Volume 2, Issue 2, February 2023
Welcome to Volume 2, Issue 2 of The Root.
In order to support our growth, we require a strong network of roots. They anchor us and serve as a conduit for nutrients to help us develop and deliver on our goals.
As we are mid-way through 1Q2023, we begin to solidify our personal and organizational goals for the year. What if we slowed down a little, to consider how we might consider the viewpoints of our stakeholders and customers to gain insights? Maybe these insights allow us to remove unnecessary barriers – thereby allowing us to work smarter rather than harder?
What if instead of trying to move metrics by working harder – we asked our employees, customers and other stakeholders what’s getting in their way?
Thank you for following along our journey to Aspire to Grow.
Check us out at www.aspiretogrow.co <the .com domain was taken, but I like to think of it as “.co” for co-create>.
Off the Shelf – My Book Pick
Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All, by Tom Kelley & David Kelley
Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All , brothers Tom and David Kelley speak about their experiences in human centered design to lead us to the new innovative ideas we need to succeed in business. I’ll be applying this mindset to the early start-up biotech clinical trial space within this article – but, as I outline the key concepts, you can apply these to your specific business or situation.
David Kelley, the founder of IDEO and Stanford D. School, may be more closely associated product designs. Design thinking has resulted in disruptive ideas such as Air BNB, UberEats and PillPack. But did you know the same design thinking methodology can be used to improve services and processes? By being curious about the experiences of our employees, customers (clinical sites and patients) and stakeholders (vendors, suppliers, regulators), we can learn to remove barrier and increase efficiency.
The ‘Sweet Spot’ of Innovation
It begins with a Growth Mindset (see The Root, Vol 1, Issue 1: Growth Mindset) and consideration of the sweet spot of innovation. This is the overlap of people, business and technology in the opportunity space. The idea is to consider the journeys of all people in the problem space ecosystem – and to use empathy toward these audiences.
Problem/Opportunity Space
Let’s look at our opportunity space. We have a process that is no longer applicable in the current regulatory environment. Let’s look at the ecosystem.
- People
- Is the current process we have desirable (or liked) to our employees, customers, vendors, regulators?
- Business
- Is the process currently viable (is it taking too long? Is it cumbersome? Is it acceptable in all countries?)
- Technical (not always technology based)
- Is the current state or future state feasible to use? (Is it acceptable to regulators or IRB/ECs?)
(a few other considerations for process — is it usable and is it ethical)
Input & Empathy
As we assess the opportunity space, it’s important to reflect on the input from our stakeholders listed above.
- When was the last time you actually talked with a customer using the current process?
- What was their experience?
- What were their ideas?
Empathy and journey maps are great ways to gather feedback to understand what users are saying, doing and feeling.
- What are your employees saying?
- What are you customers saying?
- Are there common themes?
- Do we need to reconsider our problem statement? (see below (Podcast segment))
Creative Confidence
As the title implies, organizations must employ creative confidence to let go of the fear of feedback in order to improve complex processes and problems. Our worlds are changing so quickly – don’t miss the opportunity to harness the power of feedback. Design thinking may help you improve those critical metrics not by pushing your staff harder, but actually removing bottlenecks and constraints that allow the work to happen more efficiently.
There is so much to this process —> check out this book that has multiple exercises and examples to consider.
Check out: IDEO’s site for ideas on how to build creative confidence.
Stream On – My Podcast Pick
Design Thinking 101: Want Better Outcomes? Find Better Problems hosted by Dawan Stanford
To fit with this month’s theme, I researched podcasts for Design Thinking and Human Centered Design. I found Design Thinking 101. The episode I chose is entitled Want Better Outcomes? Find Better Problems, but there are SO many great ones. This one is a quick but insightful listen (at ~ 9 minutes), just to give a great overview of how defining a problem well can help us find better solutions.
The Problem Space
To find the best outcomes and solutions for our client’s problems, we must properly define the problem space. After all, if we don’t know the real problem, how can we solve it?
DT101 helps remind us that the Problem Space is the difference between the current reality of what we have vs. the future reality we need. The key here is to understand the “current reality” from the viewpoint of all of your stakeholders and customers.
In the Clinical Trial space – the problem with a certain clinical study process could be very different for a Clinical Study Site vs. that of an internal data manager or Clinical Research Associate or Regulators. If we are aiming to solve problems associated with getting data sooner, we have to understand the process as it impacts all the users.
Diverse experiences and diverse perspectives make our problem space clearer.
We need to understand the problem where the challenge happens and where the people experience the problem.
How Might We?
The “How Might We” (HMW) question is a great way to begin the problem definition process. The solution we are looking for could be a product, a service, a process, etc. that bridges the gap from the current reality to the future proposed reality.
The key for the HMW question, is that as we test out different ways to address the potential problem with our users, we are able to refine the HMW question to get clearer and more precise on the problem at hand. Testing multiple prototypes with different users allows us the feedback loop to make iterations quick and more complete.
As designers, it’s critical to define problems and create solutions with the input of the people we look to serve.
Mindful Moments Learn the Secrets of Breathing Meditation: Get Calm and Clear Mind Now by Krystal Childrey
Breath as the Gateway to Meditation
Did you know that deep breathing exercises can stimulate the vagus nerve, activate the parasympathetic nervous system and produce calmness in your body and mind?
In their article, Learn the Secrets of Breathing Meditation: Get Calm and Clear Mind Now, Krystal Childrey summarizes 4 breathing exercises for deep meditation. Breathing exercises are a nice way to calm and refresh the mind even when you don’t have time for a full guided meditation.
Here are a few options for soothing breathing exercises:
- Bellows Breathing (bhastrika in Sanskrit)
- Good to energize by increasing oxygen in the body.
- A series of quick and full inhales and exhales
- Diaphragmatic Breathing (Deep breathing or Belly breathing)
- Slows down the sympathetic nervous system.
- Reduces blood pressure and decreases heart rate.
- Good to decrease anxiety and stress.
- 4-7-8 Breathing (Relaxing breathing)
- Specific pattern of 4-second inhale, 7-second hold breath, 8-second exhale
- The longer exhale (2x longer than inhale) calms the body and mind.
- Useful before sleep
- Alternate Nostril Breathing (Nadi shodhana in Sanskrit)
- This breathing pattern purifies the body’s energy channels by alternating breath through the right and left nostrils.
- This technique can create a balance and clear headspace to prepare for meditation.
You will be surprised how calming or refreshing these breathing techniques can be. I like to do breathing exercises prior to big meetings.
Check out the exact techniques within the article. Namaste 🌿
Continue to do great things. Thank you for joining me as we experience great things in 2023.
Sincerely, Kathleen
