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Youre in a meeting, the slides are rolling, people are nodding, others are fiddling on their phones, and then it happens. You have a question. You want to be seen as engaged, so you open your mouth, and words start to tumble out . . .and the room goes still. Silence. Weve all been told there are no dumb questions. But if youve ever watched a room collectively glaze over while someone tries to stitch a stream of consciousness into something coherent, you know dumb questions are alive and well. At their core, questions are about curiosity. And while curiosity may have killed the cat, in your career questions can be pure rocket fuel. When done right, curiosity makes you look sharp, collaborative, and strategic. However, haphazard curiosity may lead to you finding yourself metaphorically under a conference table wishing for a 13 Going on 30 moment where you magically reappear as 30, flirty, and thriving, just anywhere but in that meeting. So how do you harness curiosity as career capital instead of career sabotage? Thats a smart question. And in this five-part playbook well dive into practical (and slightly cheeky) ways to do it. 1. Timing is everything: Ask early, but not TOO early When youre new to a project, your brain lights up with questions like a big ol neon sign. Resist the urge to fire them all off at once. Half will answer themselves as you absorb context. The other half will get sharper the longer they simmer. Try this: Start a secret doc, dump all your questions in, and revisit after 48 hours. Cross off the ones that solved themselves, and reframe the ones worth asking. Now youre not blurting. Youre curating like a purveyor of art. 2. Make it about the work, not about you Curiosity should sharpen the team, not sound like a personal confession. Theres a big difference between I dont get slide 7 and Can we talk about how slide 7 connects to the project goal? The first highlights your gap (and unlike the London Tube, you should definitely mind that gap). The second elevates collective clarity. Try this: Swap I dont understand for Can we walk through. Same curiosity, different energy. Suddenly, youre not lost. Instead, youre leading alignment. 3. Use the after-action window Right after a big meeting or decision, the team takes a collective exhale. Thats your sweet spot. People are reflective, not defensive. A question in this window is constructive. (Cue Angela Bassett walking away from the burning car in Waiting to Exhale. Big exhale. Big release. Right timing.) Try this: Send a quick note: Great discussion today. One thing Im still noodling on: how does this decision ripple out six months from now? Thats not nitpicking, its being future-focused. And leadership loves a forward thinker. 4. Model Curiosity If youre running a meeting, the best way to spark smart curiosity is to show your own. Leaders who frame questions strategically demonstrate how to ask questions in ways that move work forward and dont suck air out of the room. Try this: Instead of ending a meeting with the standard Any questions?which usually results in blank stares because everyones already at lunchmodel the kind of curiosity you want from the team. For example: This was a great discussion. What perspectives might we still be missing? That shows curiosity as a tool to sharpen impact, not poke holes. 5. Aim for impact Curiosity is about impact, not volume. Not every question deserves airtime. Theres a fine line between thoughtful and time-wasting. The fastest way to tank your reputation is asking something Google couldve quickly answered, or a question that only benefits yourself. Talking doesnt always equal contributing. Sometimes adding value means being a great active listener. Try this: Before speaking, ask yourself if the answer is easily searchable on your own and if the answer will benefit more than just you. If the answer is yes to either, park it. After the meeting, conduct the search or find a way to bring it up privately (either in a 1:1 or a Slack) and protect the groups momentum and keep your credibility. Nobody wants to be the human embodiment of this meeting couldve been an email. No one likes that person. Sorry, not sorry. Questions dont just reveal what you dont know, they reveal how you think. Curate them with care, and you wont just be asking questions. Youll be shaping the conversation.
Category:
E-Commerce
In 2003, when the New York Times asked Steve Jobs why the iPod became an overnight success, he didnt talk about its storage capacity, hardware specs, or marketing campaign. He said, simply: Design. People think it’s this veneer, he added. That the designers are handed this box and told, Make it look good! That’s not what we think design is. Its not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works. He was talking about music players. But he couldve been talking about healthcare. Because today, in 2025, American healthcare is still stuck in its MS-DOS era. The systems might be powerful, but the interface is broken. You feel it the moment you try to understand your lab results. Instead of something you can scan and absorb, you get a dense, clinical PDF full of acronyms and numbers, usually without any explanation of what they mean or what to do next). No context. No clarity. Its like receiving an email in binary code and needing a doctor to translate. Most people dont go back to their doctor for clarity. According to a new national survey from my firm Cactus, 71% of patients turn to WebMD after a diagnosis. Nearly half now use AI tools like ChatGPT to make sense of their care. One in four say those tools help them understand their health better than their own doctor does. Thats not just a curiosity. Its a crisis. A comprehension crisis. One that affects everyone: Patients, providers, and the health systems trying to keep up. TRUST ISNT THE ISSUE. COMPREHENSION IS. Heres the paradox: 78% of Americans say they trust their doctor. But more than 1 in 4 walk out of appointments more confused than when they walked in. Why? Because the system still communicates like its running on a command line system where users literally need to learn a new language to ask their questions. Your health and care answers are there, but its buried in jargon, fragmented across systems, and delivered in ways that overwhelm or alienate. Patients arent given context, only data. No wonder they forget what was said. No wonder they turn to Google. Weve built a $4.5 trillion industry on clinical excellence but wrapped it in a user experience from the 1980s. This isnt just a communication problem. Its an interface problem. And its costing us dearly. THE COST OF CONFUSION Poor communication doesnt just frustrate patients. It drives worse outcomes, higher costs, and missed opportunities for connection and care. According to Cactus survey, 20% of Americans believe miscommunication with a doctor has led to worse health outcomes. That number isnt theoretical. It shows up in delayed diagnoses, unnecessary ER visits, and care plans that never get follow-through. Even more concerning, 30% of Americans are currently sitting on a specific, known health concern that they havent brought up with a medical professional. The reasons: They dont know how to start, fear its not serious enough, or feel they wont be understood. The cost of silence is high. Yet, many providers are missing the signal patients are sending. Those patients dont just want better communication; theyre willing to pay for it. Nearly half of Americans say theyd pay out-of-pocket for more personalized, ongoing care. Thats not just dissatisfaction. Its demand. Its a market signal for a better-designed experienceone that prioritizes clarity, empathy, and usability alongside clinical excellence. TIME TO UPGRADE THE INTERFACE When I was 11, my family brought home our first Apple computer, the Apple II. It was a revelation. Not because the machine was so advanced, but because for the first time, I could use it without a teacher guiding me. I designed a birthday banner. I clicked instead of typed. The same underlying machine had become exponentially more useful, simply because it was designed with the user in mind. Now imagine if your next doctors visit was designed that way. Instead of cryptic PDFs, your lab results live on an interactive health dashboard. Biomarkers are plotted on a bell curve that shows whats optimal and where you stand. Explanations are written in plain language. Click a number and you get verified insights from your care team. Time spent with clinicians is engrossing and educational. Time spent with digital tools is satisfying and motivating. Thats not a future fantasy. Its possible right now. But only if we bring design to the table earlier and stop treating it as cosmetic. DESIGN ISNT DECORATION. ITS INFRASTRUCTURE. In healthcare, communication isnt a soft skill. Its a system function. When patients dont understand, outcomes suffer. When doctors cant easily share information or collaborate across teams, outcomes suffer. That isnt a design detail. Its a product flaw. In most industries, design is how people get from input to impact. Its how they navigate complexity, make decisions, and take action. From airports to financial apps, good design anticipates human needs. It removes friction. It builds trust. Healthcare deserves the same standard. Instead of treating design as something to layer on at the end, we need to treat comprehension as infrastructure. We need systems that explain, not just record. Tools that coordinate, not just collect. Interfaces that feel intuitive and human, even in high-stakes, high-stress moments. What patients are asking for isnt unreasonable. They want care that feels clear. Tools that help them follow through and communication that builds confidence. Design can deliver that. But only if we prioritize understanding as a core part of the system, not an afterthought. Noah Waxman is CEO and cofounder at Cactus.
Category:
E-Commerce
The explosive rise of GLP-1 medicationssuch as Mounjaro, Ozempic, and Wegovyhas ignited more than just headlines. It has fundamentally shifted how Americans access and pay for medications, driving innovation in affordability models, and fueling a dramatic increase in direct-to-consumer (DTC) healthcare platforms. Originally approved for type 2 diabetes, GLP-1s have surged in popularity due to their effectiveness in treating obesity and other cardiometabolic conditions. Yet their high list prices and limited insurance coverage have exposed critical gaps in the traditional pharmacy system. Today, more than 19 million people in the U.S. do not have coverage for GLP-1s prescribed for weight loss. Others face complicated, time-consuming restrictions such as step therapy or prior authorizations before they can begin GLP-1 treatment. As demand has soared, so has the urgency for new access models that bypass conventional barriers. In response, a new generation of direct-to-consumer (DTC) healthcare platforms has emerged. From telehealth companies to digital pharmacies, these companies are reshaping how patients engage with care. Many now offer bundled GLP-1 programs that include virtual consultations, lab testing, prescription delivery, and coachingall for a cash price. These models circumvent insurance entirely and appeal to patients seeking affordability, convenience, and transparency. Simultaneously, pharmaceutical manufacturers have responded with creative pricing partnerships, cash pay programs, and manufacturer savings cards. For example, Novo Nordisk just launched a new program with GoodRx to offer Ozempic and Wegovy for $499 per month to eligible patients at over 70,000 pharmacies nationwide. These efforts improve access and affordability by breaking down the cost barrier to care, making previously unaffordable treatments more attainable to consumers with valid prescriptions. GLP-1 manufacturers and patients alike are seeing success with this model. Earlier this year, Eli Lilly reported that roughly 100,000 people buy Zepbound each month directly through the companys LillyDirect platform. Its a case study illustrating the demand for these DTC platforms, which make affordability and access more widely available to the consumers who need these medications. GLP-1s have become more than a class of breakthrough medicationstheyve become a catalyst for redefining how Americans experience pharmacy care. They are rewiring the infrastructure of U.S. drug access, with implications that extend far beyond weight loss. This shift is laying the groundwork for a broader rethinking of affordability models for high-impact medications, especially those where cost and coverage are often barriers to care. Other high-cost conditions, from cancer to autoimmune diseases to womens health, can significantly benefit from this model. Beyond the cost hurdles, the DTC approach can offer greater convenience for consumers struggling with a debilitating condition that requires specific, non-generic medications. Mental health is a great example of this given demand for services often far surpasses what the existing healthcare infrastructure can supportnot unlike the obesity epidemic. As a result, experts predict well begin to see more DTC options come to market to improve access to medications and treatments within the mental health space. The government is contributing to this change, too. With significant pressure on manufacturers to deliver on most-favored-nation pricing for US-based consumers, offering a DTC distribution model is one of the requested actions. In my role, Im actively working with leaders in pharma to share how GoodRx can be leveraged to create exclusive affordable cash price programs or integrate existing DTC offerings into our platform, which is used by nearly 30 million consumers and over one million healthcare professionals each year. In this reimagined landscape, the system can work better for everyone. Consumers gain more control and options regarding their treatment choices. Healthcare professionals and pharmacists are presented with fewer administrative burdens. Pharma manufacturers can establish a more direct relationship with their end users, enhancing brand trust and patient satisfaction. And insurance companies might be pushed to reconsider their coverage strategies due to the competitive alternatives arising in the patient pay marketplace. The GLP-1 revolution has shown that demand for effective treatment can outpace the system’s ability to deliver it equitably. In the process, it has accelerated experimentation with new pricing structures, affordability partnerships, and technology-driven delivery channels. If this momentum continues, we can create a future where equitable, affordable access to high-impact medications is the normnot the exception. Laura Jensen is chief commercial officer and president of pharma solutions for GoodRx.
Category:
E-Commerce
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