AI Healthcare Leadership and Strategy: From Hype to Real Value

Parth Gargish: Speaker Airline for my company. Humanizing AI for talked about how healthcare needs to be emotionally ready before it can be technologically ready. Hundreds of thousands of dollars on data. Hours of technology.com revolution, internet and now AI, I think it's the it I think AI is the is the quickest technology I mean human species have ever adapted, like in the shortest frame of time. One of the major components of AI first approach is PPT. People, processes, and tools. So people is the first step.

Chris Hutchins: We're on location at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas. This morning I have the privilege of discussing all things AI and some pretty pretty cool technologies that my my new friend Parth has been working on. Parth, welcome to the Signal Room and thanks for being to be with us. Thanks for having me here, of course. We've been hearing about so many different aspects of AI, and it it's so exciting. I mean, I don't know about you, but I feel like I found my people. Yeah. Uh this is really just a lot, a lot of fun. And but there's so much good that people are are involved with here. And I just feel like we're just scratching the surface of the opportunities we're going to find to do things together. Um what I want to kind of jump into, so I know that you're you've got a company that's really doing some interesting things, because you have an interesting background as well. Uh, but it's worth thinking about you know, building AI that that it really is it's ethical. Um it hopefully augments and supports humans. It's not really going to replace you, but but you know, every people can debate that all they want to. And I don't think that's gonna get solved anytime soon. So love to hear a little bit about your your background. I know you've done some interesting things even before in NetSmarts, but uh love to hear about you know what what you're passionate about and what led you to where you are today in launching your company and some of the fun things that you're doing.

Parth Gargish: Absolutely. You know, thank you so much. Uh I think uh, yeah, to your point, it's uh it's a really interesting world we are living in. And uh, you know, we are lucky to kind of see a lot of transitions during our lifetime, right? I mean, uh dot-com revolution, internet, and now AI, I think. It's the I think AI is the is the quickest technology, I mean, human species have ever adapted, like, in the shortest frame of time, right? And it's so fascinating. Uh, you know, uh I was discussing with uh some of the colleagues and even with you, uh, you know, that it's all those sci-fi movies coming, you know, into reality in some way or the other. Right, right. So uh yeah, so about myself, um, I have been uh involved uh in you know digital transformation, custom software development space. That's how I started my career 20 years back. And um I've been involved in the world of SaaS primarily. And that is uh, you know, that is something uh, you know, we as an organization and I as an individual, we hold a very strong expertise on and something we are really proud of that we have created multiple SaaS products. I mean, in fact, thousands of them for our clients over the last two decades. And then um, you know, we got into the space of AI since uh 2016. It's been a fairly 10-year-old AI practice we built at NetSmarts, and you know, similarly have been in the world of AI since then. And uh we started with small projects like you know, data labeling projects, uh, which uh which were you know common back in the days because AI thrives on data, as we all know, right? And you know, we were creating a large data set for organizations who could, you know, then go with the AI-driven approach, and that's how we started into this segment. But yeah, I mean, um, so my focus really revolves around uh creating uh, you know, AI-first strategies for organizations who are looking either to step into the AI world and trying to decode what would work for them, what would not work for them, rather than just, you know, investing AI into AI, you know, just for the heck of it and look cool around it. Right. So actually driving business use cases which can get them some ROIs in shorter or long term, right? And uh, you know, helping them craft out their AI first roadmap that, you know, because every organization is unique in their own ways. Yes. Right. And not one shoe is gonna fit all, right? So so yeah, that's that's what we are really passionate about, and that is what you know we are working towards.

Chris Hutchins: Well, you you you're you're touching on something that's actually what my the whole premise of this this show is about. It's like there's so much noise that people are claiming that all they're doing all these wonderful things with AI, but through the noise, there's there's a signal that we have to dial in on, and what the what you do is actually precisely that. And so tell me how how is the EU approached kind of separating hype from reality and identifying the real world use cases that are meaningful, not just you know, somebody's excited because they can make a new chat GPT and it, you know, it basically accelerates what Google used to do in a millisecond in Google search.

Parth Gargish: Yeah, absolutely. I think uh I have always believed in the fact that big wins lie in small things, probably, right? It's not necessary that you have to make an AI use case which is really out of the box, and then you're like, you know, you've done something big. It could be as small as automating one of your department functions where it might not be contributing in form of direct revenues, but maybe contributing towards increasing your uh employees' efficiencies or, you know, you're accelerating your go-to market in some way or the other, or for your clients, right? And it doesn't have to be uh, you know, rocket science around it, right? So to give you an example, uh, you know, we we are one of our use cases, which we're really proud of, is in the customer support and customer experience side of things, right? Every organization needs better customer support as they keep growing because, you know, uh organizations they grow based on retention of clients. That is how, you know, we have believed and we have grown as well as an organization. And that that is, I think, is an industry agnostic use case. I mean, every business needs that, right? So in one of the use cases, we kind of automated the L1 level of uh ticketing in terms of customer support. So AI actually handles C L1 in form of chat as well as in form of voice, right? So now imagine that AI is able to take, let's say, that you get 1,000 customer support queries every day, right? And I'm taking a very minimal number, it goes way beyond that in some businesses, right? And then, you know, you're out of which 50% is also handled by AI, for example. And then 50% is handed off by AI to a human agent where it is not able to convince the customer with the resolution. And then, of course, you are improving on the efficiency because out of those 50%, you know, eventually AI is gonna take another 25% gradually because it's gonna learn. Right? So now, you know, you are slowly and steadily automating your customer support function, increasing the bandwidth of your uh, you know, regular human customer support agents. And then they can do meaningful work for their customers and move them towards customer success roadmap because there's a very thin line between support and success for especially for growing organizations. Right. Right. And they're not able to focus on success because they are most of the time they're dialing their time in the support, right? So very small use case, but then big time impact. Right. So it's all about what would work for you, what your business needs.

Chris Hutchins: Yeah, and I think what I find interesting is we're we're in this place and time where trust has been eroded massively in every part of society. And people are terrified. There's a this fear factor. And you know, what what you're talking about is identifying meaningful workflows that are actually close to where the action is. Um there's some there's a cultural aspect to really getting the engagement that you need to have people raise their hand and say, hey, look, this is a workflow that I think we could actually make it a lot better. Um how how do you see that? And and what what's what's your thought about what leadership needs to be doing inside of organizations to foster a culture that people feel safe to actually identify those things? Well, if they don't feel safe, that some of the biggest impact things, because you mentioned some little things, people might not bring it up for fear of losing their job to AI.

Parth Gargish: Yeah, 100%. I think I think the fear is real. And uh and it's something uh which I would not say uh is wrong, right? Because uh let's be honest, I mean, some rules are going to vanish 100%, right? But I also believe that this is not the first transition we are going through, and this is not the last one as well, right? We have we have lived through similar transitions in the past. I mean, of course, not as massive as AI probably, but but we have we have gone through that. And the only thing which I think uh has made us all survive is the ability to to adapt, right? And then upscale. Because uh, and I think every organization or top leadership should really promote upskilling and then you know, should make their uh you know, their team members feel safe that okay, you know, ha this is your roadmap. And that is where you know, we also come in with the AI first approach. And one of the major components of AI first approach is PPT, people, processes, and tools. So people is the first step. Your your team needs to be dialed in to the concept, and it has to, the approach has to fall from top to the bottom. It is not a bottom-top approach, right? So the top leadership has to convince its people that this is the roadmap we are going towards. Everyone is safe, provided you do X, Y, Z things, right? And then you upscale. So you need to prepare for the newer roles when the older roles are actually going to eventually move out of the market.

Chris Hutchins: Yeah. Right? That's right. Yeah, and for our listeners, you're you're hearing from a CEO of a tech company, and they're telling you it starts with people. I can't forget that. I'm glad that you're saying it because we are at this inflection point where leadership has to be really walking a fine line. The transparency has to be important. Um we have to be careful, obviously, with the timing of everything that we're doing, some things that you know as an executive that uh that that you you kind of have to work through and figure out timing and how to to deliver that and and implement things in your organization. But there's also this really uh important piece about trust being eroded. We have to find a way to help people to be comfortable that we're we're working with them. We're not trying to do something to them, we're trying to find ways to enable them. And you said, yeah, jobs are going to be replaced. I think you're right. But I think the the message we want to make sure people are hearing is it's gonna replace people who don't adopt and learn how to use AI. And so executives really need to hear some from you the things that you're you're talking about. People is the very first thing on the list. Um, what are some of the barriers that you see? And and what would you tell um executives that that may be listening? They're trying to figure out where's that fine line? Because they don't have the understanding of AI that you have, and they might be a little bit uh nervous. I mean, apart from reaching out and getting having a conversation with you, what are some of the things you would advise them to be thinking about and doing?

Parth Gargish: I think uh whenever there's a there's a transition phase, uh, it's uh it's the fear which actually kicks in first. And it it it can it kind of could kick in in the top leadership as well and as well as in your midline managers. I think it's very important as a CEO or as a C level uh executive in an organization, you need to convince your midline managers first, right? That, okay, you know, this is what we are following because they are the ones who are hustling on the ground level every day, right? And they need to manage the entire workforce, which is going to be working towards your AI first strategy or whatever you opt in terms of AI implementation in your business, right? So have certain designated, you know, AI officers inside the organization who lead initiatives because you establish trust with them at the first place that they are like, they need to be in a good place. They need to feel that, okay, I'm a part of this, right? And and whatever the board is deciding, I am very much involved and I'm an equal stakeholder in this so that they can give the same comfort to their downline. Yes, right. And then a clear roadmap is very important, you know, make small wins uh visible, right? Have small goals. Maybe next six months we are going to automate your uh our outreach function, maybe a sales outreach, right? And then you have the sales managers kind of you know working towards that and maybe implementation of tools and everything. But you can implement all the tools out there in the world unless and until it is not processized and your people are not using it, it's it's it's a cash burn, right? So, so you know, a whole systematic approach. And sometimes what we do is that we tend to do things ourselves, and you know, that is where we lose the battle. I I strongly encourage that, you know, uh it's not necessary that everything has to be done in-house. Get experts, you know, to help you. There's a reason why there are experts, right? I mean, we are a tech-driven organization, and if tomorrow, you know, someone comes and uh talks to me about manufacturing, uh, you know, uh and set up a manufacturing plant, I'm not the expert in that. I would rather go to someone who has actually been there, done it, right? And who accelerates my, you know, uh my time to market, right? Rather than me trying to hustle things, and then you know, I I I lose time and as well as I lose money, and then you know, then I realize, oh my God, you know, I should have got a specialist in on board. So I think it's very important, you know, get your get an expert, speed up, have a roadmap, and then maybe you take things back in-house and in control. Right.

Chris Hutchins: No, I think that makes a lot of sense. I think you're really talking about some things that I think people have to really open up their their thinking a little bit. Um, because culture gets talked about in in ways that honestly sometimes don't it it feels almost like an exercise and you're checking a box. But in reality, it takes commitment, repetition, and to use your your words. You have to have a systemic approach to this. And so you know, getting to them your your mid-level managers, the people who are closest to the workforce that are really doing these critical jobs. If an organization is is trying to figure out where to start and and put the put the pieces together so that that you you're starting to repair some of the trust things because roughly about 20 years ago um eight out of ten people would have told you that they trust the government. Probably a higher percentage trust their their clergy, their law enforcement. Um pick an entity. Uh, but even in for CEOs in particular now, the number is in the low 20s. I think it's like 24% of what I heard recently. How would you advise CEOs to engage their their next level management in order to start rebuilding that culture so that there's trust and they're able to move advance things forward? Because to your point, it's it's the SMEs, the subject matter experts that actually be able to point out the areas of opportunity. And if they're afraid and they don't trust, how are you going to get them to actually step forward and help?

Parth Gargish: Yeah. I think it it starts with uh empowerment first. Right? Your your managers, your midline, they need to feel empowered and they need to, you know, to what I was saying, uh, you know, it they need to feel that they're they're stakeholders in this journey overall somehow. Right? Because with with that feeling comes a lot of ownership, right? And then they will work with you, with your vision, because your vision becomes their vision. It is it is very important to translate your vision in very clear, actionable items, and then you know, tell them what they have to gain in this win. Right. It's uh I mean yesterday at one of the roundtables I was speaking the same thing. I was like, there is no deal where there is not a win-win situation. If it's if it's a one-sided win, I mean, even in in our normal relationships, right? I mean, you cannot carry a relationship longer if it's if it's only one person who is winning. There has to be some kind of ratio. I mean, even if it's like 70, 30, and then it kind of changes eventually, and you know, it it goes a little up and down, but there has to be a win for the other side of the table as well, right? So, so for your midline managers, it is very important they see that what is the win there for them. Because at the end of the day, everyone is here to do something in their lives. They're ambitious, and that's why they are working, most of them, I would say, right? So, um, and then the kind of uh uh, you know, drift we are we are witnessing right now in the overall technology, everything is changing so rapidly every day. There's new development, there are new algorithms which are getting, you know, developed, and the whole working norm is changing across different industries. And there's no way out of it. I mean, it's inevitable. This change has is we are supposed to go through it. There's there's nothing, there's there's no way we can we have a way out of it. It's just that we have to adapt to it. And everyone knows that deep inside. No me moody with fear too, but that's okay. Uh it's okay to have fear. But what is important is that how you are uh facing that fear and what steps are you forming to get there.

Chris Hutchins: Right. Yeah, it it it it's a it's an old concept that we've been dealing with since the dawn of mankind. Disruptive innovation is real and it happens. And you know, if we think back to the dot-com transition, I I know that a lot of us never never could have imagined how things would turn out and how how much the internet uh connectivity has transformed pretty much every part of our lives, you know, in the civilized world, industrialized world, anyways. Um this I think who knows? I don't know if it's 10x or a thousand X or whatever it is, but we know it's it's massively disruptive. And we it's only that consistent communication with human beings and really doing things deliberately to establish a safe environment for people where they do they actually feel like they're contributing, they can they're able to drive some things and take ownership of it. Um I think I was spoken with somebody yesterday and they at least put it in a really simple term for me. You have to have these conversations and answer the question that they have in their mind, what's in this for me? I mean, if I go and do these things, what's it what's in it for me? Because you know, you're I think you'd you'd want me to help help you eliminate my job.

Parth Gargish: Yeah. Yeah. I mean and and then everything does not have to be innovative from ground level, right? I mean, take example of the touchscreen phones. I mean, Apple came came out with them first. I mean, BlackBerry was drooling at one point of time. The only small tweak, what they did was they got rid of the keyboards. And it wasn't that we were not operating on screens without keywords from before. I mean, your your your laptop or even your desktop. I mean, you were using a mouse, but you were actually on a screen. You were not, you know, doing everything from the keyboards. So they just used that concept and got rid of the real estate and made a larger screen. And today we we are living on on a uh you know on a smartphone day in, day out with with a complete touch screen panel. So it's not that you do everything from ground up. Maybe you you take something, maybe you know, there's so many LLMs out there, there are so many models out there, there are open source models out there, right? You know, plug and play, and then make something which is, you know, you're solving a real problem rather than just saying that, hey, I'm doing AI. Because I meet a lot of people these days, and you know, in a very uh lighter manner, I always say that AI organizations are just breeding like mushrooms, right? Everyone is doing AI, right? But are you solving a real problem? Is the question. Yes. So because that is what is required for longevity of your organization. So you have to be dealing with real problems and you're giving real solutions.

Chris Hutchins: Yeah. The days of uh getting sneaking by with with understanding of buzzwords, uh the the the game's kind of up now. Because you you you can't do uh a whole lot of uh implementations of AI without getting an ROI uh because it's not inexpensive to do these things. It just isn't. So yeah, it it it's a very uh exciting, but uh a maybe a little intimidating sometimes when it when they think about what replicas, because I don't even think we know. Um like to your point, everything's moving so quickly. Six or eight months ago, I remember trying to get an image created using AI, and it was a giving me these really horrendous things. I have no artistic talent when it comes to drawing, but I could do better than it was doing just that long ago.

Parth Gargish: I have nothing really to drawing as well.

Chris Hutchins: But now, I mean it it's incredible what it can do. It creates things. I mean, I I can if you can imagine it, you could probably get something that looks close to it. And it looks like it was done like with art and precision. I I don't know how, but it is amazing how fast it's gone.

Parth Gargish: Yeah, and and we all have that advisor, you know, working with us, which is called Chat GPT or co-pilot, right? And gets us all the clinical information, data stats, and everything. So if you really want to do something and you know make solutions, I think we are living in a perfect era. It's just that we need to, you know, use it in the right direction. And then maybe, you know, like I said, uh have an expert work with you, right? I mean, if if you want your child to become a football player tomorrow, you will not tell him that, hey, you know, what's son, start watching YouTube videos and, you know, you'll become um, you know, Ronaldo one day, right? I mean, you have to find him the best soccer coach out there who has been there, done it, who has created players, and then, you know, work around that. So everything cannot be Chat GPT or YouTube or Google, right? I mean, there will always be a human component. Always. You cannot leave decision making in the hands of AI. I mean, I'm strongly against that, right? But you can use it for getting you visibility and you know, guiding you that this could be possibilities, but the decision making should always be with you.

Chris Hutchins: Absolutely. I couldn't agree with you more. Um before we wrap, this has been a fascinating conversation, first of all. And and I hope you'll you'll come back and and and be on the show with me again, because there's so much more that we could talk about. And honestly, in a couple of months, I'll bet you you'll have some late breaking news that'll be really interesting for people to hear about. I I know I'll be interested. Um, but if if people wanted to get in touch with you, or they want to know how do I find the the right experts to figure out what's hype and what's reality, where do I put my resources? How do people get in touch with you?

Parth Gargish: So you can find me on LinkedIn. I think that's the easiest way to find me. Uh, you know, just search Parth Gargish. That's my name. Uh, it's quite unique. I mean, I've not seen anyone with the same name on the planet till now. Never in the social media. So that works for me. So you can find me on LinkedIn very easily, or you can, you know, you can reach me on my email, uh, you know, parth.gargish at netsmarts.com. I also run a community for SaaS business owners called SaaS Next, SaaS NXT. So uh, you know, we we do events and shows across North America and we are trying to create a community, you know, where SaaS business owners can come in, collaborate, innovate with each other, right? Because I'm I'm a person who has been very strong believer of partnerships. I mean, even with our even with our clients, I mean, we work more like partners rather than vendors because, you know, we we strongly believe in that, that uh our success lies in their success. You know, if they're not successful in the long term, I will not have a client for life. And that is something we are really proud of that we have created clients for life, right? So uh so and that is what helps you sail through those rough days too, like in like the pandemic and everything, right? I mean, you survive through it as an organization only if you have clients who have believed with you and who are working with you as partners, right? So, so yeah, I mean, uh, that is the idea that why we created that community. And, you know, I'm really passionate about it. So if in case you're a SaaS business owner, please feel free to hit up. And I would love to kind of have you there as a as a as a community member. Yeah.

Chris Hutchins: That's fantastic. I just I love the focus on people are people are first. This is uh it's so refreshing, and I'm excited about what you're doing. Can't wait to see you hear about your successes. Uh, let's definitely keep in touch and hope you enjoy the rest of the time here. I know there's a lot of good conversations being had, and to your point, I think a lot of partnerships are gonna get born out of these few days here in Las Vegas. So, Parth it's been an amazing pleasure to have you. Thanks so much for being on the show.

Parth Gargish: Well, thank you for having me here. It was a lovely conversation. I would look forward towards you know a longer conversation sometime. Yeah.

Chris Hutchins: Oh, let's do that. Thank you. Yeah, good luck. Thank you. That's it for this episode of the Signal Room. If today's conversation sparks something in you, an idea, a challenge, or perspective worth amplifying, I'd love to hear from you. Message me on LinkedIn or visit Signal Room Podcast.com to explore being a guest on an upcoming episode. Until next time, stay tuned, stay curious, and stay human.