Business & Finance

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 17 sep 2015

Innovations in certain industries take longer for adoption and proliferation in the consumer market. Consider the case of healthcare industry where innovations take years to diffuse into the market. Sandeep Acharya, Vice-President of strategy and new business at One Medical Group, explains how the healthcare innovation works, provides reasons for longer time the innovation takes to reach healthcare consumer and suggests the role that consumers can play to bring changes in healthcare and accelerate the pace of innovative products and services to reach them. The three main reasons why innovation in healthcare takes longer to reach consumers are - (1) In healthcare, the consumer is not the payer: Most patients don't pay their healthcare bills directly. Large corporations are payers and in order to generate revenue for the innovative service they have to agree to imburse patients for it, and doctors have to recommend it. The process may take years for entrepreneurs to pass through. (2) All healthcare is local: Healthcare decision makers - physicians, hospital systems, insurance companies and regulators - vary from state to state and sometimes even cities. For healthcare innovation to get adopted more broadly, entrepreneurs have to navigate a different set of decision makers for every new market they want to serve - each with its own rules, politics and dynamics. (3) The healthcare industry is used to moving slowly: Healthcare industry has seen too many great ideas stall. Over time, optimists became skeptics, and some even became cynical. When it comes to change, many in the industry have accepted the slow pace as a given. But to bring the necessary change in the pace of healthcare industry, consumers need to be proactive. They should expect more, demand more, provide timely & impartial feedbacks & reviews, do thorough research and be informed about latest health products and services. Read on...

USA TODAY: Why is healthcare innovation taking so long?
Author: Sandeep Acharya

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 17 sep 2015

According to Wikipedia, 'Talent Management refers to the anticipation of required human capital for an organization and the planning to meet those needs. The field increased in popularity after McKinsey's 1997 research by Steven Hankin and the 2001 book "The War for Talent" by Ed Michaels, Helen Handfield-Jones, and Beth Axelrod...Talent management is the science of using strategic human resource planning to improve business value and to make it possible for companies and organizations to reach their goals. Everything done to recruit, retain, develop, reward and make people perform forms a part of talent management as well as strategic workforce planning.' Research from Bersin by Deloitte points out, 'Organizations with strategic talent management programs in place generate more than twice the revenue per employee, have a 40 percent lower employee turnover rate, and have a 38 percent higher level of employee engagement than those without.' Contrary to these findings, many business executives underestimate the value of strategic talent management processes in their organizations. A recent white paper, 'Designing Talent Management to Meet an Organization's Strategic Needs' by Chris Miller (Program Director of Executive Development at Kenan-Flagler Business School of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) suggests the importance of formal talent management processes and identifies the business factors that support the need for creating them. According to him, 'Employers are starting to realize that they should broaden talent management to all organizational levels to develop a deeper talent pool. Deeper talent pools can help widen an organization's leadership ladder and can help channel talent into skill-specific jobs.' He further adds, 'Organizations that have strategic workplace plans are generally more agile in assessing and meeting change than their peers, giving them a competitive advantage.' The paper advises HR and talent management professionals to follow the 4 basic steps to convince senior leaders regarding the value of a formal talent management process - (1) Create a Narrative (2) Create Absolution (3) Identify Current and Future Business Needs (4) Find Champions. Read on...

ATD: 4 Steps to Creating a Formal Talent Management Process
Author: Ryann K. Ellis

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 14 sep 2015

Gaming technologies can transform the architecture practice with their ability to create interactive visual spaces. Architects at Tsoi/Kobus & Associates in Cambridge (USA) are utilizing processing system that powers virtual reality games to put clients inside development projects before they are built. Using a cloud based system, architects can create the building and then ask clients to visualize it through entering it with a pair of virtual reality goggles. Client gets a immersive first-person view, can walk around the building and make suggestions to tweak designs. The process can be used before the contract for the building project is awarded and could eliminate the need for creating life-size physical models. Architect Luis Cetrangolo was responsible for bringing the system to the firm. Read on...

The Boston Globe: Architecture firm turns to virtual reality to show off building designs
Author: Katie Johnston

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 13 sep 2015

Social enterprises seek to develop innovative solutions to the real world problems and engage with local communities. With democratization of technology and availability of funds more entrepreneurs are able to create social enterprises and become part of the development landscape. Along their evolution to sustainability and during the process of scaling up, social enterprises face a range of challenges. Accelerator programs can play an important role in assisting them to overcome obstacles and grow. According to Anya Lim, co-founder and MD of ANTHILL Fabric Gallery, 'More than the financial resources, we need mentorship and guidance. We felt that being in an accelerator program will increase our accountability to implement changes for growth more efficiently and effectively.' Manny Alkuino, CEO and chairman of Sidlakpinoy, also acknowledges the role of accelerator in helping to reach next level in terms of both operations and social impact. Both these organizations are part of Philippine-based Impact Investment Exchange Asia's Impact Accelerator program. Following are the suggestions they share with other social entrepreneurs who are working to scale up their enterprises - (1) Do it at the right time. (2) Have a clear company ethos and a solid team. (3) Know your numbers. Know your market and details of issues you are tackling through proper research. (4) Engage your team and stakeholders in the process. Read on...

Devex Impact: 4 tips for taking your social enterprise to the next level
Author: Liana Barcia

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 11 sep 2015

Human resources are a source of competitive advantage for organizations. They compete with each other to acquire and retain the best talent. Start-ups and small companies find it more challenging and difficult to attract and retain talent as compared to large and established corporations. According to Gallup's '2013 State of the American Workplace Report', 'Employee engagement in the workplace can affect retention and even a company's bottom line. Millennials are the most likely of all the generations to say they will leave their jobs in the next 12 months if the job market improves.' Other highlights of the report are - 'Opportunities to learn and grow' at companies as an important factor for millenials and members of Generation X deciding to stay with a company; 70% of American workers are 'not engaged' or else are 'actively disengaged' at their jobs, costing U.S. companies US$ 450 billion to US$ 550 billion per year; 22% of U.S. employees are engaged and thriving at work. Gregg Pollack, serial entrepreneur and founder of Code School, explains that policy-driven culture of 'self-improvement' and 'betterment' is a competitive advantage and how better employee engagement at workplace can minimize the chances that they will leave. He says, 'People want to be engaged at work, and one way to increase engagement is through policies that help employees nurture personal growth.' Following are some employee engagement concepts that he implements in his company - Giving a day in a month to employees to encourage them to work on something that would make them better at their job. This may include exploring a new technology, learning a new language, reading a book, building a tool that helps business or taking an online course; Paying employees to attend conferences; Paying for learning materials like books, online courses and workshops. Read on...

Entrepreneur: Why a Culture of 'Personal Betterment' Is a Competitive Advantage
Author: Gregg Pollack

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 08 sep 2015

Healthcare industry in US is undergoing transformation driven by multiple factors that include technology, changes in consumer behavior, rising costs, legislation etc. Employees are becoming more independent in making their healthcare decisions that were earlier influenced by their employers. Healthcare providers are now dealing with more proactive consumers. Healthcare marketers need to understand consumer preferences, adapt to the changing needs, create products and services that fulfil needs and satisfy customers and utilize consumer insights to develop effective marketing progams. Brent Walker, Chief Marketing Officer of c2b Solutions, explains the drivers that are leading to shifts in healthcare and how marketers should adapt and succeed in this new healthcare scenario. According to him, in addition to rising costs, the three main reasons that we are evolving towards consumer-driven healthcare are - (1) Demographic and Socio-Economic Realities: More pronounced health issues and chronic conditions of aging Baby Boomers; Lack of health insurance for a sizeable population; Heterogeneous population; Expensive healthcare products and technologies. (2) Legislation: Healthcare system is adapting to Affordable Care Act; Health insurers have to deal with individual consumers; Healthcare providers are investing in infrastructure; Integrated Electronic Health Records and Big Data technologies; Reimbursement based on medical outcomes and patient satisfaction. (3) Technological: Digital media is a catalyst of consumerism; Informed consumers due to internet and mobile apps; Improved transparency; Better ability to assess cost and quality, and research about products and services with more choices; Inclination towards prevention and wellness. He explains three implications that healthcare providers have to plan for - (1) Massive investments are required for technological upgrade and update of systems to facilitate integrated patient record sharing and also reporting care quality. (2) Business models must change. Physicians are leaving smaller firms to join large healthcare systems due to IT investments and scale necessary to control costs and manage risks. (3) New competitors are entering as a result of advancement in technologies and consumer-driven approaches. In this changing healthcare landscape marketers have to continuously evaluate and assess their direction. He suggests four dimensions to do so - (1) Data: Right data to understand and reach the target audience. (2) Systems: Infrastructure to understand consumers, create insights and build valueable customer-firm relationships. (3) People: Have consumer marketers in team with experience in latest web and mobile technologies. Combine industry experience with consumer insights and customer behavior understanding skills. (4) Processes: Newer sales methods. Analytics and measurement of marketing effectiveness. Focus on analyzing consumer acquisition, retention and satisfaction. Read on...

Forbes: The New World Of Healthcare Marketing: A Framework For Adaptation
Authors: John Greenfield, Kimberly A. Whitler

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 08 sep 2015

The relationship between consumers and businesses is continuously evolving. Technology is playing an important role in creating a shift in consumer behavior. Smartphones are providing consumers with connectivity that is driving this change. Ori Karev, US CEO of Gett, explores the reasons that are leading to transormations in consumer dynamics and how they interact and connect with brands. According to him, 'Consumerism has shifted from a world of physical images and personal communication to a world of imagery and perception. Regardless of industry, product or service, vendors that enable instantaneous access and deliver on their digital promise will survive.' Consumers have become more pragmatic. They have access to tools and services to research for best solutions at best prices that are available with just a tap on their phones. Online consumers have become more like business-to-business consumers. But they do have emotional attachment to brands that can provide them with the best experience. The power is shifting towards consumers and businesses are getting more and more consumer dependent. Mr. Karev explains, 'On-demand industry has gone through such a rapid change of behavior within a mere five years. The swift change stems from two factors: the availability of smartphones, and people's desire to maximize the convenience and efficiency of procuring services and products.' He further points out that certain fundamentals of consumer-seller relationship will remain - 'Shoppers want to do business with companies that are fair, so this treaty must hinge on veracity, transparency, credibility, honesty and good will.' Today people place most value on fulfillment and satisfaction. They have concerns regarding how a vendor treats its employees and suppliers and would get influenced by these factors while making purchases. Online research, decision and purchase behaviors have now made consumers a strong part of businesses. Companies that understand and fulfil the consumer expectations - real-time, always-on support; competitive pricing; respect and transparency towards vendors and suppliers; ethical corporate culture - in the current on-demand environment will be the one that survive and succeed. Read on...

ReadWrite: The Changing Face Of Today's Consumer
Author: Ori Karev

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 07 sep 2015

Technology provides automation, efficiency and scalability to businesses, thus improving processes and saving costs. Moreover technology also has a sizeable impact on the human resource aspect of businesses as it takes over certain tasks and works that were earlier performed by humans. Technology's affect is now even felt in knowledge related work. So will the technology replace humans and be the competitive advantage? Prof. Thomas H. Davenport of Babson College and Julia Kirby of HBR argue that although technology has a critical role to play in success of businesses but people will continue to remain as the source of enduring competitive advantage. While citing example of Southwest Airline, they explain, 'Industries like airlines have been obsessed with asset utilization as the key to competitiveness. And making the minute-by-minute decisions required to maximize asset utilization is unquestionably done better by smart machines. But optimizing asset utilization isn't enough to sustain a competitive advantage. Once smart machines are built to solve problems in asset efficiency (or indeed any area of operations) they very rapidly spread and become pervasive across an industry. Therefore, they cease to provide a competitive advantage.' They also cite Geoffrey Colvin's book 'Talent is Overrated' in which he makes a point that talented people always succeed in the context of a system. And star employees often get more credit then they're due. Boris Groysberg's research also points in the same direction that high performance may not be replicated in a different environment. It's often a well-designed system that brings out the best in people and makes them valuable. They mention Geoff Colvin's recent book 'Humans are Underrated', in which he explains that effective organizational system isn't just a mechanistic one of capital investment. It's a human system that relies heavily on unique human capabilities. So collectively, human talent is not overrated; it is extremely valuable. There are unique human capabilities like empathy, storytelling etc, that will keep them employable even if technology is taking over jobs. And even in cases where humans are competing with technology, there will still be certain tasks and decisions that will remain with humans. Prof. Davenport and Ms. Kirby conclude, 'To create an enduring competitive advantage, you will always need people. And you need a system that engages them and allows what is unique and valuable about individual people to be leveraged - not a system that compels people to perform standardized acts in the same way and therefore commoditizes them as undifferentiated human resources.' Read on...

Harvard Business Review: Automation Won't Replace People as Your Competitive Advantage
Authors: Thomas H. Davenport, Julia Kirby

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 06 sep 2015

Collaborative approaches in tackling healthcare can play an important role in reducing costs and also lessen burden on already overstretched healthcare systems. In such a collaborative setting niche and focused nonprofits can share some responsibilities of healthcare providers and lessen their loads. The disruption of healthcare and enactment of Affordable Care Act have forced hospitals and physicians to evolve new ways of imparting efficient healthcare and redirect patient care from the acute care setting to primary care 'medical homes' that focus on prevention and coordinate patient care. The New York State Medicaid reform is a step in this direction and intends to bring nonprofits and government together to address issues that influence healthcare like food, housing, finances etc. Such coordinated preventative measures are expected to reduce emergency visits to hopsitals. Medicaid funding to such programs that have been undertaken by nonprofits would enhance their capabilities and they can more holistically work towards providing solutions to residents to live healthier lives. Moreover similar partnerships will also help in tackling chronic diseases. Shoshanah Brown, executive director of a.i.r. NYC, an organization that helps asthmatic children in poor neighborhoods, says 'Community-based organizations like ours that are close to the ground and are very much in the community can keep patients healthier.' Montefiore Medical Center in collaboration with YMCA conducts a program to prevent pre-diabetic patients from full-blown diabetes with a 16-week class. Patient with mental illnesses or substance abuse issues will also benefit from this reform for collaboration as healthcare providers can work with a housing group so that they have a safe place to live and stay out of hospital. Read on...

Nonprofit Quarterly: Could Collaborations Mean Better and Less Costly Healthcare?
Author: G. Meredith Betz

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 06 sep 2015

'Digital Marketing' utilizes online technologies and provides opportunities to add prospective customers at the top of the sales funnel and nurture them to build a strong customer base for products and services. Advancement in technologies have provided multiple ways and channels through which marketers can connect and engage with the prospects and build strong relationships. One of the most important aspect of digital marketing is the measurability of the campaign through analytics. The availability of metrics provides marketers with clear understanding of the audience, their interaction with the brands and success of the marketing campaign. According to Jamie Turner, founder of 60 Second Marketer and co-author of 'Go Mobile', the 7 essential channels of digital marketing are - (1) Responsive Websites (2) Search Engine Marketing (SEM) that includes Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Paid Search (3) Online Display Advertising (4) Video (5) Social Media (6) Mobile Marketing may include Mobile Website, Mobile Search, Mobile Display Ads, In-app Display Advertising (7) Email Marketing. The action steps required to leverage digital marketing include - Taking the initiative and start using digital marketing; Implement gradually with complete understanding and continuously analyze campaign progress; Use analytics to measure and track campaign results, make adjustments and optimize the process for better ROI. Read on...

Business 2 Community: Digital Marketing - The 7 Essential Channels
Author: Jamie Turner

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