Newsletter #17: July 2019

Contents: 

• Exploring Organizational Pivots with the Innovation Learning Network
• SE Health joins CAN Health Network to support health innovation in home and communities across Canada
• Imagining the Future of Rehab at UofT's Physical Therapy Research Day
• SE Futures & Elizz Partner for September Open Book Club
• Upcoming Events and Happenings 

Exploring Organizational Pivots with the Innovation Learning Network

"Sometimes it's scary and sometime's it's sad, but at the end of the day - our pivot ain't bad", Alex Ward, SE Health

How do you disrupt vs. just make things better?

In an environment where day-to-day decision always win; how do we protect innovation and enable disruption? Alex Ward (Manager, IS), Erik Landriault (Director, Innovation) and Zayna Khayat (Future Strategist) recently attended The Innovation Learning Network (ILN) in-person meeting on the theme of PIVOT! in Portland, Oregon. SE Health is part of the ILN, which exists to push people and organizations’ thinking by providing inspiration, enabling knowledge sharing, and connection between innovation peers. The ILN shares innovations across health systems, teaches innovation and design techniques, and creates innovation friendships.

Much like the way that Rachel, Ross and Chandler tried to maneuver a couch up the stairs on Friends; pivoting is about responding to changes in real time. Working with our peer innovation centres, we explored how not only is there a graveyard of startups, but also larger organizations that have failed to pivot or adapt to changes in their environment – and what we can do to future proof our respective organizations.

Below; you’ll find reflections from Erik & Zayna about some of their key takeaways from this year’s meetings.

Life in the Learning Zone
By: Erik Landraiult

One of my favourite presentations at this year’s ILN, was given by Kristen Rodriguez, Chief Knowledge Officer at the Health Plan Alliance, who spoke about what it takes to foster a culture of innovation within an organization and thrive in adversity. It made me reflect not only about my own challenges moving projects forward; but how all of us leading change are butting up against some mental models that shape the ways we think and act.

Working within an innovation team, whose mental model is that perfection is the enemy of the good; I often struggle in knowing when something is good enough to put in front of people. Share it too soon, and you inevitably feel like a fraud; but work on it too long and you’re not learning fast enough.

Working within an innovation team, whose mental model is that perfection is the enemy of the good; I often struggle in knowing when something is good enough to put in front of people. Share it too soon, and you inevitably feel like a fraud; but work on it too long and you’re not learning fast enough.

Throughout our innovation process, and especially in early stages of discovery, we leave meetings with partners who feel like we’re not there yet and a long list of barriers. Meetings typically are focused on tearing ideas down and poking holes, rather than building an idea and helping your team take it further.

For example, last year, we started working on a senior’s housing project and were told a million reasons why we shouldn’t pursue the project. “It’s not our core competency”, “we’ve never done it before”, “we’ve don’t it before, -- it didn’t work”, “there are other experts out there who know more”… the list goes on...

Continue reading Erik's article  "Life in the Learning Zone"
 

Can you Systematically Create Organizational Capacity to Pivot? (Yes)

By: Zayna Khayat 

Through a mix of high impact lightning talks, Pecha Kucha discussions, workshops, and super-fun things like roller derby and disco, we looked at pivoting from all sorts of angles in order to translate concepts, frameworks and practical actions into our day to day innovation work. SE Health sent three leaders to the event. I was privileged to lead two sessions. The first was the opening interactive keynote I co-ran with Cathy Eddy on the Role of Governance Boards in Enabling Organizational Pivot; the second was a 6 minute Pecha Kucha (20 seconds X 20 slides!) about 8 Lessons from Startups about Pivot (did you know that Flickr, Instagram, Slack, and many more companies would not be here if they were not pros at pivoting?)

Here were my top 5 highlights from the Pivot-themed meeting:

1.     Animal health innovation has a lot to teach us about human health innovation | On day 1 we experienced a gallery of animal health tech innovations, with some 10 startups pitching their solutions. It was clear that the problems these animal tech companies are solving are not different from human health tech, but seem to be moving faster because the market is a lot more efficient, perhaps. 

For example, Whistle’s Tagg fitbit monitor continuously gathers data about the dog via its collar, and feeds insights to owners and carers remotely. Now they can embed the full information set directly into the EMR such that pet care becomes a data science, instead of only a clinical science. The accompanying app also enhances the pet / pet parent partnership to create “health, harmony, joy, safety, and fitness”. For example, through the app, pet parents gain insights into their pet’s world such as time spend sleeping vs playing, how pets build companionship with other dogs or humans (social activity is an important early indicator when recovering from surgery), etc.

Another insight was around the focus, clarity and speed within which the Mars Petcare innovation team works. They run an innovation cycle that is based on days and weeks, not months and years. They tightly manage expectations and deliberately get buy in from key holders of power, allowing the team to take on more risk than the organization is traditionally accustomed to. They also are given control of their own budget to support their projects portfolio.

2.    Animal health has a lot to teach us about healthy living for older adults | In listening to various members of the Mars Petcare team share their model and work, it was clear we can readily translate many of their experiences with animal healthcare directly into our work in keeping older adults healthy as the live and age at home. A few examples that struck a chord:

• Triple customer value prop – everything the Mars Petcare team works on is focused on 3 customers they have a responsibility to help – the pet, the pet parent, and the veterinarian. It was a surprise to learn that vets are among the highest stressed professionals in the world, and have rates of taking their own life that exceed all other professions. Innovating for 3 customers at the same time is just the nature of the mandate when it comes to healthcare – whether for pets or humans.
• Patient + caregiver as a unit – Every Mars Petcare presentation effortlessly talked about the “pet + pet parent” as a single unit. In healthcare, we’re only now starting to put the family caregiver on an equal plain as the patient or client. Animal health innovators would never decouple the pet from the pet parent … why can’t we do that in healthcare?
• Home is where the health is – much like healthcare is focused on bringing more of the services into the home setting (where patients and families prefer to be), it was refreshing to learn about Mars Petcare’s Connected Health group that is bringing pet care to the home for people who are home-bound, such as older adults.
• Retirement communities + pets. Interestingly, the first customer of Mars Petcare’s Connected Care company for pets was a retirement community. Rationale? Older adults who transition to a retirement living setting often lose the ability to have their pets taken care of. So, a full-service animal health offering was brought to the home instead.

Continue reading the full article "Can You Systemically Create Organizational Capacity in your Organization to Pivot? (yes)" 

SE Health Joins the CAN Health Network to support health innovation in homes and communities across Canada 

SE Futures Brianna Croft represented SE Health in British Columbia for the announcement of the CAN Health Network with the Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business and Export Promotion.

On July 29th, The Government of Canada announced the support for a $20-million project proposal to scale up companies in health and biosciences. This will be done through an initial $7-million investment to support the establishment of the CAN Health Network with its first network partners. SE Health was selected as the only home care organization in Ontario to participate as an edge in the CAN Health network.

The CAN Health Network is an integrated market that will allow promising companies to work directly with health care organizations to understand their needs and commercialize health technologies to meet those needs and scale up their companies. Through this integrated market, small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) and leading start-ups will be able to work with early adopter institutions to collaboratively research, develop and refine Canadian medical technologies to make them market-ready.

“SE Health is thrilled to join the CAN Health Network – leveraging the strength of partnerships, this collaborative program builds on our goal of creating an innovative, future-focused approach to health care and finding new ways to support the health of people in their own homes and communities.” - Shirlee Sharkey, President & CEO, SE Health