My Trip to the Front Line and What I Learned about Technology Development

How do you know if your product is really working?  How do you know that the customer is pleased, and that your technology is doing the job?  I believe you go onsite – to the customer – and see how they are using it to help with their customers.  Yes, can we challenge ourselves as leaders to uncover the answer to the question: How can we help our customers be successful with their customers?

As many of you know who follow me, in addition to my business coaching business, I am founder and CEO of a startup company that has developed a software application called WoundWiseIQ.  WoundWiseIQ revolutionizes wound care by using digital imaging analytics to automate wound measurement and track healing progress of chronic wound patients.

I had the opportunity last week to go onsite to a Skilled Nursing Facility – one of our target market segments – and go into the rooms of patients with chronic wounds and take images of the wounds myself with our product.  This was an amazing and unforgettable experience!  What did I learn?

1. Improvements in technology can make users feel more empowered

Chronic wounds are serious and life-threatening.  And when the treatments start to work, it becomes a source of enthusiasm and hope for the nurse and the patient.  I saw nurses on my visit who got excited when they saw progress in the wound healing, who became more dedicated to a specific dressing regimen for example if they are seeing results. This feeds on itself and builds more confidence.  The nurse starts to feel like they can take on the chronic wounds and win.  Empowering and educating the nurses on how to best utilize a new and useful technology tool can motivate them and make them stronger leaders!

2. Knowledge gained from new technology can strengthen a team

WoundWiseIQ can provide knowledge and information to the wound care team.  Within seconds, our patented algorithms analyze the image and report the wound healing results to the nurse in the patient treatment room. The new information is added to the patient’s record and provide easy to access historical data.  WoundWiseIQ can help a practice develop a wound care specialty and provide a tool that can aid in diagnosis and treatment path.  The result is a stronger facility care team.

3. Improvement in technology can give people hope

Having pictures and data in your hands when you are working with a patient enables the nurse to show the patient the results of their wound progress.  By sharing imagery and progress and comparisons with your patient, they can become more involved in their care.  They are also more likely to follow treatment plans when they see things are improving and realize they are part of making that happen.  I saw this optimism myself on-site when patients were told their wounds were making progress.  This is so uplifting to a chronic wound sufferer – we can give them hope!

“We do not just provide data, we provide hope.” 

After my visit into the patient rooms, I talked with the leaders of the Skilled Nursing Facility and I let them know how impressed I was with their team.  How their nurses and doctors take on patient challenges and are so patient and so caring and so talented.  And what you realize is that those patients could be your mother, or your grandfather.  Our customer’s business is not just about healing the wounds.  It’s about healing the patients who have the wounds.  Giving them hope.  The patients yearn to see progress – and if we can help our customer deliver those results, it builds their confidence and their reputation as a company!

The bottom line is this: As the CEO, you are responsible for many things, but the most important question you own – and have to find the answer to – is ‘Do our customers love our product and why or why not?’   The only way to learn this is to go to the front line yourself and see your product in action with real customers. If you can set an example for your team by getting out to the field and uncovering product development ideas yourself, you can inspire your team and take your business all the way to the top!

Ready to explore your potential?

1. 1-on-1 Coaching: Gary has implemented the ideas above successfully with his own teams, and he is actively refining them today with his CEO coaching customers. Can we help you implement positive results in your company? Contact Gary directly: gary@inspireyourselftoday.com
2. Learn at your own pace: Join The Growth Cube Academy – a training school for small business CEOs that includes 20-minute video workshops conducted by Gary that you can listen to at your leisure, and focus in on specific topics.
3. Think – Order Gary’s book, The Growth Cube, or join Gary’s newsletter and stay up-to-date with new successful models and tools!
4. Learn more about how Gary is applying these principles real-time in his startup company. Go to www.woundwiseIQ.com and sign up to see a demo or invest in Gary’s AI and imaging analytics software products that help improve patient wound healing.