It seems an impossibly long time ago that I sat in a tiny office on my own and hit the phones for the first time about Consultant Connect. It was 5 January 2015, and less than 6 months later, on 29 June 2015, our first project launched in North East Essex. Our service now covers over half of all UK patients.
Exactly 10 years to the month (9 years and 363 days to the day…) since that launch, I’m both happy and sad to report that I will be stepping down as CEO of Consultant Connect. My successors are the brilliant Kat James and Lucy Sammons.
(Photo proof of the tiny office)
Here’s what I learned in those 10 years:
1. Healthcare is a great thing to work in in the UK…
I’ve not had a single day where I’ve wondered why I’m doing the job I’m doing. Working to improve people’s health is surely one of the easiest reasons to get out of bed in the morning. In my career, I’ve sold beauty products, been a lawyer, worked on Jobcentres being upgraded to Jobcentre Plus and run a construction firm. Healthcare is the one that gets me fired up.
2. …but that’s in part down to the NHS!
The job is made even more satisfying when everyone is treated for free at the point of care, irrespective of “ability to pay”. We hear a lot in the news about the NHS being underfunded, but we don’t discuss as often that it’s because we have the most humane health system in the world. My colleagues in the US won’t mind me saying that we have it better.
3. The people you work with are everything
I’m not only talking about your colleagues here. If you don’t like your customers, you aren’t going to be completely committed to them, which means you won’t be successful. That doesn’t mean you’ll like everyone you meet. The great news with the NHS is that so many people are involved in commissioning and rolling out new technology that it’s easy to find the right crowd to work with.
4. It’s not a zero-sum game
There tends to be an assumption in business that all transactions have winners and losers: one side has got a better deal, one side is paying too much etc. So far, so Donald Trump. The best NHS arrangements actually result in everyone winning (bigly): the NHS improves outcomes for patients and spends less money, the supplier gets paid a fair amount, which allows their business to be sustainable. I look at every contract through this lens.
5. Hire people exactly when you need them, not before or after
Deciding when to hire people is not an exact science. Do it too early and you’re spending money you don’t have to, which makes your product less competitive. Do it too late and you risk burnout and missed opportunities. It’s normally quite clear when you’ve become short on staff. Act immediately!
6. Let your colleagues improve on your way of doing things
I have a brilliant colleague who is very precise and initially struggled with new people not adhering exactly to how he wanted things to be done. This resulted in him hugely increasing his own workload as he monitored deviations from his way of doing things and then discussed these “improvements” with colleagues. In the end, he simply had to relax as there aren’t enough hours in the day. He has never looked back!
7. Don’t panic, Captain Mainwaring!
There is always news, hopefully good but sometimes bad. I used to try to respond quickly, but this would often be premature: things sometimes turned out to be untrue or not relevant to us, or something new would emerge that affected how or whether we should respond to the news. I now have an unbendable policy of sleeping on everything. I am yet to hear anything unexpected that can’t wait 24 hours for a response.
8. Don’t build Homer Simpson’s car!
In one episode of The Simpsons, Homer is asked to design a car (s2 ep15 for you completists). He thinks of every awesome feature a car could have and includes them all. The result, it goes without saying, is a disaster, and the car company goes bust. Avoid this scenario by building what customers need, not what they think they want. Strip it right back!
9. Have a partner
Setting up a new company is actually unglamorous. You’ve got hardly any money and hardly any assets. You only really have hard work, which can be very lonely. Sharing the misery with another human being isn’t optional; it’s essential. Scott Welpton, our ex CFO, has been my work-husband for nearly 15 years. Together, we’ve endured and got more things right than wrong. The lows haven’t been too low, and the highs have been higher.
10. Enjoy the journey
Whatever your job, you need to find the time to stand and stare. That means finding the rewarding things in your job and nurturing the amazing things outside of it. Since we set up Consultant Connect, my family has grown up (number one off to uni in October!) and I’m pleased to say I didn’t miss a single birthday dinner, parents’ evening, sports day, celebration day, concert and the rest. Could I have worked harder and done better in these last 10 years? Yes. Would it have been worth it? No.
To all of you who have been part of this journey with me, as customers, users, contacts or simply readers of my emails and blogs, I’d like to thank you. I’ll refer you to point 3 above. You guys are all gooduns.
