DaVita CEO Kent Thiry on Building a Signature Company Culture
Stanford Graduate School of Business2015-11-24
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💫 Short Summary
The video emphasizes creating a strong community within a company, focusing on caring for and respecting one another. It discusses the challenges of transferring company culture through acquisitions and stresses the importance of living core values and accountability. The speaker also addresses cultural challenges faced in various countries, promoting a balance between capitalism and community building. Personal growth, leadership development, and the importance of self-awareness in pursuing a career in management are highlighted. The video ends with reflections on personal challenges, spiritual practices, and encouraging individuals to pursue their aspirations and make a positive impact.
✨ Highlights
📊 Transcript
✦
Importance of Creating Community Within a Company
00:47Emphasizes caring for and respecting colleagues, being stewards, and investing in the next generation.
Believes work should not be the central focus of life and emotional engagement with colleagues is crucial.
Introduces the idea of acting like a village and a mayor when making decisions, prioritizing factors beyond economic success.
Highlights the importance of passion and buy-in for building a strong culture within a Fortune 500 company.
✦
Importance of community and team dynamics in creating a successful organization.
03:54Call and response, rituals, and language play a key role in fostering a strong sense of community.
Focus on metrics and objective evaluation has led to superior clinical outcomes compared to competitors.
Examples of high team mate engagement scores and successful acquisitions.
Patients could distinguish the organization's patients based on their interactions, showcasing unique culture and communication style.
✦
Challenges of transferring company culture through acquisitions.
07:23Importance of allowing new employees to observe and adapt before enforcing changes.
Employees from acquired company initially resist existing culture, view it as cult-like.
Speaker leads debate among leaders about adopting parent company's vision, mission, and values.
Intense debate involves physicians and long-time employees, highlighting complexities of integrating cultures in a business merger.
✦
Importance of living core values.
12:09Emphasizes the need for practice and accountability in core values.
Challenges of taking a corporate culture internationally.
Initial reluctance to expand internationally, but eventually did so.
Central theme of accountability and integrity in leadership.
✦
Importance of human values in business decisions.
15:59Gender discrimination and awkward moments are discussed, stressing the need for open discussions.
The significance of accurate translations in avoiding misunderstandings, using the example of the word 'fulfillment'.
Aligning organizational culture with strategy and industry environment is reflected upon, questioning its general applicability.
Success of a healthcare organization in financial performance and clinical outcomes is highlighted, promoting a balance between capitalism and community building.
✦
Importance of Creating a Healthy Workplace Environment.
18:57Principles of behavior and values are universal but implementation may vary based on demographics.
Leadership requires tough decision-making and accountability, contrasting with perceived softness in corporate culture.
Transparency in tax funding and organizational competence are essential for societal progress.
Honesty, transparency, and open dialogue foster trust and understanding among employees.
✦
Importance of Tough Decision-Making in Business Leadership.
21:52Leaders must prioritize sustainability for long-term success, even if it means making unpopular choices like divesting certain centers.
Responsibility of leaders to prioritize the overall well-being of the organization, even if it may upset some individuals.
Need for open discussions and data-driven decision-making in leadership.
Retaining authority to overrule group decisions when necessary.
✦
Transforming Kidney Care in America through strategic business decisions.
25:00Aligning actions with core values and receiving feedback are crucial for leadership development.
Creating an environment for open communication and self-reflection is essential for growth.
Active learning throughout one's career is important for becoming a better manager and leader.
✦
Importance of Studying Leadership as a Human Concept.
28:30Introspection and self-reflection are key in improving leadership skills and personal growth.
Tracking behavioral deficiencies daily can lead to addressing and improving behavior over time.
Confronting reality and holding oneself accountable are crucial for personal growth.
✦
Importance of self-awareness and understanding strengths and weaknesses in pursuing a career in general management or leadership.
32:09Need for exposure, discipline, and analytical skills to succeed in these roles.
Challenges of transitioning between different career paths, including taking pay cuts and developing remedial capabilities.
Emphasis on intellectual honesty and strategy in achieving career satisfaction.
Discussion on distinguishing a company as a community versus a family and the difficulties of firing a friend or community member.
✦
Importance of intentionality in decision-making and leadership.
36:18Speaker shares personal anecdote about approaching reviews and terminations with helpful intentions.
Need for consistent and holistic decision-making emphasized, impacting behavior and outcomes.
Challenges executives face with demotions discussed, highlighting the significance of maintaining organizational health.
Emphasis on respectful and humane leadership.
✦
Importance of taking immediate action in a challenging situation within a company.
39:51Response to the speaker's actions varied, with some perceiving them as manipulation or insincere.
A portion of the group appreciated the speaker's efforts to create a healthy work environment with a significant impact.
The speaker emphasizes the need for intentionality in leadership, demonstrating commitment through regular meetings focused on creating a positive workplace culture and values alignment.
✦
Importance of accountability in creating a healthy work environment and making a differential impact on healthcare.
42:54Emphasis on explicit actions, intellectual investment, project management, and honest discussions to achieve goals.
Concept of crossing a bridge symbolizes sharing accountability and intentionality.
Managers who crossed the bridge expressed belief in building a great company and striving for a differential impact.
Implementation of two-day academies for all teammates to align with the company's mission, vision, and values.
✦
The importance of maintaining a strong culture in a leadership role.
46:33Emphasizing the discomfort and growth that comes with preserving a strong culture.
Discussing the impact on personal relationships and the value of openly discussing values.
Highlighting the transformative experience of the DaVita village in improving relationships and personal growth.
Valuing human behavior over business accomplishments and viewing culture as a reflection of a vision for life.
✦
Reflection on personal experiences and lessons learned from failed private equity ventures.
50:14Decision to focus on family and personal well-being after experiencing job losses and financial setbacks.
Taking on a new job while balancing personal desires and making a positive impact.
Emphasis on the importance of relationships, mindfulness, personal growth, and the value of loved ones.
Acknowledgment of challenges in balancing work and family, while striving to lead a purposeful life.
✦
Importance of Spiritual Practices in Daily Life
54:15The speaker discusses personal challenges and emphasizes the impact of spiritual practices on daily life.
Taking on responsibilities is encouraged to make a significant difference in the world.
Pursuing aspirations despite challenges is highlighted as essential for achieving dreams.
The audience is urged to savor life's adventures, appreciate the present moment, and embrace the journey of life.
00:00[MUSIC]
00:04So I thought we'd do two
main sets of things.
00:07I want to talk to you about your signature
culture, because I think it is so
00:10interesting to all of us.
00:12And then at some point we'll pivot from
that into talking a little bit more
00:16generally about leadership, leadership
style, and how you approach leadership,
00:21and then we'll leave some time for
questions from the audience and
00:24we'll wrap up at the end.
00:28So, talk to me about some of these
signature pieces of the culture
00:33that I refer to in my opening remarks, the
idea of mayor and village and teammates.
00:39The dress up,
the chanting that I heard backstage.
00:44What's the story behind all of this?
00:47>> Yeah, so we believe we're
a community first and a company second.
00:52And hopefully,
00:53everybody has some communities that
they're a part of In their life.
00:56It could be their family, could be
their book club, could be their church,
01:00could be their sports team,
could be their best friends.
01:03Community basically means that people care
about each other, respect each other and
01:06they care about the organization
that they are apart of.
01:09That they're stewards that care about
what they give on to the next generation.
01:13That's the basic concept of community.
01:16And so we believe in that fervently
that given we spend more than 50% of
01:21our waking hours as an adult at work,
and for some of us,
01:24it's way more than 50%, especially if you
travel, that to concede that in any way
01:29that shouldn't be central to your life
mission, and that you shouldn't be
01:33emotionally engaged with the people
that you work with all that time.
01:38We think it's a grotesque concession
that some people have to make.
01:42And a lot of people don't have to.
01:44And people like the ones in this room are
going to have a spectacularly big impact
01:49on the folks that work for
you through the course of your life.
01:53And so we said, okay we're going to
be a community, act like a community,
01:56let's call it a village.
01:58Let's make it the mayor because that
raises the bar of expected behavior
02:02for us.
02:03And so we take it very seriously when
we make decisions, we consistently use
02:08the metaphor, if your a Mayor of
a village, how would you decide?
02:12Because if you're a mayor of a village,
you care about the economy, but
02:15the economy is the means to an end,
it's not the end.
02:17You want to help the economy so you can
have good schools, good parks, etc.
02:21>> So, I have to say, I mean I alluded to
what happened in the green room, before.
02:25But it is very impressive.
02:27So here you are meeting up with
a bunch of folks from, you know,
02:31the local area, who,
you don't do this every day.
02:35And yet, you were able to
lead them through a series of
02:38cheers which are clearly deeply ingrained.
02:41And done as you can see, by just
looking around the room, with you know,
02:45with a sense of passion and by in.
02:48Which of course is critical to having,
we can talk about culture all we like.
02:51But getting it bought in in that way
deeply through a fortune 500 company.
02:58I mean that's tough.
02:59So could you tell us a little bit about,
how do you go about that?
03:02How do you do that?
03:04>> Well first, teammates stand up.
03:06What the heck.
03:07I got some teammates here.
03:09So.
>> [APPLAUSE]
03:10>> I knew there were going to be a couple
03:14here, but I didn't know that
there was going to be a bunch.
03:20And so
this is a pleasant surprise right before.
03:23So I will ask them three questions.
03:25Stay standing.
03:27What is this company?
03:28>> You.
03:29>> Whose company is it?
03:30>> Ours.
03:31>> And what can it be?
03:32>> Special.
03:33>> And if we are to build the greatest
health care community the world has ever
03:36seen, let it be like this one for all!
03:38>> All for one.
03:39>> Damn straight!
03:40>> [APPLAUSE]
>> So
03:47this part wasn't conscious when
we started this adventure.
03:52And it kind of popped up organically.
03:54And what we find is that healthy tribes,
military units, religions, sports teams.
04:02Places that have strong sense of team,
04:04strong sense of community,
they do call and response.
04:07A language means something.
04:08>> Yeah.
>> Rituals mean something.
04:09And so
we said if we're going to be a community,
04:11we should have the attributes of
a healthy religion, tribe, village.
04:16And it turns out call and responses is
what happens naturally in those quarters.
04:20Doesn't happen naturally
in most companies.
04:22>> Right.
>> Because they're sort of
04:23morally sterile.
04:24>> [LAUGH]
No value judgment implied.
04:29>> Yeah.
[LAUGH] I said sort of.
04:31>> [LAUGH] So it is
04:37pretty amazing to watch, but
how do you know it works?
04:42Obviously, it works in that
you're able to perpetuate it, but
04:45how do you know that you're
distinctive because of it?
04:47How do you know that you're getting
superior results because of it?
04:52>> Yeah, so we're very metric oriented.
04:53And if you're going to be
serious about being a community,
04:56you've got to be objective.
04:58And we certainly, not all of our
neighborhoods are happy neighborhoods, but
05:03our clinical outcomes
are superior to our competition.
05:08The government just came out with a new
rating system, for example only 30% of
05:12the centers in America, in dialysis, which
is one of our two big businesses, can be
05:16ranked at four or five, and the percentage
of our centers that are in those four or
05:20five categories is twice
as high as any competitor.
05:23So it's a crushing example.
05:25In addition we did an acquisition,
about a three billion dollar acquisition,
05:28x years ago.
05:30We did all the analysis, our wages were
the same, our salaries were the same.
05:33We were in all the same
geographies across America.
05:36Their turnover was 40% higher.
05:38So if we were them we would have had to
hire an extra 1,200 people a year compared
05:43to what we had to do given the difference
in retention at the same pay across
05:47America.
05:48And third there's some of the big
consulting firms the Ann's,
05:50the Hewitt's that do standard
questions across big companies.
05:54And our team mate engagement
scores are quite high, and
05:57then I'll give one anecdote.
05:59About five, six years in, a woman came
up to me at a big conference, and said,
06:02they've been hired by a pharmaceutical
company to do focus groups with patients.
06:06And you know they had never worked for
us, they were never going to work for us,
06:09and she said by the third city,
we were playing a game,
06:14because that's when you
have a facilitator,
06:15and then the sponsors are behind a mirror,
looking at the people, and
06:19then the 15 patients answering the
questions, just like they do with cars and
06:23toothpaste and all that, and
by the third city, we played a game that
06:27about 40 minutes in, since they didn't ask
the question of do you know who owns and
06:31operates your dialysis center, until
the very end, about 40 minutes into it,
06:34they would play a game and guess which
patients were the Devita patients.
06:38Because you could tell that
they talked differently.
06:40And this, at this point was across
a thousand different locations,
06:43small locations across America.
06:45That was, for us,
separate from all those hard metrics,
06:48that was perhaps the most special one,
that human beings talked differently.
06:54>> You spoke a little bit
about some acquisitions and
06:57spreading culture through acquisitions and
the one that you referred to is one where
07:02it was really a like business model that
you were taking the culture and too bad.
07:06And of course,
a couple years ago you bought HBC,
07:10which is in a quite different,
related but different business.
07:14So have you tried to take
the same culture there?
07:18Are there limits to the extent to
which you can transfer the culture to?
07:23>> Both the big dialysis company,
when we bought them,
07:26they were horrified at the notion of
being subjected to this weird shit.
07:33Yeah, that they said it looks like a cult.
07:35>> That's a technical term.
07:36>> Yes.
07:37>> [LAUGH]
>> A term, it's a, I'm just quoting them.
07:41The, that this seems like a cult.
07:44It seems sophomoric.
07:45It seems cheesy.
07:46It seems inappropriate,
cavalier, and both there and
07:50then with this related business
three years ago, they were similarly
07:55worried about being subjected to it,
forced to try to adopt it.
07:59We made very clear in rooms like this,
only not as nice,
08:03we can't afford nice rooms like this.
08:05They make very clear,
please don't use our language, unless or
08:08until it becomes comfortable.
08:11Don't talk about, don't feel like
you have to talk about our values or
08:15some of our concepts for the village.
08:16Don't do any of that, get to know us.
08:18Watch how we behave, watch how we
interact, and then a year downstream,
08:22we'll talk about whether or not we need
to change any of the values or whatever.
08:26And both the first time and
second time, legacy
08:29to be the veterans were appalled that
I would say that we might change them.
08:34But my response was, if you're a village,
you have to represent the current
08:37population, and when you have a lot
of new people, it's a new thing.
08:41And you need to speak for
that new community and
08:43in the case of this related acquisition,
that from a business point of view,
08:48the first two years went very poorly.
08:50Tremendous organizational change,
08:52we took out half the senior executives, so
relatively traumatized organization which
08:56exasperated the fear around
one hell of a village.
09:00You let half the people go and
you're introducing all this change.
09:04And so in the second nationwide meeting
since the time we closed the deal,
09:09once a year we get our top
4,000 leaders or so together,
09:13I went off in a room with the 270 leaders
from that enterprise, 18 months in,
09:17traumatic 18 months, and said, okay,
now we're going to have a debate.
09:21Do you want to go adopt the legacy
DaVita vision, mission and values?
09:27Do you want to keep what you have,
wait another year, keep it forever, or
09:31somewhere in between?
09:32And it was a very intense debate.
09:36About 80 out of that 250 people or
so were physicians.
09:40People from all over America somewhere new
to the enterprise because the acquisitions
09:45had been in post flow,
some of them had been there 25 years.
09:49They went through it, and about
halfway through a woman stood up, and
09:53it was a very intense debate, a woman
stood up, and one thing we didn't have on
09:56the ballot was go all in and
take the vision mission and values.
10:01You can take these two,
these two-thirds or just one or none.
10:03Because we never thought it would go all
in, but this one woman stood up and said,
10:07you know what, it's been a year and
a half since the deal.
10:13We have wonderful people in our company,
10:15health care partners, they have
wonderful people in legacy, DaVita.
10:20They are living the values
that we all agree with,
10:23with far more intentionality and
follow through and
10:25purpose and robustness than we are,
and I want to be one company.
10:30I vote for all in, I think that
should be added to the ballot.
10:33Applause broke out in the room.
10:35We had another hour of debate,
both in small groups and big groups and
10:38at the end of that two and a half hours.
10:40That 260 or so leaders from that
enterprise voted 85% to go all in.
10:4714 of the remaining 15 voted to
go two- thirds of the way in.
10:51Only 1% voted, so they voted for,
embraced the village concept themselves,
10:57much to, I think, to their own surprise.
11:00No one knew what the outcome was going to
be going into that room, and therefore,
11:03there was no one subjected to anything,
and they went out and
11:06told everybody across America that.
11:09I've sort of taken this
stuff more seriously now and
11:12in fact I just voted for it.
11:15>> And, has it taken root?
11:16I'd say the math I use as I
think we're one third teammates,
11:21citizens, maybe more, maybe 33 to 40%.
11:24We're about 30 to 35% in
a just still watching,
11:30observing and whatever number
is left are still negative.
11:37>> So, still on the subject
of exporting the culture,
11:41you've taken DaVita now internationally.
11:45Can you talk a little bit about
some of the challenges, and
11:48taking this kind of corporate
culture to international cultures?
11:53>> This has been very intense.
11:58So first,
when you think about core values,
12:00some people will look at them on a wall
and say, it's motherhood and apple pie.
12:04Who doesn't believe in integrity?
12:06Who doesn't believe in team?
12:07What a dumb, pointless list,
everybody believes in them.
12:09And as a leader the issue is not belief,
it's practice.
12:14So yeah, I believe in all those things.
12:15If you evaluate exactly how I behave
everyday some people would say, hey KT,
12:19I'm not so sure that you're living
that core value that you believe in.
12:23And even harder to create an environment
where everybody practices that
12:27an not violating a core value
does not equal living it.
12:30So if I go a month without telling a lie
that is not living a life of integrity.
12:34Living a life of integrity is when you
tell the truth when it hurts when its
12:37embarrassing when you didn't have to.
12:40If i go a month without blaming
someone for something they didn't do,
12:43I'm not living a code
value of accountability.
12:46Living code value of accountability
is when someone makes a mistake and
12:49no one thinks you had
anything to do with it.
12:50And you realize that you knew
the person wasn't very good about that.
12:54You could have taken
them aside two weeks for
12:55half an hour,
they never would have made the mistake.
12:58And you stand up and take accountability
because you said, you know what,
13:00I could have prevented that,
I know Josh was uncertain or whatever.
13:04And so there's a big difference
between not violating and
13:07living, and
it's contagious how that works.
13:12And so internationally, when we decided
to go, if I was a better CEO we would
13:15have gone international ten years ago, but
I wasn't, so we started four years ago.
13:19And I went to other CEO's from prestigious
business schools like Stanford,
13:24and they all said, you know that weird
stuff you do, leave it at the airport.
13:29>> [LAUGH]
>> because, it's unusual,
13:31even in America, so don't you dare
try to do it in Saudi Arabia,
13:36don't you dare try and
do it in China, etc.
13:38Poland, Portugal, Columbia, India,
all these other places we are.
13:46So I took their advice, and then I was
giving a talk to a bunch of our Indian
13:51teammates x months later as we begin
to grow and it just fell totally flat.
13:56And so I went to the boss after,
13:57I knew him enough where he was
honest to give me that gift.
14:00I said well that really fell flat, and
he said, they've all been on the Internet.
14:05If you go walk around their cubicles,
they've got the DeVita symbols up.
14:09They've got the story of how our
neighborhood has grown within the context.
14:13And now they're feeling like this village
thing, that's just about America and
14:18they're not really citizens,
they're just foreign laborers.
14:22And so I voice-mailed back,
we went full on, and
14:26in doing that,
you find out that it's about human values.
14:30That everyone wants to have a robust
discussion around actual human values and
14:34whether or not they're used in making
day-to-day business decisions or not.
14:38It's not a fairy tale thing, and
14:42we've had uncomfortable moments in some
of the cultures, as we work through.
14:46In particular, for example,
because we won't stand for
14:49some of the gender discrimination that
exists in a lot of other societies,
14:53and that leads to awkwardness.
14:55And then one other moment of awkwardness,
and then I'll stop.
14:58So you're trying to get the right
translations is not always
15:01straight forward.
15:04And so it turns out in one country,
15:07the word that we were using for
fulfillment, basically means masturbation.
15:12>> [LAUGH]
>> And, and so
15:15we were saying,
you know fulfillment's very important.
15:17>> [LAUGH]
>> We think everyone should be fulfilled.
15:21You know even we hold our leaders
accountable for fulfillment.
15:24>> [LAUGH]
>> And then someone gave the speaker,
15:28it was not me, the gift.
15:30So there are speed bumps.
15:32>> [LAUGH]
>> In the way.
15:36>> And you had metrics to track.
15:37>> Yes, yes, right.
15:38>> [LAUGH]
>> So I mean, probably trivia
15:41of your days have been, but when we
teach strategy we talk of course about
15:45alignment between organization,
including culture and strategy.
15:49But then we also talk about alignment
between that and the excellent
15:54environment that you find yourself in,
industry and so on, so the question
15:59really is How general do you think the
applicability of this kind of culture is?
16:04Is this something that works
in mission driven healthcare,
16:09mission driven kinds of industries?
16:10Is this something that you think
could applied more broadly?
16:14What are the limits?
16:15>> This is one where we're quite intense
because a lot of people will kind of go,
16:19oh they're nice little
health care service people.
16:22And I'm sure very pleasant to talk to,
16:25but they probably lose
all their football games.
16:28And we over the last 16
years are in the top 5%
16:32of New York Stock Exchange performers.
16:34We outperform our competition
in clinical outcomes.
16:37And a lot of our teammates
have gone on to be COs and
16:40COOs of lots of other companies.
16:41So we don't think there's any tension
between achieving capitalistic and
16:47market based net worth ambitions, and
16:50creating a healthy and
distinctive community for people to work.
16:53We think there's no tension between those.
16:55In fact, we think they're in some ways
cohabitate very positively and so
17:00if I was running an enterprise
with 3,000 Taco Bells,
17:04not medical clinics or
a coal mine, or any,
17:08it is all about creating
a differentially healthy environment for
17:12people to work, particularly the people
that don't have the career options and
17:16income flexibility that most
of us in this room have.
17:21That, that applies to any business.
17:24That we, a healthy workplace
is a gift to that mommy or
17:28that daddy that they will take home.
17:30It is a gift that they will savor at work.
17:33And it's about basic ways in which
humans behave with one another.
17:36So we believe passionately,
that it's transferable everywhere.
17:41That's not to say that there aren't
differences in how one would implement,
17:44how it would manifest itself
in a Goldman Sachs, or
17:47a Bain company,
versus the other organizations
17:52that the demographics of
the citizenship does affect it.
17:58But the basic principles have to do
with how we behave with one another.
18:03And whether or not it's consistent with
the values that we allege to hold dear.
18:09>> And so I'd like to start to
transition to leadership and
18:13keep one foot in culture and
put one foot in leadership.
18:17So some of the things that
we're talking about village,
18:23mayor, community, sounds soft.
18:27They sound soft.
18:28They sound a little bit squishy.
18:31Very GSPS actually.
18:33>> I wasn't going to say it.
18:35>> We're also heavily into costumes,
which you call uniforms.
18:41So see a parallel there as well.
18:43But at the end of the day,
you're the CEO of a Fortune 500 company.
18:49And that's a tough role.
18:52It requires tough decision making.
18:54It requires holding people accountable.
18:57You know, that doesn't sound so
soft and squishy actually.
19:00So I'm just wondering how much of this
translates into your day to day job?
19:05How do you think about that?
19:07>> And Elizabeth at some
point the video is ready.
19:10We can play it.
19:13Okay, didn't okay.
19:18It's where the metaphor comes in so handy,
19:21if your the mayor of a village,
everyone knows the village has to
19:26have a healthy economy in order to create
jobs for people to have, everybody knows
19:31you gotta pay taxes that support
the school system and the police so.
19:35But there is serious issues
of who to pay how much tax.
19:39How transparent is the deployment
of the tax funds that are raised?
19:42How competent are the organizations
that spend the tax money?
19:46So we think of profits to
the share holder like that.
19:49So we are very open about it, that we
don't get to create the DaVita University
19:53that our people love, with a tremendous
emphasis on personal reflection and
19:57introspection, not just applied stuff.
20:00We don't get to grow and
create career opportunities.
20:02We don't get to grow and create profit
sharing awards unless we are allocated
20:06capital, which is just like a mayor's
gotta collect tax money in order to all
20:10the things the citizens want to exist,
the parks and the summer programs.
20:15And we find that it doesn't matter, we
20:18have 18,000 folks out of our 65,000 that
have not been to college and never will.
20:22They understand the concepts totally
about what real life is like,
20:26if they feel you're honest and
20:28transparent about what reality is,
and are willing to have real debates.
20:32So I've gotten up in front of thousands
of our teammates, and talked about my
20:35compensation, an executive compensation,
with people making $17 dollars an hour.
20:41And they get the right to ask questions,
or send messages.
20:45So first, there's an issue of just
basic straight forward honesty,
20:50and transparency, and explanation
20:53to kind of loop things together in
a way that otherwise doesn't work.
20:57And then second,
when we talk about tough decisions,
21:00we will discuss them in
the context of a metaphor.
21:04Give one example,
we made that big acquisition referred
21:08to while the government was appropriating
any requires to do some divestitures.
21:13And when you do the divestitures,
what the FTC requires, is that
21:17you either divest all of the legacy Davita
centers or all of the new companies'.
21:22You can't pick and choose because
you would cherry pick all the best
21:25market positions and he can't do that,
it's a reasonable federal policy.
21:31Everybody assumed,
I mean everybody assumed,
21:34that I would decide to divest all
centers from the company we were buying.
21:40Some of these folks would've been
in part of this, and I said no.
21:47If the other company that we're buying
has got a group that's on the ascendancy,
21:52that is a clear long-term winner, then we
will divest the legacy DaVita centers.
21:58People were appalled.
22:00You know, this is a violation.
22:01We love the village,
we've been good citizens of the village.
22:04We have excellent clinical outcomes.
22:05And you're going to sell us?
22:07You don't even know who you're going to
sell it to, and we can't even switch and
22:10work because the way the FTC rules work,
you can't take all the employees.
22:14You gotta,
there's a certain hands off period.
22:16In our case, teammates are employees,
they call them employees.
22:19And so, people are livid.
22:20And I got up in a room, a much bigger
room, with 3,000 of our leaders and
22:25explained that job one of a mayor of
a village is to make sure the village is
22:31sustainable for the long term, because
every single one of us talking to them
22:35is going to leave
the village at some time.
22:36Because we get a great job offer,
22:37because we retire, because their
spouse gets transferred, and so
22:40we are all stewards for
the next set of people in these chairs.
22:45And for maintaining an environment
where we can provide superb care for
22:48our patients.
22:49That's job one, and
just like if you're mayor of a village and
22:52you know you've got to put a highway in or
your downtown's going to deteriorate and
22:55you're going to lose
to some other village.
22:57You know you gotta rip down houses to put
in that highway, and some of those people
23:01will have lived in those houses for
25 years, love their neighborhood,
23:04and you're going to rip down their
house to put in a freaking highway.
23:08But that's the right thing.
23:09Either that or
the place goes dead in 30 years.
23:12And got up and explained why I
had decided what I decided, and
23:16about 70% of the people being divested
came up after, most of them crying,
23:21saying that they accepted the logic that
the decision was best for the village, and
23:26I was consistent with my responsibility,
and they were very sad but understood.
23:33So we put it together because life.
23:39>> Yeah
>> Is hard sometimes.
23:41>> And how much of this translates to
decision making with your core team?
23:45You were talking about
the village at large.
23:48But when you bring this back
to core management team,
23:51what are some of the tough
decisions you've made?
23:53Are there times where you've had to go
against the wisdom of the core team and
23:59say You know I am the mayor,
I think this is the right decision.
24:04>> Yeah they've been.
24:06We do a lot of votes compared
to most organizations.
24:09Votes with thousands of people involved,
sometimes hundreds of people involved.
24:13But I always retain the right
to overrule the vote.
24:18I mean it's the discussion that matters.
24:20And the data is very useful for
me and for others but
24:23in the end I have the job I have that
should come with differential insight and
24:28should carry with it
a differentiated experience.
24:30Some people would question that and so
24:35we had one business that I wanted to buy
and the entire team wrote against it.
24:44So I hired Baine and then they came
out and recommended against it.
24:48So, we stopped that project and
24:52I pulled out of the process and
then I went home that weekend.
24:57And I just said,
our alleged vision at that point,
25:00because we were just
Kidney Care at that point,
25:02was to transform Kidney Care in America,
which we're halfway there.
25:06And this was 13 years ago.
25:09And we cannot seriously try to do
that unless we buy this thing,
25:14even though right now it's little and
25:16broken and there's no pro forma
you can do that makes sense.
25:19That we have to change a bunch
of laws to do a lot of things.
25:21And I went back on Monday and
told the team we're going to buy it and
25:27I respect all of the reasons, but it's
not inconsistent with our construct and
25:34then I guess the other part of it was
implicit in the question about core team,
25:40in the I am sensitive to the fact
that there are times that I
25:45behave in ways that are inconsistent
with our mission values.
25:51In particular with my core team,
let me say, bring it back to that.
25:56And that is where one hopes
that you scored enough
26:00points in terms of intentionality,
that people forgive you for
26:05your behavioral
transactional shortcomings.
26:09>> Do they call you on it?
26:12Do they feel comfortable
enough to call you on it?
26:14Do you apologize for it?
26:16How does that go?
26:17>> I'd say that's, I'm a bit curious
what some of the teammates say.
26:22I think we're seriously above average, and
26:26people are going to be
willing to call us on it.
26:29I get scored on the core
values every year,
26:30an independent consultant goes out and
talks to a lot of folks.
26:34My scores are made public to the board and
26:36to the teammates as well
as a bunch of comments.
26:39I don't get to change them.
26:42And then we'll talk about high and
low scores.
26:46We take, as it's sort of self-evident,
that we all have bad stretches.
26:53That we all have faults.
26:55And that, if you can't create
an environment where you talk about them,
26:59each of our personal growth
journeys are going to be stunted.
27:03And so we do a lot of introspection,
a lot of reflection, a lot of discussion.
27:08And in the second part of every
executive's review is, for
27:12example when I'm reviewing others, the
first part is the most important message,
27:15the second part is to go
through each core value and
27:17talk about how other people's experience,
you with respect to integrity.
27:21How do they experience
you with respect to fun?
27:23How do they experience you with
respect to service excellence?
27:26Real words, and so, and
that I get the same back.
27:31So I think we help me and
we help each other grow as human beings,
27:38and so I think we're reasonable on that.
27:43>> So where most of the first years been
taking your course here which we call
27:48Leadership Labs.
27:49One of the things we talk to them about
in the labs is being active learners and
27:54being active learners their whole lives,
their whole careers.
27:58They constantly learn from what went well,
what didn't go well.
28:02Become a better manager, leader.
28:03You've spoken about some of
the ways you're getting feedback.
28:06But what are some of the other
ways that you personally
28:09have worked on your own leadership and
management skill over time?
28:15>> Well, so, one of our pitter patters
is management is a business skill.
28:22It's really important.
28:24So you should study it and
think rigorously about it.
28:27Leadership is a human thing,
not a business thing.
28:30And if you want to get
better at leadership,
28:32learn more about humans
starting with yourself.
28:35And so virtually every University class
has elements of introspection and
28:38self reflection.
28:40And in particular,
28:42if you have as many behavioral
deficiencies as I have you would
28:47try to make sure not just through the 360
process but through using other tools and
28:52outside coaches that you're continuously
forced to reflect on your self.
28:58And that combined with having to discuss
yourself publicly is a tremendous spurt,
29:07thing that can spur your growth, for
me to work on some of my behavioral
29:13things, I have done things like
give myself a score everyday.
29:17So when I took this job 16 years ago I was
43, when you still have serious behavioral
29:23issues, which many of you'll have, you
know, doesn't mean you're a bad person.
29:27And overall, I've got some good scores.
29:29But I had things I had to work on.
29:29When you're 43 and
you've been a CEO already for eight years.
29:34That means there is some stuff going on,
I mean you're not just going to get their
29:38feedback and then suddenly the next day,
stop entirely.
29:41And so for some of those things, I use the
metaphor that my brother is an alcoholic.
29:47He is now 11 years sober.
29:49And he talks about the early years,
29:51he said I had to win that battle
against alcoholism every day.
29:55And so for
some of my behavioral deficiencies,
29:59like getting angry with people.
30:01I started giving myself a daily score and
tracked it on a spreadsheet.
30:04Because I had to build the muscle memory
to catch myself first after I did it,
30:09and then I could go apologize
if I had the courage,
30:13and then catch myself
while I was doing it.
30:16And then catch myself right
before I was going to do it.
30:20And then after about two years
I was doing it a lot less.
30:24But if I had not kept a daily score to
confront my reality while it was still
30:28fresh, then I couldn't then just sort of
consistently dismiss it as a bad day.
30:33Or the person has been bugging me for
a while, and
30:35all the rationalizations get stripped
away when you score yourself everyday.
30:39Did you have a drink or not?
30:41Did you have too many drinks or not?
30:42It just is the reality.
30:44It is you.
30:45It's not the external world.
30:47>> Fascinating.
30:48I want to go back a little
bit in your career.
30:53Because I think it's of
interest to the student bodies.
30:55They're thinking about where to go,
where to go next from the GSB.
31:01You did spend a good spell at Baine.
31:06There's a lot you learn
in a gig like that.
31:09And I'm wondering about the transition
31:13from that to being CEO
of an operating company.
31:16What did you learn at
Baine that was helpful?
31:19Are there some things you learned
at Baine that you had to unlearn?
31:22You can talk a little bit
about the transition?
31:26>> First of all I have two idea about
where you should go after business school.
31:31I have one, but we'll come back to that.
31:35On the Baine versus operating company
thing, back when I graduated,
31:41which was a long time ago,
there, in that decade,
31:45in my mind there weren't really
a lot of operating companies that
31:50have thoughtful programs for
growing general managers and leaders.
31:56And that's what we're about.
31:58And that's what I wanted to become.
31:59I knew that my dream was to become
a competent general manager and
32:04leader of people.
32:06I knew that's what I wanted
to become proficient at.
32:09And I did not see stuff, there were jobs
out there but they weren't about that.
32:16They were just about
learning the business and
32:21then in consulting more generally,
in my, the way I would
32:25advise young people is if you want to be a
general manager, leader in the long term,
32:31that, and you find you're the sort
of person who's super bright.
32:36You figure out the case
faster than other people.
32:38You can be right verbally adroit
connected to your brain but
32:44you're not a natural team leader.
32:46You're not a natural team builder.
32:49You're not natural in establishing trust.
32:52Well, you got to stare at that very
realistically because if you want to be
32:55general management leader and
you have that mix relative to the world,
32:59there's no good or bad in this,
and you go to consulting or
33:02investment banking,
you're existing muscles get way,
33:05way stronger and your pay goes up,
and these other muscles stay weak.
33:10And then you want to make a shift and
it's a nightmare.
33:13Because you got to take a huge cut in pay
and work on your remedial capabilities.
33:17So, you don't do it, and I got a lot
of friends who are 59, and wealthy and
33:22not happy, because they went too much,
they didn't have a good strategy.
33:27Similarly, if you're great at project
management and team leadership and
33:33the rest, which I felt for me,
that was some of my natural sport for
33:38me, a lot to learn but
a natural sport but you need help and
33:43more strategic discipline,
more analytical discipline.
33:46You need to just be exposed to a lot more.
33:49Then it goes the other way,
that going there and
33:52getting that incredible exposure and
learning those disciplines.
33:56And then, you transfer over to a sport
you were, sort of, born to play.
34:00And, so I think it's very, there,
there's no generic answer.
34:03It's very person specific and it
requires incredible intellectual honesty
34:08about your strengths and weaknesses.
34:10And where you want to end up.
34:12And so, for me I needed,
I needed exposure.
34:16I needed to run with that sort
of intellect with people for
34:21a while to make me sharper, help me grow.
34:25I needed to become more disciplined,
analytically.
34:27I needed all those things,
and I got them, big time.
34:31>> Mm-hm.
34:32>> And then went to play where I always
knew, I mean, the sport I wanted to play.
34:36Thank you.
34:38I don't want to,
I don't want to hog all your time.
34:41Let's open it up for, for
questions from the audience.
34:48>> I have the first question from twitter.
34:51How do you distinguish company as
community from company as a family.
34:55How does one, for instance,
fire a community member?
34:59Yeah.
34:59Actually, when you asked about
tough moments, firing a friend.
35:05And in some cases, someone you literally
love is a brutal thing to have to do.
35:12And particularly if they love the village,
and you have that personal relationship.
35:18And then you tell them they have to go.
35:23And we used community,
35:25which if course is made up of families,
very explicitly because the family thing,
35:30while that level of intimacy exists
in some of neighborhoods and
35:33some of our smaller teams, for us,
some of my senior executive team,
35:38we love each other as we love our oldest,
dearest friends.
35:43And we talk about it.
35:44And so we are almost like families.
35:49But for the bigger community,
that would be an overly aggressive word.
35:52It would just be inaccurate to
say the entire 65,000 people
35:56across 12 countries is a family.
35:58It's just this,
it would be an inappropriate metaphor.
36:01The, just like a village has
families within it, that's,
36:04that's just more accurate.
36:05We're serious about the metaphor,
if you're going to, it's going to,
36:07if it's going to help you make decisions
and help you talk about decisions, and
36:11help people understand how you want
to behave, It's gotta be real,
36:14it's gotta make sense, it's gotta be
internally holistically consistent.
36:18And so, the one's there, we,
I'm much better at this,
36:21I used to be bad at giving
people bad reviews and
36:24bad at terminating because I was
too intent on proving I was right.
36:28I'm right about the ways you underperform.
36:30I'm right about it's the right
decision to terminate you.
36:32And then one of my executives who work for
me,
36:36a guy named Tom Musselton, taught me
what I thought about conceptually but
36:40have never applied to that area which
is the holy script of intentionality.
36:44Until I got to the point where I
intended to be helpful to that person in
36:49the review or in the decision, helpful, I
could never become very good at doing it.
36:55And as I went through my year or
two of learning that from this gentleman,
36:59there were times I cancelled the meeting
because I knew I was still going in
37:02with my old tendency wanting
to prove I was right.
37:05And take care and respond to any rebuttal.
37:09And so if you go into it with the right
intention in your heart, your head will do
37:15just fine by itself and in a village you
gotta maintain the health of the village.
37:21Doesn't meant they're
going to be destroyed.
37:23There are other jobs,
there are other villages.
37:26In many cases, there are people who won't
take a demotion, and so in that case, it
37:30becomes their own decision to go, in terms
of a majority of successful executives
37:35have a really hard time with a demotion,
I think that's totally philosophically
37:40inappropriate and shallow, but
it's where most human beings come from.
37:46Shallow's not the right word, but
37:49I think in many cases they
would have been happier.
37:52But I think putting it
in the right context,
37:54having the right intentionality, and
then being respectful and humane.
37:59>> My name's Fernanda.
38:04I would like to hear a little more about
the intentional parts of a culture so
38:11in the beginning here you were saying
oh what we just did that was not my
38:15intent when they started off and I'm sure
a lot of things evolved through the years.
38:20But I would like to hear about your
vision in the very beginning and
38:24your role as a leader in
making that vision come true.
38:29Let me take a stab at it and then you
come back if I don't hit it right.
38:33Intentionality is fundamental and
we just had 10 people
38:39last night in Denver who just
went through something that I'll
38:44describe as part of our intentionality and
that is the first word they used.
38:48A couple of big groups that
are thinking of joining us.
38:51And when that happens, we just invite
them to come to our big meetings.
38:55So, a part A and a part B.
38:58First, when I showed up, and
39:01for reasons we can go into later perhaps,
there was a big family decision,
39:07I did announce to the groups
like this that That number one,
39:13I wanted to create a deferentially
healthy place for people to work and have
39:19an unusual percentage of people say that
it was the best place they ever worked.
39:22Not perfect, not easy, but
the best place they ever worked.
39:26And number two is we wanted to
build the greatest dialysis company
39:29the world had ever seen.
39:30Then that is what I said.
39:32And we were on the verge of bankruptcy,
we're being investigate by the SCC,
39:35we're being sued by shareholders.
39:37We had no COO, no CIO,
39:39no CFO, we were in six weeks of
missing payroll of 9,000 people.
39:44And so
when I said those words in that situation,
39:47a lot people thought it was inappropriate
emphasis given where we were.
39:51In my mind, if you care about that stuff,
39:54the time to start working
at it is right now.
39:56Either so you'd never delay.
39:58It doesn't mean you don't have to do all
the other stuff, but there's no such thing
40:02the leaders lead, they don't wait for
the right time to lead.
40:06Second when I did that,
if you use this room,
40:09a third of the people thought
it was just manipulation.
40:12Superficial marketing, hoity toity MBA,
40:16wants us to stay,
looks like we're going to go bankrupt.
40:19So this is like, so if he wants us to say,
he shouldn't give us
40:23superficial football speeches like that,
he should give us retention bonuses.
40:27And then maybe a third of the group,
40:28obviously you don't
know the right numbers.
40:31Were thinking well,
that's very nice, he seems sincere,
40:34but that'll last about a month.
40:37And then maybe a third of the group
said wow, I would like to work in
40:42a place that's differentially a healthy
place for human beings to work.
40:46And has a dream of actually making
a significant impact on the world.
40:51I'd like that, I'm hoping he's sincere and
he's competent.
40:55And if you've not done it yet,
given a speech in a room or
40:59two-thirds of the people,
think you're full of it, it's not fun.
41:05But it demonstrates intentionality.
41:07And then you say, and
by the way I know most the people in
41:10the room think this is not pragmatic or
not sincere or naive or whatever.
41:14And then they go okay, so
he actually knows that a bunch of us,
41:19think it's bias and he's still saying it.
41:23Now that's interesting.
41:24Because at first we thought he was dumb or
naive, now we see he actually knows it and
41:28he's still saying it.
41:30And then people would of course say, how?
41:34It's okay, that's what we
have to figure out together.
41:36Here's some ideas about our
policies around the university,
41:40here's some of our policy about
helping teammates in need.
41:43Here's some of brainstorming here and
there on personal and
41:46professional development and
impact on communities.
41:48And so we started to demonstrate by
having regular meetings where the only
41:53subject was.
41:54How do we make this notion of being
a differentially healthy place to
41:57work come true.
41:58And just like if you had
a marketing problem or
42:00a manufacturing problem
it was the agenda item.
42:04You would generate ideas,
you would allocate resources,
42:07you would have programs,
you would monitor the execution.
42:09So we respected the challenge and
42:12we demonstrated that we
were damn serious about it.
42:15And we used to get on the phone,
as we still do it.
42:17Every eight weeks for
a voice of the village call,
42:19I just had one yesterday,
about 5,000 people across the world.
42:22And in those days,
42:23every call I'd say what is the incremental
evidence since the last call?
42:27To suggest we're serious about
this mission and values stuff.
42:31And so to put it way, way out there and
42:33then at some point,
you call the question and say okay.
42:37We call it crossing the bridge and
we have a bridge in every neighborhood.
42:40I walk across the bridge every morning.
42:42And after you've been with us six months,
42:45we ask you to stand at that bridge and
decide, you never have to tell us.
42:49And if you decide to walk across it,
42:51it means that you've declared
that you share accountability.
42:54For creating a differentially
healthy place to work,
42:58having us be a community first.
42:59And trying to have a differential
impact on health care in the world.
43:03And so it was very explicit,
43:06it was very much reinforced by actual
actions, actual intellectual investment.
43:11Actual project management,
operating follow through.
43:14Actual honest discussions
about how we were doing.
43:17Because back then we had 9,000
people across 450 locations.
43:21If you didn't get way intense,
43:24it's not like being able to
call everybody in a room.
43:26It had to be much more serious.
43:27So I think those are some of the things
43:30that really hammered
home the intentionality.
43:32And got a lot people
thinking about whether or
43:35not they wanted to cross the bridge.
43:37And then I'll throw out one other
thing that was powerful part of it.
43:41A bunch of managers in the first
year crossed the bridge.
43:44They said whoa,
we believe this and we're psyched.
43:49It would be great to retire and
say I tried to build
43:51the greatest douse this company will
ever seen and have a differentially.
43:55I'm on board, but when I go back to
Tulsa or New york or whatever and
43:59talk to the 25 people in my little center.
44:02I can't bring that alive and
44:04were open six days a week, three shifts
a day I can't even pull my team together.
44:08Much less convey it all and the videos
help but they're not enough and so
44:12the village concept is
stopping at the manager level.
44:16And so we had town halls and
their managers saying this to me and
44:20the other senior leaders.
44:22And we said okay,
how can we break through that?
44:24And then somebody had
the temerity to say well,
44:28we couldn't actually fly
all our people somewhere.
44:33To go to meetings like we do and
discuss this stuff.
44:36And of course,
no you can't because it's expensive and
44:39because it's really hard to get substitute
staffing in all the local centers.
44:43And then we said okay, but it appears
we can't do what we say we want to do.
44:48The dream is not feasible unless we're
willing to do something that we don't have
44:52anyone else that does.
44:53And so ever since that time,
we have academies that are two days long.
44:56Every teammate in America and
44:57now or pretty soon the world is
invited to come for two days.
45:00We have people who've never been
on a business trip, lots of them.
45:03Some have never been on a plane,
don't have credit cards,
45:05never checked into a hotel.
45:07And then the vice president's right
next to the doctor who's right next to
45:12the tech who's right
next to the secretary.
45:14And it's two days with
no applied training.
45:17It's all about our mission, our vision,
45:19our language, our rituals, people go
through things like Myers-Briggs and
45:23we have thousands of people
who've never done that.
45:26And the second day we ask every
one to write their personal credo,
45:28which is essentially
a statement of life purpose.
45:31And then think about,
are they living a life consistent
45:35with what they would say their values and
life mission is?
45:38And then do we fit in it?
45:40And so when we started doing that,
when we told people across America.
45:44We will fly you for
two days of discussion and
45:46have senior executives
there to help interact.
45:50That was a huge piece of data for
people that we were serious.
45:55And still all along the way,
45:57you had to go through waves of skepticism,
cynicism, fatigue.
46:02You set a tough budget and
does that mean it's not a village,
46:07was that reasonably responsive?
46:09>> I think we have time for
one more, okay?
46:13>> Can a non citizen call you KT?
46:16>> Yes.
46:17>> It's a pleasure having you, KT.
46:18>> It depends what words are in front or
after it.
46:20>> [LAUGH] Can you speak a little
bit more about the disadvantages to
46:25having that strong of a culture,
specifically for your leadership role?
46:29And on a more personal note for
you and for your citizens,
46:33how does having your daytime
job being that touchy feely?
46:38How does that impact your life at home and
your relationship with your own family?
46:42>> Whoa.
46:43>> [LAUGH]
>> On the first one,
46:49which I think was how
does the strength and
46:52nature of the culture constitute or
it is a disadvantage?
46:58I've not been asked that specific
47:03question and thinking spontaneous,
I really coming up empty.
47:08I think it's always a good thing.
47:14Now some days it makes some stuff harder,
47:16because you have to explain really
delicate things that are uncomfortable.
47:21But that's sort of like the bridge
you have to pass if you want
47:24a special culture is that's inevitable.
47:27So I think it forces
uncomfortable human behavior.
47:30It forces you to do stuff and
47:33me to do stuff I might not have
the courage to do otherwise.
47:36One of the things we tell young
leaders is get out there,
47:39talk about your values out loud
to the people that work for you.
47:44And it didnt take us a bunch of them
would be looking and saying [SOUND].
47:47You think you live that value?
47:50I'm not so persuaded and
the power of speaking out loud, so
47:54I think it forces moments of
serious discomfort, but it's never
47:58a A disadvantage would be my pretty strong
reaction, although I get the question.
48:03I'm not trying to be dismissive.
48:05And then in the second one is
48:09particularly thought provoking considering
my son, my little munchkin is in the room.
48:17But I believe that the DaVita village
48:22has made me a better human being.
48:27And I think obviously my kids have
48:33limited memories, because they were ten
and eight when we started this adventure.
48:39But other people who know me
throughout would talk about how it's
48:45fostered first, encouraged,
motivated growth as a human being,
48:51and I love most the letters we
get from people that have left.
48:56Or when we give core value awards,
which we take very very seriously,
48:59one of the rituals of our village.
49:00The annual core value words.
49:01And then they happen throughout most of
the year are very, very serious events.
49:05There's no recognition on our night of
honor for business accomplishments.
49:08It's all human behavior.
49:11That often, for me the most special ones,
and often the remarks of the people who
49:16get it will say that I've been at DaVita
six years and I'm a better daddy.
49:21I'm a better mommy, I'm a better daughter.
49:24That's what we're about.
49:26For us, our culture's not a part
of our business strategy.
49:29Our culture is about our dreams
of what life should be like.
49:33And it just happens to be inserted
into a capitalistic enterprise.
49:39So I feel it's, it's why I'm still,
as my son will tell you, highly imperfect.
49:45I think it's made me way
more mindful at home.
49:51And it's been demanding
as some of you know
49:56back 16 years ago when I took the job,
50:00I had just come off a private
equity backed thing.
50:06I ran a company, it got taken over,
it was very in need financially and
50:11really sad because we thought we
were building something special.
50:14Then I did a private equity backed thing
with TPG and Bain Capital and it failed.
50:18And it failed largely because of mistakes
I made, strategically and otherwise.
50:22And I had friends who moved their
families across the country
50:25to join this company with me.
50:27And then a year and a half later, I had to
tell them their job was being eliminated.
50:30And we ended up selling the piece of
the company, losing half the money, and
50:35in the face of that, so I was working
very hard to try to save it and didn't.
50:41And so when that was over, I told my
wife and kids that I was going to
50:47take six months off and spend time with
them and get healthier and the rest.
50:53And when search firms would call,
I would say, call me in six months,
50:58I'm going to take some downtime.
50:59I was within eight weeks of being done and
then they called for this company.
51:04And since I had run one of their
caregiving company before that was
51:08the most professionally fulfilling
time in my life, and so
51:13I went through a hellatious month with my
wife, Denise, who was also an HBS grad,
51:18was one of America's first
female venture capital partners,
51:22about how much of my
taking this job was ego.
51:25want to make some more money,
want to prove I can turn a company,
51:28want to prove I can run a bigger company.
51:29Even though it was in another city,
it was a total turn around.
51:32My family wasn't going to move.
51:34Versus how much of it was virtuous and
51:36had to do with having
a positive effect on the world.
51:39And I wasn't sure about the answer.
51:41I knew it was a bunch of both and
clearly we decided what we did and
51:46it was sort of pivotal in the end,
was saying, the fact that
51:52it was going to be difficult was highly
relevant, but it's one thing to be home
51:56five nights a week with your kids and talk
to them about leading a purposeful life,
52:01and a whole another thing to be
there fewer nights, but lead one.
52:04And that's the gift that The Village gave
me and so, while it's pulled me away,
52:10and certainly there's times I've been
distracted, that I think my kids know that
52:15I'm doing my best to lead a purposeful
life and become a mindful person.
52:20And I think that counts for
something with them, I don't know.
52:23>> [LAUGH]
>> We'll check that out with
52:25a munchkin later.
52:26>> [LAUGH]
>> All of the students who are here in
52:31order to get into the GSB had to answer
a question which has become customary for
52:36us to ask I guess,
which is what matters most to you and why?
52:41>> I hate questions like that.
52:48At DaVita people some times say, well what
matters more keeping the profits up and
52:53the stock price up or the village?
52:57I say it's a mirror
it's a false dichotomy,
52:58it's like what's more
important to you air or water?
53:01You have to have both.
53:02To say one's more important
than the other is,
53:05I think, a paradigm that defies reality.
53:09And so I would say three.
53:12One is there is nothing more special
than the people you love and love you.
53:19And the older you get,
I'm a couple months from 60,
53:22the more significant that he is and
what you shall sow, you shall reap.
53:28By the time you get to my age,
a lot of stuff is locked and loaded
53:33in terms of the depth and the breadth of
your friendships, and the texture of those
53:36friendships and relationships with your
family, and you kids, your spouse.
53:43Second is to try to become
53:48more mindful each day, to tread gently
on the planet and the people in it.
53:53This is a particularly difficult one for
me.
53:58But there's Buddhist saying
that's strictly speaking,
54:01there are no spiritual people,
there's only spiritual practices.
54:05And people who act in a humane,
mindful, gentle way every day,
54:10all day, send amazing human ripples
through the course of their life.
54:15And so for
me that's a particular challenge and
54:17I'm proud of the progress I've made,
because it's so important.
54:21And then third is the more macro,
what impact do you have on the world?
54:25And I'll tell you for people in this
room you have spectacular capabilities.
54:30Spectacular experiences and
spectacular luck in getting to come
54:35to a place like this with people
like you're sitting with.
54:38And so I sincerely hope that many of you
take on the incremental responsibility
54:44on top of the first two of trying to
have a significant impact on the world.
54:50>> Great answer on all three points.
54:52Do you have any closing thoughts
you'd like to share with this crowd?
54:57>> Well, for me, honored to be here.
55:00When I was in those seats from 1981 to 83,
55:04it was my dream that maybe one
day I would get to come back and
55:08talk to, excuse me,
kids like you about important topics.
55:13So for me, getting to be here and be
here with Garth and Charles O'Reilly and
55:17Joel Peterson, this is like a dream.
55:20So I really encourage young people,
think about your dreams and
55:24don't give up on them,
because sometimes they come true,
55:27they're rarely easy, and they are rarely
linear to go after, but for me,
55:31many of the dreams I had when I was your
age have come true, and I feel so lucky.
55:36And the second thing I would say
is just with all the ambitions and
55:41the pressures of two career couples and
having babies and through all that,
55:46to really savor the adventure of life,
there's a French author, Colette,
55:52who said I had a wonderful life,
I only wished I'd realized it sooner.
55:57>> Please join me in thanking KT.
55:59>> [APPLAUSE]
56:02>> [MUSIC]
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