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Innocide!!!

Deb — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:31:05 +0000

Last month, my friend Whitney Johnson wrote a great post about entitlement being an innovation-killer. Please read it if you haven’t. I’m sure we all know examples of this in many aspects of our lives. In some corporate cultures, Innocide is brazen and in others incredibly polite and subtle. Perhaps the subtlest of all is Suinnocide – killing innovation within us. Most of us are masters at that!

Some organizations have an innovation process that includes assessment of successes and failures – but they measure what’s already gotten into the innovation pipeline, not what didn’t even make it in! Innocide is pre-process murder. It’s subtle, pervasive, socially acceptable and pernicious…which makes it hard to measure and harder to fix.

Since this is difficult, how can we start to reduce our organization’s (and our own) Innocide rate? Start identifying Innocide when you see it! You could create a cadre of Innocide Detectives! I bet you already have some – the ones you tend to dismiss or view as radical, rebellious, heretical or ‘out there’. Give it a try. This week, start listening for key phrases like But, Ought. Try asking “What if” or “Why not” or say “Yes, and” – see what happens. Perhaps you can reduce your Innocide rate before you even know what it is! Please let me know how it goes!

Innovation Soul Food? Irritation!

Deb — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:11:20 +0000

Seriously! You know when you have an idea for a new business, product, service or process and you tell someone and they pick it apart? They tell you all the reasons it won’t work. You get really really peeved and annoyed and say to yourself, “They just don’t ‘get it’.”? Frustrating isn’t it?

Last week, I was privileged to tag along with the Oberlin College Enterpreneurship Scholars on their trip to NYC visiting “Obie” alumni. These kids were at different stages of developing or executing their businesses. The alumni gave their own stories and then critiqued the kids’ plans. It was interesting to see what the kids listened to and what irritated them.

It’s so easy to turn someone off when they disagree with you; “They just understand the real needs; they don’t know that market; they don’t see it on the ground like I do.” Sound familiar?

One of the alumni told the kids to stop and think about what is really irritating them about the advice or suggestions. Great advice! So, when you are getting feedback (which may be criticism) on your idea, instead of turning that person off, stop and think about what it is that really bugs you about their feedback. By analyzing what is really bugging you, you can hone your passion and purpose behind the idea.

This week, find people who are great irritants (shouldn’t be too hard for some of us!). Share some of your ideas. While they may view your cup as half empty, they just filled it up half full for you! Give it a try and tell us how it goes!

Intangible Loss of Outsourced Innovation

Deb — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 22:18:01 +0000

Today’s New York Times front page features “How U.S. Lost Out on iPhone Work” about the loss of American jobs overseas and the implications for our middle class. I’ve been thinking about the 2^nd, 3^rd order effects of outsourcing, especially now that some companies are either doing or seriously considering insourcing.

In November, I spoke with Bernard Charlès, CEO of Dassault Systèmes, (DS), creator of 3D simulation products for manufacturing to life sciences. Insourcing is a key component of Dassault and Bernard’s personal values: a company’s role includes contributing to society and the economy through the business itself.

I’ve wondered about the cost-benefit equation of in vs. outsourcing for a while. Most cost-benefit analysis focuses on tangibles: lower labor rates, higher freight, etc. Are 2^ndand3^rd order effects accounted for in the equation: benefits of training and professional/career development, adjacent businesses in manufacturing or services, other opportunities? I don’t know. And what about innovation?

I agree with many who believe we learn by doing. Many innovations arise by trying to do something one way and figuring out a better way or an entirely different way to do it. If we’ve outsourced the ‘doing’ doesn’t it follow that we’ve outsourced the ‘learning’? I wonderful how many opportunities for innovation we’ve lost because we weren’t ‘doing’. In the NYT article, Apple’s executives said the reason for outsourcing went beyond cheap labor; overseas factories could scale faster and workers were more flexible and skilled than in the USA. Perhaps because they learned to?

While ‘learning from doing’ is not easy to quantify and add into the equation, it needs to be. Isn’t that an important part of the ‘business case’ for insourcing? Perhaps it wasn’t viewed as important in the last century, but it sure is for this one. As we rapidly move from knowledge stacks to knowledge flows, per John Hagel, the ability to capture and apply learning becomes one of customer, and competitive, advantage, if not survival – of companies, economies, societies.

So, have you tried to quantify your ‘learning by doing’? Have you made it part of any business case for out/insourcing? Please share – these are important and valuable lessons.

Mentoring Paradox

Deb — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 22:16:14 +0000

I believe mentoring is a gift for the mentee and the mentor. Throughout my career, I’ve been blessed with incredible mentors who, perhaps unknowingly, taught me how to mentor. It’s something I take seriously and joyfully. It is a paradox - an incredibly selfless thing that is also very selfish.

Recently, my mentoring has increased. In addition to mentoring Brown seniors and startups, I’m mentoring Oberlin College students applying for a fellowship to start their business after graduation in May. Many of these kids were in my recent Business Model Innovation class. They are eager for advice and guidance. They really listen! For some reason, the stakes seem higher to me than in mentoring 'adults'. For these kids' their first entrepreneur experience will shape their view of entrepreneurship, innovation, success and failure. That's part of why they are making me a better mentor. How? They make me challenge my own ‘status quo’ views and improve my ability to ask dumb questions. Here’s what I have (re)learned from them:

Status Quo is a powerful Siren Song: It’s so easy to succumb to the status quo; though I fight it, it’s the boiled frog syndrome – and it’s so very human. When you’ve been doing, investing in and supporting startups and consulting with businesses for a long time, it’s easy to get lulled into thinking you know a lot; and you do, but not everything and not forever. In our dynamic world, the lifespan of knowledge is increasingly decreasing. I have to challenge my own reasoning and ideas;
Paradox of Inexperience and Experience: The blank slate, the fresh naïve perspective these kids have creates innovative solutions to real needs with non-traditional business models for non-traditional customers and markets. I learn so much about different perspectives, shifting my lens so I see the ‘usual’ in unusual ways. And my clients will benefit from lessons I’ve experienced from the inexperienced.
Mentor Mentors: Through the network of alumni mentoring women at Brown and my friend Whitney Johnson’s insightful, must read posts about mentoring, I’ve learned how to be a good mentor: what does/doesn’t work, when, why, in which circumstances. This has also broadened the network I can share with my mentees – teaching them the importance of The Network.

So, take some advice from these kids – start mentoring. It will stretch you in ways you can’t imagine, let you to share your learnings with others for their success, and provide life-long experiences to be shared, imparted and enjoyed.

Season of Giving - Gift of Work

Deb — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 21:13:59 +0000

Tis the giving season. My kids always ask what I want they can ‘wrap’ instead of ‘do’, like empty the dishwasher, fold laundry, not argue, etc. They don’t view chores, ‘work’ as a gift. But, I sure do!

Work has a lot to do with Christmas and Chanukah. Our work creates gifts and capital for gifts. It’s not just ‘stuff’. Work creates products, services, capital…and relationships – with colleagues, employees, bosses, peers, service providers, and suppliers and of course customers.

Bear with me, this may seem circuitous but it ‘works’. One of the Hebrew words for work (used in the 4^th Commandment) is Melakah: work, occupation, business, workmanship, service, purpose. Melakah has the same root as mal’ak, which means messenger or angel. Talk about work with meaning and purpose!

For me, work is a way to deliver a message, it’s a ‘calling’. To me, melakah implies the actual work AND its outcome. If we aren’t providing meaningful, purposeful outcomes that meet or exceed our customers’ needs, we won’t be around too long. Work is about ‘thou’ (other), not about you and me. Which gets back to relationships, doesn’t it?

So, as we prepare for Christmas and Chanukah, take a moment to thank G-d for the gift of work and the gifts of our works. When we unwrap our gifts, think about the hands that designed, built, packaged, shipped, shelved and wrapped it – rejoice and give thanks. And, as we prepare for 2012, let’s think about the message we will deliver to those who receive the gifts of our work – and how we can better their work and lives.

p.s. A special thanks to my friend Michael Stallard for turning me onto Skip Moen’s site which prompted this post.

Is Innovation now Status Quo?

Deb — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 22:20:11 +0000

Heretical isn’t it? I’m just starting to wonder if some StatusQuo-itis isn’t seeping into innovation discussions. Seems more people are sounding a bit more prescribed than experimental in their advice and counsel. I hear more ‘should’, ‘ought’, ‘the’ than ‘could’, ‘can’, and ‘a’; more ‘best practices’ than ‘here’s a way’.

There are some great ways to do spur creativity and innovate, but I don’t think there is ‘the’ way. One of the very freeing things about innovation is that it’s a continuous experiment; what works today may or may not work tomorrow (if you have kids, you know this well). It’s good to innovate how you innovate!

I always get concerned when a vocabulary coalesces into jargon* and it seems like that’s happening with innovation. The era of everything being prescribed, of best practices, are coming to an end. While there are some absolutes, I believe success, intangible and tangible, will go to those who can experiment, learn, apply and iterate the fastest and most purposefully.

Do you agree? Am I over-reacting? Let me know your thoughts. And, if you can, just I asked you to watch out for ‘but’ last week, this week, listen for ‘should’, ‘ought’ and ‘the’ - and when you hear it, challenge it, because, Innovation and Status Quo should truly be oxymorons.

*Jargon – Old French jargon “a chattering” (of birds) from mid-14^th C “unintelligible talk, gibberish, chattering, jabbering” also from English gargle from which we get gargoyle!

Status Quophiles and Quophobes

Deb — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 20:19:44 +0000

Ever know anyone who will explicitly say he/she doesn't think innovation is important? No! So listen carefully for the magic word - "but". Some of you know how much I love to challenge the status quo so here's my theory: Status Quophiles see the glass as half empty and want to make sure it doesn't become totally empty. Status Quophobes are Innovators - they see the half empty glass as half full, waiting to be filled up!

I've been collecting some phrases I hear from Status Quophiles (SQ) and the rare responses from Innovators (I), Status Quophobes. Do these sound familiar? If you can add any, please do so in the comments!

SQ: Could be a major breakthrough, but your predecessor tried that a while ago, and that’s why you’re here now.

I: Could be a major breakthrough, and we’ll support you in trying it.

SQ: That could work, but we risk not being able to get the coating on a reliable and consistent basis if the world blows up.

I: That would work, and we can diversify our coating suppliers to assure quality and price.

SQ: Wow, cool, but that’s going to be a problem for our customers.

I: Wow, cool, and that’s going to let us help so many more customers and markets than we can now!

SQ: Appreciate your enthusiasm and ideas, but once you’ve been around a bit longer and know how we do things here, you’ll understand the challenges involved.

I: Appreciate your enthusiasm and ideas, and the breath of fresh thinking and perspective is just what we need!

SQ: This makes sense in the long run, but remember, we are measured on quarterly results.

I: This makes sense in the long run, and we can show some benefits even in the short term by applying our learning early on.

SQ: Nice idea, but we have to recognize the sunk costs of our existing fixed assets.

I: Nice idea, and let’s face it, sunk costs are, well, sunk!

SQ: We should pursue this, but let’s make sure it’s 150% vetted and tested and has met all the criteria before we start the project, let alone release it, even for a beta.

I: We should pursue this, and figure out how to prototype and test as we go along to make sure we get it right.

SQ: Interesting, but things are going so well, we’re profitable and growing so we must be on the right track.

I: Interesting, and that will let us start adapting to our customers changing needs while we have the resources and loyalty.

Here's my challenge to you to try for just a few days. Listen for the 'but' in meetings and discussions. Count them. Then, listen for the 'and' and count those? Which do you hear more? And (ha!) what can you do to change that (perhaps starting with yourself!)? Please share what you hear, your count of but & and, and what you can do to change it! Learning is no good if its not shared!

50 Ways to Leave your Lover: Keep Failing Til the Last Thing You Try Is Successful

Deb — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 22:16:40 +0000

Special guest blog post by Don Esch, President of Bettcher Industries of his story at BW-Center For Innovation & Growth's Innovation Summit

At Bettcher Industries, we love the meat processing industry; we’ve always loved the meat processing industry and one reason we do is because many others don’t. Now in our 67^th year, locally we’re known for our distinctive “Red Barn” on the Ohio Turnpike west of Cleveland, but in our industry, we’re known as “Whizards” because we make the Whizard knife. In meat plants, tens of thousands of operators are “whizzing” meat products everyday in over sixty countries around the world. Move from the plant floor to the executive suite and we’re known as a company who has brought several unique and inventive products to the industry that has improved the efficient delivery of protein products to a demanding consumer. This is a story about leaving “our lover”, the industry we know and seeking success in the unknown.

Where We Came From and Why We’re Successful

Bettcher Industries was founded in 1944 with $800 by Louis Bettcher, a former cowboy, woodcutter, hard rock miner, tool and die maker and son of a fundamentalist Christian minister. During WWII, Louis repaired machinery at the old meat cutting plants in downtown Cleveland and, being an infinitely curious individual, he found several ways to improve plant operations and began inventing tools to help. He kept inventing tools throughout his life, but his most enduring contribution to the company was his philosophy captured in Russell Conwell’s famous sermon, “Acres of Diamonds”. Conwell was a Baptist Minister and the founder of Temple University. Its message describes a man who sold his property so that he could venture into the world to seek his fortune later learned that the property buyer discovered “acres of diamonds” on his newly purchased property. This message was delivered 6,000 times over 50 years in hundreds of towns and cities and is summarized by Dr. Conwell as, “Let every man or women here, if you never hear me again, remember this, that if you wish to be great at all, you must begin where you are and what you are...now”. In essence, you are standing, now, in acres of diamonds. Today this message is manifested in contemporary business literature described as everything from “Voice of the Customer” to “Leveraging Core Focus” to the vernacular of “Fishing where the Fish are”. At Bettcher, few in the company would know that “Acres of Diamonds” is the foundation for our product development philosophy, but most know that we value a deep understanding of our customer’s environment, a highly detailed understanding of the work performed by our customers and the fundamental personality trait of “infinite curiosity”. For Bettcher Industries, we have had, and continue to look for, opportunities that are right in front of our noses and this has led us to mastering a narrow product niche on a worldwide stage. Today, the Wizard trimmer, which was poorly named “Dumbutcher” when invented in 1954, has become a family of products and services that reach into nearly every industrial meat plant in the world.

The Change: Was It Innovation, Serendipity or Providence?

Back in the fall of 2009, Cindy, one of our customer service representatives, received a phone call that nearly made her fall off her chair. To many, a modern meat plant might seem somewhat “shocking”, but to us this “automotive assembly plant operating in reverse” is common place and, in fact, we are not easily “shocked” by much of anything (for evidence of this you are welcome to view the video on our website). But on this day, the caller wanted to know if we had ever used our Whizard Trimmer on HUMAN tissue! Cindy, as an infinitely curious individual and having heard more than her share of “crazy ideas” from customers in the past answered, “No, but let’s take a look”. So, from the curious mind of an individual in an unrelated field of work and his website search for “tissue cutting”, to a phone inquiry and positive response, our journey into the “Medical” world had begun.

From the first visit by our local sales manager, despite our culture of innovation, the organization resisted this intrusion from the “outside”. “It won’t work, we don’t know anything about human tissue or cadavers, this is a “one off” opportunity at best, this will take time away from our core business, our engineering resources are stretched too thin already” and similar comments could be heard echoing from our hallways. But soon the customer’s request to “remove adipose tissue from dermis” was translated into our language and we knew that we could remove “fat” from “skin” because we had been doing so for years in meat plants.

There is a big difference between “knowing that you can” and “deciding that you want to” and at Bettcher we use a toll gate product development process fashioned after Robert Cooper’s StageGate process. So into the “Scoping” stage we go and the learning begins. In the early weeks we learn that our product won’t stand up to the sanitation requirements of the industry and we’re presented with real engineering problems in design and materials, but these are problems we know how to solve. While focused on the specific need for this specific customer, we begin a broader look at the “Tissue Banking” industry and reached out to several other companies and organizations including Community Tissue Services in Dayton and the American Association of Tissue Banks. Now a small team of Bettcher employees is venturing into clean rooms and observing the “work” that is performed. Through a myriad of questions our knowledge increases and we begin to play “what ifs” with potential customers as product solutions appear in our mind. By the end of 2010, we have a prototype adaptation of our Whizard trimmer for tissue processing operating with the original customer, but we know that the tool is unsatisfactory in many ways. The development process continues and we introduce the “Amalgatome” in the middle of 2011 to a narrow market of fifteen primary processors with an annual sales potential of $2.76 Million; not big, but interesting. From that first phone call we now have a small family of products with very clever engineering and patented features that are manufactured in ways we didn’t think possible just 18 months before. More valuable than this success is the realization that diamonds are sparkling within our reach.

The Challenge: Be Careful What You Ask For

In October last year, I read an article about the Ohio Third Frontier that in the words of our state government is “a technology-based economic development initiative that is successfully changing the trajectory of Ohio’s economy by supporting existing industries that are transforming themselves with new globally competitive products and fostering the formation and attraction of new companies in emerging industry sectors”. The connection to our Medical initiative was screaming at me so off goes an email to our CFO. From this small spark, we examined the potential of four additional “problems” we had learned about in our medical industry research and feel we can leverage the Amalgatome into a full-fledged business platform. In our thinking, what better way to do so than with funding from the State of Ohio? So, once again, off we go and engage a grant writing consulting firm. Now it is not the company naysayers chiming in, but the bureaucratic infrastructure that says, “Bettcher is in a low tech and unattractive industry, you don’t have any experience with the grants, you don’t have any political capital in the State, you’re not in a biotech field, you’ll be competing with the likes of the Cleveland Clinic and OSU, very few first time applicants even make the first cut, let alone win” etc. Undeterred, we issue our Letter of Intent to the State; one of hundreds. In January 2011, the grant proposal is submitted – all 12,000 words of it and, we learn that we are one of 73 in our biomedical “field”. Soon after, we make the first cut and are part of the 36 required to make direct presentations to the State. To end the suspense, we learned on July 14^ththat we were awarded $1 Million from the Third Frontier and in fact, our project was scored #4 of the 10 that received funding; unprecedented for a first-time applicant. We were rightfully proud and we celebrated our success.

The core team was assembled the following Wednesday and in the five days that had passed since the announcement, our euphoria came crashing down into the question, “ how in the world are we going to meet the target measures by the end of 2012”? Five new products (we had one mostly in the bag), 11 full time employees (a 7% increase in our Ohio based employment) and $1.7 Million in new revenue (when our forecast was $250k) all in eighteen months! IMPOSSIBLE!

Ask me again in 13 months and 13 days

On the back of my business card, and the cards of every employee at Bettcher Industries, you’ll find the following words, “It is the mission of BETTCHER Industries, Inc. and its employees to profitably develop, manufacture, and market high quality, technically superior products which meet all safety requirements and are of a unique and inventive nature”. Further it states that our mission is dependent on “sensitive, sound and equitable partnerships with customers, distributors, employees and vendors to ensure a mutually strong future”. This statement reflects the core of our culture and it is a culture that can be traced back to Louis Bettcher. This is the tie that binds us and we live it every day. In this story it is seen throughout the organization from President spotting an opportunity, the CFO finding the best grant consultant, the HR department recruiting passionate talent to the team, the engineering teams overcoming obstacles with very creative solutions, the manufacturing team joining with others to find unique materials and molding processes, the sales department reaching out to completely new partners, resources and distribution methods, the marketing/New Product Development team doggedly charging in where we knew absolutely nothing and finally to Cindy, who knew to begin where she was with what she knew.

No part of the medical project has been easy and we tried and failed innumerable times in mostly small ways. In fact, we’re amending the grant proposal to reduce the five products to three but keeping the employment and revenue targets intact. This is a clear case of “eyes bigger than stomach” syndrome when we wrote the original grant proposal. Clearly, we have and are continuing to fail until we are successful and the end of this story cannot yet be written…But, what we know and have known is this:

Everything matters. The culture of innovation fostered by Louis, the passion of every employee doing what they know how to do and an organization that is connected with a shared mission is our formula.

Will it work? We believe it will but if you don’t, ask me again in 13 months and 13 days.

Thanksgiving of Trust

Deb — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 16:45:02 +0000

Tomorrow is a day of thanksgiving and blessing for me. It is the 4^th Open Innovation Summit at BW’s Center for Innovation & Growth (CIG). My friend, Saul Kaplan from the Business Innovation Factory, is the keynote speaker and two other friends are on the panel. For the past 3 Summits, friends-clients-colleagues have taken a flyer (literally), trusting me, to come share stories, sacrificing a few days at the office.

I am honored and very humbled that these people would give up their time, other opportunities and fly or drive hours to share their stories with people they don’t know in a part of the country they have no ties to because I asked.

Why did they do this? Trust. Trust is a very precious gift –to give and to receive. It must be treated with tremendous stewardship and care. I have amazing friends and colleagues. Some of these relationships started in real life and some started via Twitter or “cold calls”. How these relationships started has no bearing on their depth and meaning. What has bearing is their nurturing, transparency, vulnerability and sharing. Yes, sharing. Trusting relationships are gifts to share.

So, as you approach thanksgiving, take a few minutes to reflect on the people who trust you, who’ll take a flyer on you, who’ll support you. Do you do the same for them? How have you positively impacted their lives at any level? Brought them wisdom? Brought them joy? Each and every one of them is a gift that’s been entrusted to you – treat those gifts accordingly…let them know.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Lessons From BIF-7

Deb — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 15:39:04 +0000

I’m tired of all the “Woe is America” stuff – we’ve lost our innovation edge, we’re stagnating, etc. What I see is the opposite – incredible innovation in products, services, processes and business models. It’s just not in the mainstream media. That’s what makes the annual BIF conference so important: 30 plus stories of amazing, cool, disruptive, transformative innovation models. I thought I’d share a glimpse of the many “business” lessons I learned from some ‘non-traditional business’ stories at BIF-7.

BIF-6’s theme was summed up by Carmen Medina, “Optimism is the greatest form of rebellion”. Angela Blanchard iterated that at BIF-7 saying, “You can’t build on broken”. So let’s start with her story.

Angela Blanchard @CajunAngela of @NeighborhoodCtr BIF-7 Story & Video

Despite growing up in poverty in Texas, Angela thought she was one of the luckiest people. Hurricanes were a part of life and Angela knew the systems didn’t work and smart brains couldn’t figure it out. When people came to help, they focused on what was broken, what wasn’t working. But after these disasters, the community was always more caring, patient, generous and collaborative. As President/CEO of Neighborhood Centers in Houston, Angela has created a powerful model for community redevelopment with national, global application.

Lesson: You can’t build on broken.

Experiment: In performance management, process, quality, workflow, customer satisfaction, etc., we focus on what’s broken, what we need to ‘fix’. What if we put the same amount of rigour into looking at what’s working, what’s strong, what’s right? Bright Spots? What if we identified an issue and looked at what’s working instead of what’s broken. How does that make a difference? If you got a few people to this regularly, could your culture change!

Some of the many cool things Jon Cropper has done includes helping MTV move into Asia, Latin America and South Africa, working with (the) Quincy Jones, and heading up Nissan North America’s youth and multicultural marketing (know the “Shift_expectations” ads?). Jon defined “Simplexity”: make it simple on the outside, hide the complexity inside. His theme was Generosity feeds the Soul. He urged us to focus on projects, products, services that can inject optimism into the world. Its not how many eyeballs you reach, its how many hearts you touch. And, you need to out-educate your competition. (BIF-7 Story & Video)

Lesson: Generosity feeds the Soul.

Experiment: How can we look at What/Who/When/Why/Where/How we bring offerings to market in a way that touches hearts and minds? That truly makes things better, not ‘more’, than before? What if we took 1 product or service and asked ‘5 W’s 1 H’ for injecting optimism. What could you do?

Whitney Johnson @johnsonwhitney BIF-7 Story & Video

Whitney Johnson is an elegant, wise, caring and courageous woman. Whitney rose from a secretary to a top-ranked analyst at Merrill Lynch. Her honesty and authenticity built trusting relationships between investors and CEOs. But after rising to the top, Whitney felt the need to build and create something more meaningful. She walked away from a 7-figure salary and prestige. After some introspection, she agreed to head up Clayton Christensen’s venture fund, Rose Park Advisors, to help companies grow. Whitney says, “If it feels scary and lonely, you’re probably on the right track.” Embracing uncertainty is a must, because there is no assurance of what comes next, but that leads to innovation and growth. No matter what, though, be authentic.

Lesson: If it feels scary and lonely, you’re probably on the right track.

Experiment: Find something you’ve been yearning to do, at work, or try at home if it’s safer for you. Give it a try – even just a small try. Ask yourself what the risks/benefits really are, muster up your courage, and just try it.

Alex Jadad @ajadad BIF-7 Story

Dr. Alex Jadad has a contagious joy through his healing eyes and smile. He is a physician, educator, researcher, public advocate, innovator and very human. There is a tool to assess clinical trial quality named after him – “the Jadad Scale”. His list of accomplishments, but more so, the lives impacted, is astounding. Despite the fame, Alex is a physician who wants to heal the soul, not just the body. He is frustrated with medicine’s almost sole focus on diagnosis and fixes instead of dealing with chronic disease and pain. Alex wants to “put more life into our years, not just years into our life”. To him, health is the capacity of an individual and a community to adapt and direct their own lives. Alex asked us to teach our tongue to say, “I don’t know” and we will progress. His grandfather, also a physician, said his mission was, “to remember, remember, remember, cure sometimes, alleviate often, console always.” Nary a dry eye.

Lesson 1: Put more life into our years, not just years into our life

Lesson 2: Teach your tongue to say “I don’t know” and we will progress

Experiment: More is not always better. Can you find some products or services that are over-engineered, over-complicated where high quality and ease of use could trump features? Where you could provide real benefit for your customers? As for “I don’t know” – it takes confidence, courage and humility to say those words and listen, understand, and care.

Rebecca Onie @rebeccaonie @HealthLeadsNatl BIF-7 Story & Video

While volunteering in the Housing Unit of Greater Boston Legal Services as a Harvard sophomore, Rebecca realized many of illness’s underlying causes couldn’t be solved by a prescription; they were poverty-related. They were obvious, but the healthcare system didn’t have a way to solve them. She co-founded Health Leads using college kids to connect patients with the resources they needed most: food, shelter, heat, transportation, etc. Today, Health Leads is a national non-profit serving 7000 families in 5 urban clinics. Rebecca’s keys to transforming our healthcare system? Tenacity, not taking “No” for an answer, always asking more questions and tackling ‘bite-size’ pieces instead of the whole. Since the odds of failing are so great, it’s important to take big risks because every success is more impactful. As Rebecca said, vision doesn’t change the world, execution does!

Lesson: If failure is inevitable, every success is more significant

Experiment: Is there a project that could have a significant impact on your customers, your employees, and your shareholders? Does it seem overwhelming? What if you make it into small achievable steps? What if you step back and look for obvious, simple (perhaps not easy) solutions?

Dan Pink @danielpink BIF-7 Video

Dan Pink, known for his fabulous books A Whole New Mind and Drive, talked about 2010’s two Physics Nobel Prize winners, Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, breakthrough in extremely thin graphene. This wasn’t their ‘day-job’ though. Their discovery came from their “Friday Evening Experiment” time, what Dan calls “non-commissioned work”. Most work today is commissioned – work we’re paid, told, reviewed to do. A 1990’s study of commissioned vs. non-commissioned art showed that while both types were technically equivalent, the non-commissioned art was judged as more creative. It’s usually the non-commissioned work that creates the path to breakthroughs. In 2000, Andre Geim won the Ig Nobel Prize for using magnets to levitate a frog. So, if you want to really change the world, you need to levitate some frogs.

Lesson: Non-commissioned work is powerful

Experiment: Every company has someone somewhere doing non-commissioned work. Why don’t you try to find a few of those people in your company and give them some time to focus on that work? See what happens, but have patience.

I must conclude on a personal note. First semester freshman year at Brown, I took Intro to Computer Science by Prof. Andy Van Dam. Many of us still have nightmares about one homework assignment – write a program (C+) to run the elevators in the SciLi (Science Library). Andy was a formidable figure to us kids…a god. If you like the Internet, thank Andy – he invented hypertext and is the father of graphics (and some say the model for Andy in Toy Story). At BIF-7, I was privileged to see Andy and get to know him ‘adult-to-adult’. What an incredible joy and honor to reconnect with such a brilliant and caring man who positively shaped so many of our lives. (BIF-7 Story & Video)

Many thanks to Frank Gullo’s posts, Jess Esch’s stunning notes and Amanda Fenton’s mindmaps for helping me create this post!