Four years ago, I left a comfortable C-suite job to try something completely uncomfortable back in the startup world where my career really took root. In that time, DispatchHealth expanded from just five cities to more than 50, now has thousands of team members and has exponentially grown the number of patients served while maintaining an NPS (Net Promoter Score) of 96.
It’s not an easy feat to scale this fast. I’ve experienced very rapid growth before but always in digital media where growth is relatively straightforward: a compelling value prop for consumer and advertiser, significant technology horsepower, and smart teams who can support scale and architect systems along the way.
At DispatchHealth, it’s another matter altogether because while this business runs on sophisticated technology, a rock-solid clinical model and people who put patients first every day, we must safely and effectively deliver better care in your living room than you can get anywhere else. And I’m not talking about sore throats or earaches--we bring the power of the hospital right through your front door for patients with COPD and mobile diagnostics to patients that need far more than a video consultation. Consider for a moment the complexities inherent in doing that thousands of times every day across more than 50 different cities.
For the last 15 years I’ve felt that the best places to work are those with smart people, interesting problems, and a strong mission. At DispatchHealth I’d add courage to my list of requirements. You can’t just be whip smart and mission-driven, you must also be courageous. It takes a lot of courage to question everything you do every day in pursuit of a better way to positively impact patients with a totally new care model. Of course, it requires tremendous finesse to ensure that the thousands of other people who ensure the business runs don’t feel the bumps from continuously tuning a complex system.
For me, the uncomfortableness of high growth businesses means a chance to focus on the things I enjoy most:
- The chance to start from scratch every day because complacency is growth’s kryptonite
- The rigor to transparently track everything and isolate what really drives growth
- Teamwork where no lines are indelibly drawn, and everyone shares the same outcomes
Recently a colleague asked why I chose this work over some more comfortable corporate job after 30 years of work. I chose it because I know what we do matters every day to real people struggling with serious, complicated health issues. It matters to the healthcare professionals and family members that carry part of that heavy load. Finally, I know that people with exceptional courage are all working with me to make sure that our impact grows every day.
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Four years ago, I wrote about why I joined DispatchHealth. It remains spot-on in terms of what I have experienced here doing work that matters side-by-side with courageous people: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/delivering-care-where-we-live-andrea-pearson/
