The main takeaways from the book: Better by Atul Gawande
Time to read: 3:48 minutes
What can we learn from a world class surgeon on performance & productivity?
Here are the 5 takeaways from Surgeon Atul Gawande:
Takeaway #1: ASK unscripted questions
“Ours is a job of talking to strangers. Why not learn something about them?”
– Atul Gawande
Be genuinely interested in people. Make it your mission to learn something interesting from everyone. Everyone is fascinating in their own way.
“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.”
– Atul Gawande
I am currently a member of a Toastmasters group. When a new member joins the group they are asked to do an ‘ice breaker’ speech – a collection of personal stories about who they are and how they got here. When I hear an ‘ice breaker’ speech my perceptions inevitably change. The person speaking goes from a nervous guy named ‘Doug’ to a guy named ‘Doug who has a passion for table tennis and cheers for the same hockey team I do!’. Their stories open up an avenue for a deeper, on-going social connection.
“The children’s television host Mr. Rogers always carried in his wallet a quote from a social worker that said, ‘Frankly, there isn’t anyone you couldn’t learn to love once you’ve heard their story.’”
– Andrew Stanton, TED Talk
Takeaway #2: NEVER complain
“The natural pull of conversational gravity is toward the litany of woes all around us. But resist it. It’s boring, it doesn’t solve anything, and it will get you down. You don’t have to be sunny about everything. Just be prepared with something else to discuss: an idea you read about, an interesting problem you came across – even the weather if that’s all you’ve got.”
– Atul Gawande
I recently took on a no complain challenge suggested by author and blogger Tim Ferriss (@tferriss). I purchased a prank handshake buzzer from eBay for $2 and put it on my keychain. Each time I complained without proposing a solution I took out my buzzer and gave myself a little shock by squeezing the device. It was a simple and jolting reminder to be aware my complaining. The effects were immediate and life-changing.
WHY?
As Tim says: “Fix the words and you fix the thoughts.”
When you cut out the complaining you stop coming up with excuses and you start finding solutions. The exercise made me much more aware of my thoughts which ultimately lead to more thoughtful and deliberate actions.
Ways to provide solutions:
- “From now on…”
- “Next time I will…”
- “I will talk to…”
- “I will learn to…”
My challenge to you – for 2 weeks, do one of the following exercises:
A) Move a ring to another finger every time you complain without providing a clear solution.
B) Put on a rubber band on your wrist and snap it against your wrist every time you complain without providing a clear solution.
C) MY FAVORITE: Put a prank handshake shock device (eBay link) on your key-chain and shock yourself every time you complain without providing a clear solution.
Takeaway #3: COUNT something
“Regardless of what one ultimately does in medicine – or outside medicine, for that matter – one should be a scientist in this world. In the simplest terms, this means one should count something.”
– Atul Gawande
From a productivity standpoint measuring something leads you to understand it better and ultimately allows you to automate it.
“What gets measured gets managed.”
– Peter Drucker
When you measure something you automatically think of ways to improve. If you measure aspects of your health, like your morning heart rate or your energy levels throughout the day you can’t help but think of ways to improve those metrics and improve your health.
“If you count something interesting, you will learn something interesting.”
– Atul Gawande
Takeaway #4: WRITE something
“Just write. What you write need not achieve perfection. It need only add some small observation about your world.”
– Atul Gawande
Write 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 put 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.
“So choose your audience. Write something.”
– Atul Gawande
Takeaway #5: FIGHT ignorance
“Recognize the inadequacies in what you do and to seek out solutions.”
– Atul Gawande
Atul 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 severally alter ones personality
- Anti-inflammatory medication Vioxx was prescribed to people and resulted in 1000’s of heart attacks
Change is the cornerstone of growth – without a willingness to change we become stagnate. 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 I aim to fight my ignorance and discover my blind spots.
“I am the wisest man alive for I know one thing – I know nothing.”
– Socrates
Always be adapting, always be changing, always be growing.
Take-home message:
“So find something new to try, something to change. Count how often you succeed and how often you fail. Write about it. Ask people what they think. See if you can keep the conversation going.”
– Atul Gawande