Join us as we kick off a new season of NRC Health’s Patient No Longer podcast designed exclusively for healthcare visionaries ready to envision a new era in the healthcare customer journey.

Can a purpose-driven revolution hold up? Hosted by Ryan Donohue, thought leader, author, and strategic advisor with NRC Health 

Jorge Ismael Torres, Culture Architect and Managing Partner, JIT Associates/Addval Consulting 

In the latest episode of Patient No Longer, Jorge Torres suggested that relational experiences will supersede transactional ones in the future, offering a wider opportunity for organizations to express Human Understanding. 

The next evolution of revolutions is here. Torres outlines the historical context of revolutions, starting from steam mechanization (first revolution) and leading to the current cyber-physical revolution (fourth revolution) era. He emphasizes the societal changes brought about by these revolutions, leading to a shift from a sense of belonging and purpose to a more transactional and individualistic approach. 

“So during these 200-plus years, human beings have lost a sense of being human,” he says. “That’s when you look at numbers: depression, alcoholism, drug addiction stuff. In a way, society is kind of lost. But philosophers, psychologists, and biologists believe that the pendulum moves from one side to another and is starting to come back.” 

Torres introduced the idea of the fifth revolution, which he calls the humanistic revolution—a return to basics and a focus on human connection and purpose. He suggests that organizations capable of transitioning from transactional to relational approaches will thrive in this new era. He also highlights the changing motivations of people of newer generations, who are increasingly seeking purpose-driven ventures. 

“People in these newer generations do not get motivated in the way other generations got motivated,” he says. “They’re looking for more purpose-driven ventures. If they hear of a stray dog lost in the street, they do a GoFundMe campaign to save that dog.” 

Culture is not a coincidence but a consequence of deliberate choices. Torres emphasizes the importance of defining and communicating a clear purpose for any organization, introducing the concept of designing culture around planting seeds and providing guides for growth. He encourages healthcare leaders to shape the culture they desire intentionally and underscores the significance of observable behaviors in reinforcing and maintaining that culture. 

“One of my clients is a low-cost airline in Latin America,” he says. “They want to have a culture of safety. Tell me, what is a culture of safety? We want everyone to think about safety. No, that’s not observable. Give me behaviors. Okay, I want to ensure the plane doesn’t leave if it’s not signed off by maintenance. That’s an observable behavior. If I see something on the floor, I pick it up. That’s a behavior. So I say, tell me you want a culture of safety, efficiency, and attitude, so we can define those behaviors that are observable, so that we can monitor and track it, and then we can reinforce it.” 

Torres says that building a culture starts with revisiting your purpose. 

“A mission is what we do; a vision is what we want to achieve,” he says. “Purpose is why we exist. What would happen to this country, or my community, if we did not exist? Having that why clear allows you to verify that the values align with that purpose.” 

Listen to the Patient No Longer episode to learn more. You can also check out more in Torres’ latest book, Performance Habit: Drive Your Team to Thrive in the Fifth Revolution. 

Want to follow the Human Understanding movement? Check out NRC Health on social media.