Today’s Focus: It’s time to be more human

The recent death of United Health CEO Brian Thompson was tragic. The fact that he had been receiving threats and didn’t have security with him broke my heart for his family: this was preventable.

And, this was preventable. As an intelligence and insights expert, I have worked with small to large companies, and one nearly defacto tool that we use in our work to understand things to understand the landscape is a PESTEL analysis (that goes by many names and variants). In the current landscape, insurance companies need to be looking harder at the P (Political), E (Economic) and S (Social). This horrific event is a shock event, but, the models that have been built on prioritizing profit versus people in the United States have been long decried. Yes, this was a shock event, but it’s not surprising that this act of violence took place. Sadly, it’s surprising that it has taken so long to occur, especially as the early-warning signs of threats were there.

In a video earlier this year from the New York Times, they interviewed doctors and patients, discussing the concept of “prior authorization.” In short, it’s getting permission to make sure things are aligned with the insurance company. While this was brought in to keep rates down, it seems this is suffering from the concept of sludge, a term coined by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein. Sludge in behavioral economics refers to any form of design, administrative, or policy-related friction that systematically impedes individuals’ actions or decisions.

It’s a problem that doctors feel: according to (an) AMA survey, more than four in five physicians (86%) reported that prior authorization requirements led to higher overall utilization of health care resources, resulting in unnecessary waste rather than cost-savings. More specifically, about two-thirds of physicians reported resources were diverted to ineffective initial treatments (64%) or additional office visits (62%) due to prior authorization policies, while almost half of physicians (46%) reported prior authorization policies led to urgent or emergency care for patients.

Back to P, E and S for a minute: what are we seeing in response to the death of Brian Thompson? Sadly, it’s not sympathy: it’s anger. Why?

Maybe it’s in part because they are failing as an industry align with expectations of the American people. In one data point, Just Capital found the following:

The majority of Americans – regardless of political party, ideology, or other demographic differences – not only agree that business can and should be a force for good in the world but also are closely aligned on what precisely that means: paying people fairly, investing in their workforce, treating customers better, offering products or services at a fair price, minimizing harm to the environment, strengthening communities, and even making good on climate commitments

Why are people angry? People are feeling angry because they are feeling disenfranchised by a system that is prioritizing profits over health. As you consider stakeholders, the most important person is your customer, not your shareholder: it’s easy to see when shareholders are elevated to be the most important stakeholder what can happen. Friedman economics pushed a certain thought at a certain time, and those that hold onto those priorities seem to be focused on the short-term, and focused on enriching shareholders, which often includes them. Is that a conflict? Think about what you see from decision makers: are there decisions prioritizing the organization, or themselves?  I bet you can name at least three companies without thinking too hard.

To that end, the ever-perceptive Alan Murray (President of the Dow Jones Leadership Institute ) recently shared:

Murray offered an explanation for why shareholder primacy made sense in an earlier time, and why it no longer does. In the 1970s, more than 80% of the value of Fortune 500 companies came from capital-intensive, physical stuff—factories, equipment, inventory, etc. Murray said, “In that world, you definitely are going to put a higher priority on the shareholders who are giving you the capital you need.”

Today, over 85% of the value of Fortune 500 companies is intangibles. “It’s intellectual property or brand value,” Murray said. Reducing turnover in the employees who create intellectual property and ensuring that customers value the brand become priorities. “The way I think about what’s happened is that companies are just having to become much more human because that’s where the value comes from.”

Companies are just having to become much more human because that’s where the value comes from. Exactly… So, while the health insurance industry weighs not giving enough anesthesia for surgeries (thankfully they backed off), it seems like we need to be thinking of being more human and HUMANE in our work. AI companies are easy to cite on needing improvement, as are cosmetic companies,  social media companies and more.

Finally, What about the accused shooter? As we consider being more human, we have to remember that humans are dynamic and that just because we think we know someone, doesn’t mean we know them, truly. Extreme moments can happen in the blink of an eye, but, this was a case of radicalization over a period of time, given what we know about the planning involved in this killing.  How many Valedictorians do you know? How many good, seemingly normal people do you know that are secretly being radicalized or radicalizing themselves into a belief of sorts that might result in violence? From those that are manifesting their anger as incels, religious radicalization, or even groups like Q-anon, you have people in your life who are NOT what they appear to be.

That’s not to make you paranoid about the people around you, but, watching for behaviour is important (which we discussed previously). There are people and agencies to help all across society (no matter where you live) if you have concerns about someone in your life. The fact that people who knew the shooter’s family are “shocked” and even a former friend from his time in Hawaii called it “unfathomable“: anger and fear can do a great deal to change a person, and I’m afraid this shooter was pushed to do what he did because he felt justified in his anger: we’ll find out more, of course, in the weeks and months ahead.

My questions to leaders:

• Is humanity built into how you interact with internal and external stakeholders? Is anger as a result built into your business model and operating assumptions?
• Do you have to win and someone have to lose for your business to succeed?
• Are people compensated fairly and cared for appropriately across your entire business model, including suppliers?
• Are there levers that you can control within PESTLE? And no, I’m not recommending to hire firms to go after people or to go and stalk bloggers.
• Do you have the right systems in place to monitor for internal and external threats? How are you thinking about human behaviour the workplace? No, the answer isn’t just to lay people off if they’re stressed out.

Those are just a few questions to consider: they’re important. Discuss with your leadership team, engage management and workers at all levels: there may be things you are missing or ignoring: don’t miss the chance to make your organization more human and humane.