December 4, 2025: Candice London, SVP of Client Success at Clearsense, shares the unfiltered truth about her transition after 20 years in health systems. She reveals why the move was more humbling than she expected, the mindset shifts that made the difference, and the one critical mistake healthcare organizations keep making with digital transformation. If you've ever wondered whether you could make the leap to trying something new—or why your latest technology implementation isn't solving the problems you expected—this conversation offers rare insights from someone who's lived on both sides of the table.

Key Points:

• 05:35 Misconceptions in Digital Transformation
• 08:24 Candice's Advice for Career Transitions
• 13:18 Balancing Work and Life as a Leader
• 14:23 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

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This transcription is provided by artificial intelligence. We believe in technology but understand that even the smartest robots can sometimes get speech recognition wrong.

Flourish Sound Bytes: From Health System to Startup and Trusting Your Gut with Candice London

Sarah Richardson: I'm Sarah Richardson, a principal here at this week Health where our mission is healthcare transformation, powered by community. This is Flourish Soundbites, unfiltered Conversations with healthcare leaders. Let's get real,

Sarah Richardson : Welcome back to Flourish. I'm Sarah Richardson and today's soundbite features Candace London, SVP of Client Success at Clear Sense, who brings a unique perspective to health tech, having made the transition from hands-on hospital and long-term care operations into technology leadership.

Her operational background, driving performance across multi-site health systems gives her rare insight into both the real world challenges healthcare providers face, and how to effectively bridge the gap between clinical needs and

[technology solutions]

Candace, welcome to the show. Thank you so much. I

Candice London: feel very honored Sarah to be here with you. You are a staple in the industry, so Wow. I'm just like shocked that I'm here, so thank you. Thank you.

I would love to have you walk us through your career journey from hospital operations to health tech. I'm curious, what pivotal moments or decisions led you to make that transition?

Candice London: Yeah, that's a really great question. I spent 20 years on the health system side. Like most people you know, once you're in the health system, you never really leave.

I really thought I would retire there and I loved what I did. I, you know, was mostly in the IT department and created PMOs and governance and, you know, really felt like what I did was. Helpful to the organization. And I loved being in the office. I loved being with my team and, , never thought that I would ever, like, you know, being remote and then fast forward COVID hits and wow, I'm home and I really like it.

Sarah Richardson : I'm so grateful you have said that because so often leaders will reach out

[Mic bleed]

and to our team at this week health for perspective on can I make that transition? Can I go from being in a hospital to a vendor or a partner? And then can I go back and what does that transition or that journey look like?

And it's very viable. Your example of doing that very well and successfully. When you look back, how did your hands-on

[Mic bleed]

in healthcare operations shape your perspective on how technology plays a role in healthcare?

Candice London: you know, being on the vendor side now and, , talking to the health systems, I really have that empathy for them.

So, I believe that technology should. Serve the workflow, not the other way around. And this has really been kind of my focus, really looking at the usability and designing the systems or the workflows to help support their day-to-day work so that they can take care of their take care of the patients, which is ultimately the goal for everyone.

And, you know, just again, like looking at the human side of healthcare and that the tools really should solve the problems that are at hand for these end users.

Sarah Richardson : That unique perspective has helped you build a reputation as someone skilled at driving change across complex healthcare environments.

What's your philosophy when it comes to leading transformation initiatives?

Candice London: It's really fun to actually, you know, see change happen and see it successful, right? So when I'm looking at.

If the users are not adopting it at the beginning, they will have workarounds. They will create workarounds that create inefficiencies. Right? And then your project or your technology that you're implementing is a failure and because it creates more inefficiencies in the organization. What are some of the key

Sarah Richardson : things you've learned though about, I don't wanna say battling resistance, but there's that aspect of implementing change that does sometimes.

Give people pause. Do I wanna do something different? What is this gonna mean for my career, for my workflow? And when you build those relationships, what are some of the key wins

[Mic bleed]

But it's not easy. I don't really have like a perfect solution. Some people are. Let's do this. I'm really excited because, you know, I can make a difference and there are some folks that will never want to, you know, accept this change, but they'll come along because they've been told to.

Sarah Richardson : You have unique insight because you've worked both as a provider and as a partner. What do you believe healthcare organizations. Essentially get wrong when they approach digital transformation.

Candice London: When they're looking at buying a technology to fix a problem, they're not focused on the workflow issues or the culture shifts that are really needed to, you know, adopt the technology because technology alone can't fix a problem.

And at the end of the day, it's. Not fixing the problem that's at hand because, you know, maybe it didn't actually go ask what the problem is and really seek to understand , the issues at hand. So I think, being a partner and saying, we're gonna be here to solve your problem. You tell us what the problem is, let us go out and look for the solution and we'll bring it back to you. And before we sign anything, we're gonna make sure that we are all lockstep and we're, you know, ready to move forward with this change.

Candice London: I was thinking about this question earlier and I think, you know, as I ponder upon my my career, it's really being flexible and open to change. I think, you know, not every organization, even if you take the same position from one organization to the other. The problems at organization A are not the same problems at organization B.

So you can bring the toolkit and you can bring all the best practices that you want, but at the end of the day, you may not be solving the same problem. So being flexible,, being willing to, be open to the changes that are ahead of you is really important. I also think, when I moved from a health system to, you know, the vendor side.

really important.

Sarah Richardson : The whole playbook that transfers from organization to organization could not be true. Or I had a conversation yesterday with somebody who said, Hey, I'm working with this person and they brought all their ideas from their former organization and a lot of them are good, but they're not gonna exactly fit.

And this person's having a really hard time fitting in. And I always said, how do you help them get there? And so with that for professionals who may be looking to make a similar transition from. A hospital-based role into technology as a vendor, what mindset shift do you recommend?

Candice London: Yeah, it's funny, I just had a friend actually call me.

She's like, I've been, you know, I got offered this job and I've been at this health system for so long, and what's your advice? And I said, you know, it's gonna be hard. It's not easy. And , like I said, the early days are humbling. They're difficult. I questioned my decision.

And so I think as you go from a health system to the tech side. Just be open, that it is gonna be difficult, but like you said, at the end of the day, you're growing, you're becoming better, and you know you're gonna be very proud of yourself at the end of it.

Sarah Richardson : And what drives your passion for that?

I mean, you can tell you're absolutely committed to all aspects of what happens in a hospital, what happens in a clinic, how you can best serve them, what drives that passion for you.

Candice London: Yeah. You know, what I loved about healthcare is that it's mission driven, right? It's about people. It's emotional, it's very personal.

It can reduce burnout, and really ultimately have better patient outcomes. And so, as I. Look at health system. Historically, they've been slow to adapt technology but now they're moving quickly, right? But it's all the ai, the interoperability, the automation and those things can make a real difference.

So I'm really excited not only to see what happens because I've been in healthcare for so long, but also be part of it.

Sarah Richardson : I have to put a pin in that because you hit on all the things that we are seeing and also having conversations about. When you look ahead over the next couple of years, what is the thing that excites you the most?

Adopt technology more where it can serve, you know, the users the most. Could not agree

Sarah Richardson : [Mic bleed]

All right. Speed round. Are you ready? Yes. Okay. What is the best piece of career advice you have ever received?

Candice London: Yeah, I think it's really understanding the business, not just the job, right? While you can be in operations, IT leadership, whatever it is, I think you your value increases when you understand and know how the organization works and how it makes money.

So really, you know, understanding the organization and context drives influence.

Concepts inside of an organization. It's so much more than just the technology and the technology is everywhere. And so how it touches every part of what we do today is such a key piece of what it means to understand how to best serve an organization. You've got it nailed. Yes, absolutely. What is a misconception that people have about transitioning into a role from, Hey, I work in hospital A, B, C, and now I wanna go work for vendor X, Y, Z.

Candice London: Yeah, I think there's a. A view that there's less job security because you know, in health systems you celebrate 30, 40, 50 years. Tell me in an industry that does that anymore, right? I mean, there's not many. And so people have a job, they have job security within these health systems. If they're good at what they do, they'll continue to grow within the system and it's great.

Sarah Richardson : Excellent advice. One last question for you because I know you're a road warrior like I am. How do you keep balance in your life? Family, job, travel, all the different expectations? What are some of your. Hacks to living a well-balanced life.

Candice London: Yeah, I always have my toiletry backpack with all the things.

That's number one. I also think being present where you are, so when I'm at work, I'm at work. When I'm traveling, I'm not traveling. And when I'm home. I'm present with my children. I am doing all the things that they need me to do. But they also have a good, you know, system at home that when mom's not home, that they're well taken care of and mom needs to work and that's what she's gonna focus on.

Sometimes I just say, this is only gonna be a two hour flight. I'm just gonna read a book, and that's okay. You give yourself permission to not feel like you have to always be on, because sometimes it's harder to do that well than just to not try to do it at all in that moment. Absolutely. So excellent.

Thank you so much, Candace, for sharing your journey and insights with us today. Your perspective truly on transitioning from healthcare into tech leadership and your philosophy on driving meaningful change in complex environments offers valuable lessons for anyone navigating their career in this space.

For our listeners, considering their own career pivot and looking to better bridge the gap between operations and tech, Candace's story demonstrates that diverse experiences can be your greatest asset in creating lasting impact and healthcare. Candace, thank you for joining me. Thank you very much. I appreciate the time.

That's all for now.