Frank Cutitta

I’m a complete sucker for a great sales pitch. Part of that is because I spent most of my life pitching. Another part is that I spend dozens of hours a month speaking in front of groups of skeptical business leaders and graduate students. I know how a strong presentation style can occasionally overcome less than compelling content. I’ve also seen far too often how a poor presentation style can overcome evidence of empirical business improvements.
The medical field has debated the value of evi...

It used to be such a simple life — a small, independent primary care practice (SIP) in the suburbs with a loyal patient following and the flexibility that comes with running one’s own business.
Plenty of time to spend with patients, and needing only the basics for record-keeping and prescribing. Then things started to change. Requirements evolved. And, for many, the lure of becoming part of a larger provider network was too great.

There have been at least 259 selfie-related deaths since 2011. Deaths and injuries resulting from walking-while-texting are likely even more common than that. In fact, many cities and towns have gone so far as establishing fines for texting in crosswalks. File it all in the growing “technology-as-a-hazard” category.\

Personal brands can no longer be one-dimensional in the digital enterprise marketplace. The term “generalist” aims to create the illusion that a candidate is multi-dimensional, and yet it actually says, “I’m willing to try anything to get a job.”

Even the dedicated social media wonk has a hard keeping up with the latest in social platforms and tools for enterprise use. Once they’re identified, the next challenge becomes explaining them to the other stakeholders who fund, approve or use these tools for competitive advantage.

There are few greater quotes on enterprise innovation than one from the mouth of prickly, world-renowned (and fictional) food critic Anton Ego in the Disney Pixar movie Ratatouille.
Simply stated: “The new needs friends!”
As with many great quotes, it’s beauty is in its simplicity. We can immediately identify with it, not just because it’s so simple, but because we’ve all been a friend or enemy of driving disruptive but constructive change.
“Friends” is an interesting word in the 21st century...

In the digital world, influencers can drive markets with a velocity never seen before in business.
High-powered influencers with huge followings command a heavy premium from companies in in the consumer marketplace. The top YouTube influencers, for example, command well over $1 million from consumer goods companies, even though most of us in the older demographics could never pick these people out in a lineup.

No greater authority on digital transformation than the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu advises us that “a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” What’s missing from the proverb is how big those steps are in the transformation journey.

The proportion of the world’s population over 60 years old is expected to rise from 12 percent in 2015 to 22 percent in 2050, according to the World Health Organization. The burning question is whether technology companies’ approaches will keep pace with the increase in the aging population.

I’ve had the opportunity to be the oddball on boards of directors in industries that were well outside my core skill set. Despite my initial disorientation, I was warmly embraced by the members and trustees for bringing in a fresh new way of viewing their businesses.

Volumes have been written about shadow IT being the bane of the existence of enterprise CIOs. The fact is that many IT shops are unable to keep up with the technology trends in the business units they service. This challenge has resulted in those BUs establishing their own tech teams who breathe the oxygen of the business and who have double-deep skills that combine technology and the vertical focus of the division.

Despite being in a business that demands hundreds of human-to-human interactions a week, my wife considers me a recluse when I’m not talking with executives. She couldn’t be more different given her FOMO, or fear of missing out, on local social events. I was recently made aware of the corollary to FOMO, now known as JOMO or the joy of missing out.

Navigating social factors well beyond the healthcare provider’s control have always been key to providing quality care. With the shift to value-based care driven by population health and precision medicine, the ability to factor in social determinants has become more important than ever. Fortunately, technology has made analyzing that kind of information much easier.

Every day we read about another shift in the technicalities and funding of the Affordable Care Act, a controversy at the U.S. Department Health & Human Services or the ability to buy health insurance across state borders. To spin an old Tip O’Neill line, one could argue that, “All healthcare is local.” Many in Europe, Asia and Latin America would likely argue the same as it relates to their own local healthcare systems.

Never can one underestimate the role of a competition for driving innovation. Surely it can and should happen organically. But anyone who’s been to a middle school science fair knows that bragging rights can produce some very impressive results.