Excellence in Healthcare
Susan Kanvik
Healthcare Practice Leader
Point B
Growing Point B's Healthcare practice has required the mindset of a marathon runner, which is convenient because Susan Kanvik is both the leader of the practice and an avid runner.
When she joined the firm in 1999, Point B employed just 40 people and about one-third did healthcare work. Roughly 12 years later, the firm now consists of 400 professionals, including about 100 devoted to healthcare—provider, payer and life sciences clients. Her success story wasn't built on a single idea or fast-growing fad. Instead, it's a story of building local relationships, one at a time—each one building on the momentum of the last step.
In Point B's home market of Seattle, "healthcare is a small community," she says. The firm didn't focus on relationships with institutions, but instead focused on individuals. "Our clients move from one hospital to another all the time, but they remain our clients."
The marathon isn't just a metaphor for Kanvik, but a part of Point B's unique employee value proposition. For years, Point B has been a self-insured organization. "That means that any effort we can put toward preventing illness and improving the health of our staff can have a huge pay back for all employees," she says. The leadership has led by example. "We want to be good role models. We put together a fitness challenge and give points to staff for exercising and weight reduction."
Trusting consultants to make the right choices is ingrained in the firm's culture. "For our consultants, travel is optional. It's up to me to decide how often I travel and when I feel I need to go to a meeting in person," she says. "Our consultants are experienced leaders, many of whom wanted to get off the road, but they also know when they can be more valuable on site instead of on the phone."
Kanvik's career hasn't followed a traditional path. More than twenty years ago—long before anyone talked about electronic medical records—she was fascinated by emerging technology that had the potential to help manage health by looking at aggregated health records. That same forward thinking has helped her lead PointB's practice grow steadily over the last decade.
As any marathon runner would tell you: It's not about a fast start, it's all about the journey.
—J.S.
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