The Power of Productive Harmony featuring RJ Kedziora

RJ Kedziora (0:00)

Think about how you can use AI to be more efficient, more effective. Change your environment, and it changes how your brain thinks about stuff. I'm a technologist at heart, but technology is not about the technology. To be good at what I do and what our teams do every day, it's about understanding empathy, understanding what the other person is going through. A lot of problems have been solved through technology. It's one thing as developers to put them all in a box and stereotype them. There was privilege to be part of that encounter with the doctor and that patient's journey, what they were going through, to be able to develop better solutions. There's always something new to solve.

SPEAKER_2 (0:39)

Welcome to the Culture From the Heart Podcast on the From the Heart Business Network. In a business world where employees and customers crave authenticity and trust, hosts Larry Levine and Darrell Amy are on a mission to find and showcase heart-centered executives and the companies they lead.

You are about to hear an inspiring conversation with a visionary leader that's bringing heart into the workplace, empowering employees, serving their clients, and uplifting communities. All to create true success. This is Culture From the Heart. The movement starts here. Let's begin.

Darrell Amy (1:19)

Welcome to Culture From the Heart. I'm your co-host, Darrell Amy, here today with Larry Levine, and we're joined by RJ Kedziora. He's the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Extenda Solutions, a firm specializing in software, data analytics, and AI for healthcare and medical applications. He's also the author of Productive Harmony, How to Optimize Productivity in the 21st Century. RJ, welcome to Culture From the Heart. It's great to have you here.

RJ Kedziora (1:45)

Thanks for having me. Looking forward to the conversation.

Larry Levine (1:48)

Sir, thanks for hanging out with us.

Darrell Amy (1:50)

Yeah, as we kick it off, the one question we ask every leader on Culture From the Heart is simply this, RJ, what does Culture From the Heart mean to you?

RJ Kedziora (1:58)

I think of two things closely related to that.

One, I'm a technologist at heart, but technology is not about the technologies, it's about the people and the processes and that. And that's where that heart comes in. And to be good at what I do and what our teams do every day, it's about understanding empathy, understanding what the other person is going through. And that's where that heart really comes into it.

Larry Levine (2:24)

And I'm glad you brought this up because we live in this technology just filled world where sometimes we as people, we as employees hide behind technology. I'm glad that sounds like you're in front of this. Oh, you're a technology company. You understand the people part of this and it has to be in front of technology.

RJ Kedziora (2:42)

A lot of problems have been solved through technology, but it's one thing as developers, to put them all in a box and stereotype them. I'm not very good at understanding that. You're not developing for yourself, you're developing for another person. We develop healthcare technology, solutions to help improve the health and wellness of other people, of individuals. I'm not a doctor, I don't play one on TV, but I get to have an impact. Multiple Xs out there as we develop these applications and help doctors or patients improve their care.

It's an amazing experience and it's very easy from a recruiting perspective. When people join the company, it's like we have a mission of helping others.

Darrell Amy (3:27)

Yeah, it's interesting. You think about the technology and then in one hand, and the empathy in another hand, I think it's really easy to look at the code and engineers perspective and all of that, but especially in the world that you serve, it seems like developing a culture of empathy is really, really critical to getting that right.

RJ Kedziora (3:51)

It absolutely is, and actually just before we recorded this, I was talking to a new client in relating a story where I had the opportunity to sit down on a patient encounter where they literally bought a trash bag of medications into their appointment. I was there to learn, it's probably about 15 years ago now, but to learn about how this particular physician was caring for their patients to digitize the encounter.

And I had to leave the room because it was just so emotional what this patient was going through. It's like, I'm going to start crying and just had to exit. I was privileged to be part of that encounter with the doctor and that patient's journey. But it helped me understand and emphasize with their condition what they were going through to be able to develop better solutions.