RWL #179 - Platforms, 3rd space, Red Bull, etc.
Greetings from the University of New Hampshire - Forward Operating Base Last Homely House (FOB LHH)! Today is my 28th wedding anniversary - which I suppose I should mention I share with my wife in case that was not clear - so we are planning to go out to a brand new restaurant here in town - Ciao Italia - which is based on the cookbooks of Durham resident and long time TV cooking show host Mary Ann Esposito. I love living in Durham, but it’s a small town and there isn’t much dining here. So when Ciao Italia opened up last week, I think the whole town was excited. We’ll be eating social distance style, outside, which I think is going to be weird, especially since we haven’t been out to a restaurant since March. Life is just weird right now. But even so, it’s important to celebrate those important milestones. I’m not sure where we are going as a society, with the disease, with the protests, with important things happening on the international stage - it’s all a little overwhelming. I’ll think of you all tonight when I sip my wine on the sidewalk.
Stay well and stay safe.
(Pic above is a watercolor sketch I made for an art fundraiser last week.)
Read
What: McKinsey Digital, The platform play: How to operate like a tech company
Why: There’s a perpetual question of how to organize for effectiveness. This thinking has been going on in the business literature since the early 1900’s as businesses grew in size and geographic dispersion. Healthcare organizations regularly experiment with how to align personnel and functions (e.g., departments vs. service lines). The ever-growing presence of IT in the background for the delivery of care also impacts questions about organization, which is reflected in this article. The article talks about manufacturing companies coming to think of themselves as tech companies, and I would say hospitals and related organizations are very similar. “What distinguishes these tech companies is that their technology allows them to move faster, more flexibly, and at greater scale than their competitors. IT is not a cumbersome estate “that gets in the way,” but an enabler and driver of continuous innovation and adaptation.”
I have been reading an excellent book on military modernization, The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech Warfare by Christian Brose and there was an interesting passage where he was talking about the F-35 fighter jet (“the flying supercomputer”) where he questions how to think about the the aircraft - “Is the F-35 a piece of hardware that contains a lot of software? Or is it a digital warfare system wrapped in an aircraft? … A major threat to the F-35 is not just enemy missiles but also the possibility that it could be cyberattacked before it ever gets off the ground.” The question about the F-35 could be asked about the modern hospital.
What: FastCompany, Starbucks is about to look a lot different—and COVID-19 is only part of the reason why
Why: I have never been a big fan of Starbucks coffee, I’m more of a Dunkin’ guy. But most Dunks are not particularly pleasant spaces. They certainly are not a “third space” that Starbucks has tried to create with their European style cafes. When I was in grad school I often went to a nearby Starbucks to get out of the house, but not go to the school. As an extrovert, I like having a background buzz around me - it helps me sustain my focus, so the Starbucks was a great place to read papers or try to write my dissertation. I suspect a lot of you reading this have done the same thing. So that was their strategy - to create this space where people could congregate. But now with COVID they are having to rethink that “third space”. It’s interesting to read about the strategy - redefining the third space as the interaction between you and the barista rather than a physical space. We’ll see if that works.
Watch
What: WSJ, In Wake of George Floyd’s Death, Black Professionals Talk Race, Work
Why: The video opens with this striking observation: “The cell phone has done more for African Americans than legislation or any bill that has ever been passed. Because now for the rest of the world we’re not just complaining, we’ve got evidence, we’ve got footage of how we are living every single day.” It’s terrible that we still have a problem of state violence against African Americans or any population of Americans. It is fascinating how the prevalence of a simple technology like a pocket video camera has created more pressure for action and change than legislation. I hope the pressure will lead to real change.
Listen
What: Reason Interview, Rory Sutherland on How Red Bull Explains Why Capitalism Is Great (35 min)
https://reason.com/podcast/rory-sutherland-on-how-red-bull-explains-why-capitalism-is-great/
Why: This is a fun interview with Rory Sutherland, the vice chairman of the global advertising agency Ogilvy, UK. Among the topics discussed is how marketing can change how we value something. Case in point is how the Patagonian Toothfish, a truly unattractive fish, became the Chilean Sea Bass, a valuable delicacy. What is value? Why does something go from being trash to treasure? Are we just being fooled? Check out a picture of the Chilean Sea Bass (AKA, Patagonian Toothfish).
What: The President’s Inbox, The State of the Special Relationship, With Ambassador Dame Karen Pierce DCMG
Why: Dame Karen Pierce is the UK ambassador to the United States. In this interview she talks a bit about what ambassadors do. The US and UK have been undergoing radical political change, particularly on the world stage. It’s interesting to hear some of her observations about the US.
Thanks for reading and see you next week! If you come across any interesting stories, won't you send them my way? I'd love to hear what you think of these suggestions, and I'd love to get suggestions from you. Feel free to drop me a line at mark.bonica@unh.edu , or you can tweet to me at @mbonica .
Also, if you find these links interesting, won’t you tell a friend? They can subscribe here: https://tinyletter.com/markbonica
See you next Friday!
Mark
Mark J. Bonica, Ph.D., MBA, MS
Assistant Professor
Department of Health Management and Policy
University of New Hampshire
(603) 862-0598
mark.bonica@unh.edu
Health Leader Forge Podcast: http://healthleaderforge.org
'It is the small things, everyday deeds of ordinary folk, that keep the darkness at bay. Simple acts of kindness and love.' - Gandalf (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey)