On Becoming a Positive Deviant

I finished Atul Gawande’s book ‘better’ a few weeks ago, have been meaning to post and comment his five suggestions for becoming a positive deviant (i.e., one of those folks/institutions that is on the far right side of the bell curve). Anyway, it’s a good read — gives you a different way of looking at some rather thorny issues in healthcare — both here and internationally.

Here’s the five suggestions: Ask an unscripted question. Don’t complain. Count something. Write Something. Change.

A quick exegesis on these suggestions.

1. Ask an unscripted question. This one was inspired by Paul Auster. Atul is suggesting that by engaging with our patients/customers/clients/students in a more human way, but asking them something that is not necessarily within the scope of what you are ‘doing’, you might begin to make a practice of seeing the organic qualities in every institution, every process, every person — of becoming more human.
2. Don’t complain. Lord knows I’m good at complaining — my whole early life seemed like a training in being critical in ever more sophisticated ways. Solutions were neither applauded nor necessarily desired. But while Gawande admits that doctors (and, by extension, anyone in any position) has good reason to complain about a multitude of things, he suggests that complaining ‘is boring, doesn’t solve anything, and it will get you down’. So think of other things you can bring to a conversation.
3. Count something. “If you count something you find interesting, you will learn something interesting.”
4. Write something…’by offering your reflection to an audience, even a small one, you make yourself part of a larger world. Put a few thoughts on a topic in just a newsletter, and you find yourself wondering nervously: Will people notice it? What will they think? Did I say something dumb? An audience is a community. The published word is a declaration of membership in that community and also of a willingness to contribute something meaningful to it. So choose your audience. Write something.
5. Change. “…make yourself an early adopter. Look for the opportunity to change. I am not saying you should embrace every new trend that comes along. But be willing to recognize the inadequacies in what you do and seek out solutions. As successful as medicine is, it remains replete with uncertainties and failure. This is what makes it human, at times painful, and also so worthwhile.”

I was wondering in what ways, if any, I could link these five suggestions up with the five principles that Yvon Chouinard espouses in Let My People Go Surfing, which are:  Lead an examined life. Clean up our own act. Do our penance. Support civil democracy. Influence other companies.

Furthermore, is there any connection with the five basic principles of Anusara? They are: Open to Grace. Muscular Energy. Inner Spiral. Outer Spiral. Organic Energy.

What about other principles and things that come in 5s? The elements of Chinese Medicine? The books of the Torah? Hmmm.

More on this to come someday.