When I stepped into my role as CEO of our Evergreen population health management company, Telligen, in 2011, we were at a crossroads. As co-founder of what was now a new business emerging with the assets of a predecessor company where I had been an employee, I knew I was facing a period of significant challenge—but I had a few ideas. When I assumed leadership, we were losing clients, revenue, and employees. The exodus of very talented people was especially devastating because the real value of our type of business is in the people.

I knew that to move forward, we had to answer the most basic question: Why do we exist?