#181 CEO Transcarent, Glen Tullman: Problem Solving

27 snips

Mar 11, 2024

On this podcast, CEO Glen Tullman shares insights on hiring low and firing high, failures of leadership, changing expectations, and radical honesty. He discusses his competitive childhood, charitable efforts, and maximizing efficiency through physical activity and time management. The conversation also covers transformative mergers in healthcare, philanthropic endeavors, and the significance of grit in business.

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Introduction

00:00 • 4min

Reflections on a Transformational Merger in Healthcare

03:56 • 23min

Transformative Journey in Healthcare Industry

27:05 • 27min

Philanthropic Endeavors and Family Dynamics

54:04 • 18min

Exploration of Sleep Habits and Personal Views on Rest

01:12:32 • 2min

Maximizing Efficiency Through Physical Activity and Time Management

01:14:48 • 9min

Embracing Greatness and Impactful Change

01:24:12 • 2min

Exploring Hiring Strategies and the Significance of Grit in Business

01:26:34 • 4min

Guest: Glen Tullman, CEO of Transcarent

Before he was CEO of Transcarent, Glen Tullman presided over the biggest digital health merger of all time: His previous company Livongo was acquired in 2020 by Teledoc for $18.5 billion. Over his decades of experience in health tech, he has developed saying: Hire low, fire high. When one of his friends was offered a job and said he wanted to consider another offer, Glen withdrew Transcarent’s offer because he didn’t want to be the highest bidder — in other words, hire low. But whenever he has to let someone go, he sees it as his responsibility to “help them go off and do something else that’s great, and be successful.” Firing and replacing executives, he said, is “just part of growing ... it doesn’t have to be ugly.”

In this episode, Glen and Joubin discuss conservative values, John Doerr, Teledoc, failures of leadership, Steve Case, Bill Gates, changing expectations, Travis Kalanick, incentive bonuses, Bucknell University, massive layoffs, criticizing in public, anonymous charity, cycling events, Michael Jordan, Bill McDermott, Barack Obama, private jets, and hiring without titles.

In this episode, we cover:

(01:11) - How Glen splits his time
(03:55) - Looking back and leaving Livongo
(09:03) - Would he do it again differently?
(13:42) - Energy at work
(18:00) - Failure and starting over
(21:16) - What Transcarent does
(25:29) - Taking on the system and stress
(30:33) - Turning Allscripts around
(33:48) - “We educated you to make a difference”
(38:06) - The birth of electronic prescriptions
(42:52) - Hire low, fire high
(47:47) - Radical honesty
(53:04) - Charitable efforts
(57:55) - Glen’s competitive childhood
(01:00:55) - His family and priorities
(01:08:24) - Would Glen go into politics?
(01:12:32) - “I hate to sleep”
(01:15:06) - Peloton meetings
(01:17:32) - Trading money for time
(01:24:11) - Sharing credit
(01:25:54) - Who Transcarent is hiring
(01:28:05) - What “grit” means to Glen

Links:

Connect with Glen
- LinkedIn
Connect with Joubin
- Twitter
- LinkedIn
- Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com
Learn more about Kleiner Perkins
This episode was edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm