Skip to main content

Jerold McDonald

Background

  • Works in the healthcare space
  • Has experience advising CEOs and billionaires on AI integration
  • Understands the psychology of organizational change and leadership challenges
  • Skeptical about AI hype but interested in real applications
  • Temporarily disabled LinkedIn due to excessive spam

Key Insights from Initial Meeting

  • Recognizes that pointing out where AI can fit often means highlighting company issues, which reflect on leadership
  • Believes most challenges are psychological, relational, and communication-based rather than technical
  • Understands that solutions exist but implementation is blocked by internal politics and incentive structures
  • Noted that middle managers often protect their careers by not being curious about improvements
  • Agrees that customer acquisition costs and other metrics are often fabricated or misleading within organizations

Professional Philosophy

  • Views consulting as primarily a psychological and relational game
  • Believes in being direct and honest with leadership, even when uncomfortable
  • Recognizes that people often don't want to move as fast as they could to fix problems
  • Understands that admitting problems requires acknowledging fault, which leaders resist

Potential Collaboration Areas

  • AI advisory for healthcare organizations
  • Strategic consulting on organizational transformation
  • Truth-telling and honest assessment of business metrics
  • Navigating internal politics to implement real change

Communication Style

  • Direct and analytical
  • Comfortable discussing uncomfortable truths
  • Values genuine problem-solving over surface-level fixes

Interactions

  • 2025-05-29: Met at Texas Venture Forum. Had deep conversation about the challenges of AI implementation, organizational psychology, and the reality that most problems are human rather than technical. Discussed parallels in our work advising CEOs and the importance of honest feedback. Shared insights about Alpha Schools and the fabricated metrics problem.