Thoughts

Not too long ago, I made a choice to set aside time for reading business and leadership books recommended by certain editors, CEOs, and investors who seem to know what they are talking about.

For the past 36 years (has it been that long?), I’ve been involved in moving information from one place to another. Starting with designing firmware for data I/O in multiplexers, I’ve helped with building operating systems, customizing computer languages, rolling out international cash management systems and implementing data exchanges used by thousands of companies in multiple industries. When it comes to moving data to where it needs to go, I’ve seen what works, what doesn’t, and what sort of works.

On February 5, Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in California discovered that their patient records and many other key files had been encrypted by a malware called “Locky.” They discovered an “instructions” file on their server informing them that the files would remain encrypted unless they paid the attackers a large “ransom” in Bitcoin, the crypto-currency of choice for Internet criminals. After exploring their options, hospital administrators made the decision to pay the ransom of 400 Bitcoin—approximately $17,000 USD.

Patient care—that’s all I hear. Since 2007, whether at a healthcare conference, reading an article on healthcare technology, or in the vendor brochures I perused on doctors’ desks, everyone was talking about patient care. Patient care this, patient care that, improving patient care; patient care was, and still is, the mantra of the healthcare IT masses. As good as that sounds, it’s the wrong focus.

I have been involved with interoperability standards in banking, media advertising, and healthcare in three countries for over 30 years. During that time I have consulted with industry committees and associations to design standard transaction formats and implementation guidelines, always working with our customers to make the standards work.

When I think about the issues and problems we wrestle with everyday at work- whether contract negotiations, software development, product messaging, priorities, training, corporate strategy, customer support, HR, pricing, and so on- the most elegant solution is always a simple one. Rarely is it easy to find and, even more so, to do.

As CEO of cloud services and software development company, I’m constantly thinking of how best to use capital, whether financial or personnel. The hardest decisions are always those concerning personnel. Of those, the hardest is finding the right people.