Story by Carolyn Chapman

Cerner Corp. CEO Neal Patterson sent the email heard round the world. He didn’t intend for his internal email message to become textbook material or the subject of national radio talk shows, but it did. “I believe a Harvard professor stopped the presses on a textbook to include my email message,” Patterson said. The topic? Simply that employees paid to work 40 hours a week should in fact work the whole 40 hours.

In the hoopla that followed, Patterson began a dialogue with Cerner associate and Jewell graduate April Martin, who helped him navigate the mounting media blitz. With more than 5,000 associates worldwide, Cerner is a big company, so it’s no surprise that Patterson didn’t know April personally. A year later when asked to write a chapter for a book, he turned to April for help. “Before meeting her, I expected her to be a wise oracle in her 60s,” he said of the Jewell alum from the class of ’94.

Patterson, chairman of the board, chief executive officer and co-founder of Cerner Corporation, presented the annual Dickinson Lecture on Business Enterprise at William Jewell College. Patterson heads the world’s leading clinical healthcare information technology company.

Cerner CEO Neal Patterson

Cerner counts more than 100 William Jewell graduates among its associates, a word Patterson prefers to “employees.” During his talk he praised the quality of a Jewell education, saying that the associates from Jewell are among his favorites. “Their talent and energy are extraordinary,” he lauded. “What you’re being taught here, at this liberal arts, faith-based institution, is amazing stuff,” he told the students. He also announced that Cerner would be hiring seven new Jewell graduates.

Patterson credits his parents with instilling in him an entrepreneurial spirit. Farmers from Oklahoma, his parents took a great risk every spring, praying for the right conditions to yield a harvest. “You can’t control the environment, but you work hard anyway, and if the hail doesn’t come, you win,” he said.

Entrepreneurs, Patterson said, exhibit two key traits: They take risks (and still sleep at night), and they see patterns in the environment that others don’t see. “From that vision comes a passion that fuels them,” he added.

Patterson acknowledged that stumbling into computing proved to be both timely and lucky. At the dawn of the computer age, he began thinking digitally. He and two partners began writing software. By chance, they picked healthcare, which they singled out as an industry driven by information. From that humble beginning, Patterson spearheaded the 20-year growth of Cerner from its inception to its current position as the world’s largest stand-alone healthcare information technology company. He continues to guide the company’s core strategy of developing software that automates the major processes and connects the constituencies of our healthcare system.

In his talk, he explained that the next generation must be more willing to take risks than the previous generation simply because traditional jobs are disappearing. “Your world is undefined,” he told the students. “Your job may not exist today. You’re going to have to create the companies that create the new jobs.” Routine manufacturing is going overseas, call centers are moving to India, he reported. “If your job doesn’t require you to be in front of a person, then you’ll be competing with every smart person in the world.”

However, entrepreneurs can weather the uncertainty if they realize success is a lot like surfing, Patterson said. First comes survival; you tread water to see if you can make it. Next, you ride a modest wave, and as your comfort level increases, you grow to ride bigger waves. And when you become a leader, you create the waves.