Opinion: Better by Engr. Carlos V. Cornejo (Cebu City)

WHAT CAN we learn from a world class surgeon on performance & productivity?  Atul Gawande is a distinguished surgeon in Brigham Hospital in Boston who has been in the battlefield surgical tents in Iraq and during a polio outbreak in India.  

In his book, “Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance”, we can find five takeaways: 

Takeaway #1: ASK unscripted questions

The author says, “Ours is a job of talking to strangers. Why not learn something about them? You don’t have to come up with a deep or important question, just one that lets you make a human connection. You will find that many respond – because they’re polite, or friendly, or perhaps in need of human connection. When this happens, try seeing if you can keep the conversation going for more than two sentences. Listen. Make note of what you learn.” 

The lesson is we can learn something from everyone because each person is unique and unrepeatable.  The job of doctors and nurses is one of the most noble because they save lives and offer kind word and advice for people who are in pain. It is a job of charity and work of mercy.  Talking to patients would help ease their troubles while learning their life stories.   In our work, we may not be directly saving lives but we can find out the lives of people we deal with and learn something from them.  As an anonymous social worker once said, “Frankly, there isn’t anyone you couldn’t learn to love once you’ve heard their story.” 

Takeaway #2: NEVER complain

Why stop complaining?  Because it will make you a negative thinker.  As Tim Ferris would say, “Fix the words and you fix the thoughts.”  If you fix your thoughts, it will change your world for the better. 

When you cut out the complaining, you stop coming up with excuses and you start finding solutions.  The following phrases should replace your complaining habit: “From now on instead of complaining I will…” or “Next time I will talk to this guy, we will solve the problem on…(instead of just mentioning my problems to him)”  And perhaps as a reminder not to complain, you can put on a rubber band on your wrist and snap it every time you complain without providing a clear solution. 

Takeaway #3: COUNT something

From a productivity standpoint measuring something leads you to understand it better and ultimately allows you to automate it.  As management guru Peter Drucker says, “What gets measured gets managed.”  When you measure something, you automatically think of ways to improve it.  If you measure aspects of your health, like your morning heart rate, your weight on a weekly basis or your energy levels throughout the day you can’t help but think of ways to improve those metrics and improve your health. 

Counting is like keeping a score in a game.  The game is more exciting if there is a score and a chance of winning. 

Takeaway #4: WRITE something

Writing leads to clear thinking. When you write you naturally want to display your thoughts in a logical, sequential fashion.  The more you write the more logical and organized your thoughts become. 

If you commit to posting and publishing, you can’t help nervously wondering: What will people think? Does it make sense? Was there a better way to say it? Was that interesting to my audience – if not, why not?  These questions lead to higher standards and greater personal growth. 

Even if you are not a writer by profession, you can start writing your thoughts freely, and correct your grammar or sentence construction later on. This will lead you to another benefit of writing:  articulateness and learning to express yourself more clearly.  It will help you write good essays as well if you are a student.  

Takeaway #5: FIGHT ignorance

The author explains that doctors who cling onto what they learned in medical school, or simply do what other doctors are doing, are not truly serving their patients. History is filled with doctors subscribing to outdated science:  Frontal lobotomies were once performed for the control of chronic pain and it turned out to severely alter a patient’s personality.  Anti-inflammatory medication Vioxx was prescribed to people, and resulted in heart attacks. 

Change is the cornerstone of growth – without a willingness to change we become stagnant.  You are either growing or dying – there is no middle ground. Clinging to the status quo can be dangerous.  It may feel safe but when the time comes to take decisive action, we will be grossly under-prepared. Each day aim to fight your ignorance and discover your blind spots.  As the saying goes, “Read today and lead tomorrow.” (ECC)