Michael is a class act and I am thrilled to be associated with him.

My best to you and yours pin this holiday season and 2012!

Thanks for your insights and recommendation to Atul. I have heard great things about him. My results so far are great. May all our best human factors shine through this holiday season!

Occasionally, these human factors prevent errors, even among the most competent and trained professionals. I am reminded of several interviews I’ve heard with with Atul Gawande, the author of the Checklist Manefesto . He argues that medical procedures (among other activities) have become so complicated that checklists are a proven way to improve outcomes, even among the most experienced and competent people. Here is the website for his book: http://gawande.com/the-checklist-manifesto

Something as simple as the members of the surgical team introducing themselves resulted in a 35% reduction in deaths and complications. See the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist on the left side of the page.

The checklist does not include talking to the surgeon as one of those steps. As a patient, talking to the surgeon is your best hope of man knowing that the right person is doing the right procedure on the right body part and that you know what to expect afterward.

I’m happy that you had a good result. I just think that the human factors that you were intuitively looking for are still an important part of the patient experience.

I hope all is well. Best Wishes for a wonderful Holiday Season.

Charles

A disturbing scenario but it has been played out many times in socialistic societies.

Great newsletter as always. Many people in America work at looking intelligent and thought provoking, you just are. Why aren’t you teaching at an elite business school already?

One thought back at you…weren’t the Romans, specifically Romulus Augustulus, saying the same things to their people in the Fall of 476…we’re in the top 1%?

Occupy people may not have the exact answer I would propound, but they have the right question. And they are asking it, and by virtue of their leadership shaping the debate. All that separates the Occupy fanatics from business owners is the willingness of the Occupants to push their government to action. By contrast, so many business owners pay lip service to how different things should be, specifically how people should have more self responsibility. Unfortunately, business owners leave all the political action to two groups: big corporations at the conservative end of the political spectrum and grass roots groups at what tends to be the liberal end of the spectrum.

A sad adult truth is this: you don’t have a certain set of rights, you only have the rights you realize that you have and then only those you choose to defend. In other words, to take your theory one step further – we’re only in the top 1% if we realize it and are willing to do something about it. So the world is changing, and the people at the bottom of the economic ladder realize that more than those at the top, because the ratio of change is hitting them harder than it is people more in the middle to the top. A good analogy is that passengers in a car notice whether a driver is going to fast or too slow, often before the person holding the wheel realizes the consequences of their decisions. So taking that a step further, while the people who are industrious in this country still have control of the wheel, where are we going to take the vehicle so that everyone will enjoy the ride?