If you were not available to attend this unique presentation on its originally scheduled date (March 16, 2010), the meeting was postponed due to the Passaic River flooding. You can now register for the rescheduled event, which will occur at the original location, Cucina Calandra in Fairfield, NJ, on the new date of April 7, 2010. Our speaker will be accompanied by Justin Starzyk, DaVita's head of strategy. The two have planned not only a discussion of what DaVita's done to REALLY engage their staff, but an exercise to  walk us through what we can do as well. It will be a fantastic event with a lot of work behind it, and we really hope you'll be able to attend.

Register Here

In 1999, DaVita had a couple of weeks’ worth of payroll, all of the “C suits” were gone, and the stock was $2.  In a remarkable turnaround, the company subsequently became a high growth Wall Street darling.  Rising from the ashes, the DaVita transformation illustrates a mission- and values-driven organization achieving its goal to be the greatest dialysis company the world has seen. This outrageously caring organization harnessed its staff and customers’ hearts and souls—not just minds and hands-- to produce better profits and a better work environment.

While there are thousands of management books and case studies on what gets and keeps a workforce engaged, the challenge is actually getting thousands of workers to buy into the company’s beliefs.  DaVita has engaged its teammates over a decade.  Javier Rodriguez, Senior Vice President at DaVita will discuss some of the ingredients of DaVita’s leadership model that have led to the company’s success – both organizational and financial.  Among the topics Javier will be discussing with the Wharton Club are: 

        •    What led DaVita to develop its unique leadership approach
        •    The results it’s attained
        •    How it keeps its approach alive, vibrant, and ever improving
        •    How others can harness DaVita’s learnings

DaVita is the largest independent provider of dialysis services in the US for patients suffering from chronic kidney failure.  DaVita has set its sights on being the greatest dialysis company the world has ever seen—accomplished through a shared commitment to mission and values (service excellence, integrity, team, continuous improvement, accountability, fulfillment, and fun).  DaVita’s unique management philosophy has been discussed in numerous forums, including the Wall Street Journal, Modern Healthcare, and several business school cases (Stanford and Harvard among them, as well as presentations at last year’s Wharton Health Care Business Conference).  For the fourth year in a row, FORTUNE magazine has listed DaVita as one of its Most Admired Companies, and this year, the magazine ranked it #1 in innovation among medical facilities.  DaVita received the Adaptive Business Leaders “Leadership in Innovation” award, recognizing the company’s approach to building a strong sense of community in the workplace.  Financially, the organization has current annual revenues over $6 billion,