Meet Cody Beard, product manager
#ValidicProud
The next piece in our employee spotlight series features Cody Beard, product manager. Cody graduated from Cleary University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He currently lives in Chelsea, Michigan with his family and four cats.
Adrienne Rupp: What made you decide to join Validic?
Cody Beard: Prior to Validic, I was working on a residency management system. I spent time there exploring how clinicians are educated and grew my understanding of everything that went into being part of a clinical program. It made me want to get more involved in the clinician side of healthcare and how we take care of people. I gravitated toward something that really fit that mold.
When I came across Validic, the mission spoke to me. At the end of day, all I want to do is make a difference for people and help them live the lives they want to lead.
AR: Tell me more about your product manager role at Validic.
CB: I oversee our mobile app, HealthBridgeTM, and our integrations into hospital EHR systems. The biggest part of my job is identifying and understanding the problems we are trying to solve.
What is the user trying to get out of our product? How should we shape the product to help users get more value out of it? We look inside and outside the box to solve those problems and identify how our solution can connect to other pieces of the healthcare puzzle.
We also want the experience to be comprehensive and as easy as possible for patients and clinical users. That’s one thing we always try to prioritize: making the experience as painless as possible for every user, whether it’s a patient at home or a clinician putting together a treatment plan. Care teams and patients have so many things going on at once, inside and outside the clinical experience. Our aim is to make sure that we do our part to ease any burden that we can and ensure that everyone is receiving the support that they need from our platforms.
AR: What skills, education, and training do you need for your role or similar roles?
CB: You definitely need an understanding of computer science and product management for this role. More specifically, when you talk about preparing yourself for a role like this — especially in the healthcare industry — developing empathy with people is the biggest thing I advocate for.
One of the things I always try to think back to, even in past jobs, is empathy for what people are going through. We build software for clinicians and patients who are treating chronic illnesses or helping to improve overall health outcomes. We never know what’s going through someone’s mind. We never know what else is going on with them that’s driving them to have these needs and use these devices.
Outside of empathy, a product manager really needs to have excellent problem solving skills. They need to be able to take the findings they gain from understanding the challenges their users are experiencing and translate those into clear definitions of features that can improve the users experience and grow the overall value of their product offering.
AR: What do you enjoy most about working at Validic?
CB: At Validic, it’s the culture that’s the best selling point I could offer anyone. We also have a great autonomy to think through problems and really connect with people on the team to find the best solution to what those problems are. That’s one of the best things about working here. Everyone I’ve come across is down to earth and open to sharing knowledge. We keep things grounded here. We understand the impact of our products on the people we serve and we all take that to heart. We make sure to focus on the users and dedicate ourselves to ensure that everything we do is in service of improving the clinical experience for patients and clinicians.
AR: What’s the top item on your bucket list?
CB: I want to go to Scotland and Ireland. My mom was a huge fan of Europe in general, but specifically Scotland and Ireland. She never got the chance to go before she passed away. I’ve always wanted to go there, and take the picture of her and I with me that I keep on the nightstand next to my bed. I’d love to be able to go and take a picture of myself holding that picture on a hilltop in Ireland or Scotland so that, in a way, I’d be able to take her with me.
AR: How do you spend your free time when you’re not at work?
CB: I try to spend as much of my free time outside as I can, whether that means playing with my kids outside, going for a run or playing soccer. I really enjoy being in the sunshine. Being in the sunshine is a great way to feel better inside and out and to create that sense of happiness that I feel like we all need a lot of, especially post-COVID.
Even when it comes to fall and winter, I still enjoy being outside — shoveling snow and playing football. I was also the coach for my son’s flag football team last fall so I got to combine some of my favorite activities, all while enjoying a beautiful fall in Michigan.
AR: What advice do you have for someone just starting out in a product manager role?
CB: I got this advice back when I worked in the retail space: be a sponge. Absorb the knowledge and experience from everyone around you as much as you can. Whether it’s good advice or bad, good or bad experiences. Everything helps to shape what you’ll end up becoming, whether that’s as a product manager or just in life. All of our experiences really shape us. Sort out the good and the bad in your head and don’t be afraid to ask questions. It’s all really going to help you in the long run to be the best that you can be.