Imagine this: You and your colleagues know there are problems to be solved. You have resources to offer, such as funding, access to experts, and publicity. You are pretty sure there are people with great ideas out there, asking questions, defining the scope of the problems you care about, seeing things that you can’t see. […]
innovation
Why entrepreneurs should listen to patients & caregivers
I am thrilled to share this excerpt from the Harvard Business Review article I wrote, “How Chronic-Disease Patients Are Innovating Together Online”: The internet gives us virtually unlimited access to each other. That deceptively simple insight is an untapped opportunity in health care. When companies are searching for their next idea, they should look to […]
Public Q&A: Acronyms, protocol, and other lessons learned from switching fields
If you have switched career tracks, what lessons did you learn? What advice would you have for someone entering a new company, organization, or even a new culture? Here’s an excerpt from my 2016 interview with The Public Manager about working for the U.S. government: Most of your career was outside of the federal government. What have […]
Celebrating innovation as a problem-solving tool in government
On January 6, 2017, I published my final post as the Chief Technology Officer of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. My intended audience included people I’d never met: the incoming agency leadership. I’d written a memo for the transition team, which greets and orients the new leaders, but I wanted to publish a […]
DIY innovation in the hospital
My grandfather, Frank H.J. Figge, was a cancer researcher who faced shortages during World War II and had to improvise to keep his lab going. When he ran short of quartz lenses he remembered hearing that plastic also transmits ultraviolet rays and filled synthetic sausage casings with water to create a perfect — much cheaper — substitute. Nurses have […]
Nurses in the Smithsonian spotlight
The people best suited to solve a problem are often those experiencing it. Experimentation — and documentation — should be part of everyone’s toolbox, no matter where you sit in an organization or hierarchy. Prototypes should be shared, not hidden away. Early feedback is golden. Everyone is a potential innovator. I’m excited to explore these themes and more with Tiffany […]
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