Business nowadays is defined by AI disruption, economic volatility, and growing scrutiny of corporate leadership as success is often measured in quarterly earnings, shareholder returns, and market expansion. As the Chair of the Board of Directors for Waystar, Magnit Global and UCONN Health, success for John Driscoll was defined long before the boardroom.
It began at Fort Bragg.
As a young officer in training, Driscoll found himself surrounded by individuals who appeared more polished, more technically skilled, and better prepared. By his own admission, he wasn’t the strongest drill performer. He didn’t shine in the traditional metrics of early military excellence. Yet he won a leadership award — and when he asked why, the answer would shape the rest of his career: because he put his troops first.
That moment crystallized a lesson he would carry into every executive role that followed. Leadership is not about being the smartest person in the room. It is about creating the conditions for others to succeed. It is about recognizing potential in people before they recognize it in themselves — and reflecting that belief back to them through trust, responsibility, and opportunity.
Over the course of a career that includes scaling and selling CareCentrix, leading healthcare strategy at Walgreens Health, serving as Group President at Medco, and now chairing and advising multiple boards and investment firms, Driscoll has returned to that principle again and again: values drive performance.
Early in his corporate career, however, he learned a painful counter-lesson. As a young manager at Oxford Health Plans, he believed leadership meant having all the answers. He felt pressure to be the smartest person in the room — and made sure everyone knew it. In moments of crisis, that approach faltered. Over time, he realized something fundamental: executives have a moral obligation not just to lead, but to create intellectual space. The best ideas rarely correlate with hierarchy. High-performing organizations depend on environments where insight can surface from anywhere.
Letting go of intellectual ego, he says, was one of the most important lessons of his leadership journey.
That same mindset later informed one of the boldest decisions of his career: doubling entry-level wages at CareCentrix to $15 per hour while freezing executive salaries. The move was not symbolic. It was strategic.
The catalyst came when he learned that a valued team member was living out of her car while working in customer service. The disconnect was glaring. Organizations expect high performance, commitment, and emotional resilience from frontline employees — especially in healthcare, one of the most human and vulnerable industries. Yet many companies were asking for that performance while paying wages that made stability impossible.
“How can you expect a high-performance team on poverty wages?” Driscoll asked.
The decision to raise wages required difficult conversations with leaders and shareholders. It required identifying cost efficiencies elsewhere to ensure the company could meet or exceed its business plan. But Driscoll framed it as both a moral and economic argument. If organizations invest in infrastructure, technology, and personal protective equipment, why wouldn’t they invest in the people who power the enterprise?
The results were measurable. Turnover dropped to two-thirds of its previous rate — faster than anticipated. Engagement strengthened. Operational performance improved. The wage increase became embedded in the company’s performance contract, not as an expense, but as a growth lever.
For Driscoll, fair pay is not a political position — it is a structural one. When people are not paid fairly for a full day’s work, social dysfunction follows. Families strain. Communities weaken. Productivity suffers. And ultimately, so does enterprise value.
His perspective extends beyond one company. He believes the broader “social contract of success” in America needs recalibration. Capitalism, he argues, must work for more people if it is to remain sustainable. When young families are forced to work multiple jobs and miss time with their children simply to survive, the system is misaligned. Business leaders are uniquely positioned to influence that trajectory.
That conviction ultimately led him to write Pay the People: Why Fair Pay is Good for Business and Great for America, articulating the business case for fair wages and long-term investment in employees. But the philosophy predates the book. It is rooted in a consistent belief: performance and purpose are inseparable.
As AI rapidly reshapes industries, Driscoll sees both opportunity and risk. The downside of AI is difficult to predict. But disengagement from the transformation, he warns, is not an option. Leaders must ensure that technological progress does not further widen inequities or displace opportunity without reinvestment. Participation, adaptation, and ethical stewardship are essential.
Throughout the interview, one theme remains constant. Whether discussing military training, corporate turnarounds, board governance, or national economic policy, Driscoll returns to the same core idea: leadership begins with values.
Putting people first is not soft leadership. It is disciplined leadership. It demands courage, especially when navigating politics, shareholders, and market expectations. It requires data, transparency, and operational rigor. But when done well, it produces both human and financial returns.
Throughout this conversation, Driscoll offers a clarifying challenge: Are you building an organization where people can bring their full potential to work? And are your values clearly visible in the way you create value?
For him, success is no longer a destination marked by transactions or titles. It is a reflection — of whether the people you lead are stronger, more capable, and more secure because of your leadership.
The lesson that began at Fort Bragg still holds: when leaders put their teams first, everyone performs better.
For additional executive insights, watch the full interview on C-Suite TV.
