I recently read an opinion piece by Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini in which he extolls the virtues of greeting the sun just as its rising each morning: “Every day I get up at 5:30 for my own yoga and meditation practice because I know I’m going to head into a chaotic world where I will be challenged.”

With all due respect, Mark, I too anticipate the challenges faced every day by CEO’s, especially when building an innovative and disruptive company in the exciting and fast moving healthcare industry. That’s why I get up at 4am every day.

To be fair, Bertolini’s piece was more about mindfulness than sleep habits, but it did make me realize that the way CEOs approach their daily routines directly impacts the culture and effectiveness of companies they lead.

I wake up at 4 a.m. and am in the office by 5:15am because MD Insider is not interested in being just another player in the healthcare market. We’re revolutionizing the industry.

Using innovative data science and some really amazing technology, we are giving patients a way to find and decide on the highest performing doctors, who are also the best match for what they need. All by analyzing huge volumes of data and making physician performance transparency a reality.

Unlike companies who benefit from the status quo of a broken, confusing healthcare system, we are using facts and data to turn on the floodlights and make a murky industry transparent. But on the quality side, not just the cost/efficiency side.

To shed all that light, I need to wake up when it’s still dark. I’m usually on phone calls by 6am with people on the East coast or Europe, taking advantage of the early morning hours to get things done, often ahead of people where it is already light.

I exercise daily – usually mid-day or in the evening – and always try to make it home for dinner with my wife. I maintain a healthy social schedule. And I participate in 10 to 15 competitive cycling events per year. So, while I don’t cut corners when it comes to taking care of myself, I do skimp on sleep, getting about 4 to 6 hours a night.

Because as a healthcare technology innovator intent on revolutionizing a multi-billion industry, I’ve come to realize that it’s far more important to be a visionary than a dreamer.