The Cost of Not Getting It: What HBO Max and Revenue Cycle Consulting Have in Common
By Justin Sturgeon, SVP, SparkServices at SparkChange
If you’ve used streaming apps recently, you might have noticed something confusing. HBO Max changed names, first to Max, then back to HBO Max. The same shows, the same app, just different branding.
The reason? Consultants recommended rebranding to sound strategic, then reversed course when it confused users. The product didn’t improve. Only the name did, repeatedly.
This is what happens when decisions are made without understanding the real work or the people using the product.
A Familiar Pattern in Revenue Cycle
In healthcare, we see this all the time. Revenue cycle leaders bring in outside consultants to help with strategy, redesign, or turnaround efforts. The firms arrive with polish and confidence. They run assessments. They make recommendations. Then they disappear.
What gets left behind is a binder full of action items that don’t reflect the actual system, team, or tools. They suggest reorganizations without understanding job roles. They recommend rebuilds without knowing how the current edits work. They propose dashboards without ever asking how frontline teams work their queues.
They rename HBO to Max and call it progress.
Strategy Without Context Fails
Revenue cycle operations are complex and specific. Every team has unique workflows, legacy decisions, technical constraints, and patient population dynamics. You can’t fix performance if you don’t understand what’s really happening on the ground.
But bad consulting skips that step. It starts with a framework, not a question. It leads with answers instead of curiosity. It prioritizes optics over outcomes.
The result? More confusion. More rework. And a demoralized team that’s left holding the bag.
What Good Consulting Looks Like
Good consulting doesn’t mean big presentations. It means being close to the work. It means understanding how claims move, how teams interact with the system, and what real constraints exist. It means showing up with humility, asking questions, and building solutions that actually fit the operation, not just the strategy deck.
It also means sticking around long enough to make sure it works. Walking away after the pitch isn’t strategy. It’s theater.
Where SparkChange Makes a Difference
At SparkChange, we do more than just offer recommendations or flashy presentations. We dive deep into your actual workflows, systems, and people to understand the unique realities of your revenue cycle. Our approach is grounded in collaboration, humility, and data-driven insights that form the foundation of every solution we create or suggestion we offer. We are focused on action, bringing the right technology to bear to automate repetitive tasks, illuminate hidden bottlenecks with the right sort of insights, and empower your teams with tools that truly fit their work. We stay engaged with your team to ensure changes translate into real, lasting improvements. That is the SparkChange difference: reinventing revenue cycle performance by being part of the solution, not just advisors from a distance.
Stop Renaming the App
Whether it’s HBO or your DNFB strategy, the real test is this: Did the change make things better for the people doing the work?
If the answer is no, it doesn’t matter how good it looked on paper.
So, next time a consultant offers a solution without knowing your system, your platform, or your workflows, remember HBO Max. And don’t let them rename your revenue cycle without making the experience better.
