Original post: June 3, 2015
Yesterday's keynote address at the GS1 meeting was given by Guy Kawasaki. He is perhaps best known as the chief evangelist for Apple and one the original team members responsible for the Macintosh. He gave a stirring address on "The Art of Innovation".
The talk covered his ten points which talk about innovation. While they are geared more towards retail-style products, there are elements that we can take and apply towards innovation within medical devices as well.
Here are the ten:
1. Make meaning: this point is about finding the higher purpose for your company, product, or service.
2. Make mantra (why product exists): what separates your company, product, or service from others on the market?
3. Jump to the next curve: Look for landmark innovation that transform, not just incremental improvement. He cited the case of ice collecting from ponds, then from centralized warehouses, then refrigerator/freezers. Each was a step change from the previous innovation.
4. Roll the dicee. Dicee stands for :Deep intelligent complete empowering elegant. Your innovation should have these qualities. Admittedly, this is likely more for retail products but aspects may still apply in medical devices.
5. Don't worry, be crappy: Ship fast and improve later. Don't worry about getting a perfect pilot out the door, just a functional one.
6. Let 100 flowers blossom (unintended product uses): If you start out with one intended use but your customers go in a different direction, roll with them! His example was Avon Skin-So-Soft which found a second life as an insect repellent.
7. Polarize people: don't be afraid of people who can't stand your product as long as you have those who love it. Innovation always creates detractors.
8. Churn baby churn: Look for ways to revise and improve always. If you don't cannibalize yourself, someone else will.
9. Niche thyself: Create competitive advantage by finding some way to separate yourself from the crowd and becoming the top dog in at least one area.
10. Perfect your pitch: Create a simple way to convey your value proposition and win over converts or backers.
If you have 21 minutes to spare, here is his TED talk:
Last week, I had an extended discussion with Michael Pheney of GS1 US. We were discussing the direction of the GS1 efforts in the United States now that the UDI rule has come out. There has been a flurry of activity, but much of it seems to be headed in a million different directions. I asked Michael for his opinion on this. I am hoping that at some point GS1 US reveals the outlines of their objectives for the coming year.
We are at a significant crossroads in our data standards efforts. We know that these efforts are critical to form the basic infrastructure which ties everything together. At the same time, there is no consensus for the best path forward. We can't really adopt the models used in other industries. There are too many differences between the drivers in a retail or grocery model that do not apply in the healthcare model. We need to figure out how we can get to a similar result by taking a very different road.
There are many people who are quick to point to the studies which say that there are all kinds of opportunities to save money in healthcare. In 1996, the EHCR study pointed to $11 billion in potential savings. A McKinsey study released earlier this year by GS1 also declares billions in potential savings. I think everyone agrees that this is the "answer" we are all seeking.
If we all agree on the results, I guess the search is for the right questions that will lead us to that answer. There are millions of possibilities. We've got to find the right ones that will end up where we want to go.
Over the weekend, the boys were watching a nature show about lions and giraffes. Normally, lions will not go after giraffes because they are vulnerable to killer kicks and the difficulty in climbing up a giraffe's back to get to the vulnerable throat. Scientists were amazed to discover multiple giraffe carcasses and wondered what was wrong. Over the course of the show, they eliminate one theory after another and find a potential explanation. It seems that a certain disease first started affecting giraffes. The weakened giraffes made for easy prey for the lions of the area. Once the lions got a taste for giraffe, they started to attack the healthier survivors and come up with tactics that allow them to slay the previously formidable opponents.
In the same way that the scientists pieced together this explanation, we'll have to dissect our supply chain and figure out how we can best apply the lessons learned in other industries. It will be vital that we do find the right questions that will take us to the desired solutions.
In the past month, I've participated in a number of discussions with individuals representing organizations across the healthcare supply chain. Needless to say, we don't always agree.
One example occurred in the most recent GS1 US workgroup meeting. We were attempting to compile our comments for a submission to the FDA on the proposed UDI rule. GS1 US represents both hospitals and manufacturers at the same time. The hospital groups asked for a comment to reduce the time allotted for the implementation of the rule. On the other side, manufacturers were asking for more time because of the complexity of the rule. Both sides passionately believed that they were right.
On the one hand, there is a need for the data. It is difficult to overstate how hard it is to track individual items without a standardized method to account for them in the stream. On the other hand, the hospitals have no idea how difficult it is to gather information, verify its accuracy, and then to report on that information to the FDA while constantly under the threat of an audit that could literally shut down your business.
At the end of the session, we all agreed that it would be counterproductive to submit a comment that contradicted itself. Since we could not agree on the comment, each side was asked to work within their own organizations to submit that particular comment on that aspect of the rule.
While we didn't come to consensus, the episode did highlight the depth of passion on both sides. It also helped us understand that this vital process will not be implemented easily.
I find that I enjoy discussing these types of issues in depth with others. Debating the issue with others who challenge our thinking really helps to strengthen our own arguments in support of our ideas.
