Angie Stewart: Hello, and welcome to Healthcare Insider, a sponsored content podcast series for Modern Healthcare Custom Media. I'm your host, Angie Stewart.
This episode is sponsored by Mayo Clinic Laboratories, a global leader in turning test results into clinical answers. It provides advanced testing and pathology services for 3400 healthcare organizations, offers more than 4400 tests and pathology services, and performs more than 26 million tests annually.
On today's podcast, we are thrilled to have Mary Jo Williamson, the chief administrative officer for Mayo Clinic Laboratories.
During her over 30-year career with Mayo Clinic, she has held multiple executive leadership roles and served on the board of trustees. She currently serves as the administrative leader of Mayo Clinic's diagnostic Business lines, which include Mayo Clinic Laboratories and Mayo Clinic's cardiac monitoring.
Mary Jo, thank you so much for being here today.
Mary Jo Williamson: Angie, it's great to be here. I'm looking forward to our discussion.
Angie Stewart: Me too. So, we'll go ahead and dive in with our first question. With numerous long-term investment opportunities like developing staff, investing in technology, or expanding space, how do you and your team initially identify which opportunities to explore?
Mary Jo Williamson: Well, it's such a great question and one that all leaders have to take so seriously. There's so much evolving in the healthcare and diagnostic space. If you don't really think through a purposeful strategic plan that has building blocks of how you bring together technology and human resources along with capital investments, you can end up with a combination of unique flight solutions that don't really add up to that strategic vision that you are driving towards.
At Mayo Clinic Laboratories, we take our strategic planning process very seriously, but we're also nimble as we re-evaluate it throughout the year to think about how we layer in all those important elements, how are we investing in our staff, how are we closing capabilities, how are we adjusting to new technology options that are on the table?
You know, you can't open up any type of literature without being almost overwhelmed by the opportunity across automation and AI, and you certainly can't ignore it because it creates such an environment to have a bigger impact over time if you make smart strategic investments to really augment how we're pulling these pieces together, human capital, technology investments, facilities, and other types of equipment.
It's an exciting time, but you really have to be on top of your game as you're making these big-dollar, multi-year investments.
Angie Stewart: Yeah, it sounds like you're looking at how to really bring these disparate things together and make it a connected, integrated sort of technology environment. So, once you've identified a potential investment, how do you determine whether to proceed, so to cut through all that noise and the overwhelming number of options, and how do you determine what level of investment to make?
Mary Jo Williamson: Well, isn't that a great question? Especially when you think about some of the opportunities across AI and automation, you can almost become consumed with thinking about how you invest in point solutions versus looking at your holistic investment portfolio, and how that really supports and enables that strategic plan that we talked about, that needs to be such a core grounding.
One of the things that I find so useful by keeping that strategic plan as your true north is it allows you to really hardwire in things like your core values. And for us, it's the needs of the patient coming first.
We really try to put a patient-centric lens on all major investments and initiatives that we're driving. How is this going to be better? How is it going to bring advancement in the diagnostic space? How will it serve our patients better? And sometimes that's hard to do in the moment of evaluating a new shiny object. But if you get those things hardwired into a plan that you're bumping these opportunities up against, I find you can really stay on a path that can be synergistic with your current operations and additive as to the impact that you can make in the market.
Now we may be criticized at times for a very deep vetting process. We plan very detailed. We try to balance that by really efficient execution. So we take our time to think through all elements of different types of investments we want to make, but then we bring that team together to move quickly once we've made a decision.
And one of the benefits of that deep planning process is you tend to have alignment and so that you can de-risk some of your execution components.
Another big benefit and luxury candidly of working at Mayo, is we have these diverse multidisciplinary teams, and we have a culture of bringing them together to really work towards a common goal. And it's so important to have those various perspectives because you can get really off on a tangent of a very narrow perspective.
Having that multidisciplinary team to keep you grounded, and how you make the biggest impact for your investments and how it's additive to what you're doing is of critical importance and something that leaders really have to keep front and center, and be responsible for and take seriously.
And last but not least, I'd say, we work very hard across the board to instill a sense of curiosity in our team. Change is hard, and often with major investments, change comes. But if you develop a culture of curiosity, reevaluation, thinking about how we can approach complex problems differently, it's much easier to really engage the teams when you have a big challenge ahead of you, to implement a new system or develop a new structure, or whatever the case may be.
So, it’s an exciting time, but it’s a time that you have to be very purposeful about in order to ensure you can deliver the highest value service possible to your customers.
Angie Stewart: Absolutely. I’d love to talk more about being purposeful with the team component, but I’m going to table that for a moment and ask a follow-up question.
I’d love to hear if you have any examples—you’ve described this intense vetting process, your philosophy around connecting these different solutions, identifying the right ones. Do you have examples, either from past solutions that you’ve explored and implemented, or even things on the horizon for Mayo Clinic Laboratories?
Mary Jo Williamson: Yeah, well, actually, I’m in the middle of one that I think is a great example of exactly the opportunity and challenge that we’re talking about. For years, Mayo Clinic Laboratories has operated as a tightly vertically integrated organization. At times, that brings some inflexibility in thinking differently about bringing capacity, suppliers, and servicing your core customers and patients in new ways.
So, we undertook an IT transformation about two years ago—a multi-phase project that will reimagine how our entire architecture and technology is structured. You might say, “Well, that’s interesting, but that’s something for IT people to worry about. But that’s, of course, not true because it changes fundamentally all the elements of our business: how our operations interface and work, and how that opens up opportunities for automation and efficiencies.
It has a huge impact on how we do business. Getting people engaged in the possibility of how we can transform that—using, in this case, technology as a core enabler—is essential. But you really won’t get the value and impact unless you reorganize all the operational impacts around it.
It’s a great project. Personally, we’re just getting ready to wrap up phase one of a three-phase project, and it is exceeding my expectations in terms of our ability to bring answers to the market.
Angie Stewart: It’s great to hear about those efforts around automation. Coming back to that idea of being purposeful with the team component, can you talk a little about how you assess and close gaps around capability needs and equip your teams to meet future demands as technology is integrated?
Mary Jo Williamson: Well, it’s a great question. As there are so many new opportunities to take advantage of, one of the things we try to instill in our daily activities is acknowledging the challenges in front of us. We think critically about understanding what is challenging for us and lean into thinking differently about how we resolve those issues—by investing in activities that close core capability gaps.
Sometimes people confuse acknowledging challenges with not being proud of their work. I think they are complementary, not at odds. We’re very proud of the work we do every day, but we want to continue pressing forward, leaning into challenges, and figuring out how we can be better. If you can role model that mindset, celebrate what’s working in today’s environment, and maintain curiosity, you can create an invigorating, rather than threatening, activity for the team. Of course, that mindset shift isn’t always easy, but we focus on ensuring that staff are prepared, ready, and willing to contribute to thinking differently about how we deliver services and do business every day.
Angie Stewart: What does that look like, if you don’t mind me digging in a little more? How are you understanding the challenges and opportunities for your workforce?
Mary Jo Williamson: It’s a big challenge, especially in a fast-paced environment where a lot is happening. The key is to create an environment where people can succeed while driving change, but minimizing chaos, which can be paralyzing. Teams have big roles to deliver on in the current state, and you want them ideating and creating models to advance approaches—without making it impossible for them to succeed in the environment they’re in today.
This involves several categories. Number one, becoming a forward-looking organization driven by that strategic plan we talked about earlier. That plan gives people a roadmap and helps them keep pace while staying a step ahead. A multidisciplinary and collaborative team approach is part of the “secret sauce” we look to across our teams. We aim to enable diverse opinions and synthesize them to make the best decisions possible. There’s no perfect answer to complex issues, so you must be willing to iterate, adjust, and evolve.
Lastly, communication is critically important. People want to rally and be part of the long-term solution, but if they don’t understand the “why” and “where,” it’s hard for them to engage productively.
Transparency, gratitude, and empowerment are core elements as we lead our team through this exciting journey to redefine how we deliver services. You also have to be ruthless in assessing what’s working and what’s not. In a highly transformational environment, not all decisions will be right. You must be willing to pivot when things aren’t working as planned or don’t support long-term objectives.
Listening, observing, and adjusting are key because with so much coming down the pike daily, you want to ensure you’re making the smartest decisions. That allows us to deliver the unbelievable diagnostic care our patients need.
Angie Stewart: Very well said, I'm hearing, you know, being honest about your results and the work you've done, but also transparency, communication, creating this environment of innovation and a culture of innovation. And then you mentioned again, bringing it back to the strategic plan as your North Star. Is there anything else to add? Any specifics around the strategic plan or balancing the need for long-term investments with immediate business needs?
Mary Jo Williamson: I think it's interesting. I think, number one, there is no transformation if the core is not strong and thriving, in my opinion. And so, you can't ignore the care and feeding of your core business and ensure that that is operating at its highest level as you look to evolve the organization and move forward.
So it has to be a balanced approach. I think that you also have to really value roles that people are playing at all elements of the spectrum of your business. Because it's not just the ideas and the people on the front in that matter, it's the whole team that really brings together an environment that's successful, that you can continue to drive at scale.
While you are reimagining what could be possible and how you bring that together. I'd say last but not least, one of the real challenges I think from a leadership perspective is keeping in mind that opportunity costs. You know, you have to continuously be weighing, if I'm going all in on the strategic initiative, what does that mean that my focus, my capital, my resources will have to be redistributed from? And is that worth it? And then continually reassess that and make adjustments because, as I said, the best-laid plans will be modified on day one because you have more information, you have more experience, and you really have to be humble enough to be willing to make those pivots as you work through the process.
Angie Stewart: Yeah, that continuous evaluation, I think, is really a key piece of what you said there, and protecting your core business and the stability that you really need to innovate. One of the reasons I'm so excited to talk to you today and why this is such a valuable conversation is you're a seasoned healthcare leader. You really have witnessed significant changes and innovations in healthcare throughout your career, and right now, we're seeing an increasing pace of change in the industry. This is making it challenging to predict the outcomes of investments. But how has this rapid pace of change influenced your approach to long-term investments, and as part of that, your approach to risk management?
Mary Jo Williamson: Well, it's interesting. You really have to think about how you are synthesizing inputs from so many different places. And it's really important to have a view of the landscape. I think, at times, if you're in an organization like Mayo Clinic where you have unbelievable resources at your fingertips, it can be easy to become insular, and no one can be insular in today's environment. You need to be listening to your internal colleagues, constantly reassessing where you need to be really focused in order to drive that impact and advance the science.
You need to have a balanced approach to how you're doing that. It's like that balance—you don't want to overreact to what's happening in the industry, but you also can't underreact. You need to be finding your pathway for how your organization can contribute in the most impactful way possible.
Angie Stewart: Really appreciate that perspective. As we wrap up our conversation, are there any other thoughts you'd like to share?
Mary Jo Williamson: Well, I would just say it's such an exciting time to be part of the healthcare environment. And, honestly, if you don't wake up every day thinking about how excited you are to go to work and think about how you can do things differently, you might be in the wrong industry. Because the ability to capitalize on some of these opportunities and the impact that that will have on patient care is really tremendous.
We are absolutely not in a static state of refinement. We are in an exciting and invigorating area where the world is our oyster to take advantage of. I think it's interesting to see how quickly AI and other things are really transforming our industry and finding that right balance of how it helps enable your teams and bring a broader breadth of services and caregiver patients that you're serving is such a critical role for us all to be playing.
I mean, honestly, I can't imagine a more exciting time to be part of healthcare. We are going to look back and see that we had the opportunity to influence some of the most dramatic changes that we've seen in our industry in decades, and how we work together across our teams and our colleagues across organizations to really optimize this is so important to the patients that we serve each and every day.
So, it's a great time, and I feel honored to be in the role that I'm in today. And I look forward to really seeing what the next 3 to 5 years bring to us.
Angie Stewart: Absolutely. I think early in the conversation, we touched on how it's easy to be daunted or overwhelmed by all of the innovation happening in healthcare, but I love that you're bringing in the excitement, and that's really critical to actually making these innovations happen.
So, thank you, Mary Jo, for your time today and bringing excitement and your wonderful perspective to this conversation. Thank you again to Mayo Clinic Laboratories for their collaboration on this sponsored episode of Healthcare Insider. For more information, please visit www.mayocliniclabs.com.
To our audience, thank you as always for tuning in. To listen to more episodes of Healthcare Insider, go to the multimedia section on ModernHealthcare.com or subscribe at your preferred podcatcher. I'm your host, Angie Stewart. Thanks for listening.
