Where Joy Meets Need

Frederick Buechner once wrote, “Your vocation in life is where your greatest joy meets the world's greatest need.”

I’ve been in the business of building things for a long time. And for me, building is a thing of joy—ideating, getting your hands dirty, watching something rise from nothing. Few things are as satisfying. Except, perhaps, when what you build meets someone’s need. When it makes their life just a little bit better. Then it becomes something more. It becomes transcendent. I’ve had the privilege of experiencing that a few times in my career—and let me tell you, there’s nothing quite like it.

For those who don’t know me, my name is Norman. And this is the blog of CareChorus Health Foundation. Welcome.

This is where I’ll be chronicling the building of something new: a product that I hope will help people better understand their healthcare journeys. Something that will enable more informed, more human conversations between patients, families, and care providers. And, as a result, help lead to better care.

Conventional wisdom says a blog is a marketing tool. And yes, there’s an element of that here. But more than that, this is a journal of my thought process–what I’m doing, why I’m doing it and how I’m doing it.

I’ll be sharing stories to remind myself of the real problems I’m trying to solve. I’ll explore design principles to help guide development. I’ll dig into technical topics—AI, security, UX. I’ll wrestle with strategy, communications, and funding. And through it all, I’ll be trying to build not just a product, but a movement: a community of like-minded people who also know the joy of building something that truly touches another person’s life.

Whether it’s regularly or occasionally, I hope you will join me.