Useful insights at random intervals
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A most magic time for designing ourselves and our cultures
A most magic time for designing ourselves and our cultures
What makes people stay?
Your job as the chief is to design an experience which is as engaging as possible... which simply means "help them learn something new, apply it to a challenge, make progress, and contribute something back". Lather, rinse, repeat.
The most valuable idea I've uncovered in the last five years
At this time of great challenges, I want to give away something significant.
What unuseful labels are you carrying around?
Humans love lasting narratives. We love labels that make things easy to understand and predict. We even apply such labels to other people, so that we can tell ourselves we know who they are.
The curse of 99% approval
Given that you’ve just delivered the best possible result in your role, and contributed to your team winning the greatest possible prize, of course nearly every one of your supporters would approve.
Tiny Courage
Do something which is a tiny bit courageous today. And tomorrow. It’ll have the biggest impact.
Remembering everything
Then, when you have an important presentation coming up, you can quickly review all the pink sheets tagged with the topic you'll be presenting. It will make a huge difference to your ability to think on your feet under the pressure of a live audience, and deliver a presentation which is rich, interesting, and organic.
Visions (AKA - It's a new year).
Humans will, in most cases most of the time, keep doing whatever they’re doing. Maintain the status quo. Avoid difficult decisions. Resist change.
Masters of none
As has been very well publicised, Masters - the hardware chain recently established by Woolworths Limited - is closing down, generating losses in the order of $1B for its parent company.
When care is the context
Patients often feel like little more than statistics, especially if anything goes wrong. Doctors and staff often feel like little more than zombies, even when things go right.
Thankfully, not everyone is willing to accept the status quo.
Last week marked the occasion of the first Gathering of Kindness. It was an ‘unconference’ of health care administrators, doctors, nurses, medical students, patients, futurists, politicians, artists, musicians, and a ragtag assembly of other interested parties, including me.
The agenda was pretty straightforward. Bring together a diverse group of people and ask them to imagine what a kind healthcare industry might look like.
Photo credit - Cam Cope