People aren’t just the most important part of your business, says MeMD CEO Bill Goodwin. Your people and culture are more important than anything else by a factor of 10.
“People, in fact, are at least 10 times more important than your product and your processes,” Goodwin said. “You can have the best product or the best processes in the world, but neither of those will create a sustainable business without the right people and culture behind it. Invest a significant portion of your heart and energy into your people and your organization will have the evolving foundation to support exponential growth.”
A part of the Walmart Health family, MeMD offers telehealth solutions for common illnesses, injuries, primary care and behavioral health issues for businesses nationwide. The company leverages the latest technologies to treat patients from a computer or mobile device.
Before taking the leadership reins at MeMD in 2019, Goodwin served in roles at Insight Enterprises, Freightquote.com, Neutron Industries and MicroWarehouse, building a wealth of executive experience over nearly two decades.
In his first two years at MeMD, Goodwin led a 53% growth in memberships and a 43% increase in employer groups. Goodwin expanded the company’s service lines, opened new markets, accelerated technology development and built a mission-driven culture.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Goodwin recognized that MeMD was integral to its clients. The company saw a 300% surge in visits and launched six new projects in 2020, including at-home PCR and antibody testing at a time when tests were scarce.
When wait times for other telehealth players increased from minutes to hours and even days, MeMD’s wait times increased only slightly, by 15 to 30 minutes. Goodwin evaluated CDC data to identify areas where COVID-19 was spiking, led daily huddles with managers and ramped up provider engagement and recruitment to meet escalating patient needs. The company’s groundwork during the pandemic was recognized by Walmart Health, which acquired MeMD in 2021.
It would be easy to focus on the numbers and the success he’s led at MeMD, but Goodwin stays focused on what’s important: people. He is a sought-after speaker on workplace culture and employee engagement, and he makes time to find and develop the next generation of leaders.
“To stay influential, I have to continue to be active in the local community, whether that is through mentoring leaders and leadership teams or simply meeting people who are doing interesting things for coffee or lunch,” Goodwin said. “We have such a great ecosystem of entrepreneurs, technologists and innovators here in Arizona — being actively engaged in that ecosystem is one of the best ways to learn while also being influential.”
