Like many, I get an overwhelming volume of email. Since there are recurring patterns, I decided to set the auto-responder to deliver the message below. If you have any feedback on it, I'd welcome it.
Auto-responder Out-of-Office Message
With 100s of inbound email per day, it's impossible for me to be effective and individually respond to emails. I hope the following will expedite you achieving the result you had hoped when you sent me the email.
Business partners & Family/close friends: I'm doing my best to unclutter my inbox so I can respond to you as quickly as possible. Feel free to re-send the email with "priority" in the Subject line if you don't hear back from me in a timely manner
Startups & new ventures: If you are focused on achieving the Quadruple Aim, I'd love to collaborate (see below). If your venture isn't positively impacting the Quadruple Aim, I will politely decline. The short version of why is that I believe the status quo healthcare delivery system is the greatest threat to our fellow citizens. The following are how I respond to the most common startup requests:
- Pitching/funding: Healthfundr's investing is thesis-driven and I've been transparent on our investment thesis. The high level filters are that you have evidence that your venture positively impacts the Quadruple Aim and it adds value to the Health Rosetta. If it does, please complete a Healthfundr profile (process & FAQs are listed there as well). If not, we'll politely decline or invite you to pivot to focus on the Quadruple Aim and Health Rosetta where we think the best returns and societal impact will reside.
- Advice: I'm passionate about accelerating the shift to a much higher performing health ecosystem since the status quo is so horrible. I am involved with a few major initiatives to accelerate the shift. My #1 piece of advice is help grow your category/ecosystem and you'll get more than your fair share. That was at the heart of the successes I had as an entrepreneur. Please join us in the ecosystem shifting initiatives. I talk about those initiatives and address as many common health startup issues on my personal blog. My topics are often chosen based on repeated questions I get. If all of the aforementioned items don't address your request, I make myself available via Healthfundr's expertise platform. I have some limited windows I can invest there and I donate the proceeds to charity.
Team members: Find me on Slack for a quicker response
PR professionals: Similar to my advice to startups, if your client has evidence they are positively impacting the Quadruple Aim and are adding value to the Health Rosetta, I'm interested in learning more. I'll tell you what I'm not interested in -- buzzword bingo that isn't backed up by actual delivery/results in the market. Sadly, there are a lot of "Milli Vanillis" out there mouthing words like "population health" and "patient engagement" while putting lipstick on a pig. I know there are amazing companies and results out there and I'd love to hear about them. If your client falls into that category, resend the email with "PR priority" in the Subject line. Some of the great input we've received to the Health Rosetta and 95 Theses for a New Health Ecosystem have come from sincere, high impact vendor leaders.
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