Think Big, Start Small, Move Fast

Think Big, Start Small, Move Fast, A Blueprint for Transformation from The Mayo Clinic Center for Innovation, by Nicolas LaRusso, M.D., Barbara Spurrier, MHA and Gianrico Farrugia, MD, McGraw-Hill 2014

“We may be employed by one of the top medical practices in the world, and we may be from the top echelons of our professions.  But we know that we do not have the exact solution – a “prescription” – for all that ails health care, let alone, an exact solution to bring you success in the oh-so-elusive frontiers of innovation.”

Wow, coming from the famed Mayo Clinic, that statement says there’s still great opportunity and human challenges.  The authors of Think Big, Start Small and Move Fast show us by using four distinct areas of strategic focus, how to make the array of possibilities and problems more approachable.  From Mayo’s Center for Innovation, we see professionals using a mix of analytics, manufacturing methods, and creativity to produce a blue print for transformation.

You’ll find step-by-step advice on building leadership teams, the new concept of accelerator platforms for speeding up results, along with case studies of innovation in action from the Mayo Clinic’s Center for Innovation.  Note Chapter 4’s section on Design Thinking – this approach, as well as Systems Thinking, combined with the press for understanding real human needs, including respect, is the beginning of a new push to humanize areas that are increasingly touched by robots, IT systems, control systems, etc.   Pay particular attention to Chapter 8 CFI Project Showcase that demonstrates actual execution of the transformation and the vision.  This section is a great conclusion to Chapter 3’s basic question about how to generate creativity, while preserving structure. 

Despite the fact that this book is a “stretch”, the fact that it is grounded and told by the Mayo Clinic gives it great street cred – it’s not a repetition of lean principles, but a new product, a very challenging approach to redesign of systems and processes that could transform if not healthcare, at least the healthcare experience for patients and staffers who must deliver.  

A note to the publisher:  great orange cover, but photos and graphics need sharpening.