The Tono Way
The Tono Way is a reminder, for everyone at Tono and everyone who works with us, of who we are, how we scale excellence in medicine, and how we build a company that endures.
Bryson, Co-founder and CEO
Document 01
The Tono Way
Brooklyn, New York
The principles
When the answer is not clear, or you need a reminder, start here.
01
Surround yourself with people who are better than you at what they do, and make that true for everyone here. We believe in specialization, subspecialization, deep expertise, and a standard of excellence that makes most people uncomfortable. We hold that standard every day. We do things differently than most, and that is a good thing.
02
The diseases other clinics refer out are the ones we take. Hard problems are where expertise matters most, and where a patient’s life changes the most.
03
We have no interest in technology for its own sake. We build out of love for the craft, at the frontier. We take pride in simplifying complexity, understanding nuance, and delighting the people who use what we make, while creating real value and changing how medicine works, at enormous scale.
04
Excellence that stays in one building is a privilege. We measure ourselves by how many people can reach the best care, not by how good it is for the few who already can.
05
The frontier is uncomfortable, but it's where the most value is. We go anyway, carefully and with evidence, and we go first.
06
At our core, we are scientists, and we think and act like them. We do not work passively. We question, and we look for the next step forward. We take part in research; we do not just read the results or do the same thing every day. We think creatively, build, and question how to shape the future to drive humanity forward.
07
We make decisions for the Tono of twenty years from now. A short-term win that costs the long term is a loss.
08
We hold strong convictions, and stay ruthlessly adaptable about everything else. We are fixed on the destination, flexible on the route.
09
Do the right thing when no one is watching. Bring more energy than the problem expects. Think harder than the problem requires. We ask all three of each other, every day.
10
The experts know the most. They should build the future. Neither discipline can build this alone. Physicians and engineers work side by side here, each learning the other’s language, neither deferring.
11
The Tono Way
Tono was built for a purpose bigger than most and a horizon longer than most: to put the best medicine in the world within reach of anyone who needs it, and to help carry medicine into its next era. To move humanity forward. Some things are so important they must be pursued. This work is a calling, and we carry it that way.
The stakes are high, so we demand excellence. We hire serious people and we partner with serious people: deep expertise, long memories, no interest in trends. We do not cut corners. We prove ourselves everyday over again as doers, always with a bias to action. Trust, long-term relationships, and consistent results are what matter. We deliver for our patients and our partners, and we protect their trust above the quarter, above the deal, above being first.
