World Class

“This story gives management and leadership in any industry the template by which to ensure their businesses thrive and flourish, even when in the midst of the most dire circumstances. Few organizational transformations tell a story as inspiring and instructive as the one that took place, over the past decade, at NYU Langone Health .  It is a story of a leadership team of rare passion and vision, led by Dr. Bob Grossman, whose medical expertise and zest for innovation are second to none, and Ken Langone, whose love of people, renowned business acumen, and philanthropic enthusiasm are an unstoppable force of nature. Together, and supported by an ever more stellar team of medical and management professionals, they have changed one institution — and healthcare — forever and for the better.”
—   Jack Welch, former Chairman and CEO, General Electric, and author of Jack: Straight from the Gut and Winning.

“The spectacular transformation of NYU Langone Health is a vivid example of what can be accomplished when leaders blend vision, courage, conviction and an uninterrupted quest to achieve unprecedented objectives. NYU Leadership revitalized a staid culture and the collaborative efforts that followed blazed the way to new frontiers of excellence. William Haseltine, scientist and healthcare expert, has written eloquently how NYU Langone executed a path to World Class and along the way overcame many obstacles and provided employees the confidence needed to perform beyond what was previously thought impossible. A compelling read particularly for leaders of other healthcare facilities with a need to replicate this extraordinary story.”
—   Larry Bossidy, former Chairman and CEO Honeywell International and author of Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done and Confronting Reality: Master the New Model for Success.

“William Haseltine’s comprehensive analysis of the critical steps that NYU Langone Health took to achieve success -- establishing a vision, actionable strategies, effective communication and data-driven decision-making -- is consistent with WellPoint’s experience. World Class adds to the evidence that a roadmap for transformation exists that can help organizations respond to the challenges of a changing external environment.”
—   Leonard D. Schaeffer, founding Chairman and CEO, WellPoint and former Administrator of the Health Care Finance Administration

“World Class tells a remarkable story: how a gifted group of individuals turned a medical school with a poor record into one of the top academic medical centers in the United States. It took vision, leadership, trust, and continuous measurement. This book transcends the healthcare field and should be read by all those interested in institutional innovation. In writing it, William Haseltine has mobilized his vast repertoire of talents as a Renaissance man with wide-ranging interests, vast culture, and boundless creative force.”
— Julio Frenk, MD, PhD, President of the University of Miami; former Dean of the Harvard Chen School of Public Health; and former Minister of Health, Mexico

 “William Haseltine has written a remarkable story about how the transformation of NYU happened over a ten-year period. It is indeed a story of a system moving from good to great, from a relatively low point in 2007 to its becoming one of the leading healthcare institutions by 2017. This is a remarkable journey replete with a number of steps and decisions that led to the systematic transformation and one that Dr. Haseltine has brought out with clarity and readability. World Class could be very useful for other institutions that are starting their own journey and act as a guide to future leaders in medicine.”
—K. Ranga Rama Krishnan, Dean, Rush Medical College; Senior Vice President, Rush University Medical Center

“The swift and all encompassing transformation of NYU’s Langone Health stands as a case study for academic medical centers worldwide. The relentless commitment to putting the patient first invariably enhances employee pride and financial success. William Haseltine captures the nuances as well as the lessons.” 
—John A. Quelch, Vice Provost, University of Miami, Dean of the School of Business Administration at the University of Miami; Charles Edward Wilson Professor of Business Administration Emeritus at Harvard Business School; former Vice President and Dean of the China Europe International Business School; and coauthor, Choice Matters: How Healthcare Consumers Make Decisions

 “Getting more for our healthcare dollars will not come from magic or simple solutions.  Instead, it requires the gritty, often unappreciated work of improving the performance of our delivery system — including our nation’s leading medical centers.  That is precisely the focus of World Class, in which William A. Haseltine chronicles and assesses the recent history of NYU Langone.  Both healthcare leaders and policymakers will learn from the struggles, and in Haseltine’s telling the ultimate success, of one of our nation’s leading academic medical centers.”
—Peter Orszag, 37th Director of the Office of Management and Budget and former Director of the Congressional Budget Office.

“The message of this book is that positive change in healthcare or other human institutions is not about money or technology - though they matter - but about inspired teams of normal people working together in extraordinary ways.” 
—Esther Dyson, Investor, Executive Founder of Way to Wellville and former Chair of EDventure Holdings