Quantum Age's CC Andrews moderated a panel of industry leaders at Connect 2015, the National Quality Innovation Conference, held in St. Louis, MO, June 7-9. 

What we learned:

While there are riches in the niches, you must validate your claim of being a specialist to prove you deserve the revenue.  Innovation, differentiation, and revenue are now intertwined with analytics.

For example:

• If you have a heart program to drive referrals, can you measure your performance in real time? 
• How are you driving improvements over time...backed by data to prove it? 
• Can you show how your results compare with others competing for the same business in your region?
• Are you transparent with your weaknesses and what you’re doing about them?  

The bottom line: 

It’s imperative you know your data like your life depends on it, and be prepared to speak to it.