WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.080 --> 00:00:04.240 - There's a small circle of people who truly 2 00:00:04.240 --> 00:00:05.919 - understand what it takes to lead a health 3 00:00:05.919 --> 00:00:08.660 - system right now. The decisions are enormous, 4 00:00:08.960 --> 00:00:11.839 - the variables are constantly shifting, and the stakes 5 00:00:11.839 --> 00:00:14.019 - of getting a call wrong don't stay contained. 6 00:00:14.320 --> 00:00:16.815 - That's not a complaint. It's a structural reality. 7 00:00:17.195 --> 00:00:19.114 - And it's why the most effective c suite 8 00:00:19.114 --> 00:00:21.195 - leaders are deliberate about where they go to 9 00:00:21.195 --> 00:00:22.574 - pressure test their thinking. 10 00:00:22.954 --> 00:00:26.554 - Becker's fourteenth annual CEO and CFO roundtable brings 11 00:00:26.554 --> 00:00:28.554 - together more than 1,500 12 00:00:28.554 --> 00:00:31.829 - executive level attendees and nearly 400 speakers for 13 00:00:31.829 --> 00:00:34.729 - four days built around growth, financial sustainability, 14 00:00:35.270 --> 00:00:38.070 - workforce strategy, and the leadership questions that don't 15 00:00:38.070 --> 00:00:39.130 - have easy answers. 16 00:00:39.670 --> 00:00:41.750 - Join us November second through the fifth in 17 00:00:41.750 --> 00:00:42.250 - Chicago. 18 00:00:42.789 --> 00:00:44.809 - For the agenda and event details, 19 00:00:45.155 --> 00:00:47.314 - visit beckershospitalreview.com 20 00:00:47.314 --> 00:00:49.155 - and click on the events tab in the 21 00:00:49.155 --> 00:00:49.895 - upper right. 22 00:00:50.754 --> 00:00:54.434 - This is Scott Becker with the Becker's Healthcare 23 00:00:54.434 --> 00:00:54.934 - Podcast. 24 00:00:55.715 --> 00:00:57.634 - We're thrilled today to be joined by Naya 25 00:00:57.634 --> 00:00:58.134 - Kehase. 26 00:00:58.560 --> 00:01:01.840 - Naya is this brilliant industry leader who who 27 00:01:01.840 --> 00:01:05.040 - built a consulting practice in the surgery center 28 00:01:05.040 --> 00:01:06.579 - and payer contracting area, 29 00:01:07.120 --> 00:01:09.280 - and then built that into a much bigger 30 00:01:09.280 --> 00:01:09.780 - business. 31 00:01:10.400 --> 00:01:11.380 - Highly successful. 32 00:01:12.159 --> 00:01:14.260 - Now retired or semi retired, 33 00:01:14.855 --> 00:01:16.615 - but, you know, we'll we'll we'll probably won't 34 00:01:16.615 --> 00:01:19.094 - stay retired forever because she's got so much 35 00:01:19.094 --> 00:01:20.795 - energy and is so smart. 36 00:01:21.335 --> 00:01:23.895 - We're gonna talk today about leadership and business 37 00:01:23.895 --> 00:01:24.395 - principles. 38 00:01:25.335 --> 00:01:25.814 - Naya 39 00:01:26.215 --> 00:01:28.155 - and for those in the health care sector, 40 00:01:28.560 --> 00:01:30.000 - you might have seen her over the years. 41 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:32.000 - She was one of the leaders after sort 42 00:01:32.000 --> 00:01:33.299 - of selling her business 43 00:01:33.760 --> 00:01:34.659 - to ECG, 44 00:01:35.519 --> 00:01:37.519 - and becoming a leader there, and had just 45 00:01:37.519 --> 00:01:39.299 - a wonderful, wonderful career. 46 00:01:39.920 --> 00:01:40.420 - Naya, 47 00:01:40.879 --> 00:01:43.459 - first first of all, before we get started, 48 00:01:43.875 --> 00:01:46.594 - take a second and introduce yourself, then I'll 49 00:01:46.594 --> 00:01:48.674 - ask you about a couple of the leadership 50 00:01:48.674 --> 00:01:49.174 - principles 51 00:01:49.555 --> 00:01:51.555 - that have had the biggest impact on your 52 00:01:51.555 --> 00:01:52.055 - career. 53 00:01:52.674 --> 00:01:55.174 - Great. Thanks so much, Scott, and congratulations 54 00:01:55.555 --> 00:01:57.334 - on your book. It was awesome. 55 00:01:57.900 --> 00:02:01.120 - Anyway, as you said, I have been 56 00:02:01.579 --> 00:02:03.439 - working in the ASC industry 57 00:02:04.140 --> 00:02:06.939 - primarily as well, originally as an operator, but 58 00:02:06.939 --> 00:02:08.400 - then as a as a consultant 59 00:02:09.020 --> 00:02:11.199 - for over thirty five years. 60 00:02:11.895 --> 00:02:13.435 - And I had 61 00:02:13.814 --> 00:02:14.314 - really 62 00:02:14.694 --> 00:02:16.155 - developed a niche business 63 00:02:16.534 --> 00:02:19.574 - with a concentration and expertise in reimbursement in 64 00:02:19.574 --> 00:02:22.055 - the economics of the business. And I think 65 00:02:22.055 --> 00:02:24.294 - that's what I really became known for and 66 00:02:24.294 --> 00:02:27.094 - what the firm really became known for, with 67 00:02:27.094 --> 00:02:28.969 - our expertise in that space. 68 00:02:29.349 --> 00:02:30.169 - And it was 69 00:02:30.549 --> 00:02:32.009 - really a great ride, 70 00:02:32.310 --> 00:02:34.549 - and I really enjoy it and still enjoy 71 00:02:34.549 --> 00:02:37.030 - it. And I believe that it serves a 72 00:02:37.030 --> 00:02:38.169 - tremendous purpose, 73 00:02:38.870 --> 00:02:42.254 - and I'm looking forward to thinking about, you 74 00:02:42.254 --> 00:02:44.974 - know, the future and what comes my way 75 00:02:44.974 --> 00:02:47.375 - and new opportunities that might be down the 76 00:02:47.375 --> 00:02:47.875 - road. 77 00:02:48.814 --> 00:02:50.334 - And talk a little bit about you had 78 00:02:50.334 --> 00:02:53.215 - this great career, built this great practice of 79 00:02:53.215 --> 00:02:55.935 - lot of leadership, both a brilliant person and 80 00:02:55.935 --> 00:02:58.230 - built a great team and great business. What 81 00:02:58.230 --> 00:03:00.310 - are a couple leadership principles that you think 82 00:03:00.310 --> 00:03:00.810 - about? 83 00:03:01.990 --> 00:03:04.469 - There's three that really come to mind for 84 00:03:04.469 --> 00:03:06.790 - me, Scott, and I mentioned a little bit. 85 00:03:06.790 --> 00:03:09.290 - One, I really believe in niche businesses 86 00:03:09.750 --> 00:03:12.069 - where you identify a need and have the 87 00:03:12.069 --> 00:03:13.450 - expertise and and 88 00:03:13.905 --> 00:03:15.284 - keep building on it 89 00:03:15.745 --> 00:03:16.805 - and where your organization 90 00:03:17.424 --> 00:03:19.444 - can demonstrate and create value, 91 00:03:20.384 --> 00:03:23.424 - for customers and clients is really the recipe 92 00:03:23.424 --> 00:03:24.164 - for success. 93 00:03:24.704 --> 00:03:27.584 - It's really important that you stay focused on 94 00:03:27.584 --> 00:03:28.484 - your core business 95 00:03:28.840 --> 00:03:30.459 - and deliver quality and service, 96 00:03:31.000 --> 00:03:34.199 - and constantly understand how the customer needs are 97 00:03:34.199 --> 00:03:34.699 - changing. 98 00:03:35.079 --> 00:03:37.180 - And then second, I would say 99 00:03:37.560 --> 00:03:40.599 - invest and recognize in developing great team and 100 00:03:40.599 --> 00:03:41.659 - creating a culture 101 00:03:42.314 --> 00:03:43.055 - that embraces 102 00:03:43.675 --> 00:03:44.175 - accountability, 103 00:03:44.955 --> 00:03:46.974 - loyalty, and commitment from your team. 104 00:03:47.435 --> 00:03:49.134 - I always said I I never 105 00:03:49.435 --> 00:03:52.155 - know everything. Right? And surround yourself by others 106 00:03:52.155 --> 00:03:54.235 - that know more than you do is I 107 00:03:54.235 --> 00:03:56.155 - don't think you'll ever be an expert in 108 00:03:56.155 --> 00:03:56.655 - everything. 109 00:03:57.069 --> 00:03:58.689 - I think one of the greatest 110 00:03:59.069 --> 00:04:02.129 - compliments or comments I received from a customer 111 00:04:02.349 --> 00:04:05.169 - in the past in in the original firm, 112 00:04:06.110 --> 00:04:07.870 - was when they told me we have a 113 00:04:07.870 --> 00:04:08.689 - deep bench. 114 00:04:09.115 --> 00:04:11.115 - And he spread that news to a lot 115 00:04:11.115 --> 00:04:13.594 - of others. And it was so rewarding, and 116 00:04:13.594 --> 00:04:15.534 - it instilled confidence and 117 00:04:15.835 --> 00:04:18.814 - and drove business, and it was just awesome. 118 00:04:19.115 --> 00:04:21.514 - And then I think with respect to when 119 00:04:21.514 --> 00:04:23.839 - you're building great teams, it is so, so 120 00:04:23.839 --> 00:04:27.120 - important to recognize your team and support them 121 00:04:27.120 --> 00:04:28.659 - and to nurture the stars. 122 00:04:29.279 --> 00:04:32.399 - I was a strong advocate and believed that 123 00:04:32.399 --> 00:04:35.519 - the reason why my initial team stayed with 124 00:04:35.519 --> 00:04:37.485 - me for many, many years, I had an 125 00:04:37.644 --> 00:04:39.745 - extremely low low attrition rate, 126 00:04:40.284 --> 00:04:41.584 - was showing appreciation, 127 00:04:42.125 --> 00:04:43.664 - thanking people, and recognizing 128 00:04:43.964 --> 00:04:45.904 - them for their leadership and contributions 129 00:04:46.844 --> 00:04:50.125 - and making accommodations and and compensating the stars 130 00:04:50.125 --> 00:04:51.805 - and the leaders so that they stay with 131 00:04:51.805 --> 00:04:53.185 - you for the long run. 132 00:04:53.539 --> 00:04:55.779 - It definitely costs far more, I think, to 133 00:04:55.779 --> 00:04:58.740 - lose those stars and leaders than it costs 134 00:04:58.740 --> 00:05:02.199 - to replace them. And I I was a 135 00:05:02.259 --> 00:05:04.500 - firm, firm believer in that. I think that's 136 00:05:04.500 --> 00:05:05.240 - what made, 137 00:05:06.064 --> 00:05:07.285 - the firm really, really 138 00:05:07.745 --> 00:05:10.225 - successful. And I think the third thing I 139 00:05:10.225 --> 00:05:10.884 - would say 140 00:05:11.264 --> 00:05:13.824 - is the concept of being a partner and 141 00:05:13.824 --> 00:05:15.925 - not a vendor to your customers, 142 00:05:16.785 --> 00:05:19.764 - sustaining those relationships and building those relationships 143 00:05:20.449 --> 00:05:24.290 - where the customer really values your services and 144 00:05:24.290 --> 00:05:24.949 - your team 145 00:05:25.410 --> 00:05:26.149 - is incredibly 146 00:05:26.850 --> 00:05:28.709 - critical to your long term success. 147 00:05:29.490 --> 00:05:32.129 - And it's really interesting because you'll see sometimes 148 00:05:32.129 --> 00:05:35.670 - customers transform for from vendor to partner. 149 00:05:36.345 --> 00:05:38.745 - And when they're aligned with you and your 150 00:05:38.745 --> 00:05:39.245 - organization 151 00:05:39.625 --> 00:05:40.764 - and they feel comfortable, 152 00:05:41.145 --> 00:05:43.645 - you know, reaching out to you and having, 153 00:05:43.785 --> 00:05:44.845 - you know, conversations 154 00:05:45.145 --> 00:05:47.625 - with you, you learn more about them. And 155 00:05:47.625 --> 00:05:48.389 - that trusted 156 00:05:51.670 --> 00:05:53.290 - goes a long, long way 157 00:05:53.670 --> 00:05:55.590 - rather than being a vendor and being, you 158 00:05:55.590 --> 00:05:59.030 - know, totally dispensable. And and I would see 159 00:05:59.030 --> 00:06:00.389 - that a lot. I saw that a lot 160 00:06:00.389 --> 00:06:02.125 - in my career, and it it was really, 161 00:06:02.125 --> 00:06:04.365 - really critical. But it's really, really takes a 162 00:06:04.365 --> 00:06:05.345 - lot of hard work, 163 00:06:05.964 --> 00:06:08.604 - to establish those types of relationships, but they're 164 00:06:08.604 --> 00:06:10.225 - well worth it for the long run. 165 00:06:11.404 --> 00:06:13.564 - When you look at people that you've worked 166 00:06:13.564 --> 00:06:14.865 - side by side with, 167 00:06:16.039 --> 00:06:18.300 - what qualities do you value the most 168 00:06:19.160 --> 00:06:21.479 - in in emerging leaders, in colleagues, in people 169 00:06:21.479 --> 00:06:22.539 - that you work with? 170 00:06:22.839 --> 00:06:24.919 - What are the qualities you think you value 171 00:06:24.919 --> 00:06:26.860 - the very most in those people? 172 00:06:27.160 --> 00:06:28.620 - How how do you look at that? 173 00:06:29.555 --> 00:06:32.615 - The number one quality that I 174 00:06:33.395 --> 00:06:35.735 - value the most was passion and motivation, 175 00:06:36.355 --> 00:06:39.314 - because I firmly believe that you can provide 176 00:06:39.314 --> 00:06:42.035 - education and tools, but passion comes from within 177 00:06:42.035 --> 00:06:43.319 - and cannot be taught. 178 00:06:44.040 --> 00:06:45.879 - I always would say, you know, for those 179 00:06:45.879 --> 00:06:48.120 - who had fire in their belly, I will 180 00:06:48.120 --> 00:06:50.680 - take that any day because I cannot teach 181 00:06:50.680 --> 00:06:53.000 - that. That type of person is going to 182 00:06:53.000 --> 00:06:55.580 - be very loyal and committed, 183 00:06:56.204 --> 00:06:57.105 - but you also 184 00:06:57.564 --> 00:06:59.345 - have to have alignment and 185 00:06:59.805 --> 00:07:03.084 - see that they're willing to learn, contribute, and 186 00:07:03.084 --> 00:07:04.144 - offer new ideas. 187 00:07:04.604 --> 00:07:06.544 - I think that goes a long way. 188 00:07:06.845 --> 00:07:09.084 - I also really value people who are willing 189 00:07:09.084 --> 00:07:10.845 - to tell me when I can do something 190 00:07:10.845 --> 00:07:11.345 - better. 191 00:07:11.729 --> 00:07:14.209 - Sometimes you can't always see that for yourself 192 00:07:14.209 --> 00:07:16.789 - and see what your own opportunity is to 193 00:07:17.329 --> 00:07:19.649 - improve upon. So I I think those are 194 00:07:19.649 --> 00:07:20.629 - some of the key 195 00:07:21.169 --> 00:07:23.410 - things that are I really, really, 196 00:07:24.504 --> 00:07:26.504 - valued when I was looking at, you know, 197 00:07:26.504 --> 00:07:28.685 - hiring people and developing leaders. 198 00:07:30.425 --> 00:07:32.105 - Talk about a time and and you've had 199 00:07:32.105 --> 00:07:33.865 - this fascinating career. I've had a chance to 200 00:07:33.865 --> 00:07:35.384 - have a front row seat and have loved 201 00:07:35.384 --> 00:07:37.964 - it. Talk about a time where where 202 00:07:38.425 --> 00:07:39.485 - you've had a setback 203 00:07:40.149 --> 00:07:41.449 - or a difficult decision 204 00:07:41.829 --> 00:07:44.789 - that ultimately was very important in in driving 205 00:07:44.789 --> 00:07:47.110 - you forward and thinking differently or how you 206 00:07:47.110 --> 00:07:48.470 - did things, and and what did you learn 207 00:07:48.470 --> 00:07:49.289 - from that experiences? 208 00:07:50.149 --> 00:07:52.310 - And, Scott, if I may, I'd love to 209 00:07:52.310 --> 00:07:54.735 - talk just about two experiences because I think 210 00:07:54.735 --> 00:07:57.055 - I think they're very different and and might 211 00:07:57.055 --> 00:07:58.675 - add some value to the conversation. 212 00:07:59.454 --> 00:08:02.254 - In the very early years of the company 213 00:08:02.254 --> 00:08:04.334 - that I founded, there was a time that 214 00:08:04.334 --> 00:08:06.894 - I was really, really reluctant to hire people, 215 00:08:06.894 --> 00:08:09.310 - and I actually turned away a lot of 216 00:08:09.310 --> 00:08:11.629 - customers and put them on hold because I 217 00:08:11.629 --> 00:08:14.129 - didn't have enough people to service the demand. 218 00:08:14.509 --> 00:08:16.350 - The company had no debt. It was self 219 00:08:16.350 --> 00:08:19.150 - funded. I was obsessed with cash flow and 220 00:08:19.150 --> 00:08:21.150 - making sure we had enough money to cover 221 00:08:21.150 --> 00:08:23.389 - our expenses. So I was always thinking about 222 00:08:23.389 --> 00:08:25.925 - whether or not we had enough fees to 223 00:08:25.925 --> 00:08:27.305 - cover, you know, the salaries. 224 00:08:27.685 --> 00:08:28.425 - And, unfortunately, 225 00:08:28.884 --> 00:08:31.044 - from that, we left money on the table, 226 00:08:31.044 --> 00:08:33.365 - and we lost some prospective clients that were 227 00:08:33.365 --> 00:08:35.625 - not willing to to wait. And I think 228 00:08:35.845 --> 00:08:37.845 - the biggest lesson that I learned from that 229 00:08:37.845 --> 00:08:39.509 - was was that there was really a fine 230 00:08:39.509 --> 00:08:42.410 - line for overstaffing and understaffing. I have certainly 231 00:08:42.710 --> 00:08:43.610 - also experienced 232 00:08:43.990 --> 00:08:45.769 - the pain of overstaffing, 233 00:08:46.789 --> 00:08:49.429 - but that you had to really monitor it 234 00:08:49.429 --> 00:08:51.529 - closely and be prepared to grow. 235 00:08:51.914 --> 00:08:52.355 - And, 236 00:08:52.794 --> 00:08:56.075 - I thought about the really early days where 237 00:08:56.075 --> 00:08:58.014 - I did a lot of subcontracting, 238 00:08:58.875 --> 00:09:01.514 - and I think subcontracting really helps bridge the 239 00:09:01.514 --> 00:09:03.674 - gap and capture the opportunity. I wish I 240 00:09:03.674 --> 00:09:06.799 - did more of it later and and really 241 00:09:06.799 --> 00:09:09.360 - thought about that when I lost those customers. 242 00:09:09.360 --> 00:09:11.299 - I should have added more subcontractors 243 00:09:12.080 --> 00:09:14.480 - because customers will move on, and they won't 244 00:09:14.480 --> 00:09:17.039 - wait forever. And it can, you know, amount 245 00:09:17.039 --> 00:09:19.440 - to a significant amount of missed opportunity and 246 00:09:19.440 --> 00:09:21.634 - revenue growth, you know, if you're not careful. 247 00:09:21.634 --> 00:09:23.914 - So I think, you know, that's incredibly 248 00:09:24.294 --> 00:09:24.794 - important. 249 00:09:25.414 --> 00:09:27.355 - And if I may, second, 250 00:09:27.815 --> 00:09:29.514 - example of an experience, 251 00:09:29.894 --> 00:09:32.075 - I had a customer once that owed us 252 00:09:32.214 --> 00:09:34.394 - a meaningful amount of money. They represented 253 00:09:34.695 --> 00:09:37.399 - about 10% of the revenue at the time. 254 00:09:37.399 --> 00:09:40.200 - This is many years ago. And a senior 255 00:09:40.200 --> 00:09:42.040 - executive of that company was a long term 256 00:09:42.040 --> 00:09:43.580 - colleague, so I was pretty committed 257 00:09:44.120 --> 00:09:46.440 - to helping and staying with with the company 258 00:09:46.440 --> 00:09:48.519 - and and probably should have been a little 259 00:09:48.519 --> 00:09:50.860 - bit harsher about paying the bills for months. 260 00:09:51.065 --> 00:09:53.865 - We kept servicing them, and they eventually went 261 00:09:53.865 --> 00:09:54.365 - bankrupt, 262 00:09:54.745 --> 00:09:56.825 - and we never recovered the money. And it 263 00:09:56.825 --> 00:09:58.605 - caused delays in payments, 264 00:09:59.144 --> 00:10:00.125 - you know, to, 265 00:10:00.504 --> 00:10:01.404 - and impacted, 266 00:10:01.865 --> 00:10:04.700 - even retirement funding. So I guess my lesson 267 00:10:04.700 --> 00:10:07.339 - learned from that was that recognize when you 268 00:10:07.339 --> 00:10:09.759 - have a bad company and draw the line 269 00:10:09.820 --> 00:10:11.440 - and put limits in place. 270 00:10:11.980 --> 00:10:14.940 - There's significant exposure when you have customers that 271 00:10:14.940 --> 00:10:17.835 - represent meaningful dollars as they can put you 272 00:10:17.835 --> 00:10:20.075 - at meaningful risk, and it can be difficult 273 00:10:20.075 --> 00:10:21.375 - to recover from that. 274 00:10:21.754 --> 00:10:23.514 - I remember I would scramble and just go 275 00:10:23.514 --> 00:10:25.535 - out running looking for more business. 276 00:10:26.154 --> 00:10:28.975 - So it's really important to diversify your customer 277 00:10:29.035 --> 00:10:30.450 - base. I realized 278 00:10:30.909 --> 00:10:33.629 - too when when, a vendor is not a 279 00:10:33.629 --> 00:10:36.029 - good partner and recognize that you don't have 280 00:10:36.029 --> 00:10:38.269 - a good customer, it's probably better to let 281 00:10:38.269 --> 00:10:40.350 - them go than to retain them, because it 282 00:10:40.350 --> 00:10:42.049 - could cause more harm than good. 283 00:10:43.274 --> 00:10:44.815 - Thank you very, very much. 284 00:10:45.195 --> 00:10:47.215 - And and and talk for a second, Naya, 285 00:10:48.315 --> 00:10:50.254 - about when you look at 286 00:10:50.715 --> 00:10:51.215 - today 287 00:10:51.595 --> 00:10:53.695 - and you're giving advice to CEOs, 288 00:10:54.075 --> 00:10:55.934 - to founders, senior executives, 289 00:10:56.709 --> 00:10:58.250 - What to build their businesses? 290 00:10:58.870 --> 00:11:00.709 - What ought to be their priorities? How should 291 00:11:00.709 --> 00:11:01.850 - they think about it? 292 00:11:02.470 --> 00:11:04.470 - Yeah. I mentioned a lot of this already, 293 00:11:04.470 --> 00:11:07.110 - but I think that investing in your team 294 00:11:07.110 --> 00:11:09.429 - and developing leaders and stars that are aligned 295 00:11:09.429 --> 00:11:10.649 - with the company envision 296 00:11:11.075 --> 00:11:12.855 - and drive growth. I think 297 00:11:13.235 --> 00:11:13.735 - identifying 298 00:11:14.674 --> 00:11:17.394 - people that have passion and fire in their 299 00:11:17.394 --> 00:11:19.634 - belly and provide the education that they need 300 00:11:19.634 --> 00:11:22.115 - to give them the autonomy to thrive, I 301 00:11:22.115 --> 00:11:24.455 - think I think it's really important to compensate 302 00:11:24.595 --> 00:11:27.039 - them appropriately so they are committed to stay 303 00:11:27.039 --> 00:11:27.700 - with you. 304 00:11:28.320 --> 00:11:31.120 - Retaining great people for the long term creates 305 00:11:31.120 --> 00:11:34.559 - consistency, loyalty with customers, and significant long term 306 00:11:34.559 --> 00:11:35.059 - value, 307 00:11:35.440 --> 00:11:38.160 - which I really believe drives your success. You're 308 00:11:38.160 --> 00:11:39.700 - not gonna do it on your own. 309 00:11:40.034 --> 00:11:43.475 - I also really believe in recognizing and showing 310 00:11:43.475 --> 00:11:46.134 - your appreciation to those leaders and star performers, 311 00:11:47.235 --> 00:11:50.034 - and that aligns with their hard work and 312 00:11:50.034 --> 00:11:50.855 - then striving, 313 00:11:51.235 --> 00:11:52.754 - to be a partner and not a vendor 314 00:11:52.754 --> 00:11:55.235 - with your with your customers. Capturing and retaining 315 00:11:55.235 --> 00:11:55.735 - great 316 00:11:56.649 --> 00:11:59.370 - customers requires constant attention and many hours of 317 00:11:59.370 --> 00:12:00.029 - your time 318 00:12:00.410 --> 00:12:01.710 - to developing relationships 319 00:12:02.250 --> 00:12:04.809 - and also great teams because it's not just 320 00:12:04.809 --> 00:12:06.190 - about you. The the 321 00:12:06.649 --> 00:12:08.990 - the the great customer that's a partner 322 00:12:09.774 --> 00:12:12.014 - wants the great team that's surrounded by them 323 00:12:12.014 --> 00:12:13.934 - and and that they trust and that they 324 00:12:13.934 --> 00:12:14.434 - have 325 00:12:14.975 --> 00:12:17.215 - relationships with, whether it's a product or a 326 00:12:17.215 --> 00:12:18.034 - service that 327 00:12:18.575 --> 00:12:19.875 - drives demand and ultimately, 328 00:12:20.414 --> 00:12:23.315 - you know, results in driving your financial performance, 329 00:12:23.375 --> 00:12:24.995 - and it's a win win for everybody. 330 00:12:26.120 --> 00:12:28.120 - Thank you. And and and take a second, 331 00:12:28.120 --> 00:12:30.200 - Naya. When when when you look at sort 332 00:12:30.200 --> 00:12:30.360 - of, 333 00:12:31.320 --> 00:12:34.139 - when you are operating your best in business, 334 00:12:34.200 --> 00:12:35.799 - when you are offering the top of your 335 00:12:35.799 --> 00:12:38.039 - game, what are the things that you're doing 336 00:12:38.039 --> 00:12:40.544 - right that you would encourage other CEOs to 337 00:12:40.544 --> 00:12:41.684 - do right as well? 338 00:12:42.625 --> 00:12:45.024 - I think the things that I was doing 339 00:12:45.024 --> 00:12:47.204 - right was I was constantly 340 00:12:47.824 --> 00:12:48.324 - networking 341 00:12:49.424 --> 00:12:50.324 - and constantly 342 00:12:51.184 --> 00:12:54.464 - looking at new opportunities while staying in our 343 00:12:54.464 --> 00:12:54.964 - niche. 344 00:12:55.480 --> 00:12:57.480 - You know, as you mentioned, you know, our 345 00:12:57.480 --> 00:12:57.980 - expertise 346 00:12:58.519 --> 00:13:01.160 - was strongly focused on the business side of 347 00:13:01.160 --> 00:13:04.460 - ASCs, and we were very, very well known 348 00:13:05.000 --> 00:13:08.039 - for our expertise in reimbursement and analyzing the 349 00:13:08.039 --> 00:13:09.100 - surgery business. 350 00:13:10.045 --> 00:13:13.184 - But reimbursement is constantly, constantly changing. 351 00:13:13.884 --> 00:13:16.125 - And I I could never know, and I 352 00:13:16.125 --> 00:13:17.884 - and I still sit, you know, in in 353 00:13:17.884 --> 00:13:20.125 - involved with it now. I you can never 354 00:13:20.125 --> 00:13:21.024 - know everything. 355 00:13:21.485 --> 00:13:24.144 - And I think making sure that you have 356 00:13:24.524 --> 00:13:25.024 - your 357 00:13:25.549 --> 00:13:28.829 - finger on the pulse constantly and how things 358 00:13:28.829 --> 00:13:31.549 - are moving me today, right, with AI and 359 00:13:31.549 --> 00:13:34.429 - transparency data, I think about, you know, how 360 00:13:34.429 --> 00:13:35.329 - that impacts, 361 00:13:36.269 --> 00:13:38.190 - you know, all businesses, but even, you know, 362 00:13:38.190 --> 00:13:40.345 - the business that I had. And and I 363 00:13:40.345 --> 00:13:42.585 - think the reason why we were so successful 364 00:13:42.585 --> 00:13:43.884 - is we were constantly 365 00:13:44.825 --> 00:13:45.725 - a step ahead 366 00:13:46.264 --> 00:13:47.085 - and constantly 367 00:13:47.625 --> 00:13:50.105 - also being mindful of what our clients were 368 00:13:50.105 --> 00:13:51.404 - facing. We had clients 369 00:13:52.120 --> 00:13:53.100 - that were consolidating. 370 00:13:53.639 --> 00:13:56.279 - We had clients that were independent. We had 371 00:13:56.279 --> 00:13:59.660 - clients that were, you know, very large ASC 372 00:13:59.720 --> 00:14:02.220 - companies in understanding the differences 373 00:14:02.759 --> 00:14:04.759 - between them and what their needs were in 374 00:14:04.759 --> 00:14:06.059 - servicing them, 375 00:14:06.384 --> 00:14:07.125 - the service 376 00:14:07.745 --> 00:14:10.164 - with results and being able to demonstrate results 377 00:14:10.625 --> 00:14:13.264 - was definitely the key to success. And and 378 00:14:13.264 --> 00:14:13.764 - really 379 00:14:14.144 --> 00:14:16.865 - being transparent when you didn't think you know, 380 00:14:16.865 --> 00:14:18.750 - I was in a space where, you know, 381 00:14:18.830 --> 00:14:21.149 - I'm trying to help them financially. And if 382 00:14:21.149 --> 00:14:23.070 - we're there were certain markets that were really, 383 00:14:23.070 --> 00:14:23.889 - really challenging 384 00:14:24.350 --> 00:14:26.529 - and being very forthright about, 385 00:14:26.990 --> 00:14:28.990 - you know, things in the market and the 386 00:14:28.990 --> 00:14:31.250 - environment that you could not control, 387 00:14:32.195 --> 00:14:33.495 - and being really transparent, 388 00:14:34.195 --> 00:14:36.535 - I think was really, really important, 389 00:14:37.154 --> 00:14:38.134 - to our success. 390 00:14:39.154 --> 00:14:40.754 - No. I absolutely love that. I had a 391 00:14:40.754 --> 00:14:42.915 - chance to watch Naya throughout a a great 392 00:14:42.915 --> 00:14:44.934 - deal of her business leadership career. 393 00:14:45.259 --> 00:14:48.240 - Simply remarkable what you did in building AVEA 394 00:14:48.299 --> 00:14:48.799 - Millennium, 395 00:14:49.259 --> 00:14:51.500 - ultimately doing a transaction at some point to 396 00:14:51.500 --> 00:14:53.580 - continue to lead at that next firm for 397 00:14:53.580 --> 00:14:54.720 - a very long time. 398 00:14:55.179 --> 00:14:57.659 - Naya Kiheis, what a pleasure to visit with 399 00:14:57.659 --> 00:14:59.440 - you. One of the best in the business. 400 00:14:59.834 --> 00:15:01.355 - We look forward to seeing you back in 401 00:15:01.355 --> 00:15:03.274 - the arena in not too long, at least 402 00:15:03.274 --> 00:15:03.934 - some arena. 403 00:15:04.394 --> 00:15:06.475 - Nai Kehe is a great, great leader. Thank 404 00:15:06.475 --> 00:15:08.154 - you so much for joining us today on 405 00:15:08.154 --> 00:15:09.454 - the Becker's Healthcare podcast. 406 00:15:09.995 --> 00:15:12.014 - Thank you, Scott. Great to be here.