What public health taught me about business development
Population thinking makes for better partnerships. You stop optimizing for the contract and start optimizing for the community it serves.
My path into healthcare started in public health, and that training still shapes how I approach growth. Public health teaches you to think in populations, denominators, and long horizons. Business development often rewards the opposite instinct.
The most durable partnerships I have been part of were the ones where both organizations could describe the population benefit in the same language. When the shared purpose is clear, the commercial terms tend to hold up under pressure.
It also changes how you evaluate an opportunity. Instead of asking only what volume a partnership brings, you ask who gains access that did not have it before, and whether that gain is sustainable after the launch announcement.
Growth and mission are not in tension when the work is designed carefully. They tend to fail together or succeed together.
