FROM THE 16TH SLS ANNUAL MEETING AND ENDO EXPO 2007, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, SEPTEMBER 5–8, 2007
PRESENTED BY JOHN KENAGY, MD, MBA
John Kenagy, MD, a vascular surgeon broke his neck. “Despite the system, said Kenagy, “I had good outcomes.” The system got in the way; but, the good outcome was because of people going the extra mile. He is walking, talking, and has no impaired movements. However, he cannot practice surgery, so he went into management. He helps managers find solutions. It is important to understand that future success is based on one’s ability to adapt to a changing environment, said Kenagy. Current organizations will stall or block adaptive change. According to Clayton Christensen, it is almost impossible for established companies to be innovative. When an industry transforms, it starts at the low end, not the high end. But it is difficult for management leaders to make the leap from the high end to the low end. Toyota is so successful because it is “designed to adapt.” How can a company become adaptive? What is adaptive design? It is adaptive innovation and Toyota combined. First, establish an operational framework that fosters high performance and innovation focused on the patient. Second, eliminate ambiguity, assumptions, work-arounds, and tradeoffs. Third, develop every person’s skills, knowledge, creativity, and problem-solving ability. Fourth, embrace the team. And fifth, make inquiries if things aren’t working smoothly. Key points to remember are the following: senior management must decide where it wants to be; realize that advice of experts is usually useless; discover the adaptive spectrum of opportunity; inventory what you’re doing and rebalance your opportunities; execute your intentions; and the role of management needs to be revitalized. Adaptive units always outperform others. “It is not the strongest who survive,” said Kenagy, “but the most adaptable.”
