DailyKaizen

A recent article about Gamal Aziz, the President and COO of the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, in Business 2.0 caught my eye this month (it’s not published on the Web yet).

In it, his approach of looking at the maximum revenue of a space as a starting point and gutting it to get there, even if it is already profitable, was discussed. The article talks about this approach as turning improvement on its ear - instead of closing in on reducing defects, the article implies that he would start with zero defects and move backward. In this case “good enough” is not enough. There’s even a quote where he dishes Six Sigma as a measurement activity.

This made me think a little of health care. What are we shooting for? Does a doctor tell a patient with a sore throat, “I expect you to be symptom free at little or no cost in time and money to you.” Usually not. We say, “This medicine or treatment plan will help you get better, a little bit over time. If you aren’t making progress, let me know.” Maybe the first statement is unrealistic from a biological perspective. But maybe this one is not: “I expect you to have full confidence in managing your condition with me, safely and efficiently. In doing so, you’ll be better prepared for lifelong health. Even if you are feeling well, our target should be full confidence.”

I’m biased because I’m putting the expectations on myself. At the same time, I think we should know what we are aiming for, so our system will be built to support it. We’ve done some work with the Center for Information Therapy in Washington, DC, whose vision is compelling - information as part of care, to help patients make the best health care decisions. This idea has changed what I work toward in the LEAN world. It becomes less about “making the system easier to use” and more about “making the system benefit the goal - patients’ confidence in managing their health.”

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