Viewing Workforce Needs with a Beginner’s Mind May 18, 2022 “In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s, there are few.” This famous observation by Shunryu Suzuki, which posits the importance of intellectual... Thoughts from Ken Kaufman A Leadership Playbook for Equity April 27, 2022 When it comes to equity, healthcare organizations face three different and very difficult challenges: health disparities among patient populations, income inequality in the healthcare... Thoughts from Ken Kaufman Developing a Point of View About Inflation April 6, 2022 In February, U.S. inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index grew 7.9% year-over-year, the highest increase in four decades. The factors influencing the current inflationary... Thoughts from Ken Kaufman Lessons from the Final Four April 1, 2022 The long-term attributes of this year’s Final Four are certainly the attributes of success in college basketball. They are also the attributes of success for businesses in a scaled economy. Whatever sort of enterprise you participate in, these observations form your own playbook for success in our current business environment. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman A Fresh Look at Cancer Screening March 30, 2022 March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. I didn’t need a calendar reminder to start me thinking about this disease. At this moment, I am recovering from ostomy surgery, the... Thoughts from Ken Kaufman Ratings Matter, Revisited March 2, 2022 Kaufman Hall co-founder and Chair Ken Kaufman and Senior Vice President Lisa Goldstein—formerly a longtime not-for-profit hospital ratings analyst for Moody’s—recently explored the evolving perspectives of healthcare leaders on how to best balance credit ratings with other key strategic imperatives, including the rising importance of health equity Thoughts from Ken Kaufman The New Public Health Imperative for Hospitals February 16, 2022 One of the COVID pandemic’s most bitter lessons has been the complete inadequacy and dysfunction of the U.S. public health system, if the word “system” can even be applied. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman AI, Breast Cancer, and a New Mindset for Healthcare February 2, 2022 Artificial intelligence is a new idea that even data experts don’t fully understand. It requires a new view of the role of healthcare in improving health and preventing disease. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman Amazon Doubles Down January 19, 2022 With the COVID crisis entering its third year and continuing to demand the immediate attention of hospitals, executives should look closely at Amazon’s example of investing across their businesses to satisfy long-term customer needs. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman Taking a No-Regrets Approach to Health Inequity December 15, 2021 Healthcare organizations have faced a set of historically intractable problems, some of which have become far more apparent and intense in the 20 months since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, including dealing with the fallout of a public health system. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman The Workforce Challenge Is a Segmentation Challenge December 8, 2021 In my conversations with senior executives at healthcare organizations around the country, I find that leaders have three critical topics on their minds: workforce, workforce, and... Thoughts from Ken Kaufman What Would You Do If You Were CEO of State Farm? November 12, 2021 The well-worn phrase “culture eats strategy for breakfast” has new relevance in American business these days. Take the case of State Farm insurance. For almost ten years, Green Bay... Thoughts from Ken Kaufman Getting Culture Right November 10, 2021 Today, American culture is changing so quickly and with such a high degree of nuance that it is increasingly difficult both to interpret and to navigate. However, navigating how those... Thoughts from Ken Kaufman No Rebound in Healthcare Utilization September 1, 2021 The stubbornly persistent effects of the COVID pandemic remind us that the organizational goal in 2021 and beyond is NOT to find the way back to a pre-COVID comfort zone, but rather to negotiate and navigate toward being the best performing healthcare organization possible within a fast-changing and uncertain post-COVID business environment. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman It’s Hard To Be a Hospital Board in 2021 July 28, 2021 America is changing in too many ways to count. The political and cultural ramifications of an increasingly pluralistic population are harder and harder to predict and make overall governance of complex healthcare organizations an increasing challenge. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman Re-setting the Healthcare Gyroscope July 7, 2021 The healthcare gyroscope is a delicate combination of management, governance, and medical attitudes and processes that keeps all complex healthcare organizations functioning in a way that serves the best interests of its patients and associated communities. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman Board Dialogue: Podcast with Ken Kaufman - Episode 3: Overcoming the Board’s Post-Pandemic “Languishing” June 23, 2021 On this episode, Ken Kaufman, Chair of Kaufman Hall, and Michael Peregrine, Partner at McDermott, discuss the board’s top post-pandemic governance and leadership challenges. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman Languishing May 4, 2021 A very interesting short article recently appeared in The New York Times that explored the COVID phenomenon of “languishing.” The author defines languishing as “the collective fog we... Thoughts from Ken Kaufman The Changing Business Principles of American Healthcare April 27, 2021 For a very long time, hospitals have been organized around three principles that inform the way they run their organizations, and how they conduct themselves in the management suite and the board room. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman Board Dialogue: Podcast with Ken Kaufman - Episode 2: Post-Pandemic Preparedness April 15, 2021 On this episode Michael Peregrine and Ken Kaufman discuss a number of important post-pandemic developments for the board to consider. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman Healthcare Costs Post-Pandemic: A Different Perspective April 7, 2021 For many hospitals and health systems around the country, COVID-19 threatens to create long-term negative changes to volumes, revenues, and margins on top of the pressures that weighed on hospitals even before the pandemic. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman Post-Pandemic Preparation March 10, 2021 In the roughly 12 months since the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, America’s hospitals have borne a huge amount of the pressure and accountability for managing the effects of an unknown and unpredictable virus, and more recently for the complex process of disseminating vaccines. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman Board Dialogue: Podcast with Ken Kaufman - Episode 1: COVID-19 Rollout Turbulence February 3, 2021 A Special Edition Governing Health Series This episode - the first in our new Governing Health special edition series - features Ken Kaufman, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Kaufman... Thoughts from Ken Kaufman Skeptics Wanted January 19, 2021 Never before have organizations been required to think more rapidly and radically than in the volatile environment of COVID-19, when existing business models are being decimated daily, and organizations need to hit a new target that is hazy at best. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman To Advance You Have to Advance January 12, 2021 For all organizations, the imperative is to ensure that women and people of color are placed in the most senior leadership positions—not just part of the broader leadership team, but in positions that will place them in the most exclusive groups making the most important decisions. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman What Is Your Subscription Bundle? January 5, 2021 We can expect that as new entrants continue to encroach on the healthcare space, they will apply the principles of the Product Age and the subscription business model. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman Amazon, Shopify, and Telehealth December 15, 2020 The Shopify platform means that virtually anyone can be a retail entrepreneur. And a Shopify-style option for hospitals may mean that almost any hospital can offer some level of telehealth services. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman Observations on Management December 3, 2020 Healthcare organizations have rotated toward a transactional operating platform because that platform is highly correlated to efficient operations, consistent levels of clinical care, and excellent financial performance. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman How Telehealth Could Fail November 24, 2020 After several years of research and development, the automated teller machine made its first appearance in 1967 at a branch of London’s Barclay’s Bank. Two years later, the first U.S. ATM was installed at a branch of the Chemical Bank on Long Island. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman COVID and Consolidation in the Provider Space November 17, 2020 Many of us have questions surrounding possible consolidation of the provider space post-COVID. Read the Thoughts from Ken for details about what we could expect. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman Explore All Articles By Ken Kaufman Read More
Viewing Workforce Needs with a Beginner’s Mind May 18, 2022 “In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s, there are few.” This famous observation by Shunryu Suzuki, which posits the importance of intellectual... Thoughts from Ken Kaufman A Leadership Playbook for Equity April 27, 2022 When it comes to equity, healthcare organizations face three different and very difficult challenges: health disparities among patient populations, income inequality in the healthcare... Thoughts from Ken Kaufman Developing a Point of View About Inflation April 6, 2022 In February, U.S. inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index grew 7.9% year-over-year, the highest increase in four decades. The factors influencing the current inflationary... Thoughts from Ken Kaufman Lessons from the Final Four April 1, 2022 The long-term attributes of this year’s Final Four are certainly the attributes of success in college basketball. They are also the attributes of success for businesses in a scaled economy. Whatever sort of enterprise you participate in, these observations form your own playbook for success in our current business environment. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman A Fresh Look at Cancer Screening March 30, 2022 March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. I didn’t need a calendar reminder to start me thinking about this disease. At this moment, I am recovering from ostomy surgery, the... Thoughts from Ken Kaufman Ratings Matter, Revisited March 2, 2022 Kaufman Hall co-founder and Chair Ken Kaufman and Senior Vice President Lisa Goldstein—formerly a longtime not-for-profit hospital ratings analyst for Moody’s—recently explored the evolving perspectives of healthcare leaders on how to best balance credit ratings with other key strategic imperatives, including the rising importance of health equity Thoughts from Ken Kaufman The New Public Health Imperative for Hospitals February 16, 2022 One of the COVID pandemic’s most bitter lessons has been the complete inadequacy and dysfunction of the U.S. public health system, if the word “system” can even be applied. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman AI, Breast Cancer, and a New Mindset for Healthcare February 2, 2022 Artificial intelligence is a new idea that even data experts don’t fully understand. It requires a new view of the role of healthcare in improving health and preventing disease. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman Amazon Doubles Down January 19, 2022 With the COVID crisis entering its third year and continuing to demand the immediate attention of hospitals, executives should look closely at Amazon’s example of investing across their businesses to satisfy long-term customer needs. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman Taking a No-Regrets Approach to Health Inequity December 15, 2021 Healthcare organizations have faced a set of historically intractable problems, some of which have become far more apparent and intense in the 20 months since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, including dealing with the fallout of a public health system. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman The Workforce Challenge Is a Segmentation Challenge December 8, 2021 In my conversations with senior executives at healthcare organizations around the country, I find that leaders have three critical topics on their minds: workforce, workforce, and... Thoughts from Ken Kaufman What Would You Do If You Were CEO of State Farm? November 12, 2021 The well-worn phrase “culture eats strategy for breakfast” has new relevance in American business these days. Take the case of State Farm insurance. For almost ten years, Green Bay... Thoughts from Ken Kaufman Getting Culture Right November 10, 2021 Today, American culture is changing so quickly and with such a high degree of nuance that it is increasingly difficult both to interpret and to navigate. However, navigating how those... Thoughts from Ken Kaufman No Rebound in Healthcare Utilization September 1, 2021 The stubbornly persistent effects of the COVID pandemic remind us that the organizational goal in 2021 and beyond is NOT to find the way back to a pre-COVID comfort zone, but rather to negotiate and navigate toward being the best performing healthcare organization possible within a fast-changing and uncertain post-COVID business environment. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman It’s Hard To Be a Hospital Board in 2021 July 28, 2021 America is changing in too many ways to count. The political and cultural ramifications of an increasingly pluralistic population are harder and harder to predict and make overall governance of complex healthcare organizations an increasing challenge. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman Re-setting the Healthcare Gyroscope July 7, 2021 The healthcare gyroscope is a delicate combination of management, governance, and medical attitudes and processes that keeps all complex healthcare organizations functioning in a way that serves the best interests of its patients and associated communities. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman Board Dialogue: Podcast with Ken Kaufman - Episode 3: Overcoming the Board’s Post-Pandemic “Languishing” June 23, 2021 On this episode, Ken Kaufman, Chair of Kaufman Hall, and Michael Peregrine, Partner at McDermott, discuss the board’s top post-pandemic governance and leadership challenges. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman Languishing May 4, 2021 A very interesting short article recently appeared in The New York Times that explored the COVID phenomenon of “languishing.” The author defines languishing as “the collective fog we... Thoughts from Ken Kaufman The Changing Business Principles of American Healthcare April 27, 2021 For a very long time, hospitals have been organized around three principles that inform the way they run their organizations, and how they conduct themselves in the management suite and the board room. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman Board Dialogue: Podcast with Ken Kaufman - Episode 2: Post-Pandemic Preparedness April 15, 2021 On this episode Michael Peregrine and Ken Kaufman discuss a number of important post-pandemic developments for the board to consider. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman Healthcare Costs Post-Pandemic: A Different Perspective April 7, 2021 For many hospitals and health systems around the country, COVID-19 threatens to create long-term negative changes to volumes, revenues, and margins on top of the pressures that weighed on hospitals even before the pandemic. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman Post-Pandemic Preparation March 10, 2021 In the roughly 12 months since the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, America’s hospitals have borne a huge amount of the pressure and accountability for managing the effects of an unknown and unpredictable virus, and more recently for the complex process of disseminating vaccines. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman Board Dialogue: Podcast with Ken Kaufman - Episode 1: COVID-19 Rollout Turbulence February 3, 2021 A Special Edition Governing Health Series This episode - the first in our new Governing Health special edition series - features Ken Kaufman, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Kaufman... Thoughts from Ken Kaufman Skeptics Wanted January 19, 2021 Never before have organizations been required to think more rapidly and radically than in the volatile environment of COVID-19, when existing business models are being decimated daily, and organizations need to hit a new target that is hazy at best. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman To Advance You Have to Advance January 12, 2021 For all organizations, the imperative is to ensure that women and people of color are placed in the most senior leadership positions—not just part of the broader leadership team, but in positions that will place them in the most exclusive groups making the most important decisions. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman What Is Your Subscription Bundle? January 5, 2021 We can expect that as new entrants continue to encroach on the healthcare space, they will apply the principles of the Product Age and the subscription business model. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman Amazon, Shopify, and Telehealth December 15, 2020 The Shopify platform means that virtually anyone can be a retail entrepreneur. And a Shopify-style option for hospitals may mean that almost any hospital can offer some level of telehealth services. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman Observations on Management December 3, 2020 Healthcare organizations have rotated toward a transactional operating platform because that platform is highly correlated to efficient operations, consistent levels of clinical care, and excellent financial performance. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman How Telehealth Could Fail November 24, 2020 After several years of research and development, the automated teller machine made its first appearance in 1967 at a branch of London’s Barclay’s Bank. Two years later, the first U.S. ATM was installed at a branch of the Chemical Bank on Long Island. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman COVID and Consolidation in the Provider Space November 17, 2020 Many of us have questions surrounding possible consolidation of the provider space post-COVID. Read the Thoughts from Ken for details about what we could expect. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman
Viewing Workforce Needs with a Beginner’s Mind May 18, 2022 “In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s, there are few.” This famous observation by Shunryu Suzuki, which posits the importance of intellectual... Thoughts from Ken Kaufman
A Leadership Playbook for Equity April 27, 2022 When it comes to equity, healthcare organizations face three different and very difficult challenges: health disparities among patient populations, income inequality in the healthcare... Thoughts from Ken Kaufman
Developing a Point of View About Inflation April 6, 2022 In February, U.S. inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index grew 7.9% year-over-year, the highest increase in four decades. The factors influencing the current inflationary... Thoughts from Ken Kaufman
Lessons from the Final Four April 1, 2022 The long-term attributes of this year’s Final Four are certainly the attributes of success in college basketball. They are also the attributes of success for businesses in a scaled economy. Whatever sort of enterprise you participate in, these observations form your own playbook for success in our current business environment. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman
A Fresh Look at Cancer Screening March 30, 2022 March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. I didn’t need a calendar reminder to start me thinking about this disease. At this moment, I am recovering from ostomy surgery, the... Thoughts from Ken Kaufman
Ratings Matter, Revisited March 2, 2022 Kaufman Hall co-founder and Chair Ken Kaufman and Senior Vice President Lisa Goldstein—formerly a longtime not-for-profit hospital ratings analyst for Moody’s—recently explored the evolving perspectives of healthcare leaders on how to best balance credit ratings with other key strategic imperatives, including the rising importance of health equity Thoughts from Ken Kaufman
The New Public Health Imperative for Hospitals February 16, 2022 One of the COVID pandemic’s most bitter lessons has been the complete inadequacy and dysfunction of the U.S. public health system, if the word “system” can even be applied. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman
AI, Breast Cancer, and a New Mindset for Healthcare February 2, 2022 Artificial intelligence is a new idea that even data experts don’t fully understand. It requires a new view of the role of healthcare in improving health and preventing disease. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman
Amazon Doubles Down January 19, 2022 With the COVID crisis entering its third year and continuing to demand the immediate attention of hospitals, executives should look closely at Amazon’s example of investing across their businesses to satisfy long-term customer needs. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman
Taking a No-Regrets Approach to Health Inequity December 15, 2021 Healthcare organizations have faced a set of historically intractable problems, some of which have become far more apparent and intense in the 20 months since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, including dealing with the fallout of a public health system. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman
The Workforce Challenge Is a Segmentation Challenge December 8, 2021 In my conversations with senior executives at healthcare organizations around the country, I find that leaders have three critical topics on their minds: workforce, workforce, and... Thoughts from Ken Kaufman
What Would You Do If You Were CEO of State Farm? November 12, 2021 The well-worn phrase “culture eats strategy for breakfast” has new relevance in American business these days. Take the case of State Farm insurance. For almost ten years, Green Bay... Thoughts from Ken Kaufman
Getting Culture Right November 10, 2021 Today, American culture is changing so quickly and with such a high degree of nuance that it is increasingly difficult both to interpret and to navigate. However, navigating how those... Thoughts from Ken Kaufman
No Rebound in Healthcare Utilization September 1, 2021 The stubbornly persistent effects of the COVID pandemic remind us that the organizational goal in 2021 and beyond is NOT to find the way back to a pre-COVID comfort zone, but rather to negotiate and navigate toward being the best performing healthcare organization possible within a fast-changing and uncertain post-COVID business environment. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman
It’s Hard To Be a Hospital Board in 2021 July 28, 2021 America is changing in too many ways to count. The political and cultural ramifications of an increasingly pluralistic population are harder and harder to predict and make overall governance of complex healthcare organizations an increasing challenge. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman
Re-setting the Healthcare Gyroscope July 7, 2021 The healthcare gyroscope is a delicate combination of management, governance, and medical attitudes and processes that keeps all complex healthcare organizations functioning in a way that serves the best interests of its patients and associated communities. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman
Board Dialogue: Podcast with Ken Kaufman - Episode 3: Overcoming the Board’s Post-Pandemic “Languishing” June 23, 2021 On this episode, Ken Kaufman, Chair of Kaufman Hall, and Michael Peregrine, Partner at McDermott, discuss the board’s top post-pandemic governance and leadership challenges. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman
Languishing May 4, 2021 A very interesting short article recently appeared in The New York Times that explored the COVID phenomenon of “languishing.” The author defines languishing as “the collective fog we... Thoughts from Ken Kaufman
The Changing Business Principles of American Healthcare April 27, 2021 For a very long time, hospitals have been organized around three principles that inform the way they run their organizations, and how they conduct themselves in the management suite and the board room. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman
Board Dialogue: Podcast with Ken Kaufman - Episode 2: Post-Pandemic Preparedness April 15, 2021 On this episode Michael Peregrine and Ken Kaufman discuss a number of important post-pandemic developments for the board to consider. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman
Healthcare Costs Post-Pandemic: A Different Perspective April 7, 2021 For many hospitals and health systems around the country, COVID-19 threatens to create long-term negative changes to volumes, revenues, and margins on top of the pressures that weighed on hospitals even before the pandemic. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman
Post-Pandemic Preparation March 10, 2021 In the roughly 12 months since the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, America’s hospitals have borne a huge amount of the pressure and accountability for managing the effects of an unknown and unpredictable virus, and more recently for the complex process of disseminating vaccines. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman
Board Dialogue: Podcast with Ken Kaufman - Episode 1: COVID-19 Rollout Turbulence February 3, 2021 A Special Edition Governing Health Series This episode - the first in our new Governing Health special edition series - features Ken Kaufman, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Kaufman... Thoughts from Ken Kaufman
Skeptics Wanted January 19, 2021 Never before have organizations been required to think more rapidly and radically than in the volatile environment of COVID-19, when existing business models are being decimated daily, and organizations need to hit a new target that is hazy at best. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman
To Advance You Have to Advance January 12, 2021 For all organizations, the imperative is to ensure that women and people of color are placed in the most senior leadership positions—not just part of the broader leadership team, but in positions that will place them in the most exclusive groups making the most important decisions. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman
What Is Your Subscription Bundle? January 5, 2021 We can expect that as new entrants continue to encroach on the healthcare space, they will apply the principles of the Product Age and the subscription business model. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman
Amazon, Shopify, and Telehealth December 15, 2020 The Shopify platform means that virtually anyone can be a retail entrepreneur. And a Shopify-style option for hospitals may mean that almost any hospital can offer some level of telehealth services. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman
Observations on Management December 3, 2020 Healthcare organizations have rotated toward a transactional operating platform because that platform is highly correlated to efficient operations, consistent levels of clinical care, and excellent financial performance. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman
How Telehealth Could Fail November 24, 2020 After several years of research and development, the automated teller machine made its first appearance in 1967 at a branch of London’s Barclay’s Bank. Two years later, the first U.S. ATM was installed at a branch of the Chemical Bank on Long Island. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman
COVID and Consolidation in the Provider Space November 17, 2020 Many of us have questions surrounding possible consolidation of the provider space post-COVID. Read the Thoughts from Ken for details about what we could expect. Thoughts from Ken Kaufman