On becoming a positive deviant...

I just finished Atul Gawande's "Better" and found his closing thought particularly inspiring. Gawande is a gifted author, and masterfully guides his readers through a series of case studies that illustrate instances of remarkable achievement, how these were accomplished (and then replicated), and what he learned about the people that dedicated themselves to the relentless pursuit of "better".

Gawande's closing centers around a lecture he once gave to medical students that he hoped would help guide them in their own efforts to distinguish themselves in their careers (and likely their lives in general). He offers his students 5 ideas that he feels would condition them into a pattern of behavior that would set them in the right direction:

• Ask an unscripted question: he encourages stepping outside the routine to establish a more human connection; not just with patients, but also with collegues or friends.
• Count something: in one of my favorite lines in the book, Gawande suggests that everyone should be a scientist in their world.   Counting something - as he did the number of instances sponges or tools were left behind in the body after surgeries - conditions the mind to ask the types of probing questions that invariably lead to innovation and change.
• Embrace change: he is careful to caution against blind adoption. Rather he encourages the willingness to learn, critically evaluate, and adopt new ideas if they bear merit.
• Don't complain: Gawande suggests (from his own experience) that nothing is as demoralizing in healthcare than hearing doctors complain.   I'm inclined to think that a variation of that sentiment applies equivalently to virtually any situation.
• Write something: perhaps this last suggestion was the most compelling as it motivated me to write this short blurb. I find that writing (particularly about things that are meaningful to me personally) naturally forces me to think more critically and creatively.   At the very least it has forced me to put the iPad keyboard through it's paces! (this post was authored on my spanking new iPad using SquareSpace's iPhone app.  Thanks Mona!)

I highly recommend Better, as well as Gawande's other texts (including The Checklist Manifesto, and his very insightful contributions in the New Yorker).