Author: Andy Tytla

Published: 237 articles

Healthy Global Domination

Calling it an “initiative” is gentler than calling it a “campaign” — less warlike, too. Considering the state of GE’s stock, this really is a global campaign in GE’s battle with the markets’ perception.

GE launched Healthymagination this week and I expect it to genuinely improve the quality of healthcare everywhere.

Under healthymagination, by 2015 GE will:

  • Invest $3 billion in research and development to launch at least 100 innovations that lower cost, increase access and improve quality by 15 percent. GE will also apply its expertise in services and its suite of performance improvement tools for impact in these areas. These actions will strengthen GE Healthcare’s business model.
  • Work with partners to focus innovations on four critical needs to start: accelerating healthcare information technology; target high-tech products to more affordable price points; broaden access to the underserved; and support consumer-driven health.
  • Expand its employee health efforts by creating new wellness and healthy worksite programs while keeping cost increases below the rate of inflation.
  • Increase the “value gap” between its health spend and GE Healthcare’s earnings to drive new value for GE shareholders.
  • Engage and report on its progress. GE will engage experts and leaders on policy and programs and create a GE Health Advisory Board, which will include former U.S. senators Bill Frist and Tom Daschle and other global healthcare leaders.

Healthymagination will draw on capabilities from across GE, including GE Healthcare, GE Capital, GE Water, NBC Universal, the GE Global Research Center as well as the GE Foundation, the philanthropic arm of GE.

Now, if we can just rehab the surly nurses’ behavior a local doctors’ offices…

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Learning Never Ends

One of my favorite sayings is “learning never ends.” During my years at Smithsonian magazine, we asked our editor, Don Moser, to come up with a slogan. He gave us those three words.

Brilliant, isn’t it?

I get an intellectual charge out of new ideas and new ways of doing things. For a marketing person, that’s good. Creativity is like a river — always flowing.

As with learning, relearning can be a personal stimulus as well. I first played guitar at age 7, then stopped at 22 or so. Now I made a point to learn it all over again. Bought a new Silvertone guitar at a Sam Goody’s that was going out of business. My guitar-playing friends have told it’s the best-sounding $40 guitar in the world. I’d like to learn the Bob Marley song “One Love” next. Beautiful song; always liked it.

Here’s a unique rendition from Playing For Change (yes, their “Stand By Me” was featured on CNN the other night)…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xjPODksI08]

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