It’s no secret that Jeff Bezos is curious about new possibilities and he acts to explore them. Recently he said, “success will require a beginner’s mindset.” While they don’t have the answer to this very complex, heavily regulated, highly political endeavor – I know that Amazon is entering this task with eyes wide open. They aren’t afraid to roll up their sleeves, challenge the status quo and spend the money and time to find the right solution(s).

I’m sure you noticed the phrase, “free from profit-making incentives.” While many in the industry may scoff at this, recognize what it means. Using their 2.5 million members, they’re willing to invest in new ideas and be a health care incubator for America. If there’s money to be made, I’m sure they’ll figure it out, but they don’t have the short-term constraint of bringing ideas to market profitably. This is a differentiator.

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  3. Leaders inspire results
  
  

Jeff Bezos has an amazing ability to create and communicate a bold direction that inspires results. I remember when he announced that Amazon would be the number-one clothing retailer in the US while we were still in “startup mode.” He created the vision, empowered his team, taught us to fail fast and funded the growth. Today Amazon is the number-one retailer in clothing.

Another example: Would we ever have made it to the moon if John F. Kennedy hadn’t announced before Congress, “this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth”?

I made a bold move leaving Amazon to help the team at freshbenies improve health care. I have observed that health care is a segmented industry with few leaders calling out a bold direction. I admire these 3 leaders for their audacious vision and ambition.

4. Information is useful, but rumors are useless

We should all take note of the information that has been released:

• Three companies have decided to partner to figure out how to reduce health care costs for their companies and employees.

• They will focus on technology solutions that can provide simplified and transparent health care, at a lower cost.

That’s what we know. The rest is only rumors. Amazon is usually pretty tight-lipped about their projects, so don’t expect to hear much until the launch.

In an earlier article, I noted that the health care industry is ripe for disruption, innovation, a better end-user experience, transparency, technological advances, etc. If you’re concerned about this deal, you should be concerned for EVERYONE coming after health care - Google, Apple and so many others! The space is primed for gutsy companies that will deliver a better experience. Speaking of that…

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  5. Customer experience will be the focus
  
  

While at Amazon the team would gather for “All-Hands” meetings with Jeff Bezos. In one of those meetings, an employee inquired about Jeff’s high customer service standard. Jeff said that his goal wasn’t to just elevate the customer experience at Amazon but to influence all industries to elevate their customer experience. To him, customer service is not a goal but the entire vision of his company. Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase said, “Our people want transparency, knowledge, and control when it comes to managing their health care.” I think it’s safe to say that elevating the employee experience will be a top priority!

Megan McArdle from Bloomberg View wrote, “health care costs are a bit like the weather: everyone talks about them, but no one ever does anything about it.” Maybe these three leaders will spark change and actually do something about it.