at the speed of light, when and how they want it, the question becomes…how does this translate to healthcare? How can healthcare become personalized? A product with a service that you receive and interact with on your terms. Let us introduce you to this week’s podcast guest: Brian Slusser. Brian is the founder and CEO of Health In Motion Network. His company has a clear goal: to organize local providers (using innovation) onto a common patient platform in order to provide healthcare on-demand. He joins Lee Peterson to discuss the ins and outs of healthcare, how the global pandemic has brought these issues to the forefront and how is company is helping to solve them.