That's Unusual

Almost two decades ago, Michael O’Neil lay on a hospital bed awaiting chemotherapy having just recently been informed he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. He had more questions than he had answers, and had no where to turn at the bedside to get informed and be engaged. That was the genesis for his rapidly growing and global company called Get Well Network – designed to educate, inform, and engage the patient throughout the course of their medical management. At a time when Google was just an infant, Facebook had not been conceived, and smart phones were just a futuristic vision…Michael charted into unknown territory and not only beat the odds in defeating his cancer, but also grew Get Well Network into a behemoth of company busting through walls as a pioneer in the patient engagement space. On this episode, Michael shares it all…from how his experience of being diagnosed with cancer prompted the idea for Get Well Network, to the hurdles he had to overcome along the way, to where he believes the market has evolved over the past 20 years. All this and more on today’s episode. Now, That’s Unusual. About Michael O’Neil The healthcare tech industry chose Michael O’Neil in 1999 when he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He was 28-years-old, completing his graduate work at Georgetown when he received the diagnosis, and the experience of having the tumor removed and enduring four cycles of chemotherapy led him to envision a more connected environment where a patient was empowered with access to information at the point of care. O’Neil founded GetWellNetwork in 2000 with the intention of partnering with hospitals to improve outcomes through patient engagement. The leading provider of interactive patient care solutions, the GetWellNetwork patient engagement platform is exclusively endorsed by the American Hospital Association and the DAISY Foundation for Nursing. The company works with 500 hospitals and 300 clinics to incorporate its Interactive Patient Care model across the continuum of care. Last year alone, four million patients were admitted to a GetWell bed and a million and a half patients came through a GetWell clinic. GetWellNetwork has been named to the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 and Inc. 5000 lists as one of America’s fastest growing private companies. In addition, O’Neil was named EY Entrepreneur of the Year for 2016 in the health category for the Mid-Atlantic region. He is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization as well as Mindshare, a group of high-tech CEOs who seek to foster entrepreneurship in Washington DC. Key Interview Takeaways GetWellNetwork is focused on helping people live their best lives by taking an active role in their health journey. The team works with providers to create a patient-centered care experience that drives improved healthcare outcomes. O’Neil has observed two major changes for the better in the healthcare space over the last decade: 1) The convergence of healthcare information technology and consumer technology to reframe how care is delivered, and 2) A shift in the regulatory environment to a value-based care model that emphasizes patient engagement. The success of GetWellNetwork can be attributed to the fact that it got into the guts of healthcare delivery. Being imbedded in hospitals (a ‘captive environment’ where patients are most engaged) has afforded the company the credibility to now serve patients outside the clinical setting where they are tracking their own care. GetWellNetwork employs clinical statisticians to measure outcomes around readmission rates, fall rates, medication adherence, hospital admissions and satisfaction scores. This data analysis demonstrates value and provides accountability. Patient engagement is a team sport with the patient serving as quarterback. For that reason, GetWellNetwork applies an inside-out model, developing digital pathways that are prescribed by the care team. Healthcare must employ a hybrid of digital and human engagement....

Everyone can agree that our current healthcare model is broken. But the question is, can we fix it from the inside? or do we need to start from scratch? My next guest, Dr. Rushika Fernandopulle believes in order to best address the looming crisis, we need to reimagine health care from the ground up, and build new primary care models from scratch. He is the founder of Iora Health, a next generation primary care practice designed to restore the humanity in healthcare. In recent weeks, we have seen similar primary care models like Qliance and Turntable Health fold under unsustainable business models. By what makes Iora Health different and successful to date? On this episode, Dr. Fernandopulle will share his secret sauce to success, what he believes is broken in primary care, what the future holds for quality medical care, and the inspirational backstory that led him to start Iora Health.  All this and more on today’s episode. Now, That’s Unusual. About Dr. Rushika Fernandopulle Dr. Rushika Fernandopulle is a practicing physician and co-founder and CEO of Iora Health, a healthcare services firm based in Cambridge MA whose mission is to build a radically new model of primary care to improve quality and service and reduce overall expenditures. In 2012 he was named an Ashoka Global Fellow, and is also a member of the Albert Schweitzer and Salzburg Global Fellowships. He was the first Executive Director of the Harvard Interfaculty Program for Health Systems Improvement, and Managing Director of the Clinical Initiatives Center at the Advisory Board Company. He is co-author or editor of several publications including Health Care Policy, a textbook for physicians and medical students, and Uninsured in America: Life and Death in the Land of Opportunity. He serves on the staff at the Massachusetts General Hospital, on the faculty of Harvard Medical School, and on the boards of Families USA and the Schwartz Center for Compassionate Care. He earned his A.B., M.D., and M.P.P. (Masters in Public Policy) from Harvard University, and completed his clinical training at the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts General Hospital. Key Interview Takeaways Although innovations in technology continue to evolve the healthcare space, the way we deliver care has remained stagnant. Healthcare is a series of fragmented transactions, and outcomes are not the focus. Dr. Fernandopulle’s motivation to tackle this issue came from a colleague’s plea, “Every day, I lose a little piece of my soul.” Most enter the medical profession with the intention of helping people, but the system gets in the way. “Half-ass, incremental change doesn’t work.” Dr. Fernandopulle had the simple insight that starting over was the only approach, and Iora seeks to rebuild healthcare from the ground up, starting with primary care. Dr. Fernandopulle set out to replicate the Southwest Airlines paradigm: Show up in the market, break the rules, and compel others to change in order to keep up. His mission is to transform healthcare by building a different model and demonstrating this new approach for others to follow. Iora operates on the idea that the doctor’s job is to radically empower her patients, giving them the tools to improve and maintain health in a system that keeps learning and adapts quickly. The most difficult part of developing the Iora model was designing the payment system. Dr. Fernandopulle rejects the fee-for-service model, and he sought payers (employers, union trusts, etc.) who were willing to pay for the relationship rather than individual transactions. The Iora system has been cost-effective in terms of patient/team experience, clinical outcomes, cost of care, and economic sustainability. Iora practices have 96-98% retention rates, and they have experienced 40-50% drops in hospitalizations. Behavior change is a slow process. The Iora model invests more money in patients early on, but typically sees big savings in healthcare costs by year three.

Did you know that only 4% of venture capital funding goes to women entrepreneurs? Did you also know that in 2016, there were over 11.3 million women-owned businesses in the U.S. that employed nearly 9 million people and generated over $1.6 trillion in revenues? So why the disconnect? But more importantly, what would you do if faced with experiencing this social injustice? In steps Vicki Saunders. With her globally recognized company called SheEO, serial entrepreneur Vicki Saunders is on a mission to disrupt and reimagine the venture funding model for women-led companies around the world using a philosophy she calls radical generosity. How does it work? Up to 1,000 women in each region contribute $1,000 which creates a one million dollar fund. The money is then loaned out to up to 10 women-led ventures at 0% interest, paid back over 5 years and reinvested perpetually. Vicki’s big-picture calculation: a billion dollars going to 10,000 female entrepreneurs every year, in perpetuity. Take that Sand Hill Road. On this episode, Vicki shares her purpose filled journey leading up to this point, why venture capital and traditional funding models have mostly failed women, an inside look at the sheEO strategy, several success stories from her portfolio, and even key principles from her popular book, Think Like a SheEO. All this and more on today’s episode. Now, That’s Unusual. About Vicki Saunders Vicki Saunders is the founder of SheEO, Inc., a global initiative designed to radically transform how we support, finance and celebrate female entrepreneurs who are creating a better world. SheEO provides a platform in which generous women Activators act as advisors, early customers, suppliers, connectors and follow-on investors to set up emerging female entrepreneurs for immediate and accelerated growth. Saunders is a serial entrepreneur, award-winning mentor, and leading advocate for entrepreneurship as a way to create positive transformation in the world. She has co-founded and run four ventures in Europe, Toronto and Silicon Valley, including Zazengo, The NRG Group, and Impactanation. Saunders was selected as a Global Leader for Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum, and she speaks regularly at events such as the Women of Influence Series in Canada, the Tallberg Forum, and the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs. Saunders is passionate about designing new forms of financing to support businesses building a better world, and she has been a committed mentor to over 1000 businesses over of the course of her career. Key Interview Takeaways What will you do now that you are free? Saunders was in Europe when the Berlin Wall fell, and being surrounded by dreamers asking that question inspired her to become an entrepreneur – and support others in starting businesses of their own. Small actions – aggregated together – make a big impact. Saunders’ software as a service company, Zazengo, tracked sustainability actions and sought to change individual behavior by demonstrating collective impact. Diversity of interest heightens creativity. Saunders is deeply curious about many different things, and her ability to synthesize what she learns from different areas allows her to cultivate a unique world view. Timing is everything. Women were not at the table to design the current models, so now that ‘everything is broken,’ it is the perfect opportunity for female innovators to step forward. Adopt radical generosity. Saunders’ SheEO model asks 1,000 women to contribute $1,100. The million dollar fund is then loaned out to up to ten women-led ventures (at 0% interest), paid back over five years – and reinvested perpetually. Radical generosity goes against the current ‘winner takes all’ mindset which has led to 8 people having the same wealth as 3.5 billion people. Talk about capital inefficient! Validation engenders confidence. The women selected to be a part of the SheEO initiative benefit from the support,

While we are all too familiar with YouTube sensations like Gangnam Style, Justin Bieber, and laughing babies that have spawned viral phenomenons, only one Youtube sensation can claim to have forever changed the landscape of digital health. On this episode, Inventor extraordinaire, Dr. David Albert shares the founding story of AliveCor – the first FDA approved portable EKG device that is operated through your smartphone. Since its approval, the device has been attributed to saving countless lives. Dr. Albert reveals the how a home produced YouTube video changed the course of his career, what inspired him to invent AliveCor, what it’s like to disrupt a largely incumbent and resistant industry, how his device was used to save a life while 35,000 feet in the air, and he even shares the story behind his signature clothing attire. All this and more on today’s episode. Now, That’s Unusual. About Dr. Dave Albert Dr. Dave Albert is the founder, CEO and CMO of AliveCor, a company that leverages machine learning techniques to enable proactive heart care. Their signature product, the FDA-cleared Kardia Mobile, is the most clinically validated mobile ECG solution on the market. AliveCor was recognized by Fast Company as one of 2017’s most innovative companies in health. Dr. Albert began his career as a ‘mad scientist’ and inventor as a student at Duke Medical School. After his father suffered a heart attack, Albert commissioned an engineering graduate student to build a portable heartrate monitor for his dad. When that grad student failed to deliver, he made the decision to take a leave of absence from medical school to pursue engineering and build a device himself. Albert left academic cardiology in 1984 to start his first company, Corazonix, followed by Data Critical Corp in 1991. He spent four years as GE’s Chief Scientist before founding Lifetone Technology, a startup that developed home safety and health monitoring technologies. In 2011, he became a YouTube sensation via a video demonstrating his landmark invention, the AliveCor Smartphone ECG. He has 55 issued US patents, and he has authored 70-plus scientific abstracts in the cardiology space. As a physician, maker, and serial entrepreneur, Dr. Albert is on a mission to save lives, one invention at a time.  Key Interview Takeaways Dr. Albert’s success stems from the fact that he identifies a need and creates a tool to meet that need. He is a pioneer in the digital health space, leveraging available technology to build tools like the iPhone ECG system. Dr. Albert’s viral YouTube demo of the smartphone ECG was happenstance. When he uploaded the video, Albert clicked ‘share with LinkedIn connections’ and within a few days the video had 150,000 views – which resulted in calls from several media outlets, venture capitalists, the FDA and Apple. The key to Dr. Albert’s success with the mobile ECG was validation. It took money and time to get people to publish studies, to prove that the tool worked, and to gain acceptance and adoption from doctors ‘in the trenches.’ It is possible to get people to buy medical devices and use them on their own. Alivecor’s Kardia Mobile ECG had 45,000 unique users in March, and that number has grown every month for five years. Digital health has the potential to fill in the gaps in continuity of care. Tools like Kardia Mobile ECG track patients and tell the story of what is happening when the patient is outside the clinical setting. Digital health has been held back by the fact that its implementation requires proof – which takes time. Investors must be willing to stick with it through the process of clinical adoption. As AI becomes a powerful force, technology will help us make better decisions and personalize health, yet doctors will never be obsolete due to the ‘wet’ nature of biology and the emotional quotient required. Dr. Albert’s Entrepreneur’s Prayer: ‘God grant me the wisdom to only make new mistakes.’ Resources The Atlantic Article – Dr.

We’ve all heard of the infamous Tupper Ware parties. But have you heard of the CPR Party? My next guest is Laura Metro who was inspired to create the popular CPR Party originating from a near-death drowning incident of her son. Turning adversity into opportunity, she imagines a world where every neighbor is empowered to become a citizen paramedic. One house at a time, she is democratizing access to affordable CPR training with the hope that no one ever has to suffer the hard-ship she endured with her son. On this episode, Laura shares with us the horrifying moment of almost losing her son to a preventable drowning incident, what sparked her to create CPR Party, and why she believes CPR training is a global imperative. All this and more on today’s episode. Now, That’s Unusual. About Laura Metro On June 18, 2011, Laura Metro’s life was rocked. She and her husband went on a run with the family dog on the Delaware shore, while friends watched her two small children at the neighborhood pool. Her three-year-old son, Clay, fell in the deep end and silently sank. He was unconscious in a matter of moments. A bystander performed CPR until paramedics arrived, and Metro and her son were rushed to Wilmington via Medevac. After two days in a coma, Clay awoke to make a miraculous recovery, much of which was attributed to the efforts of the ‘citizen paramedic’ who performed compressions until first responders reached the scene. Devastated by the incident and driven to make sure no other parent would ever have to experience that kind of grief, Metro leveraged her background in PR and marketing to develop CPR Party, a model that mirrors the in-home shopping party concept. The program provides a CPR instructor to conduct an informal course, and every individual has the opportunity to do compressions on a mannequin and experience an AED demo during the one-hour session. CPR Party is program of Metro’s CLAY Foundation, which seeks to teach CPR, promote water safety and drowning awareness as well as advocate for FloatFirst swim curriculums. The overarching goal of the foundation is to empower people to save lives through prevention and emergency first response. Key Interview Takeaways Drowning is one of the fastest ways to die, and it happens to the children of responsible parents. We go through life in a comfortable state of denial that the worst will not happen to us. When it does, you become raw and aware – and the only way to function is to live with no regrets, to make sure your children know you love them. Drowning is entirely preventable, and no parent should have to experience the death or near death of their child because of it. CPR Party seeks to increase awareness and galvanize the ‘citizen paramedic.’ Money and time are the two reasons why people don’t have CPR training. After her son’s accident, Metro became obsessed with the question, ‘Why don’t I know CPR?’ and she discovered that while we talk about the importance of CPR training, it just isn’t that easy to obtain. People don’t drown because they can’t swim; they drown because they can’t breathe. Thus, it is extremely important to teach children to float on their backs. Metro’s son sank despite two years of swim lessons. Drowning is the number one killer of children one- to four-years-old, and the number two killer of kids ages two to fourteen. For every child that dies by drowning, there are eight non-fatal accidents. In Texas alone, 107 children drowned in 2016. We live in a reactive – and judgmental – society. It doesn’t occur to us to learn CPR until after something terrible has happened, and we blame the ‘bad parents’ who let their child drown. ‘When a child drowns, a family drowns.’ Beyond medical costs, the ripple effects extend to therapy expenses, family and siblings who suffer from PTSD, and neurological issues. The prevention of drownings would be a massive cost-saver for our country. The average two-day hospital stay for cardiac arrest costs $75,000,

My next guest is an old college friend of mine who has pursued her childhood dreams of becoming an actor. Nina Mehta is an actor, writer, and creative dreamer who turned her passion into her profession. As an ensemble member of the renowned theater and film production company, The Collective, she has appeared in numerous media productions, including being a regular cast member of The Amy Schumer Show. On this episode, we discuss her unlikely journey from being an environmental studies major to hustling her way into theater by following her dreams.  We also discuss the challenges of being an actor as a minority, why artistry has always been in her family blood, and what it takes to break into a highly competitive industry. All this and more on today’s episode. Now, That’s Unusual. About Nina Mehta Growing up in northern New Jersey, Nina Mehta loved the creative arts. She was actively involved in theatre in high school, but stepped away from acting in college to pursue Environmental Studies at The George Washington University in Washington, DC. Mehta returned to New York after graduation and worked a ‘regular job,’ but the voice in her head kept calling her back to the performing arts. Mehta studied acting professionally under Terry Knickerbocker at the William Esper Studio from 2003-2005. She completed the two-year program in the evenings while working for Time Inc. With the economic downturn in 2008, she was laid off from her marketing job at Time – and serendipitously connected with The Collective NY, a newly formed performance ensemble comprised of other Esper Studio graduates. She began attending the group’s Collective Monday workshops, and became an official member of the troupe in March of 2009. Mehta’s first film, Finding Priya a Prom Date, won several short film awards on the 2008-2009 festival circuit, and she also appeared in The Call Center, an official pick at the 2009 New York Television Festival. She has played several roles on the sketch comedy show Inside Amy Schumer, and most recently appeared on Girls. Mehta continues to work with The Collective NY, serving as a writer, director, producer, and member of the permanent ensemble. Key Interview Takeaways The beauty of acting is in the storytelling. Mehta fell in love with drama watching television as a child because it opened up her imagination, and she found it creatively stimulating in that it could both act as a mirror of her own experience and introduce her to new people and experiences. Listen to that nagging little voice in your head. Mehta got away from theatre to pursue Environmental Studies in college, but once she had gotten comfortable in the working world, the nagging little voice in her head started calling her back – and she is grateful to have been relaxed enough to hear it! The more ‘of color’ you are, the tougher you have it in the world of theatre, film and television. Mehta recognizes that she has been lucky to have been cast in a number diverse roles. Acting requires a thick skin. You will hear ‘no’ more than ‘yes,’ so it is necessary to simply do your job well in the audition – and then let it go once you leave the room. 98% of casting involves elements that are out of your control. To prepare for an audition, read the script – a lot – with someone you trust and get feedback regarding how you come across. Mehta is trained in the Meisner technique, which suggests that how you say the lines on the page may change based on what your scene partner gives you in the moment. ‘Having the other person break up with you sometimes is helpful.’ Mehta had continued to work her day job while she studied acting, but being laid off in 2008 gave her the chance to pursue theatre full-time. This led to her involvement with The Collective and her friendship with a number of talented people, including Amy Schumer. Graduates of the William Esper Studio receive the parting advice to ‘create your own work’ as a way of taking control over one’s career,

We are all patients, but only one has come to be recognized as the face and voice for a growing community of activists encouraging the rise of participatory medicine. My guest today is a cancer survivor and patient advocate, Dave deBronkart, better known as e-Patient Dave. The evolving field of health & medicine has many challenges, but having patients pro-actively participate in their medical decision-making shouldn’t be one of them. As an industry that has historically relied on the one-sided expertise of physicians, technology and the internet have fundamentally changed the game. Patients have much greater access to information than ever before. So why then is it still so difficult to get patients to take charge of their health?  As it turns out, e-Patient Dave believes there is a science to patient engagement and behavior change that is not too different from how we describe the mechanism of action of a drug. On this episode, Dave shares what this means, what he has learned in his own personal journey on battling the ugly “C” word, what he believes is the fundamental difference between a patient and consumer, and what we need to do going forward so that patients play a more central and active role in their care. I found this conversation to be both inspirational and informative as I hope you will too. e-Patient Dave is an inspiring human being who believes the voice of the patient needs to be heard around the world. All this and more on today’s episode. Now, That’s Unusual. About “e-Patient” Dave deBronkart Dave deBronkart, better known as e-Patient Dave, was diagnosed with Stage IV kidney cancer in January of 2007. The best information gave him just 24 weeks to live, and with tumors in both lungs, several bones and muscle tissue, the prognosis was grim. Lucky enough to be connected with an academic medical center, Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess, he received superior care that leveraged the best available research. Once it was clear that he had beaten the disease, deBronkart became an activist, seeking to open the healthcare information system directly to patients on an unprecedented level, thus creating a new dynamic in how information is delivered, accessed and used by the patient. Dave is the author of the highly rated Let Patients Help: A Patient Engagement Handbook and one of the world’s leading advocates for patient engagement. After beating stage IV kidney cancer in 2007 he became a blogger, health policy advisor and international keynote speaker. He is today the best-known spokesman for the patient engagement movement, attending over 500 conferences and policy meetings in fifteen countries, including testifying in Washington for patient access to the medical record under Meaningful Use. A co-founder and chair emeritus of the Society for Participatory Medicine, e-Patient Dave has appeared in Time, U.S. News, USA Today, Wired, MIT Technology Review, and the HealthLeaders cover story “Patient of the Future.” His writings have been published in the British Medical Journal, the Society for General Internal Medicine Forum, iHealthBeat, and the conference journal of the American Society for Clinical Oncology. In 2009 HealthLeaders named him and his doctor to their annual list of “20 People Who Make Healthcare Better,” and he’s appeared on the cover of Healthcare IT News and the Australian GP magazine Good Practice. Key Interview Takeaways The ‘e’ in e-patient stands for more than just ‘electronic.’ An e-patient is equipped, engaged, empowered and enabled to ask, “How can I help?” When considering scientific literature, ask yourself, “Was this study done well?” e-Patient Dave has a great respect for the literature, but he understands that it can be unreliable. Doctors are not trained how to examine and validate clinical studies, thus patients aren’t always receiving care based on the latest information. Though we crave certainty, we live in uncertainty. Our body has just twelve ways to express a problem,

What is life? Even though we don’t quite answer that question, I feel like my next guest, Joshua Cogan, and I cover off on just about every other philosophical question there is. If you don’t know Josh, you should. He is quite possibly one of the greatest photojournalists of our time who has won more awards than one can count. As a true citizen of the world, Joshua’s thirst for curiosity, wonder and exploration have taken him to the hidden corners of the earth to capture the stories of indigenous cultures through photography. On this episode, Josh and I talk about his unusual journey as a self-taught photographer, how he hustled his way at National Geographic to fame and recognition, the mental process he takes to capture rare emotions through his photos, what he has learned over the years in his photojournalistic career, the future of photographic storytelling and even his most vulnerable life moments. Throughout our conversation, Josh and I go off on various philosophical tangents that I am sure you will enjoy.  This was hands down one of my favorite conversations to date. So join me today while Josh and I go deep into the meanings of culture, life, passion, resilience, work, happiness, and much more. All this and more on today’s episode. Now, That’s Unusual.  About Joshua Cogan Joshua Cogan is an Emmy Award-winning photographer and anthropologist whose work has taken him to 40 countries and 5 continents to produce his unique brand of ethnographic storytelling. Using his passion for culture, ecology and imagery, Cogan has consistently produced work across print, motion and web platforms. Recognition for those projects has come from standard bearers of journalism such as The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences as well as SXSW and the Webby Awards for his partnerships creating new approaches to storytelling and cultural exchange. Growing up in the suburbs of Atlanta, Cogan craved adventure. This idea of seeking ‘something more’ grew into an interest in archeology and anthropology, as he was drawn to understand different notions of community. After graduating from the University of Maryland, College Park, with a BA in Anthropology and Art History, Cogan did some traveling before moving to DC with the intent of pursuing work at National Geographic, perhaps as a researcher or writer. Unfortunately, the magazine industry was experiencing massive transition and there were few jobs to be had. At the suggestion of his grandmother, he visited the volunteer office at Nat Geo, and convinced them to allow him to help in the photo lab. A self-taught photographer, Cogan pursued his first story alone, covering a Jewish community in southern India. He has grown into one of the most sought-after journalists of our time, capturing the stories of indigenous cultures through photographs as well as film. His most recent production is a feature length documentary of New Delhi’s last magicians’ ghetto, Tomorrow We Disappear. Widely published and exhibited, he has done work for the United Nations, the World Health Organization, the Smithsonian Institution, The New Yorker, and many others. He is committed to capturing the way cultures operate and evolve via visual media. Key Interview Takeaways We all want to share our stories – to be heard and to be seen. Cogan finds that his camera illustrates his interest and gives him an excuse to spend time with people, thus allowing him to document their experience. To capture emotion in a photograph, one cannot treat the subjects as objects. Cogan employs an immersive process, letting go of his own cultural framework and submitting to the rules he is operating under, in order to be as clear a vessel as possible. ‘Nobody can turn down free work.’ When Cogan was struggling to find a job after college, his grandmother suggested that he volunteer at National Geographic, where he gained invaluable experience in the photo lab. Everything is an opportunity you can’t really see coming.

Lets face it. When it comes to addressing education, the medical profession is a bit behind the ball.  While the field of medicine is innovating at exponential rates, the way we train doctors is still moving at a snails pace. My esteemed guest today, Dr. Margaret “Maggi” Cary, is a world renowned leadership coach who knows a thing or two when it comes to the required attributes to become a successful (and happy) physician in a rapidly evolving industry. On todays show, Maggi and I attempt to define the role of the future physician, what attributes are necessary for success, and why leadership is a critical skill that has historically not been taught to medical professionals. Maggi also explains why coaching is in high demand within the health profession, and even shares a few of her own professional techniques on how to lead. Join me today while Maggi and I go deep into exploring how we can create leaders out of doctors to meet the future demands of an ever-changing profession.  All this and more on today’s episode. Now, That’s Unusual. About Dr. Margaret Cary Dr. Margaret Cary is a passionate educator with a physician’s mind and a friend’s heart. As a leadership coach, she blends a scientist’s thinking with a caregiver’s empathy. She is a ferocious learner and serial focuser with a lifelong passion for sharing what she’s learned. She is an inspirational motivator, occasional humorist, and excellent listener and storyteller. She is internationally known as an engaging speaker who translates the latest research in leadership development and adult learning into entertaining and highly interactive presentations. She is a graduate of Georgetown University’s Leadership Coaching Certificate program, an author, trainer, facilitator and professor (Georgetown University School of Medicine). Her clients include physician leaders at MedStar, Mayo Clinic, University of Massachusetts Medical School, American Medical Informatics Association, Samueli Institute, Association of American Medical Colleges, Harvard Medical School, Dubai Medical College, Bon Secours and others. She is passionate about her work with medical students and, with Jack Penner, the medical student she is coaching, has created a program for A Whole New Doctor. Learn about Jack and Maggi’s work with Millennial medical students. Key Interview Takeaways The coach’s job involves holding up a mirror and asking questions. In medical school, students are taught to be the boss, but management roles require collaboration. As a leadership coach, Cary pivots among the roles of facilitator, mediator and consultant with the goal of helping organizations become more effective. Perception is reality. What we see in ourselves may not align with what others see, but at the end of the day it’s what others see that matters – even if they’ve climbed the ‘ladder of inference’ to form an inaccurate opinion. The skill set necessary to be a good doctor is different from that of a good manager. Good doctors have a certain amount of knowledge, an ability to see patterns and possibilities, and they are curious, lifelong learners. To be a good manager, one has to be comfortable with chaos and risk, making decisions with incomplete information. While the field of medicine is innovating at an exponential rate, the way doctors are trained has remained fairly stagnant. Cary’s Whole New Doctor initiative supports medical students with leadership coaching, instruction in polarity thinking, and meditation training. The program is student-run, and all of the participants and instructors are volunteers. ‘Just shut up and listen.’ Doctors are trained to fix things, to employ differential diagnosis and eliminate possibilities one by one. But leaders need to stop and observe, to pay attention to body language as well as words, and simply pay attention. Resources The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever by Michael Bungay Stanier Fast Company Article Dell Medical School at UT—Au...

Do we have healthcare backwards? Many seem to think so, including my next guest, Whitney Bowman-Zatzkin who is the Director of a new movement and initiative called “Flip the Clinic”. Founded by Thomas Goetz and inspired by Sal Khan’s ‘flip the classroom’ initiative, it can be argued that – similar to education – we too need to reverse engineer our health delivery models. After all, clinic visits today often function as mere qualitative and quantitative data collection visits leaving only seven minutes of precious patient-physician interaction time. With advances in technology, we can flip this experience and optimize the time allowed for discussions around detailed treatment plans. Wouldn’t that ultimately create better outcomes on all triple aim measures?  To date, the data certainly seems to support a flipped model. Join me today while Whitney and I go deep into exploring the ramifications, inspirations, and implications of flipping the clinic.  All this and more on today’s episode. Now, That’s Unusual. About Whitney Bowman-Zatzkin Whitney Bowman-Zatzkin, MPA, MSR is the director of Flip the Clinic, an initiative to reinvent the healthcare experience funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The project originated when Thomas Goetz, the first entrepreneur-in-residence at RWJF, learned about the ‘flipped classroom’ model of education. Much the way a flipped classroom seeks to make the best use of class time with a simple shift in practice, Flip the Clinic encourages the implementation of simple ‘flips’ – bold new ways of approaching the healthcare encounter – that optimize time and improve the process. Bowman-Zatzkin got her unofficial start in healthcare as a small child, going on rounds with her physician father. Fifteen years ago, she began managing her father’s OBGYN practice, and during her tenure there, she launched the clinic’s electronic health record and got involved in state-level advocacy efforts. After graduating from the University of Connecticut with a master’s in both survey research and public administration, Bowman-Zatzkin moved to DC and entered the policy world, where she spent five years working with the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. She went on to manage the TEDMED Great Challenges Program, an initiative to encourage conversations among members of an online community about the most challenging health issues through Google+ hangouts. In her role with TEDMED, Bowman-Zatzkin learned about Goetz’s work with Flip the Clinic and secured an interview. When Goetz contacted her several months later with the offer to work directly with Flip the Clinic, she seized the opportunity. She has served as director since July of 2014. Bowman-Zatzkin is passionate about connecting the dots within the healthcare system to provoke positive change for the greater good. Key Interview Takeaways Flip the Clinic is an open experiment to transform the healthcare experience via flips, actionable ideas that solve specific problems. For example, Flip 55 seeks to increase patient awareness of electronic health record access, repairing the disconnect between the availability of digital records and patient acquisition. A truly flipped clinic has five components: It is transparent, joyful, nourishing, expansive, and people-centered. The program teaches a path to progress, facilitating permanent, evolving and lasting change in those areas. Flip the Clinic is not dependent upon technology, though you do need basic internet access to download the available resources. The program seeks to provide pragmatic interventions that cost a maximum of $25 to implement. The problems of healthcare will not be solved by a single system. Flip the Clinic brings together a community which recognizes the flaws and works to implement the simple, easily translatable concepts of the program. Flip the Clinic works with a variety of stakeholders, including clinicians, patients, government officials, and university faculty.

My guest today is Dr. Milena Adamian – a Cardiologist turned venture investor who hustled her way to the top. As the founding member of Azimuth Ventures and Life Sciences Angel Network, Milena knows a thing or two about what it takes to succeed as both a health investor and entrepreneur. On this episode, Milena shares what it was like to make the transition from practicing physician to investor. We also we explore the key qualities of what it takes to succeed as an entrepreneur, discuss the evolving landscape of healthcare investing, and delve into what it’s like being both a female and immigrant in a predominantly white, male driven industry. All this and more on today’s episode. Now, That’s Unusual. About Dr. Milena Adamian Milena Adamian, MD is Managing Partner at Azimuth Ventures as well as the Life Sciences Angel Network (LSAN). Both of these early stage funds focus on investments in technology-enabled health care solutions, medical devices and bioinformatics. Dr. Adamian began her career as a cardiologist in Moscow. Her father’s heart attack led her to seek out the best team to perform his angioplasty, and she found those surgeons in Milan. Impressed by the advanced science and high level of care her father received, she offered to volunteer there for a period of three months – and stayed for three years! An opportunity to further her education at Columbia University next brought her to the United States where she earned her master’s in clinical research and biostatistics and continued to practice medicine until 2003. She then transitioned to the corporate world, taking a position at Boston Scientific where she was part of a program to bring drug-eluting stents to patients on a large scale. It was there that she discovered a desire to facilitate startups as they turn an idea into an operating business. This interest took her to Lehman Brothers where Adamian served as a Medical Technologies Analyst and then Easton Capital Investment Group where she was Managing Director. In 2010, she established LSAN and then Azimuth to provide quality opportunities for startups in the health care space. Described by a friend as a “badass with a heart,” Adamian seeks to bring revolutionary medical treatments to the world. Key Interview Takeaways If you see an opportunity worth pursuing, make it happen. Dr. Adamian lists rule-breaking among her favorite things to do, and her natural curiosity and hustle led her to Milan and then New York as she chased opportunities in the medical field, the corporate world and finally venture investment. “The moment I get a little more comfortable … I have to make myself uncomfortable again.” Dr. Adamian’s journey is so varied because she pushes herself to keep learning and accepting the next challenge. Women in every industry need to wow their colleagues to gain equal footing. As a woman in male-dominated industries, Dr. Adamian concedes that women are evaluated differently and must outperform their counterparts to gain recognition. Technology-enabled health care solutions work best when tech entrepreneurs and paired with respected health care counterparts. Dr. Adamian strives to marry the enthusiasm and energy of the tech entrepreneur with the “scars and grey hair” of the health care professional to create solutions that are both innovative and practical. Know your customer and learn to speak their language. Dr. Adamian advises tech entrepreneurs to learn as much as they can about the industry they are infiltrating and to listen to experts in the field. In her experience, entrepreneurs coming from the consumer-oriented world of technology can be naïve to the intricacies of the health care system. “Be resilient, get advice from the people you look up to, and never settle.” Connect with Dr. Milena Adamian Connect on LinkedIn Azimuth Ventures To subscribe to the podcast, please use the links below Click Here to Subscribe via iTunes Click here to Subscribe via Stitcher (Android users) If you like the show...

My guest today is Dr. Roni Zeiger – a physician turned entrepreneur who was the former Chief Health Strategist at Google.  Currently, he is the co-founder and CEO of Smart Patients – an online community where patients and their families learn from each other. Roni has been a leading voice for patients having shared his views across prominent stages like TEDMED. On today’s episode, we get up close and personal where Roni shares his journey from a practicing doctor to leading the charge in health at Google. We discuss the importance of rapid experimentation and willingness to fail along the way.  Roni also shares key intrapreneurial lessons learned from his tenure with Google, including those associated with Google Flu Trends and Personal Health Record; and how that ultimately helped shape his networked community model for his current venture, Smart Patients. All this and more on today’s episode. Now, That’s Unusual. About Dr. Roni Zeiger Roni Zeiger, MD, MS, is the former Chief Health Strategist at Google. He is also the co-founder and CEO of Smart Patients, an online community platform where patients and families affected by a variety of illnesses can learn from each other’s knowledge and experiences. Roni earned his M.D. at Stanford University and completed his internal medicine residency at the University of California, San Francisco. He has served as a clinical instructor of medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine and received a master’s degree in biomedical informatics from Stanford. Roni is also a Community Staff Physician for urgent care patients at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. Key Interview Takeaways Find the intersection of what you do best and what you care most about, and do that. There are no rules when it comes to careers; if you are creative and lucky enough, you can figure out how to do what you love for a living. Innovations happen at the intersections of industries. Zeiger’s specialty came from thinking about how consumer technology could be applied to medicine. Get comfortable operating in the face of uncertainty. Zeiger’s experience at Google coupled with his background in medicine have taught him that we are always learning and may never get the answer to a difficult problem exactly right. If you want to be a successful entrepreneur, the best way to start is through intrapreneurship. The culture at Google encouraged every employee to innovate and start new business entities, and Zeiger credits this practice with giving him the courage to develop Smart Patients. Disruption and transformation will come from both existing players within the health care industry (i.e.: Pfizer) and future competition from outsiders (i.e.: Google). The players have different core competencies, different risk tolerances, and different degrees of willingness to experiment. Peer-to-peer support is an underutilized resource in health care. Smart Patients seeks to connect patients and families who are going through similar things as they build an online community and support system. Offering peer support empowers patients. Asking patients what they know results in the “best ever patient advisory board,” and doctors have begun to prescribe peer support as part of a treatment plan. Because humanity is a “connected mess,” our most important attributes need to be defined by others. What each of us is individually doesn’t matter nearly as much as how we’re connected to each other. Connect with Roni Zeiger ronizeiger.com smartpatients.com  References TEDMED Talk To subscribe to the podcast, please use the links below Click Here to Subscribe via iTunes Click here to Subscribe via Stitcher (Android users) If you like the show, please consider leaving the show a review in iTunes or Stitcher. A couple minutes of your time can help the show immensely! Thanks!

Many can claim to be doctors. But only one can officially claim the moniker “The Doctor of the Future”…and that’s my good friend and guest for today, Dr. Jay Parkinson. He has graced the covers of some of the most recognized magazines and presented on the worlds most prestigious stages. He possesses an unusual blend of doctor, technologist, and designer, and combines them in unusual ways to help heal our ailing medical system. Over a decade ago Dr. Parkinson took a leap of faith. Having just wrapped up his residency in pediatrics and preventative medicine, he entered a strange universe where technology was becoming deeply integrated into the fabric of our daily lives. The iPhone had just been released, and video technology was just starting to gain mainstream adoption. So what does a fresh-out-of-residency doctor do? Using only his laptop, email, Google and a friendly personality, Dr. Parkinson did what most others could not imagine…he made medical house calls out of his apartment in Brooklyn. Overnight, Dr. Parkinson became a media sensation as the face of the future of medicine, and is considered a pioneer in a burgeoning billion-dollar market called, telemedicine. Today he is the Co-Founder of Sherpaa, an on-demand, next generation medical practice. Today, we get personal and discuss it all in this episode. Dr. Parkinson walks us through his early influences on design, his infamous backyard parties in Brooklyn, the untold struggles and obstacles he faced for his early ventures, what he believes to be the doctor of the future, and even delve into the future of primary care.  So sit back and enjoy the conversation as you listen to today’s episode. Now, That’s Unusual. About Jay Parkinson Billed as the Doctor of the Future, Jay Parkinson, MD, MPH is the Co-founder and CEO of Sherpaa, an on-demand medical practice that allows patients to reach out to a personal health navigator online before making a costly visit to a primary care physician, emergency room or urgent care center. Sherpaa doctors read the patient’s case, ask questions, order tests if necessary, then diagnose, treat and follow-up. They can even e-prescribe through the platform. Dr. Parkinson trained in pediatrics and preventive medicine at Johns Hopkins University. The last day of his residency fell one day after the launch of the iPhone in 2007, and he leveraged this new technology to conceive the world’s first internet-enabled house call practice. This concept went on to become Hello Health, a cloud-based electronic medical record that enables doctors and patients to connect in and out of the office via email, IM and video chat. In 2010, Dr. Parkinson co-founded The Future Well, a design firm specializing in health care for clients such as Sanofi, Planned Parenthood and the National Health Service in the UK. Through this venture, he created Omnio, the most popular iPad app for physicians. An authority on the new frontiers technology creates for health and medical care, he has given talks at 50-plus conferences including TED, Google’s Zeitgeist, the Clinton Global Initiative, the Aspen Institute and Pop!Tech. Key Interview Takeaways Cultivate your creative edge. Parkinson encourages you to ask the annoying question, “Why do you do it this way?” and steal ideas from other industries – in order to facilitate growth and change for the better in your field. The future of medicine includes the virtualist, a new kind medical practitioner who understands how to leverage technology as an online primary care doctor. She can curb unnecessary office visits and connect patients with specialists as needed. In health care, communicating via messaging technology can be advantageous. Whether treating a patient in person or online, doctors are investigators who ask questions and then confirm suspicions with objective evidence. Parkinson points out that asking the same data-driven set of questions and giving the patient time to think through his answers can improve the quality ...

Do we need to reform our government? That’s an understatement. World renowned geopolitical strategist and 5 times best selling author, Dr. Parag Khanna, shares insights from his latest book, Technocracy in America, for a radical overhaul of the US government system. Dr. Khanna draws upon his personal experiences as a global citizen having traveled and studied dozens of political systems from around the globe. On this episode, Parag and I discuss how our current system has failed us, why technocrats are better served to effect change in an administration, why the office of the Presidency needs checks and balances with an executive oversight committee, his ideas on why the Senate and House needs to be re-configured as an Assembly of Governors, and much much more. In light of the recent transition of power in the White House, the timing of this conversation could not be more relevant. Regardless of what side of the isle you sit on, we can all agree that its about time we re-think how our government operates to serve the peoples’ needs. All this and more on today’s episode. Now, That’s Unusual. About Dr. Parag Khanna Dr. Parag Khanna is a leading global strategist, world traveler and best-selling author. His latest book is Technocracy in America: Rise of the Info-State. A widely cited global intellectual, Dr. Khanna provides regular commentary for international media. His articles have appeared in the New York Times Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, TIME, Forbes and The Atlantic, among many others, and he has made frequent appearances on CNN, BBC, CNBC, Al Jazeera and the TED stage. Dr. Khanna lectures frequently at international conferences and gives executive briefings to government leaders and major corporations on global trends and scenarios, systemic risks and technological disruptions, and market entry strategies and economic master planning. He has worked as an advisor to the US National Intelligence Council’s Global Trends 2030 program and as a senior research fellow at the New America Foundation. His resume also includes a stint in Iraq and Afghanistan, serving as senior geopolitical advisor to United States Special Operations Forces. Born in India, Dr. Khanna grew up in the United Arab Emirates, New York and Germany. He is an accomplished adventurer who has traveled to every continent, visiting more than 100 countries. Dr. Khanna holds a PhD in international relations from the London School of Economics, and Bachelors and Masters degrees from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Among his many honors, Dr. Khanna was awarded the 2017 Richard von Weizsaecker Fellowship of the Bosch Foundation, named one of Esquire’s 75 Most Influential People of the 21st Century and featured in WIRED magazine’s Smart List. He currently serves as Senior Research Fellow in the Centre on Asia and Globalisation at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. Key Interview Takeaways A direct technocracy could best cope with the complexity of a connected world. Khanna argues that our current system is overly populist, short-term and narrow-minded. An ideal form of government would combine Switzerland’s direct democracy in which citizens have a say in every issue with Singapore’s technocratic structure of well-trained consultants using voter sentiment and big data to implement long-term planning. Technocrat and elite are not synonyms. While elites are smart people with a fancy degree, technocrats are smart people who also know how to govern. It’s not enough to be intelligent, a technocrat must also understand how to get things done. A truly effective executive branch would embrace the concept of a collective presidency. Rather than a single person making policy decisions, a committee of seven would debate domestic, international, economic and military issues. Together, the group would vet ideas and work toward consensus as they inform the president’s decision-making.

Esther Dyson is perhaps one of the most coveted investors of our time….Not only does she have an impeccable track record (including investments in MeetUp, Evernote, Square, 23andMe, LinkedIn, Facebook, Startup Health, HealthLoop, Patients Like Me, and dozens of others), but her insatiable thirst to explore the impossible and the undiscovered makes her un-matched in her ability to identify opportunity where others do not. On this episode, we get into the mind of Esther’s core investment philosophy, explore the influences of her upbringing, and discuss her quest to make health profitable through her latest venture, Way to Wellville. We discuss why asking the right questions is key to solving the mysteries of business, why our health system is so broken, and what we can do to help course correct an industry that has repeatedly failed us. All this and more on today’s episode. Now, That’s Unusual. About Esther Dyson Esther Dyson is a Swiss-born American journalist, author, businesswoman, investor, commentator and philanthropist. She is a prominent angel investor focused on breakthrough startups in healthcare, government transparency, digital technology, biotechnology, and space. Esther Dyson is currently focusing her career on health as the Executive Founder of WaytoWellville, an initiative focused on investing in health as an asset. The goal is to build networks through community organizing to increase access to and use of beneficial services, activities and resources to improve the health of residents in five model communities. Ultimately, Dyson hopes to utilize big data to demonstrate the economic value of investing in health and affect large scale change. After graduating from Harvard with a BA in economics, Dyson began her career as a fact-checker for Forbes before heading to Wall Street where she worked as an analyst. This led to a partnership with Ben Rosen in the emerging personal computer and online world. She bought Rosen Research in 1983 and renamed it EDventure Holdings. After 25 years with the company, Dyson sold it and pursued an interest in angel investing and health care. Dyson is unmatched in her ability to identify opportunity where others do not, and she is currently on a mission to make health profitable. Key Interview Takeaways Ask good questions. Dyson credits her success to an ability to craft the right questions and listen to the answers with a truly open mind. She believes that her true education began after she finished college (where you learn about things people already know) and became a reporter, working to discover the things people didn’t already know. We must shift our focus from health care to health. Dyson argues that health care is expensive and remedial, a function of chasing after our health once we’ve already lost it, whereas health is the capacity of the human body and mind to renew itself. Zip code determines individual health more than any other factor. Too many Americans are born into an environment that destroys their health rather than building it. WaytoWellville seeks to transform the health ecosystem in five communities, providing a prototype to initiate large scale change. To affect change, people must be accountable for making it happen. Dyson contends that much like building a physical bridge, building a community that is conducive to health requires standards, workers, a budget, deliverables, etc. Meaning well is not enough. To overcome the challenge of personal accountability, peer groups must be led by members of their own community. A network of support at the neighborhood level is the only way to change behavior, thus WaytoWellville helps communities launch and run their own programs. If we invested in health rather than health care, costs would go down. Dyson is working to make the economic case for investing in programs aimed at providing health coaches to help people understand how to take care of themselves and their children long before they need an expensive high-end p...

On this episode, Larry Kopald shares his life’s crusade to tackle global warming by putting carbon back where it belongs…underground in the soil. Larry and I discuss the ground-breaking work being done through his latest company, The Carbon Underground. He gives us a brief history of the evolution of industrial agriculture, the role carbon plays in our climate, the implications of climate change if not reversed soon, the challenges faced by the new administration, and much more. We even get up close and personal by delving into his childhood revealing the influences that shaped his current thinking; and explore how being a veteran advertising executive created a natural evolution from converting his powers of persuasion into a world movement. All this and more on today’s episode. Now, That’s Unusual. About Larry Kopald Larry Kopald is the Co-Founder and President of The Carbon Underground, an organization committed to reversing climate change by restoring the soil of our farms, ranches and grasslands so that it can draw down carbon from the atmosphere. The company works to educate stakeholders about the value and benefits of soil restoration by crafting campaigns that motivate people to act. The Carbon Underground has created partnerships with corporations, governments, universities and food organizations to avert catastrophic climate change. Kopald spent the majority of his career as a communications and branding professional, working at some of the world’s top advertising agencies. He helped launch multibillion dollar brands like Acura, Oracle and Huggies and managed campaigns for top companies including McDonalds, American Express and Honda. As technology gained significance in the late 1990’s, he started his own agency, THINK New Ideas, which succeeded in putting 40 of the Fortune 100 companies online. Kopald is also a lifelong environmentalist serving on the boards of Oceana, the National Marine Sanctuaries, 1% For the Planet among others. He has realized the environmental communications for both the UN and the Olympics, and he has been nominated for both Emmy and Grammy awards. Kopald’s background and experience make him uniquely qualified to communicate The Carbon Underground’s message of sustainability to the world. Key Interview Takeaways Carbon is not the enemy. Yes, we need to work to curb emissions, but climate change is happening because we have shut down the engine that draws carbon from the atmosphere and returns it to the soil. Techniques of industrial agriculture have destroyed our soil and killed the microorganisms that needed carbon to survive. As a result, plants are not being asked to draw the carbon from the atmosphere and return it to the soil. If we restore the health of our soil, photosynthesis will occur naturally and restore the carbon cycle. People with a vested interest in maintaining the status quo are always the biggest obstacle to change. Fortunately for The Carbon Underground, restoring the soil makes good business sense. According to the United Nations, we only have 60 harvests left before we will run out of topsoil. As such, the food, apparel and energy industries are beginning to realize that business is not sustainable without change. Communicate with corporate leaders by speaking their language. Kopald’s background in business has given him the tools to connect with companies by speaking to increased profits, secure supply chains and reduced input costs that come with restoring the soil. Helping reverse climate change and marketing that benefit to consumers is a plus, but protecting the business is of primary concern. Healthy soil holds onto astonishing amounts of water. Every 1% of organic matter that is restored in the soil results in the retention of 25,000 to 60,000 gallons of water per acre, requiring significantly less water to maintain crops and producing yields even during drought. The movement to restore our soil will happen with or without help from the US government.

“Every stem cell think it’s a fetus.” On today’s episode, Dr. Bob Hariri shares his personal story on how being a pilot, film producer, and neurosurgeon sparked his interest in stem cell research to help solve the mysteries of aging, and how to live longer with dignity. We cover a lot of ground, including the breakthrough work he is currently researching as co-founder of Human Longevity, Inc, alongside his business partners Dr. Peter Diamonds and Dr. Craig Venter. We discuss everything from moonshots in medicine, to the convergence of cell therapy and genomics, to the realities and implication of what it means to live longer. Dr. Hariri believes we will see this research deployed in our lifetime, and shares his thoughts on the hurdles we need to overcome to make this vision a reality. One thing is for certain…we will all die. But what if we are all able to live 50 years longer? how will that impact you? How would you live those extra years? What is the science driving this?That pipe dream of living longer is closer than you think. Join us as we explore unchartered territory and dream of what’s possible. All this and more on today’s episode. Now, That’s Unusual. About Dr. Robert Hariri Dr. Robert Hariri is a neurosurgeon, biomedical scientist, serial entrepreneur, aviator and film producer. The Founder, Chairman and former CEO of Celgene Cellular Therapeutics, he pioneered the use of stem cells to treat a range of life-threatening diseases and made transformative contributions to the field of tissue engineering. Hariri is also the Co-founder and Vice Chairman of Human Longevity, Inc., a genomics and cell therapy company with the mission of identifying the mechanisms responsible for age-related human biological decline and applying this intelligence to develop innovative solutions that interrupt or block those processes in order to meaningfully extend the human lifespan. Dr. Hariri began his career as a pilot. While working for Pan Am, he discovered a proficiency for science and applied to medical school at Cornell. It was there that he worked with a partner to explore the lethal nature of traumatic brain injury and discovered that the swelling and resulting pressure could be managed by sinking a drainage system into the brain. They turned this innovation into a company, and Hariri’s interest in the biotech industry was born. Recipient of the Thomas Alva Edison Award in both 2007 and 2011 and the Fred J. Epstein Lifetime Achievement Award, Dr. Hariri has received numerous honors for his many contributions to biomedicine as well as aviation. He is a jet-rated commercial pilot with thousands of hours of flight time and the producer of several feature films and documentaries on global societal issues. Key Interview Takeaways “Every stem cell thinks that it’s a fetus.” Stem cells reside in every organ and tissue of the body, and they are called upon to repair or heal — just the way cell differentiation happens in a fetus. As a young surgeon, Hariri witnessed fetal surgery and was fascinated by that fact that when the baby was born, there was no evidence of the surgery and no scar. He is working to harness that power to repair the brain and heart after trauma.We are designed to naturally remodel ourselves, but our ability to do so becomes disrupted as we age or develop illnesses. Stem cells can restore the functional regenerative process and thus restore the anatomic and physiological functions consistent with health.Every cell is like a miniature computer. If we can read and interpret the software, we can better understand an individual’s likelihood to develop illness or resist disease. And we are beginning to realize that stem cells may be capable of fixing abnormalities or deficiencies in the resident software of an individual. Our ability to sequence DNA at scale combined with the availability of gene editing tools is powering our capability to deliver preventative and precision medicine. On an individual level,

This week on Part 2, Dr. Alex Jadad and I continue the conversation where we left off. We discuss his life work and movement to re-imagine the definition of health not just the absence of disease, but being inclusive of our entire wellbeing, such as love, happiness, and no suffering. If you missed Part 1, I suggest you listen to that episode  (Ep015) first and then come back to this week’s episode. Dr. Alex Jadad, is living his life as a love story. He is also daring us to imagine a world in which everyone could enjoy a life full of love, healthy and happy, until the last breath, as part of a thriving planet. As soon as we meet Alex, we will recognize the curious inner child, the teacher, the learner, the physician and the healer who live in him, urging us to think of ways to make it happen, while marvelling at the wonderful mysteries of life. With Alex, we will learn about possibilities to re-design our lives as love stories, and to bring love to our families, to our workplaces and to our communities, so that we can discover, recover and uncover our capacity to love ourselves and the world, no matter what happens. He will ask us very deep and unusual questions about who we are, questions that will help us to embrace the liberating power of love. Come along. There is no reason to worry. After all, nobody else will ever be able to hear us. All this and more on today’s episode. Now, That’s Unusual.  About Alex Jadad Physician, educator, researcher and public advocate Dr. Alex Jadad is the founder of the Centre for Global eHealth Innovation and Director of the Institute for Global Health Equity and Innovation at the University of Toronto. His research seeks to improve the capacity of humans to imagine, create and promote better approaches to living, healing, working and learning as part of a sustainable planet as he identifies and connects the best minds, best knowledge and best tools across traditional boundaries to eliminate unnecessary suffering. Dr. Jadad has received numerous awards, among them Health Canada’s National Health Research Scholars Award, the New Pioneers Award in Science and Technology and Health Canada’s Distinguished Lecturer Award. He has been featured by Time magazine as one of the Canadians who will shape the country in the 21st century, and as one of the leading medical researchers in Canada. Dr. Jadad is also the author of The Feast of Our Life: Preparing to Flourish Through Self-Love, a text that furthers his mission to enable people to live healthy and happy lives, full of love, until the last breath. Inspired to live his life as a love story, Jadad advocates that we, too, reconnect with ourselves, eradicate regret and embrace the liberating power of love. Key Interview Takeaways “The medical establishment has become a major threat to health.” Jadad cites this Ivan Illich quote to illustrate the shortcomings of the health care system, treating diseases rather than patients. In fact, one million people die every year due to side effects of medications, medical errors and complications resulting from interventions. Health is an ability to adapt and manage the physical, mental and social challenges presented to us. After receiving a probable cancer diagnosis in 2008, Jadad asked himself, “If I have cancer, can I still be healthy?” This led to a global conversation about the concept of health and the reimagining of the definition of what it means to be healthy. Happiness is what happens when what you feel, what you think, what you say and what you do are in alignment. This ‘syzygy’ influences our ability to adapt to challenges we face and thus affects our health and well-being. Health, happiness and love overlap and feed each other, yet these are concepts we rarely study or examine. Jadad suggests that we neglect these themes because they cannot be measured and the ability to quantify something gives us the delusion of control – yet the truly important things cannot be measured. Ideas,

Today, we will meet Dr. Alex Jadad, someone who is living his life as a love story. He is also daring us to imagine a world in which everyone could enjoy a life full of love, healthy and happy, until the last breath, as part of a thriving planet. As soon as we meet Alex, we will recognize the curious inner child, the teacher, the learner, the physician and the healer who live in him, urging us to think of ways to make it happen, while marvelling at the wonderful mysteries of life. With Alex, we will learn about possibilities to re-design our lives as love stories, and to bring love to our families, to our workplaces and to our communities, so that we can discover, recover and uncover our capacity to love ourselves and the world, no matter what happens. He will ask us very deep and unusual questions about who we are, questions that will help us to embrace the liberating power of love. Come along. There is no reason to worry. After all, nobody else will ever be able to hear us. All this and more on today’s episode. Now, That’s Unusual.  About Alex Jadad Physician, educator, researcher and public advocate Dr. Alex Jadad is the founder of the Centre for Global eHealth Innovation and Director of the Institute for Global Health Equity and Innovation at the University of Toronto. His research seeks to improve the capacity of humans to imagine, create and promote better approaches to living, healing, working and learning as part of a sustainable planet as he identifies and connects the best minds, best knowledge and best tools across traditional boundaries to eliminate unnecessary suffering. Dr. Jadad has received numerous awards, among them Health Canada’s National Health Research Scholars Award, the New Pioneers Award in Science and Technology and Health Canada’s Distinguished Lecturer Award. He has been featured by Time magazine as one of the Canadians who will shape the country in the 21st century, and as one of the leading medical researchers in Canada. Dr. Jadad is also the author of The Feast of Our Life: Preparing to Flourish Through Self-Love, a text that furthers his mission to enable people to live healthy and happy lives, full of love, until the last breath. Inspired to live his life as a love story, Jadad advocates that we, too, reconnect with ourselves, eradicate regret and embrace the liberating power of love. Key Interview Takeaways Selfishness and self-love are opposites rather than synonyms. Though Jadad concedes that we often assign self-love a negative connotation, it is impossible to love others if you don’t love yourself. Much like the flight attendant’s instructions to put on your own oxygen mask first and then assist others, we must protect ourselves before we can adequately protect the people we love. The opposite of fear is love. Because we are afraid of what we might find if we engage in serious conversation with ourselves, we choose to avoid dialogue with our inner voice and miss out on the most important relationship of all – the one with ourselves. Of the five fears (death, failure, vulnerability, ridicule and disappointing others), the anxiety of letting people down fuels the idea that there is a gap between what others expect us to be and what we are, creating yet another barrier to self-love. Only by pressing the pause button and connecting with ourselves can we discover, uncover and recover our capacity to love ourselves first. Who would you invite to be a part of your personal board of directors? Nobody can hurt you more than you, so it is important to establish a cadre of people you trust “to love you most when you deserve it least,” protecting you from you and supporting you at your weakest. The path to self-love begins by answering three important questions: What is non-negotiable? What is your verb? What do you regret the most? Once you discover the thing that tickles your soul more than anything else, choose an action connected to that non-negotiable.

On this episode, Dr.G is joined by Leerom Segal, the co-founder and CEO of Klick and author of the best-selling book, The Decoded Company. His story is anything but usual. Against all odds, he built Klick over 20 years from a scrappy technology company to now one of the world’s largest and most sought after independent creative health agencies. But calling it an agency doesn’t do it justice.  They are out to change the world through the relentless pursuit of awesome. In this episode, we discuss his unlikely rise through grit, persistence and continuous hustle to build one of the most envious companies, his determination to succeed by outworking and outsmarting his competition, his unusual practices to attract the best and brightest talent, and why most organizations today are struggling to adapt because of outdated leadership models. All this and more on today’s episode. Now, That’s Unusual. About Leerom Segal Entrepreneur, humanitarian and philanthropist Leerom Segal is the co-founder and CEO of Klick Health, the world’s largest health agency. He has been named to PROFIT Magazine’s Hall of Fame as the youngest CEO to lead a PROFIT 100 Company and earned the titles of Ernst and Young’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year and Business Development Bank of Canada’s Entrepreneur of the Year. Segal is also co-author of the bestselling book The Decoded Company: Know Your Talent Better Than You Know Your Customers. His story is anything but usual. Segal launched his first company at age 12 and was named CTO of Motion Works Group by the time he was 16. Klick launched in 1997 as a scrappy technology company. Under his leadership, it has grown to be one of the world’s largest and most sought-after independent creative health agencies. But calling it an agency doesn’t do it justice. They are out to change the world through the relentless pursuit of awesome. Known for his unconventional business method, Segal utilizes a data-driven, talent-centric approach to management at Klick, and the company has been recognized by the World Economic Forum as a Global Company to Watch, as well as one of Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies, 50 Best Employers, Most Admired Cultures and Best Workplaces. Through the Klick Foundation, he and his fellow ‘Klicksters’ have donated over $1.6M to a wide range of charitable initiatives around the world. Key Interview Takeaways If a company can get the culture right, success comes naturally. When talent thrives, clients are happy and they reward the business with loyalty and growth. Embark on the ‘relentless pursuit of awesome’ by asking how to inoculate against the status quo and to build a culture where people understand that whatever greatness was achieved yesterday, it’s no longer good enough. Give talent an intelligence advantage through personalization. Leadership at Klick realized that successful apps take time to understand the customer and personalize based on individual needs, yet businesses remain beholden to one-size-fits-all solutions. They developed their own operating system, Genome, to make tech tools function as a coach and eliminate elements that weren’t saving time. This allows data to act as a ‘sixth sense,’ aiding in decision-making rather than informing after the fact. Team members need more time in a ‘flow state.’ To achieve high productivity, Klick rejected email because it is “a great way to let others reprioritize the day.” By drastically reducing internal email, staff has more time to work uninterrupted. Ecosystems will prevail over hierarchies. At Klick, decision-making doesn’t move up and down the hierarchy. Even promotions are democratized so that team members have more control over people they are going to be working with. Focus on the client’s best interests to achieve long-term success. Klick rejects the traditional agency model because it focuses on optics rather than outcomes and preserves inefficiencies for financial gain. Segal contends that when there is an alignment of interests...

On this episode, Dr.G is joined by Brian Roeder – a real estate developer now turned winery entrepreneur who dropped everything to follow his passion. Located In the scenic hills of Virginia wine country, he is the co-founder of Barrel Oak Winery – commonly referred to as BOW for its dog-friendly environment. If you are anything like me, in our heads, we all have a pre-conceived notion of what a winery experience is like. Brian has challenged every assumption of that experience by reinventing the model to be centered around his living room experience, and less about stiff traditions and rituals. In this episode, Brian shares with us both the ups and downs of his rollercoaster ride in pursuit of his dream, how he reimagined the winery experience using a hospitality model centered around community and conversation, and key lessons he learned along the way that has helped him shaped his career. All this and more on today’s episode. Now, That’s Unusual. Visit www.thatsunusualpodcast.com About Brian Roeder Brian Roeder is a real estate developer turned winery entrepreneur who dropped everything in 2006 to co-found Barrel Oak Winery in the scenic hills of Virginia Wine Country. Barrel Oak, commonly referred to as BOW for its dog-friendly environment, uses a hospitality model that centers around a ‘living room’ experience and seeks to create conversation and community. Voted Most Family Friendly Winery by Wine Enthusiast Magazine in 2012, Barrel Oak re imagines the winery experience, bucking tradition and challenging assumptions regarding what it means to visit a winery. Key Interview Takeaways Progress often requires that we challenge social norms. BOW’s success has much to do with its disruptive business model which embraces family and encourages customer interaction, rather than replicating the traditional chateau experience. Despite pushback from the industry, Roeder stands behind this innovative model that empowers its patrons with “great wine and a great experience.” Avoid self-definition. Extraordinary things happen when you let go of self-imposed restrictions of what you can and cannot do. By continually revisiting the purpose of the business, Roeder realized that BOW was not just a winery, but a hospitality brand. This allowed for the expansion of Barrel Oak to include a brewery. Consider the ‘third space’ concept. After home and work comes the ‘third space,’ a place where you choose to be. The atmosphere at BOW allows for its customers to initiate conversation and create a community. Listen to your customers! Rather than asking its patrons to fit into conventional wine culture, Barrel Oak welcomes kids and pets, and Roeder’s team added the brewery in response to customer feedback. You can learn a lot about yourself when your back is against the wall. Faced with a small group of wealthy influentials who maintained a zero growth position for the community and passed an ordinance that would have put BOW out of business, Roeder learned what he was capable of. In danger of losing everything, he sued the county and discovered both positive and negative aspects of that relentless fighting spirit. Adopt a sense of deep gratitude and humility. When you have reached a certain level of success and people appreciate what you have created, it’s time to give back to the community. Roeder works with a local Chamber of Commerce to help other small and startup businesses. “Words have meaning and meanings have consequences, so words have consequences.” Connect with Brian Roeder Website Email: brian@barreloak.com Phone (703)798-8308 References Aaron Sorkin’s Commencement Address To subscribe to the podcast, please use the links below Click Here to Subscribe via iTunes Click here to Subscribe via Stitcher (Android users) If you like the show, please consider leaving the show a review in iTunes or Stitcher. A couple minutes of your time can help the show immensely! Thanks!

On this episode, Dr.G is joined by Christopher Schroeder – a fierce advocate for the role startups can play in helping revolutionize growth in emerging markets around the world. As a serial entrepreneur, venture investor, and former media executive, Chris gives us an up-close perspective of how the media has falsely portrayed the landscape of the Middle East (and other emerging growth markets) and how startups are revolutionizing economies from the ground up. In this episode, Chris shares with us the unexpected stories of transformational startups he encountered along his frequent journeys to the Middle East, how startups will define and shape world economic progress, what opportunities he sees on the horizon for upcoming entrepreneurs, and how his upbringing shaped his current thinking.  All this and more on today’s episode. Now, That’s Unusual. About Christopher Schroeder Christopher Schroeder is an entrepreneur, speaker, author and venture investor. He was the co-founder and CEO of HealthCentral.com, one of the leading content and social consumer health and wellness platforms in the United States as well as CEO and publisher of Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive. Schroeder’s impressive resume also includes a career in finance and a stint in President George HW Bush’s White House. Schroeder received an invitation to speak at the 2010 Celebration of Entrepreneurship in Dubai, and this opportunity began his journey in writing the best-seller Startup Rising. In 13 subsequent trips to the Middle East, he interviewed over 150 entrepreneurs, investors and global tech leaders. In addition to the book, Schroeder has also written about startups and technology in emerging growth markets for the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, Fortune and Harvard Business Review among others. Key Interview Takeaways While it is important to understand and acknowledge the conflict taking place in the Middle East, it is a mistake to see that as the only narrative and overlook the thousands of talented young entrepreneurs building enterprises in the region. We can learn from the United Arab Emirates’ government and business focus on world-class innovation and technology. Their “free zones” attract the best talent because it’s easier to succeed, which in turn spurs innovation and encourages an open exchange of goods, ideas and capital. Throughout the history of growth markets, the first major successes in the world of software enabled tech startups are models brought in and adapted to local markets. Schroeder cites Souq (often referred to as “the Amazon of the Arab world”) as an example of this successful adaptation. An estimated 25% of tech startups in the Middle East are run by women. Yes, women in the region wrestle with particular challenges, but Schroeder alludes to the ability to work around challenges as the definition of a great entrepreneur. We live in an era of co-authorship, where layering innovation in regional and growth markets and taking advantage of shared learning will make for great global enterprises. Schroeder argues that “anything less than that will be a missed opportunity.” The pervasive unleashing information is empowering because it gives people access to knowledge rather than force-feeding them a particular narrative. (Unfortunately, that access can also confuse and unnerve people, causing them to seek out “what they want to hear,” and those limited narratives are available through technology as well.) Organizations that are not able to take a hard look at where the world is going and how it may directly affect them face an existential threat. They must adapt or these companies won’t survive. Learn More About Christopher Schroeder Website Resources Connectography: Mapping the Future of Global Civilization by Parag Khanna   To subscribe to the podcast, please use the links below Click Here to Subscribe via iTunes Click here to Subscribe via Stitcher (Android users) If you like the show,

On this episode, Dr.G is joined by Rohit Bhargava – a highly sought after influential marketing guru, best selling author, globetrotting keynote speaker, entrepreneur, and non-obvious trend curator. Rohit takes us on a behind-the-scenes look into his signature methods for spotting non-obvious trends, and what that means for future businesses. He shares with us the importance of storytelling in building sustainable brands and how most marketing agencies have failed to deliver on this promise.  His unorthodox approach has attracted the attention of millions of people around the world who scramble to get a glimpse of what he has to say. When Rohit speaks, leaders don’t just listen, they follow and act. Through his personal stories, Rohit takes us back on a journey into his childhood and the key influences that have inspired him to go against the grain, and follow his curiosity into a world of creative expression. All this and more on today’s episode. Now, That’s Unusual.  About Rohit Bhargava Rohit Bhargava is a “trend curator,” best-selling author and sought-after keynote speaker. His signature “Non-Obvious Trend Report” has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and on NPR. Bhargava is a two-time TEDx speaker as well as Adjunct Professor of Global Marketing at Georgetown University. Bhargava began his career in marketing with Leo Burnett in Sydney, Australia. He went on to become Senior Vice President of Global Strategy and Planning with Ogilvy before founding Influential Marketing Group, a brand marketing consultancy that helps brands improve their communications strategy. Key Interview Takeaways A true trend is something happening right now that is changing our behavior. Bhargava developed his first non-obvious trend report as a reaction to trend lists that simply listed things that exist (i.e.: the rise of the internet, 3D printing), and he defines a non-obvious trend as “the accelerating present.” Intersection thinking allows us to make connections among industries. Bhargava seeks to link unexpected elements of diverse subject matter by asking fascinating questions, i.e.: How can vending machines inspire world peace? Get inspired to think differently by reading a variety of genres. Bhargava argues that reading fiction and poetry can inspire visionary thinking. Don’t restrict yourself solely to non-fiction or business publications! Trends cross boundaries. Rarely are trends limited to a single area like health care or retail. Thus Bhargava classifies trends into the following broad categories: Marketing and social media Culture and consumer behavior Media and education Technology and design Economics and entrepreneurship A current macro trend is signature statements that embrace the human side of business. One example of this is CVS’s willingness to take a revenue hit by removing tobacco products from their shelves because it was the right thing to do. To have value, trend predictions should be based on something that’s happening now – and is likely to happen with more frequency (the accelerating present). Bhargava identifies trends that are actionable, and companies can start using them right now. One element of the agency world that is broken is the area of fostering and training future experts. Bhargava sees a disconnect in that employees with titles like Junior Strategist are not mentored or fostered to lead. Clients want experts rather than subordinates who have never been trained to be great. Things that can drive your business forward are worth paying for. In the process of developing Influential Marketing Group, Bhargava learned that an amazing designer or great PR representation is worth the investment. Learn More About Rohit Bhargava Website Resources Rohit Bhargava Books Non-Obvious series by Rohit Bhargava Einstein’s Dreams by Alan Lightman Small Data: The Tiny Clues That Uncover Huge Trends by Martin Lindstrom The Ten, Make That Nine, Habits of Very Organized People. Make That Ten.

On this episode, Dr.G is joined by the inspiring, mission-driven Yanik Silver. Yanik is an adventure junky who seeks to create meaningful experiences for world changing innovators to help them redefine business for the 21st century centered around more profits, more fun, and more impact. A trifecta of goals designed to create a life worth living with purpose. He is the author of Evolved Enterprise and founder of Maverick1000, a global collective of the top entrepreneurs and industry innovators. So who is part of his inner circle? Well only the who’s who of industry icons that includes Sir Richard Branson, Tony Hawk, Chris Blackwell, John Paul DeJoria, Tony Hsieh, Russell Simmons, and Tim Ferriss. On this show, we discuss the origins of Maverick 1000, how future businesses will require the combination of both head and heart, and numerous stories of Yanik’s crazy adventures over the years. All this and more on today’s episode. Now, That’s Unusual. About Yanik Silver Yanik Silver is a writer, speaker, entrepreneur and well-known digital marketing expert. He is the founder and CEO of Maverick1000, a global network of exceptional entrepreneurs who meet to collaborate and share innovative ideas regarding the most critical 21st century challenges. In addition to invigorating business conversation, Maverick1000 retreats also incorporate an element of adventure as well as a “giving forward” opportunity to raise money for a cause partner. Silver’s parents immigrated to the United States from Russia when he was two years old. His marketing career began when he was 14, working the sales end of his father’s medical equipment sales and service company. Eventually, Silver discovered direct response marketing and helped his father’s business grow from a regional player to a national one. After graduating from the University of Maryland College Park, he took on a series of entrepreneurial ventures, quickly becoming a major player in the lucrative world of publishing and online marketing. His story and businesses have been featured in WIRED, Forbes, TIME and the Wall Street Journal, among others. Key Interview Takeaways Ask yourself, “What would my 111-year-old self tell me?” Silver’s answer was to “light a thousand suns.” This led to the conception of Maverick1000, which seeks to bring together exceptional industry leaders to not only help each other in business, but also use their skills and brainpower to make a dent in the universe in some way. The experiential element of Maverick1000 establishes and sustains meaningful relationships among members. Silver has always been good at bringing people together, and the adventure aspect of the Maverick1000 experience provides both meaningful human interaction as well as the opportunity to keep the inner child alive. Culture, Community, and Creation are the three components of an evolved enterprise. Silver’s book, Evolved Enterprise, provides the framework for a business with such Maverick DNA, which combines ambitious business innovation with greater happiness and meaning in what they do. A number of companies are moving toward a model that incorporates more mindfulness into the workplace and applies the concept of “empowered employment.” One example of such an evolved enterprise is Sarah Oliver Handbags, a company that employs older men and women (their average age is 88!) to hand knit the high-quality product. Businesses that follow the impact model perform better in the long-term. In a study comparing the results of companies with strong cultures (i.e.: Whole Foods, Southwest Airlines, The Container Store) with the S&P 500, there was a thousand-plus percent return on investment difference for those evolved enterprises over a ten-year period. “If our businesses thrive to the detriment of our family or our health or any other aspect of our relationships, then I think we’ve lost.” Silver brought the concept of core values to his family life, developing the ‘13 Silver Keys’ with his wife and child...

On this episode, Dr.G is joined by Dave Chase – a serial entrepreneur turned film producer. He is a highly sought after author, speaker, and investor who has been named one of the most influential people in Digital Health.  Dave is a leading voice for positive change in healthcare, having sold his prior company Avado to WebMD, and now founding the Health Rosetta to help certify quality standards across the industry.  His views, passions, and ideas are now culminating in his latest film project, The Big Heist, a satirical, follow the money film on the destruction from healthcare’s status quo and the coming redemption. More than a movie, it is a movement designed to effect change from the bottom up. On this week’s show, we discuss  shocking stats that are harming our health, why a movement is imperative to transform a highly resistant industry, how taking a satirical approach helps surfaces controversial issues. All this and more on today’s episode. Now, That’s Unusual. About Dave Chase Dave Chase is a serial entrepreneur, speaker, author and film producer. He is the co-founder of Health Rosetta, an education and certification entity similar to Fair Trade for healthcare. As part of that venture, he is producing The Big Heist, a satirical film concerning the destruction caused by healthcare’s status quo. In 2015, Chase was named one of the most influential people in Digital Health. He co-authored Engage! Transforming Health Care Through Digital Patient Engagement, which was selected as 2013 book of the year by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society. Chase was the CEO and co-founder of Avado, a Patient Relationship Management solution allowing clinicians and patients to securely communicate, tract and manage health information, as well as the senior vice president and co-founder of connectivity services at WebMD. He is frequent contributor to prestigious publications such as Forbes, Huffington Post, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. Chase offers a unique perspective in that while he recognizes healthcare’s under-performance, he has also identified a growing cadre of high-performing organizations that have solved healthcare’s toughest challenges. Key Interview Takeaways America’s big movements are often catalyzed by media and film. The Civil Rights Movement was fueled in large part by the morning paper and evening news. Chase sees a need for a similar vehicle when it comes to healthcare, and his current film project, The Big Heist, seeks to fill that gap. There is a remarkable contrast between the magnitude of the damage being done by our healthcare system and the fact that the structural fixes have been invented, proven and scaled – yet remain the exception to the rule. The Health Rosetta Institute is working to educate the general population about these solutions as well as hold organizations accountable (and make heroes out of early adopters) through a certification entity like LEED and Fair Trade. “The best way to protect the status quo of anything is to politicize it.” Chase argues that both parties can find common ground and initiate real change in the healthcare system, but only once we appreciate the fact that affordable solutions are available. People won’t be afraid of a universal requirement (be it a single-payer or private system) if they can be assured that it won’t lead to the further bankrupting of our country. If you want to initiate change, it is necessary to propagate information in an entertaining, engaging way. Chase hopes the wickedly funny approach taken by The Big Heist will catch people’s attention and wake them up to what’s really going on in our healthcare system. Put yourself out there and people who want to help will come to you via surprising connections. Chase presented his original idea for the film in a blog post and “arm-raisers with an aligned view of the world” approached him as potential collaborators. Learn More About Dave Chase Film Website Health Rosetta Li...

On this episode, Dr.G is joined by the highly sought after doctor, entrepreneur, philanthropist, activist, and philosopher, Dr. Jordan Shlain. As a purveyor of subtleties in health, Dr. Shlain challenges our preconceptions of health and medicine and provides a provocative perspective on how we can overcome the biggest challenges that face our industry. Dr. Shlain shares his personal story of how he built one of the most successful concierge medical practices on the backs of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel – where he learned how to deliver a five start customer experience for his patients. He takes us behind the scenes of how his patients helped inspire him to build his digital health venture, Healthloop; and why he believes we need a new voice in healthcare through his latest media venture, Tincture. Taking us back to his early childhood, Dr. Shlain shares never-before-told stories that have influenced his thinking over the years. Simply stated, he takes us on intellectual journey that will blow your mind. All this and more on today’s episode. Now, That’s Unusual. About Dr. Jordan Shlain Dr. Jordan Shlain is an activist and philosopher in the field of health and medicine. He is the founder and chairman of Healthloop, a digital health venture that automates follow-up care and tracks patient progress, as well as the founding editor of Tincture, an online publication of open-source thoughtwear for leaders in health and wellness. Dr. Shlain provides a provocative perspective regarding how we might overcome the biggest challenges we face in health care. Dr. Shlain founded Private Medical, a successful concierge medical practice. Initially partnering with the Mandarin Hotel, he created an empathy-driven approach to his patients modeled after the hospitality industry. Dr. Shlain works to promote that commitment to five-star service and revolutionize the way we do medicine. Key Interview Takeaways Medicine, at its core, is a conversation between a doctor and a patient to solve a problem. Dr. Shlain contends that the empathetic expert, be it a doctor or nurse, should ask not only, “What’s the matter with you?” but also, “What matters to you?” Through this dialogue, the two can work together to craft a workable treatment plan. To be meaningful, technology needs to offer the user preferences and be contextual, relevant, actionable and shareable. Dr. Shlain created Healthloop with these principles in mind to follow up with patients, collect data, and deliver bite-sized information at appropriate times during recovery. In the Healthloop system, the doctor’s office calls the patient when a concern surfaces, and the inbound phone call volume to medical practices is reduced by 70%. “Change always starts with a small group of people banging a drum.” Dr. Shlain maintains that our health care system requires a systematic change initiated by courageous leaders who are willing to take risks. To that end, he started the online publication Tincture in an effort to get the right conversation going via a platform in which we can “allow ourselves the uncomfortable luxury of changing our mind.” We must recraft the language of medicine to remove the jargon. Dr. Shlain argues that it is important to call things what they really are, rather than masking the human suffering at the heart of generic terms like “readmission rate” and “consumer friendly.” The consumer mindset is one of excitement, an exercise of free will to buy products or services that will add to their lives. Meanwhile, a patient’s mindset is one of anxiousness as they choose from limited options to get their lives back. Learn More About Dr. Jordan Shlain LinkedIn Profile Facebook Page Twitter HealthLoop Tincture   Resources The Social Conquest of Earth by Edward O. Wilson The Accidental Universe by Alan Lightman

On this episode, Dr.G is joined by the highly unusual musician, activist, and conductor, Matt Butler. Using a rotating cast of celebrity musicians, he created Everyone Orchestra that has spawned a new genre of improvisational and participatory music. Everyone Orchestra has toured the world at some of the largest music festivals featuring a constantly revolving roster of musicians, including members of the Grateful Dead, Phish, The Fleckstones, Living Colour, Dave Matthews Band, Thievery Cooperation, and many other star-studded musicians.  In this rare interview, Matt takes us on an exclusive behind-the-scenes view of Everyone Orchestra. He shares with us how music serves as a universal language to unite people of all backgrounds, stories of his greatest roadshow adventures, how improvisational music has spawned a new genre of music in the shared economy.  All this and more on today’s episode. Now, That’s Unusual.  About Matt Butler Matt Butler is the founder and conductor of Everyone Orchestra, a rotating cast of musicians who collaborate on stage to create completely original music in the moment. He began his career in music touring extensively as the drummer for the band Jambay in the 1990’s. Butler conceived EO in 2001 with the goal of creating an innovative experience that spans musical genres and connects people via the universal language of music. EO appears at music festivals as well as individual shows and benefit performances around the country. Key Interview Takeaways “There are no mistakes, only opportunities.” The joy of improvisational collaboration is in the unknown, but the musicians must be willing to take risks. Butler likens the experience to playing sports: A play might go perfectly and result in a long gain, or any number of variables could make that same play unsuccessful. Everyone Orchestra “aims for moments of perfect musical synergy,” but sometimes something weird happens. And that’s okay. Inspiration for a project might come from a mashup of influences. Butler credits several experiences with giving him the idea for EO. A friendship with novelist Ken Kesey, the experience of coaching tennis, his mother’s relationships with world famous orchestra conductors and an open-mic night in India are among the influences that led him to conceive of EO and create an experience that involves audience participation, improvisation, composition, as well as the excitement of sports. Artists are attracted to participate in Everyone Orchestra because it affords them the opportunity to nurture their creativity in a new way. Prominent musicians like Steve Berlin of Los Lobos and Adrian Belew (who played with Talking Heads and Peter Gabriel among others) cite the newness of the experience and the exhilaration of improvisation as selling points. “It is good for your creative soul.” Music has the potential to help heal and foster empathy because it brings people together. Butler hopes to expand Everyone Orchestra to include a diverse group of international musicians with the intent of employing the universal language of music to spark change. There is a spiritual element to creating in the moment with a group of people, and the EO experience exemplifies how we can get along and work together. Learn More About Matt Butler everyoneorchestra.com Twitter.com Facebook Youtube EveryoneOrchestraLive.Bandcamp.com

On this episode, Dr.G is joined by the fearless change-agent and social impact entrepreneur, Mark Brand. As a world-renowned culinary artist, Mark has become a prominent example of a new generation of leadership that focuses on passion and purpose. Using his 11+ businesses as a platform for good, Mark has proven it is indeed possible to be a socially responsible entrepreneur without sacrificing ones core business ethos. In this rare and passionate interview, Mark takes us on his inspiring journey to help breathe new life into marginalized and isolated communities through food, training and meaningful employment. He helps us better understand the importance of empathy, grit and failure as an entrepreneur, the unrelenting power of addiction, and the belief that second chances in life is our moral responsibility as a society. All this and more on today’s episode. Now, That’s Unusual. About Mark Brand Mark Brand is one of Canada’s most recognized social entrepreneurs. Having successfully created 11 businesses in Vancouver, he has become a prominent example of a new generation of leadership that focuses on passion and purpose. Brand and his teams are determined to breathe new life into marginalized and isolated communities through food, training and meaningful employment. Combining emerging technologies, alternate currencies and historical best practices, they are creating new blueprints to share globally with the intention of bettering the world. Brand has been recruited to speak, mentor and mediate on the topics of social inclusion, community collaboration, and food security from TED talks to correctional facilities, and everywhere in between. He sits on government councils, not for profit boards and business advisory committees bringing the lens of community first, each and every time. It is through his social impact efforts, and love for our neighbourhoods, that Brand has found a unique balance, proving that you can be successful in business while contributing to your community in a long-term and meaningful way.  Key Interview Takeaways “There is nothing more invigorating than knowing how flawed you are, and believing that you can still do good.” Because Brand has struggled with addiction himself, he has insight into the resilience it takes to pull yourself out of that rabbit hole and move forward with passion and purpose. 100% of the homeless have been abused, and that kind of trauma makes it very difficult to trust or to believe that you can do something great. Brand’s empathy for the marginalized motivates him to help them access services and become a meaningful part of society. The best solutions are often the simplest and most obvious. Knowing that many who want to help the marginalized hesitate because they fear that their money will be spent on drugs rather than food, Brand created a token system that allows a person to trade a small, plastic coin with no denomination for one of five sandwiches at Save on Meats. After some initial backlash, the program has gone on to great success, realizing 90,000 redemptions in three years. The tokens are used by the Vancouver Coastal Health and police department outreach teams to support individuals struggling with addiction in making positive choices. With the advancement of technology comes the opportunity to pursue unconventional solutions to social problems like homelessness. 92% of people on the street in North America have mobile phones, and 50% of those devices are smart phones. Brand’s current project, Positive Access Link (PAL), seeks to leverage the available technology to provide food, housing and medical services to the marginalized via a digital token communicated by cell phone.  Connect with Mark Brand Twitter Linkedin www.MarkBrandINC.com Learn More about Mark Brand Ted X Talks vimeo.com SaveOnMeats.ca youtube.com

On this episode, Dr.G is joined by Michael Cascio – an award-winning documentary producer and storyteller. As a former Executive Producer with National Geographic, A&E, Animal Planet, and many other mainstream media outlets, Michael has helped produce some of the world’s most iconic shows including Brain Games, Biography, Dog Whisperer, Crocodile Hunter, Inside 9/11, Breakthrough, and numerous others. Having branched out on his own, he now serves as an in-high-demand advisor to major media companies by helping them navigate the uncertain and rapidly evolving world of film & entertainment. In this rare interview, Michael gives us an exclusive insider’s view into the changes disrupting the media industry, he shares with us his signature storytelling approach to producing award-winning documentaries, and how his first job as a janitor at Wolf Trap helped define his perspectives that forever shaped his career. All this and more on today’s episode. Now, That’s Unusual. About Michael Cascio Michael Casio is the CEO, President and Executive Producer of M+C Media, LLC, a production company that does consulting for networks and producers as well as original documentary production. Their latest project is the independent film Munich ’72 and Beyond, a documentary that investigates the first incidence of modern terrorism at the Summer Games in Munich, Germany. Cascio began his career in broadcast journalism as a reporter, news director and producer for local stations in Delaware and Philadelphia. He then shifted his focus to cable networks, jumping to A&E Television where he became the senior vice-president of programming and developed the acclaimed Biography series. His impressive resume also includes VP of Cable Programming for NBC News, EVP and GM at Animal Planet, and EVP of Programming for the National Geographic Channel. In the course of his career, Cascio has been nominated for two Oscars and won four Emmys as well as the prestigious “Producer of the Year” award. Cascio earned an undergraduate degree in liberal arts from the University of Virginia and his Master’s in Communication from American University. Key Interview Takeaways The greatest lessons might come from unexpected experiences. Working as a janitor at the Wolf Trap outdoor theatre, Cascio got an education the working world. While picking up trash, he learned the importance of speaking up (service workers are often invisible otherwise) and reserving judgment based on appearance (a scruffy janitor might engage a world-class conductor in conversation about a classical piece). In fact, the best career advice Cascio ever received was from his supervisor at the Wolf Trap: Never turn down a chance to take on more responsibility. While the viewers’ motivation to consume media remains the same, the digital revolution is changing the rules in terms of form and content creation. People are still attracted to compelling characters and a desire to learn, but the evolution of media now allows us to consume content anytime, anywhere – and that content might be user-generated. As augmented reality increases in popularity, programming must have a plan in place for digital or VR (virtual reality) applications to complement the traditional broadcast. Travel and history shows lend themselves to VR, but we have only begun to explore what is possible in the realm of augmented reality. Learn More About Michael Cascio linkedin.com mandcmedia.com References New York Times article: “Pearls of Career Wisdom, Found in the Trash” by Michael Cascio Trailer and additional information: Munich ’72 and Beyond

On this episode, Dr.G is joined by the fierce turnaround-artist and disrupter-of-talent, Daniel Walker. As the former Chief Talent Officer of Gap, Apple, and JCPenny, he shares with us his unconventional approach to developing talent poised for disruptive change. Never before told, his unusual stories unravel the truth of what really happened behind the scenes. He shares with us his personal secrets for developing fearless talent, how his military background shaped his strategies, and a number of humorous, untold stories of personal interactions with his close friend, Steve Jobs. How did Gap become a household name? How should organizations develop A+ talent? What were the behind-closed-doors conversations that led to Apple’s unprecedented turnaround? All this and more on today’s episode. Now, That’s Unusual. About Daniel Walker Daniel Walker is one of the world’s foremost authorities in the field of talent acquisition. Challenging the value of widely accepted HR standard practices, he has played a fundamental role in building some of America’s most ground-breaking companies. Walker spent four years in military intelligence, serving in the US Army Security Agency and went on to earn a psychology degree from Ohio State University. He began his career with Lazarus Department Stores, eventually becoming the Vice President of Human Resources. Walker’s impressive resume in talent acquisition spans four decades and includes titles such as HR Chief for the retail division of General Mills, Vice President of HR for The Gap, Inc., Chief Talent Officer for JC Penny as well as Chief Talent Officer for Apple, Inc. Walker shares his core belief that a company’s most valuable asset is its extraordinary talent via lectures throughout the United States and Europe. He founded and currently serves as CEO of The Human Revolution Studios, a cutting-edge human capital firm; he also co-founded Sunstone Leadership, a startup combining the best practices of elite special forces units and exemplar corporate leadership development.  Key Interview Takeaways Human Resources should focus on identifying great leaders and an endless supply of great talent, then molding the resulting team into a great workforce. Ineffective HR departments focus instead on processes (i.e.: succession planning, organizational and performance reviews) and lose sight of the most essential element, the people. The emerging companies doing talent acquisition the right way work to build cultures in which employees are encouraged to take risks, to debate, and to find joy in their work. They have visionary leaders who value human capital and place a premium on the quality of the staff experience. “There is no fear in doing the right thing.” The military utilizes an asymmetrical approach in which everyone leads and improvisation is crucial. Because a mission rarely (if ever) goes exactly as planned, a soldier must be a creative thinker who adjusts on the fly to accomplish the mission. Business would do well to utilize a similar common sense approach as opposed to being stifled by hierarchy and following protocol because “that’s the way it’s always been done.” Talent acquisition must embrace the idea of ‘force multiplication’. In his work rebuilding Apple, Inc., Walker was faced with the task of reducing head count and labor cost burn rate while increasing the quality of the organization. He incorporated the elite forces concept of force multiplication: One Navy Seal should have the fighting effectiveness of 100 of the enemy. One quality employee, properly equipped and supported, can have the effectiveness of many.  Learn more about Daniel Walker LinkedIn The Human Revolution Studios Sun Stone Leadership

Dr.G’s guest today is the award-winning investigative journalist, Roberta Baskin. The impact of her work has made controversial waves across the media having exposed misconduct among the worlds most trusted and influential corporations – from the Nike sweat shops to the Small Smiles Medicaid scam to the Heineken toxins. Stories ridden with controversy, Roberta backs down to no one, and reveals the hidden truth behind how she cracked these cases. Through her latest initiative AIM2Flourish, Roberta has now re-focused her attention 180 degrees towards educating and inspiring leaders on how to “do well while doing good”. How did she uncover these hot stories? What was the resistance? What’s it like to be a journalist today? Why is there so much bad new today? How do we train our future leaders to be socially responsible? All this and more on today’s episode. Now, That’s Unusual. About Roberta Baskin Roberta Baskin, executive director of AIM2Flourish, is an investigative journalist who spent her career exposing corporate misconduct. As a correspondent for esteemed news programs such as 20/20, 48 Hours and NOW with Bill Moyers, Baskin broke noteworthy stories such as the Nike sweatshop scandal and Small Smiles Medicaid scam. Her work has earned 75-plus journalism prizes including multiple Emmys, prestigious George Foster Peabodys, and the Radio-Television News Directors Edward R. Murrow Award. But after 30 years earning the nickname “Bad News Baskin,” she has shifted her focus to that of showcasing of innovative businesses who do good around the world. Key Interview Takeaways To be an extraordinary investigative journalist, one needs tenacity. Because Baskin didn’t have a journalism degree, she was willing to take risks and work harder than anyone else to get the story. Her naiveté gave her permission to do things that others wouldn’t, i.e.: wait five hours to speak with the manager of a soccer ball factory in Pakistan – a factory that was protected by armed guards. Baskin’s success was rooted in this resolve to tell the stories that weren’t being told. “The story is bigger than the self.” Investigative journalism has the power to transform industries. When Baskin was fired from WMAQ in Chicago over a story about the cancer-causing agents in beer produced in the US, she took it to another network. Once Baskin had uncovered the presence of toxic chemicals, beer companies were finally willing to spend the money necessary to change their process. The media movement to share not just “bad news,” but also stories of resilience and opportunity is powerful and inspiring. Baskin’s AIM2Flourish is a global learning initiative that teaches the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals to business school students and then challenges them to find companies with products and practices that align with said goals. For example, the Indonesian company PT Tirta Marta makes plastic bags out of tapioca. The environmentally friendly bags biodegrade within two weeks, and the use of cassava root in production supports local farmers. AIM2Flourish seeks to discover and reward these pioneering businesses. Learn More About Roberta Baskin AIM2Flourish Twitter: Roberta Baskin Press 1 Press 2 Talk @ Unusual Intersections Beer Wars

On this episode, Dr. G gets into the fearless mind of Mick Ebeling, Founder of Not Impossible Labs. Media production artist turned world problem solver, Mick shares with us how he overcomes seemingly impossible feats with simple everyday hacks. You will hear stories of how he adventured through active war zones to help a single boy amputee named Daniel, and how we gave a paraplegic a second chance in life to continue his craft as a graffiti artist. Mick is a force to be reckoned with who always “commits first, and then figures things out”. He believes technology, if used correctly, can be a valuable tool to advance humanity. On this show, we discuss everything from the advantages of the novice mind over the expert, to how for-profit organizations can “do well while doing good”. Now, That’s Unusual. About Mick Ebeling: Mick Ebeling is the CEO and founder of Not Impossible, a “social innovation lab” created to address real-world problems via accessible technology. His upbringing in a family of philanthropists coupled with his background in media production led him to the idea of developing technology to benefit the most vulnerable. Ebeling is a two-time South by Southwest Innovation Award Winner, one of Ad Age’s Top 50 Most Creative People, and the 2014 Muhammad Ali Humanitarian of the Year. Beyond Not Impossible, Ebeling is a renowned public speaker and author of the book Not Impossible: The Art and Joy of Doing What Couldn’t Be Done. His inspirational TED talk has been viewed over 1M+ times, and counting. He lives in Venice Beach , California with his wife and their three sons. Key Interview Takeaways: Expertise is not necessary when working to find a solution to an impossible situation. In fact, not knowing can be a strength. The Not Impossible team starts every project with a “beautiful, limitless naiveté,” then assembles talent to create a workable, DIY solution. The Eyewriter, for example, affords ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) patients the fundamental human need to communicate by means of eye movement; its component parts include sunglasses, the wire of a coat hanger, duct tape and a webcam attached with zip ties. “Commit first, then figure it out.” Project Daniel stemmed from the story of a Sudanese boy who lost both arms when his village was bombed. Compelled to help despite a lack of expertise, Not Impossible built a team that developed a low-cost, sustainable solution: prosthetic limbs generated by a 3D printer. “Help one. Help many.” Not Impossible seeks to go beyond helping the individual by telling his story. Sharing the process that led to an innovative solution promotes further collaboration and inspires others to action. The hybrid business model combining nonprofit and for-profit can work. While maintaining the Not Impossible Foundation so that inspired donors can contribute, the organization has found a way to create value proposition so that funders get something tangible in return for their backing. It is feasible to “do well while doing good.” Learn More About Mick Ebeling: Not Impossible Labs Not Impossible Now Mick Ebeling Speaker Page TED Talk Twitter: Mick Ebeling Twitter: Not Impossible Facebook: Not Impossible Labs

In this very first episode, Dr. G is joined by Christian Long, a pioneer and advocate for re-imagining the role of education for our future generations. Having spent much of his life as an educator, Christian has now linked up with his architectural peers to re-design learning communities that are built around wonder, curiosity, and collaboration. He shares with us how we need to rethink our approach to learning, and how physical space plays a critical role in creating optimal learning environments. How do we evolve past century old traditions and rituals? What is the future value of a degree? What role does technology play in the education of our kids? How can space be designed to encourage wonder and curiosity? We discuss these and much more in our conversation. Now, That’s Unusual. About Christian Long: Christian Long, Ed.M. is the co-founder of WONDER, By Design, the “multidisciplinary design studio that is unapologetically curious about the future of learning.” In addition to a career in the school design industry, he spent 15 years as an educator, coach and experiential education leader in the US and Japan. An advocate for innovative learning communities, Long is a frequent speaker at a number of TEDx events and regularly delivers keynotes on the future of learning all over the world. He holds a master’s degree in education from Harvard and a bachelor’s degree in English from Indiana University. A novice farmer, Long resides on ten acres in Ohio with his wife Karla and their two children. Key Interview Takeaways: In the last twenty years, a shift has occurred in the way we view education. The two key components of this shift include: Technology – With profound advancements in the digital tools available, there are opportunities for customization that did not exist prior to this radical transformation of our environment. Teacher Worth – In the last ten-plus years, nearly everyone has become invested in the topic of education and considers themselves an expert. At the same time, career educators have been assigned less and less value. With this “tectonic shift,” the question becomes: Who is going to opt into the profession while society continues to degrade the role? Innovation is difficult when we are unwilling to let go of the rituals and traditions (i.e.: an agrarian calendar, comprehensive programming) we have embraced for a century. At the same time, if we abandon everything that school has been in favor of a corporate model, we run the risk of losing the potential for community (relationships among teachers, students and their families) that makes our educational system a powerful human experience. As increasing numbers of employers no longer see a college degree as an indicator of a candidate’s potential, we need to let go of the idea of college “at all costs” and instead focus on customizing practices to individual learners and their families: Ask each young person, “What are you curious about?” and then provide them with resources and systems to foster that curiosity. Stop thinking of students as a “team of one.” Evaluate what students bring to a team rather than assessing them individually against a law of average. Shift away from the idea of a college degree as a finish line to an “ATM model” in which students have lifelong access to training, resources and opportunities through an institution of higher learning. Learn More About Christian Long: WONDER, by Design TEDx Talk 1 TEDx Talk 2

Thanks for checking out the first episode of That’s Unusual which premiers September 29, 2016! In this podcast, I ask the unusual questions that uncover the unexpected stories behind what truly makes people uniquely successful. The most successful people aren’t defined by what makes them similar, but rather by what makes them different. That’s Unusual reveals the untold secrets, habits and tips from the world’s greatest minds, inventors, innovators, and influencers that makes them stand out from a world of averages. Within each individual resides an unusual story that captures the ‘why’ behind the ‘what’. And I believe the best ideas germinate from the most unexpected, unscripted conversations. Join me every week starting September 29th as we embark on a wondrous storytelling journey that explores the hidden depths of the world’s most intriguing people. Please subscribe on iTunes and help me out by leaving a review!