Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive into our discussion about disruption, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?
Since I was a kid, I was always trying to create something. I remember being ten years old in South Carolina and having this burning desire to work. When you are ten, your options are limited but we had all these fishing tournaments in the town where I grew up, so I would get up before the crack of dawn and set out to catch live bait. I would catch as much as I could with a net and set up shop right where the fishermen needed to pass. I was convenient and the bait was priced right — and who could resist buying from the ten-year-old. Even at ten, I knew this. I worked every tournament for the next couple of years and have worked ever since.
My dad then trusted me to run his jet ski business when I was just 14 years old. At its very core, I learned so much about business, how the value of currency fluctuates, and, most importantly — about people — both customers and those who you work with every day. From there, I knew to be my own boss, I needed to save as much money as I could, as quickly as possible. That is what drove me to sales. I could make money, not fight the corporate fight that so many hated and have my own business where I chose the sector, the pathway, the people, and gave back to my community.
I set a target: I would have my own operation at age 25. It coincided with my brother Don’s own career decisions at the time. He was living in Asheville and had this small business called Aeroflow but needed help to turn the business around. I am so happy he did. I had no background in healthcare at the time, and I think that is ironically what healthcare needs more of — people whose only interaction with healthcare is being sick or the illness of a loved one. It gives you a different perspective on how to approach patients and the people who work with you to help them. It is hard to imagine that live bait could be the foundation for our DME (durable medical equipment) business, but it was.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
We have a value of extreme ownership which is rooted in the fact that the leaders of Aeroflow all started out here at the bottom. We all have answered the phones, dealt with the insurance companies, and helped the patients and their families. We fix things that are challenging because we know how those challenges affect everything else.
Each of our business unit leads have the support to run their business as if it is their own. They have full reign to implement new ideas, address problems, and manage as they see fit. One of the biggest problems companies have today is micromanaging. They hire someone to do a job and then don’t let them do the job. That is not a good way to retain people and it certainly is not a good way to have a productive enterprise that makes money.
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
My answer above flows into this question. The values that make Aeroflow stand out did not come with our articles of organization. They came with time and human experience.
When my brother Don passed away, I was so grief stricken and emotional that I could not run the company in the way it needed to be run. I had to put faith in the people I hired. It taught me a lot about them, a lot about me, and a lot about leadership. A company that is rooted in compassion, one that understands that people are human beings with families and stressors and good times and bad ones has no problem hiring. And ensuring that working at Aeroflow is not adding to problems they have outside of work not only improves how people work, but it also hopefully helps them manage all the other stress in a more productive way. Any leader in business needs humility. We are not elites in some tower. Something could befall anyone at any time. That is why I do not have an office and sit in the cubicles at Aeroflow. I know a lot of what is going on because I see it. I am not sitting in an office chatting or reading the news. I am handling all the things I should be with those around me.
Work ethic was also vital to the success of Aeroflow. We were on the brink of bankruptcy so many times when this all started, working literally every day from 4:30 in the morning until 8:00 at night. I was filing claims and chasing invoices to make payroll. I can never forget the feeling I had sitting on a Thursday night praying (and I am not a religious person) that some deposits would clear in time to make payroll the next morning. A lot went into Aeroflow being the multi-state, multi-region company that it is today, and it would not have been done without that grit.
Leadership often entails making difficult decisions or hard choices between two apparently good paths. Can you share a story with us about a hard decision or choice you had to make as a leader? I’m curious to understand how these challenges have shaped your leadership.
It was hard for me to let go of our oxygen business. Oxygen (ensuring that patients receive and can use oxygen delivered in tanks) was the business line that our company was founded upon — and it was profitable. It felt like turning my back on something.
Some would question why something profitable was even at risk of being cut. However, we needed to get out of the oxygen business so that we could invest in others. At the end of the day, even though there were sentimental attachments to that business, it was not a core strength of Aeroflow.
When you focus on what you have become good at and make those things the core of what you do, it can change the entire projection of the company — and it did for Aeroflow.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Let’s begin with a basic definition so that all of us are on the same page. In the context of a business, what exactly is “Disruption”?
Consistent dynamic thinking.
If you cannot be disruptive, you have no competitive advantage. While you can enter a marketplace, unless your business stands out, you will languish in mediocrity — or worse.
That is why we rarely hire from within the healthcare industry and why we have people that approach every business they are running separately. So often in healthcare, like to a drum, everyone does the same thing in the same way. You not only need to be disruptive to be competitive but to ensure that you are giving back to this world in a different way.
How do you perceive the role of ‘disruption’ within your industry, and how have you personally embraced it? Is it a necessity, a strategy, or something else entirely in your view?
Healthcare is an industry of people following the herd. It is where people will complain about something, like some new regulation, but not adapt to it so that people can function in a way that makes their job easier instead of harder.
Disruption is a function of strategy. We want to be ahead of the curve, and a place where there is a line out the door coveting an open job. A lack of disruption makes a company mediocre and good employees don’t want to work in mediocrity. They want to do something that makes them proud.
What lessons have you learned from challenging conventional wisdom, and how have those lessons shaped your leadership style?
I have learned that the best ideas come from all levels of an organization. When you are insulated from the front lines of your company, you are insulating yourself from reality and you are not only leaving some great ideas on the field, but you are also missing out on problems that need to be addressed.
I have also learned that when you infuse a mentality of ownership, the best ideas come to fruition because the people who thought of them are then building a strategy around their execution — and then carrying out their objective.
Too often, companies are run by a small group of people who make decisions based on data alone and have never been on the ground. When your leadership gets their hands dirty, they more fully realize what is right and what is wrong — and make it better.
Disruptive ideas often meet resistance. Could you describe a time when you faced significant pushback for a disruptive idea? How did you navigate the opposition, and what advice would you give to others in a similar situation?
In the early days of our company, technology and the accessibility of technology began to change everything. Or almost everything. The vendor who wrote our software was being resistant to some changes taking place in the world. The straw broke the camel’s back on one phone call when we asked for what now seems like a no brainer. It was “can we get a tab to collect patient emails?”
The response was “no” — that people do not use emails to talk about healthcare. Well, I thought they were mistaken. So, we did something that revolutionized Aeroflow and catapulted us: we decided to develop our own software. By writing our own software instead of running a company that adheres to someone else’s software, we were able to deliver for patients like never before.
You are never going to achieve great success unless you embrace disruption and challenge the status quo.
What are your “Five Innovative Approaches We Are Using To Disrupt Our Industry”?
I am going to be disruptive for a minute to let you know that I am not responding to this question because it would inform our competitors as to how they can be more disruptive.
Looking back at your career, in what ways has being disruptive defined or redefined your path? What surprises have you encountered along the way?
When I am not sometimes as anchored as I should be, my impulsive nature can be creative but not materialize my ideas. I have come to learn how important it is to have a diversity of personalities on your leadership team. You need folks who come up with ideas, those who develop the strategy to bring them to realization, and those who operationalize them in the marketplace.
Groups made up of different people with different experiences are more successful.
Something that I found surprising was how transparency with employees as it pertains to Aeroflow’s financials has impacted the approach to work. As I mentioned, for a long time, Aeroflow was not doing that well and there was a debate internally about how much information employees should have. I was personally concerned about attrition.
I was wrong. Opening the books increased productivity. It made people work harder, be more competitive, and more open to constructive feedback in improving their work.
In your role as a C-suite leader, driving innovation and embracing disruption, what thoughts or concerns keep you awake at night? How do these reflections guide your decisions and leadership?
Being disruptive makes a company stand out. It also can make regulators and compliance folks more likely to pay attention to what you’re up to. You must make sure that you do not violate any laws or policies when you are in the midst of disrupting an industry and that your books are in better order than everyone else’s.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
In healthcare, the “fee system” drives everything. As a result, there is little incentive to prevent illness. There is increasing discussion around preventative medicine and preventive behaviors, but not enough. We need a system that drives prevention.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Follow www.aeroflowhealth.com or follow us on LinkedIn.
Thank you for the time you spent sharing these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!