My doctor sent me to get my annual bloodwork and added a plethora of new things now available from a simple blood draw. As I reflected on the great privilege it is to be able to have bloodwork done, my blood pressure lowered a bit but then increased as I turned my head so as not to see the needle.
A few seconds later, I was on my way with a small tourniquet wrapped tightly around my elbow. Life happened and I forgot about the tests and then my email pinged, alerting me that my results were in. With a click of a mouse and a login page, I was seeing data my great grandparents couldn’t have imagined having access to: hematocrit, hemoglobin, magnesium, lead (thank goodness it was in range), HDL and LDL, etc., etc.
My favorite part of the data was the ‘action plan’ that made suggestions personalized to my results. What foods to eat more of: strawberries. What do avoid: anything processed – duh. Then the plan got a little deeper, explaining why green tea is a super food and how daily fiber will help me live longer, healthier. I was excited to try some new things and see if I could impact my results.
I open and look at this healthcare dashboard every couple of weeks. Every time I do this, I wonder if we are providing our coworkers with their work ‘markers’. Can they tell how they are doing compared to the plan? Do we give them in-the-moment feedback so that they can adjust their behaviors, attitudes or techniques in time to improve outcomes?
I’ve always believed that if you want to manage something you must measure it – but sometimes measuring things is painful like the stick of the needle: the scale, net promoter scores from clients, blood pressure or profit margins. The pain is usually momentary and, if we can focus on the reason for the discomfort, which is to move the needle (pun intended) in the direction you want, we get the joy and fun of celebrating an outcome that you chose to create.
– Becky Sharpe, CEO
