20 Leadership + Product Lessons from a Healthdata Guy
Brian Balfour, founder of Reforge, went through an excellent list of ten lessons with Lenny Rachitsky this week. I thought this was such a great interview, and his lessons were inspiring (I even borrowed a couple), so I made a list of my own.
Navigating healthcare data products has sharpened my approach to leadership. Halfway through my career, I've stacked up lessons. Some through triumphs, others through missteps.
Data is our lived experience. Knowledge is the interpretation of it. Wisdom is the application.
Here are 20 lessons covering building data products, working with teams, and being a better version of who you already are.
1) There are only two criteria for product success:
- Does it solve a user's problem well?
- Does it help business move forward?
That’s kind of it. Sorry 🤷🏻♂️
2) Garbage in, garbage out.
Data isn’t magic. Neither are LLMs, ML, algorithms, systems, or anything else.
Quality matters, especially in healthcare. Treat your data and your people well, and incredible things can happen.
3) Do the opposite.
When building an analytics team at a healthcare marketing agency, we would constantly be asked to go big - build a flashy brand launch.
Then, six months later - doctors on billboards.
,
You don’t stand out by copying others. When you say you are “better,” all everyone hears is “the same.” Be different.
But when you zag, others will follow.
So then zig. And repeat.
4) Follow the incentives.
Healthcare in the US is a mess. Everyone knows it.
Why isn’t it changing? Follow the incentives or, more simply, “the money.”
Your idea might help millions, but as Sister Irene Kraus coined, “No Margin, No Mission.”
The Iron Triangle of Healthcare still holds. Access, Quality, or Cost - pick two.
5) Bring solutions, not just problems.
Leaders context switch.
A lot.
This is doubly true at startups. Act as a magnifying glass and focus a leader on relevant info in an area; don't be a "fisheye lens." Be positive, avoid politics as much as possible, and show consistent initiative.
6) Plan to replan.
As I learned in my time as an officer: battle plans never survive first contact with the enemy.
Replace the enemy with “the market,” which still holds. The way you react sets the tone for the entire team and organization.
It requires you to be contradictory elements at once: measured but decisive, calm but quick-thinking, and systematic but flexible.
It takes practice, but know that the team needs you when you contact “the market.”
7) Fish or teach how to fish. Know the time for both.
There is a time for executing and a time for strategy. A time for focus and a time for discovery.
The divergence and convergence of the Double Diamond depends on where you are.
It’s okay to build and okay to plan. Learn when to do either.
8) Praise in public, punish in private.
Share compliments and praise (they must be genuine) generously and immediately. Spread liberally, but remember - only praise if it's genuine.
Provide feedback on time, in person (or as close to it as possible), and most importantly, in a one-on-one with psychological safety.
9) KISS: Keep it simple, stupid.
Lean towards simplicity, design, and empathy. Accept complexity when necessary.
Whether it’s data, ML, healthcare, consulting, people, teams, or any other options, try the simple option first. Accept complexity when necessary.
10) Never underestimate the power of small, focused teams.
Building 0-1 products, agile thinking, and working with incredible men and women in the military all point to a fundamental truth - small, empowered groups with a vision do amazing things.
From the Law of Small Teams to the reality of Conways Law, small teams with autonomy, complementary skills, and a vision can get it done. Fact.
11) Users rent or hire your product.
Understand the bigger picture and don't take them for granted.
12) When you try to be everything to everyone, you accomplish being nothing to anyone.
True for products, companies, philosophies, and people.
Be opinionated. Stand for something. Stand against something else.
13) Problems never end (and that’s okay).
When you solve one problem, congratulations! You’ve graduated to another, likely more difficult, one.
Expect this, relish the challenge, and be excited about a problem - not your solution.
14) Do not be a slave of tools. Tools change, your expertise improves.
I fell for it early. Tableau, that is.
A tool that inspired me; it was intoxicating and introduced me to flow state.
More importantly than the tool, I discovered data analytics. I discovered data modeling. I discovered products. I discovered design.
Tools are hammers. Problems are nails.
Don’t focus on hammers - what matters are the nails.
15) Moats break down. Build bridges, not islands.
Strategy eggheads love to talk about “moats.” Ways to protect and play defensive.
It may work in the short term but rarely in the long term.
Moats protect you, but markets move on, and users look elsewhere if you aren’t careful.
Build bridges - especially in healthcare. We need more of those.
16) Trust, but verify.
Give the benefit of the doubt and lead with positive intent.
But keep a sharp eye out.
17) God first, patients second, team/family/friends/customers third, yourself fourth, company last.
Keep perspective.
18) Be dependable and build relationships. Healthcare and, specifically, data is small, and you will see these people again.
Life is small. Healthcare is really small; healthcare data is really, really small.
Be kind, remember that perspective, and help others out. You never know when you might need them.
19) Think in systems, speak in structures, act in experiments.
Systems thinking is your superpower if you want to build in healthcare or work in data. John Cutler is one of the best at this.
Don’t speak in systems. Speak in stories, anecdotes, summaries, and with purpose. This is what moves people and conveys purpose.
“Strong opinions, loosely held” is a great mantra for operating. You know what you know, but remember - plan to replan.