Truth, Lies, & Statistics with Paul Wiley

Paul Wiley is the co-founder of Opargo which is a company that uses the data optimization and predictive analytics used in the airline industry to help make healthcare more efficient for physicians and patients. Paul has a background in the airline industry, and he worked at Sabre Holdings. They sent him back to business school and through what he calls a meaningful collision, he discovered a need and an opportunity which led to Opargo.

We talk about how data can be used to make significant and surprising changes. Paul also shares how data can’t be used unless it is tracked. He also gives actionable tips and a three-step process to look at your business and your data to really understand where opportunities are and where to go. These tips can be used in small and large businesses. This show will give you a better understanding of the possibilities of improving your operations with the use of data. 

Show Notes:

• [06:03] Paul worked at United Airlines and Sabre Holdings on the corporate side.
• [06:29] Paul went back to business school, and while he was there, he met a doctor who had the problem of working more and making less money.
• [06:48] He started looking into if there was an opportunity to apply yield management and the data aspects of the airline industry to the healthcare industry to help physicians become more efficient and help patients get better care.
• [07:02] They use predictive analytics to understand which patients are coming in and who needs care the most.
• [07:25] Yield management is the idea of a limited amount of supply and a limited amount of demand and applying these together to be as efficient as possible.
• [07:48] Grocers came up with the original idea of yield management.
• [13:16] Data can be used for all sorts of purposes, even why you are having trouble finding tech talent, and where to place your office.
• [15:17] Paul shares a story about helping a specialist get patients. They pulled the historical data. They also looked at referral patterns. He was getting his brother-in-laws patients in as fast as possible. The story is that it's important to have a Happy Thanksgiving. 
• [19:03] They look at how busy providers are. Some are too busy, but there may be some that are under utilized. They look at methodologies to help utilization be evened out. This helps get patients in faster.
• [22:41] Meaningful collisions are opportunities to learn and grow.
• [23:26] You want to be purposeful and intentional with each encounter.
• [24:58] Paul shares how Opargo was started by a meaningful collision. 
• [26:51] Listen to understand instead of listening to respond.
• [28:06] Being intentional in a conversation can be a great help when looking to hire for talent.
• [30:42] To affect change through data you have to track it. What drives your customer behavior and how can you take action with that type of buyer? You need to take the information and drive changes in your business. 
• [33:39] Pick one place where you can have an impact and build from there. 
• [34:20] Base decisions on data not emotion.

Links and Resources:

• Opargo
• Paul Wiley
• Paul Wiley on LinkedIn

Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever else you like to listen. If you like the show, please give us a five star rating and leave a review. 

When you do that, you help people just like you find us and our amazing guests. We'll also give you a shout out on the next episode.