An Open Letter to Senator Clinton

Senator Clinton,

As your team endures the challenges of a grueling campaign, I offer these observations. As I am but one man, I understand my voice is not loud. My blog is not prominent. My stature, still emerging. In watching this election cycle unfold, I have seen why Senator Obama continues to impress voters while you watch your lead slip away.

This election is about us--the people

Whether intentional or not, the media has portrayed your campaign as something that is about you. About your entitlement to the presidency. The problem? The beat of America now drums for empowerment of the people. For 7 years we have felt powerless to change the course of the country. We have felt powerless to create our own destiny. We want to feel in control of our democracy again.

Senator Obama has portrayed himself as the embodiment of "the people". That the "change" he will deliver will be the people's will. This is why he continues to win. This is why he continues to gain support from the most staunch of Clintonites.

Your win in New Hampshire wasn't because "you cried". It wasn't just because you showed emotion--and that as a woman, emotion is expected. The media has it wrong. The reason you prevailed was because of WHAT moved you to choke up. It was because you showed how much you care about America. You showed how much it means to you that the country move in the right direction. In other words, the election wasn't about you, it was about us.

When your campaign leaves that message, you lose. It's that simple. You can follow the "stark differences" strategy that you're beginning as of today, and you will lose. You will feed Senator Obama's momentum and you will become the symbol of ol' school politics.

In order to connect with the people, you must return to where you win. By showing why you are the candidate that best embodies the will of the people. It's not about your ideas, it's about our ideas. Your platform needs to be our platform.

Senator Obama is getting by without having to explain how he embodies the will of the people--he just is. It's now your job to show that his interpretation of what people want is out of touch. You must electrify your supporters by reminding them who can not only understand the will of the people, but can execute our demands. That is where you win.

I am a supporter of change. My vote is not yet cast. I want you and Senator Obama to listen to the people and bring our ideas to the debate. Once this happens, you will find yourself standing on much firmer ground instead of flailing in quicksand. Then, regardless of who wins, the United States will be just that.

Business Development in Health 2.0: Blazing the Trail to Profitability

From the PatientsLikeMe Blog, The Value of Openness

Much has been made about the potential for viable businesses in the health 2.0 movement. In short, these articles and blogs (among others) openly and appropriately question the long-term viability of the space:

• Seattle Post-Intelligencer
• Wikinomics Blog
• Chilmark Research Blog
• IHealthBeat
• San Francisco Chronicle

Are they right? That answer is unclear, but they are right to ask. In our spirit of openness at PatientsLikeMe, we’re going to share some of our experiences as we evolve our commercialization strategy.

In order to give context to the discussion, however, we want to share our corporate values. These values shape our lenses so when we have partnership opportunities, we see 20/20, and avoid color blindness, i.e. only seeing green.

Honor the trust patients place in us
Simply stated, this means “Patients First”. Patients trust us with their most valued health information and share it with people they believe have the same collective goals. We can’t overestimate the trust we’re given.

Openness
Per our Openness Philosophy, we believe that sharing health information is good. Why? Because sharing will drive massive change in healthcare.

Transparency
No surprises. Our members shouldn’t be surprised by any of our steps, especially in business development. We will disclose all of our partnerships on the site.

Wow!
When people see our site, we want them to think, “Wow!” Achieving our vision takes flawless execution and understanding of patient needs.

With these core values in mind, we attempt to match the needs of our patients with the goals of our partners. If the two are misaligned, then we pass on the deal. In fact, we have passed on dozens of opportunities because they weren’t aligned with our core values. We must embrace a high ethical standard because patients share data with us that would historically be held private—not just for their own benefit, but for that of others. Since they’re selfless, we must consider that selflessness when we enter into potential partnerships. If it doesn’t feel right, it’s not right.

Here’s an example of a deal we passed on...Read the rest at PatientsLikeMe Blog.

UCLA Anderson #1 in Entrepreneurship

For the fourth time in six years, UCLA Anderson has been ranked #1 in entrepreneurship by the Financial Times.

From Financial Times:

Best in entrepreneurship**

1 UCLA: Anderson
2 Stanford University GSB
3 Babson College: Olin
4 UC Berkeley: Haas
5 IE Business School
6 University of Arizona: Eller
7 University of Texas at Austin: McCombs
8 Imperial College London: Tanaka
9 Insead
10 University of Southern California: Marshall

As a member of the Price Center for Entrepreneurial Studies Board of Advisors, I'm proud of this ranking as it reflects the accomplishments of our alumni entrepreneurs while recognizing the excellent faculty and students currently attending the school.

The Price Center and UCLA Anderson press release contains more information about this prestigious award. As an alumni entrepreneur with a number of businesses under my belt, I can attest to the school's curriculum and student experience and how it helps mold successful entrepreneurs.

Congratulations UCLA Anderson!