How We Succeed
How We Succeed, Making Good Things Happen Through the Power of Smart Experiments, by Dr. Steven K. Gold, 1776 Ventures, 2016
It is wise to keep in mind that neither success nor failure is ever final. Roger Babson
It's time for a fun read! Fun, but new and bright. Dr. Gold's gift is a fresh appreciation for the workable power of the mind. He tells us that successful people are characterized by their experimental intelligence. I love this book because it has become clear that getting through this pandemic and proceeding into the Post-pandemic era will require some new, fresh brain work, probably new habits and maybe even attitudes, and certainly methods that will most probably be new for us. Because at this point we all want to be successful, and its clear that success is now spelled differently - more like s-u-r-v-i-v-a-l and even p-r-o-s-p-e-r-i-t-y. Tough new rules for those of us who have entire lives lived under The Old Rules.
So let's get brave and dive into this new landscape. Dr. Gold posits that there are three primary building blocks for sustainable success:
1. Experiments - investments of our diverse resources that lead us to new resources
2. Relationships involve constantly creating and strengthening our human connections
3. Expertise is gained through hard work, education, practice and real-world experience.
What an interesting idea - do a daily experiment to see what works! "Life," says Dr. Gold, "is a series of experiments: big and small investments involving our relationships and expertise, and other resources. We can choose to do our experiments poorly or well." In fact, the author quotes computer scientist Alan Kay with saying that "the best way to predict the future is to invent it." Key to making it through to the other side of an experiment is to structure the experience in four steps:
1. Design
2. Decide
3. De-risk
4. Deliver
Lets take a closer look at how the author sees risk. He quotes surgeon Atul Gawande, who, when talking about inpatient surgical death rates at various hospitals asked the question, why were some results nearly double that of other hospitals? Was it the quality of surgeons, the weather, or the patient? None of the above was his conclusion; instead he said the difference in surgical outcomes was:
"by reacting quickly to make things right as soon as possible. The best hospitals don't fail less; they rescue more..."
Hmmm, maybe that explains why my recent hand surgery started out well then turned into a scar tissue challenge! I took the risk of scheduling it during the pandemic, and was sent home from the OR with no instructions and no communications post-surgery, like PT and scar massage! For a writer, that's a huge disappointment. But for this book, surgery during a pandemic is a real instructive experience that Dr. Gold covers in his "De-risk" protocol, the third step in every Smart Experiment:
A. Identify the biggest hotspots
For the hand surgery example, these might be the pre-op COVID test and the OR
B. Prepare to recognize and respond to them.
De-risking a complex hospital visit might be as simple as taking a smart friend to the appointment, or training staff to check in with patients the day after. Or handing the patient a wrist bracelet with a red klaxon connected directly to the physician's office! Rapid response, however, requires instinctive reactions developed over practice, practice and more practice! Dr. Gold tells us that if we have prepared well and developed a good "possibles" list, we'll get either a non-response (no problem) or an automatic response (problem fixed).
Finally, How We Succeed's section "Real-Life Examples" sells the book, from Peter Ralston and his life as a globe-trotting photographer, through Tania Aebi with her experiment "Sailing alone around the World," Marshall N. Carter "Transforming a Bank", through Elise Gold, "Starting Companies."
Patricia E. Moody
FORTUNE magazine "Pioneering Woman in Mfg"
IndustryWeek IdeaXchange Xpert
A Mill Girl at Blue Heron Journal, on-line resource for business thought-leaders and decision-makers, pemoody@aol.com, patriciaemoody@gmail.com,
How We Succeed, Making Good Things Happen Through the Power of Smart Experiments, by Dr. Steven K. Gold, 1776 Ventures, 2016
It is wise to keep in mind that neither success nor failure is ever final. Roger Babson
It's time for a fun read! Fun, but new and bright. Dr. Gold's gift is a fresh appreciation for the workable power of the mind. He tells us that successful people are characterized by their experimental intelligence. I love this book because it has become clear that getting through this pandemic and proceeding into the Post-pandemic era will require some new, fresh brain work, probably new habits and maybe even attitudes, and certainly methods that will most probably be new for us. Because at this point we all want to be successful, and its clear that success is now spelled differently - more like s-u-r-v-i-v-a-l and even p-r-o-s-p-e-r-i-t-y. Tough new rules for those of us who have entire lives lived under The Old Rules.
So let's get brave and dive into this new landscape. Dr. Gold posits that there are three primary building blocks for sustainable success:
1. Experiments - investments of our diverse resources that lead us to new resources
2. Relationships involve constantly creating and strengthening our human connections
3. Expertise is gained through hard work, education, practice and real-world experience.
What an interesting idea - do a daily experiment to see what works! "Life," says Dr. Gold, "is a series of experiments: big and small investments involving our relationships and expertise, and other resources. We can choose to do our experiments poorly or well." In fact, the author quotes computer scientist Alan Kay with saying that "the best way to predict the future is to invent it." Key to making it through to the other side of an experiment is to structure the experience in four steps:
1. Design
2. Decide
3. De-risk
4. Deliver
Lets take a closer look at how the author sees risk. He quotes surgeon Atul Gawande, who, when talking about inpatient surgical death rates at various hospitals asked the question, why were some results nearly double that of other hospitals? Was it the quality of surgeons, the weather, or the patient? None of the above was his conclusion; instead he said the difference in surgical outcomes was:
"by reacting quickly to make things right as soon as possible. The best hospitals don't fail less; they rescue more..."
Hmmm, maybe that explains why my recent hand surgery started out well then turned into a scar tissue challenge! I took the risk of scheduling it during the pandemic, and was sent home from the OR with no instructions and no communications post-surgery, like PT and scar massage! For a writer, that's a huge disappointment. But for this book, surgery during a pandemic is a real instructive experience that Dr. Gold covers in his "De-risk" protocol, the third step in every Smart Experiment:
A. Identify the biggest hotspots
For the hand surgery example, these might be the pre-op COVID test and the OR
B. Prepare to recognize and respond to them.
De-risking a complex hospital visit might be as simple as taking a smart friend to the appointment, or training staff to check in with patients the day after. Or handing the patient a wrist bracelet with a red klaxon connected directly to the physician's office! Rapid response, however, requires instinctive reactions developed over practice, practice and more practice! Dr. Gold tells us that if we have prepared well and developed a good "possibles" list, we'll get either a non-response (no problem) or an automatic response (problem fixed).
Finally, How We Succeed's section "Real-Life Examples" sells the book, from Peter Ralston and his life as a globe-trotting photographer, through Tania Aebi with her experiment "Sailing alone around the World," Marshall N. Carter "Transforming a Bank", through Elise Gold, "Starting Companies."
Patricia E. Moody
FORTUNE magazine "Pioneering Woman in Mfg"
IndustryWeek IdeaXchange Xpert
A Mill Girl at Blue Heron Journal, on-line resource for business thought-leaders and decision-makers, pemoody@aol.com, patriciaemoody@gmail.com,