2023 Top Consultants: Harnish Patel

Harnish Patel is a leader with nearly 10 years of experience, a passion for health care, and an aptitude for technology. Harnish is a labor productivity subject matter expert. He applies his energy toward improving and transforming hospital operations management and decision support using advanced data management and developing analytic tools. Excels at client service, process improvement, change management, leadership, practice development and hospital operations management.

What has motivated you to excel over the course of your career?

I think about this a lot, and it is really a two-part answer: impact, and insecurity.

I have always wanted to find a way to use my skills and knowledge to improve others' lives. I see a direct impact in the work I do in solving complex challenges for health care providers so they can focus on delivering the best care for their patients.

The insecurity really comes from unfortunate circumstances growing up – I never want to be in a position where I am worried about my job and my family is worried about access to resources. I feel like I work extra hard to add an extra layer of protection, and not take anything for granted, to secure the best possible life for my family.

What has been the biggest factor in your success so far?

Influence and resourcefulness.

My influence comes from many sources: my mom always worked multiple jobs (among many other challenges) to keep our family afloat; I can't really find the words to describe my wife, besides that she's just so good – I observe her behavior very closely and apply that back to my career and my personal life (and notice results!); I have a great support system in all of my immediate and extended family, and friends – we're always cheering each other on. Although all of these are factors outside of work, they add value to how I carry myself and ultimately perform at work.

Resourcefulness. I have the attention and memory of a goldfish but the curiosity of an African Grey. Over the years, I learned this about myself and have found mechanisms to chase my curiosity and use the resources at my disposal to learn, save and retrieve quickly. This is especially helpful in consulting because I am often in a position to have to think on my feet and be presented with situations where I am not the expert but am expected to be.

These two combined have trumped any credentials, education, or training I have ever gone through.

What do you enjoy most about your career in the consulting industry?

Someone once said consultants can help you with the three B's: benchmarks, best practices and bench strength. I would add a fourth and it is the one I enjoy the most: we can cut through the noise (use your imagination). It is a lot like solving an equation.

Consulting gives you a lot of exposure very quickly, so you become skilled at taking a large and complex problem, simplifying it by canceling out extra variables (cutting out the noise), following the order of operations (breaking it down into small chunks), and executing one by one.

Health care consulting is especially interesting because you have a few extra variables that cannot be canceled but you need to find their limits, and the solution ultimately has an impact on the disadvantaged groups of the entire ecosystem (providers and patients).

What is your proudest achievement to date?

I do not know if I have just one. 10 years ago, I did not think my life would look like this. I rarely take the time to celebrate the small wins in life, but there were many, and I am proud of all of them. They have all compounded to where I am now and hopefully will continue to prop me up going forward.

What's the best advice you've ever been given?

There were two: 1. A wise 14-year-old once told me: "Work hard now, relax later"; 2. "What does it cost to smile?"

What does this recognition mean to you?

It's really cool! I have always said, "Things like this don't happen to people like me." I know I am a hard worker, but I am also not a very public person. I have never cared to take credit or be in the spotlight – actually, that makes me very uncomfortable. However, recognition like this just confirms that if you keep your head down, work hard (work for a passion, not a paycheck), and just be a good person – it will get noticed and rewarded!