AutoGov

Running Ahead

Humorist and showman Will Rogers said “Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there.”

 

This quote is the epitome of our technological world. Small businesses must keep trying to out run, out think, and out maneuver the corporate big dogs or risk getting run over.  Doing the best today isn’t going to be good enough for tomorrow.

 

Working for AutoGov, I have firsthand experience with continuously striving to be bigger, better, faster etc. The necessity for innovation and change is ever present and is the heartbeat of the small business.

 

AutoGov is a prime example of a successful company because we continuously mold and transform into what is needed. We aren’t stagnant and you can’t put what we do into a box. We determine the needs of our clients as well as our potential clients. We use our resources wisely. We stay up to date on trending technology and new innovations in our marketplace and use this information to create new and improved products and ideas.

 

With all of this said, you can’t have a successful company without a successful team. Independently, we are all strong but when a core group of people get together and brainstorm, implement action, and create a finished project, that’s when the company is at its best and a force to be reckoned with.  

 

I wanted to take the time to express my gratitude to everyone behind the scenes at AutoGov. In response to the quote “Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there”, I say, we are the leaders of life's marathon and keep on running team!

 

 

 

AutoGov at the University of Alabama's Business Analytics Symposium

"Be brave. You have to be brave." -Gregg Phillips on small businesses going for goals and challenges.

— AutoGov (@AutoGov) February 2, 2012

55% of all denials of eligibility of Gov't healthcare benefits comes from lack of data on the applications.

— AutoGov (@AutoGov) February 2, 2012

CaseVue - Simplicity isn't so Simple

Among the AutoGov accomplishments of which we are the most proud is the ease with which our customers can use our CaseVue software and adopt it into their business process.  CaseVue doesn't require a business process overhaul.  But it will have a huge impact on your business and your bottom line. 

Don't be fooled though.  Simplicity doesn't come easy.  CaseVue reflects years of business knowledge and subject matter expertise in Medicaid, program integrity,  eligibility, data analytics and risk management. 

 Check out our software.  A sophisticated back end that is easy to use.

 See for yourself.  We'd love to give you a demo.

Constant Innovation

We made a pile of mistakes during the development of CaseVue, our flagship software offering. 

In spite of all the warnings from consultants, books and advisers, we trudged through years of development without stopping to think about the next round of innovation. 

The result was a fabulous product that delivers massive returns on a limited investment for our clients. 

Good enough, right? Wrong. Even software as good as ours requires care and feeding, failure to do so renders the software outdated quickly.

I was reminded of this fact this week. Rocking along believing all is well, one of our lead technology advisers suggested a simple solution to issue related to efficiency and intellectual property. Almost on queue, our CEO, Rose Hayden, made a suggestion regarding our user interfaces and deployment that solved two major challenges that have faced our implementation teams.

Two innovative ideas in two days that hold the promise of solving problems that we had chosen to ignore.

Inches

So it's coming on Christmas,  And AutoGov faces the end of 2011 with a curious blend of optimism and realism.  I've blogged before about how well this company and my team have faced the small business challenges of the economic downturn -- with tenacity, belief and humor.  I am proud to be on their team.

And that got me thinking about the past year and the pivotal AutoGov moments.  One day in particular stands out.  It was July 1 and we had a team meeting.  A friend of mine had suggested that I watch the Any Given Sunday Inches Speech that Al Pacino gives in a locker room - for inspiration in talking with my team.  I rolled my eyes.  More sports! 

Even I was moved.  Pacino says "... in football, in life, the inches we need are everywhere around us."

I kicked the meeting off with talk of inches - that our company would live or die by the inches.  That July day, just before Independence Day in Austin Texas, we were joined by family members of our staff.  They jumped into our team discussion.  My questions were "what motivates you?"  What kind of a team do you want to be a part of?"  Youth led us in wisdom as the 13-year old son of our founder, a baseball player to his bones responded "to play with people who try, to believe in my team, to get to the finish line with them." After that, everyone joined in and it was one of the best meetings I've ever been a part of in all my working years. 

Here's our list of what motivates us,   Give me these inches any day.

Effort, Faith, Belief, Respect, Trust, Service, Passion

Take a minute and listen to Al.  It's worth it "one inch at a time."

What's on our mind?

Be sure to leave us a comment and interact with us!

Ten Data Mining Mistakes to Avoid

John Elder presents an excellent tutorial in this top ten (actually 11!) list. Three mistakes that jump out at AutoGov's data mining team are those we learned of early in the development of CaseVue's model: 1) it is a mistake to proceed without data, 2) it is a mistake to extrapolate, and 3) it is a mistake to listen only to the data.

Just an Idea or a Real Innovation?

AutoGov owns and operates a technology platform that has allowed us to create an easy to use web based application driven by advanced business analytics.

We had the idea first. But it was only a cool idea. We had to find a way to build the idea.

The innovation occurred when we developed a method for turning the unintelligible (read: useless) data mining driven algorithm into a useful product that saves our users millions each year.

Ideas are a dime a dozen. Innovations are "practical ideas" -  ideas that can be implemented.

Technology is an enabler for millions of ideas, but the game changer is the entrepenuer who turns ideas into an innovation through blood, sweat, tears and usually a pile of cash.

They may not be changing the world but they are the rare breed that understand that ideas are just ideas until somebody makes it happen.

Our Metamorphosis Is Complete (Again)

Fifteen years ago next week, this company commenced consulting operations (whatever those where) on a card table in the guest room of my house in Madison, MS.  The only assets - me, a computer and a dial-up connection to the internet.

Needing nothing else, I raced off into the world to be a consultant, purveyor of knowledge and expertise. Marginally successful at this new found work and freedom, I hired my first employee two years later and another the following year.

Two years later, I decided that I didn't want us to be a consulting company any longer. We were going to sell training over the internet, collect such interesting data as methadone intake and provide reports for community colleges.

Following a short hiatus from the business in 03 and 04. I was back at it again, except now I decided that we could do both - sell software as a service and consulting.  Expecting the staff to jump to the new beat again, we trudged off into this bigger, flatter world with a whole new quiver of arrows.

A year or so later, I wrote a formula and the outline for how to apply this new intellectual property. Written on a napkin (actually three napkins) on a flight from Atlanta to Austin, this formula would ultimately serve as the basis for the next major change in the business - a metamorphosis that would ultimately prove to be the last. 

The formula and the platform upon which it operated would need millions of dollars invested into it. But, before this could happen I realized at long last - I needed some adult supervision.

We needed someone to build a team, focus on goals, create a sales machine and stop the constant distraction of consulting. 

Two years ago, our CEO, Rose Hayden, took over as our leader (and as my baby sitter!) It was quite simply the best single decision I have ever made. 

Rose built a team of people (customer service, technical support and operations management) that are driven to deliver our only offering - our software. Goals that are clear and unambiguous have been established. Our sales machine has more deals in the pipeline than ever before. And, we only consult for our software clients.

This metamorphosis has produced a burgeoning software success that has built technology forward offering expanding in areas I never knew could be within our reach.  We have learned many lessons along the way and bare the scars of a hundred crash and burn altercations.  

Of course, we still face daily hurdles (sales) and occasionally mountains (cash flow), but the long tunnel nears an end with the light of a clear sunny day in front of us.

CaseVue: Saving Money. Saving Lives.

AutoGov recently released and installed Version 4 of our risk management software – CaseVue.  This most recent iteration of CaseVue builds on five years and 17 million risk scores delivered to our clients desktops across the United States.

CaseVue 4.1 is specifically designed to improve the accuracy and timeliness of admission decisions made in nursing homes and other healthcare facilities.  Often nursing home administrators are forced to make decisions on admitting a patient without the benefit of any detailed information.  This decision – most often made inside of an hour – could cost the nursing home owners hundreds of thousands of dollars if not accurately assessed. While most importantly, patients could be denied service if a mistake is made resulting in more dire health related consequences, especially if the decision is delayed.

CaseVue provides healthcare providers with a reliable tool to support those difficult admission decisions.  Our nursing home customers reported in a recent survey that they make 77 percent of their admission decisions within one hour.  How do they make an accurate, and quick decision? By assessing the risks quickly, identifying potential issues before they occur and correcting problems in the case immediately; facility administrators can make quality decisions, fast!

Call (512-439-2900) or write us (inquiries@autogov.com) for more information on how CaseVue can improve your decisions and the lives of potential residents.