Dr. John Kenagy

Dr. John Kenagy: Profile

His frustration with current methods was fueled by an injury – he suffered a broken neck in a fall from a tree. Critically injured, he discovered that his recovery depended on the efforts of individuals working in an unpredictable and often unresponsive system. Searching for answers beyond “try harder,” he earned a management degree from Harvard University’s Kennedy School and was appointed Visiting Scholar at Harvard Business School from 1998-2002.

His experience, research and teaching focus on the keys to success of resilient, highly adaptive organizations that thrived when the rest failed to adapt and change.

He brought his discoveries to healthcare as Adaptive Design; ® a set of new, revitalizing choices that restore the ideals of patient care by cultivating adaptability in the everyday work of the organization and it’s people. His management guidebook Designed to Adapt: Leading Healthcare in Challenging Times was named 2011 Book of the Year in healthcare management.

Dr. Kenagy’s speaking, teaching and advising help everyone, from the frontline to the Executive Suite, deliver on the fundamental promise of their calling – getting patients exactly what they need, safely, at continually lower cost. It’s the way to fix healthcare.

• MD with distinction from the University of Nebraska;
• Clinical Associate Professor of Surgery, University of Washington;
• Adjunct Professor of Pharmacy and Therapeutics, University of Pittsburgh;
• Visiting Scholar, Harvard Business School (1998-2004).
• Case Western Reserve University Weatherhead School of Business Executive Education and the Harvard University Advanced Leadership Initiative in Healthcare.
• Speaking and consulting engagements throughout the US and in Canada.
• Testimony before the US Senate Commerce Committee.
• Author of "Service Quality in Health Care” for the Journal of the American Medical Association, named the Best Healthcare Management Article of the Year.
• Co-author with Clayton Christensen of the first article on disruptive innovation in healthcare for the Harvard Business Review
• Inspired and helped lead the first test of the Toyota Production System in healthcare.
• Coauthored Harvard Business School Teaching Cases that have been taught throughout academia and in many healthcare, technology and manufacturing companies.
• Forbes magazine featured Dr. Kenagy as “the man who would save healthcare.”