Tuesday 30 June 2009

Forever thinking

Many times we are thinking "short term". And when we try to think "long term" we just expand time horizon a bit. If short term is six months - the long term can be five years. If short term was two years, long term could be 50 years. And so on. But...

We need to start considering what will happen when we extend beyond short and long term.

Here are some questions to consider when solving problems and creating solutions:

- Will this solution X work forever?
- What will happen to environment and the planet if X (what we start/create now) goes on forever?
- Would it be good if X continued forever?
- What side effects (good/bad) might there be if X continued forever?
- If X continues forever, would the overall situation improve?

We should only create and implement things that should and could go on forever.

Very few things continues forever, but we need to extend our thinking and see beyond. Whatever long term solutions we might come up with, can really be short term. And what we create now can "blow up" for the next generation.

Solutions might or might not evolve over time and take care of the problems we create today. But we cannot rely on that. We need to create truly sustainable solutions. That works in the "forever" perspective.

We have the tools and many different ways of thinking to deal with this. Lets do it!

Monday 29 June 2009

Walls creates speed and innovation.

Long time ago in a galaxy far away I wrote a small piece of boundaries, speed and innovation. Cannot find it now....But some of thinking was like:

Imagine a pinball machine. Imagine what would happen if you removed all the walls, small obstacles, rubber things, springs, targets. Just a steel ball slowly rolling down...*donk*. An easy game to play.

It is the obstacles and boundaries that makes the machine interesting. It is those obstacles and boundaries that creates the speed and excitement. *pling* *katchong* *swosch* *plang-pling*. It is the walls that creates the speed. It is the walls that forces the steel ball to take another route.

Without the boundaries and obstacles the game would turn into a slow, non-exciting game. No need to be alert. No need to actually do anything.

Same with innovation. We need boundaries and problems to innovate and keep us moving forward. Give us unlimited resources and the game gets uninteresting. Give us problems, limited resources and problems - and we will get speed, excitement AND innovation. We need the *pling* and *katshong* and all the walls!

The most exciting and rewarding pinball machine is the one with most problems, eh, walls and springs!

(Thanks, @catuslee, for reminder about the importance of "limited resources")

Tuesday 9 June 2009

MS-medicin och Systemtänkande

Today only in Swedish. Sorry...

Lyssnade idag på radio hur pengarna för effektiv - men dyr - MS medicin var slut på ett sjukhus. Säkerligen riktigt.

Det som var lite underligt var att det faktiskt borde finnas pengar. Men, i en "annan plånbok". Systemtänkande och intressent-analys skulle behövas.

En politiker berättade att det var tänkt att de besparingar som man fick genom att hålla MS borta skulle kunna flyttas så att medicin kunde bekostas. Om personen får sin medicin så blir det inga följdsjukdomar. Inget handikapp. Och därmed sparas det ju massor av pengar på någon annan klinik, sjukhus eller vårdcentral.

Pengarna för medicinen tas ur ena facket i en plånbok. Och besparingarna görs i ett annat fack. Hur kopplas dessa ihop?

Att en enskild läkare ska kunna få medel att flytta omkring är inte rimligt. Större grepp krävs!

Om personen får sin medicin så kanske han kan jobba och skapa nya skatteintäkter. Och dessutom inte behöva bidrag.

Jag vet inte vilka belopp eller hur följderna ser ut av MS, men jag är säker på att vår hälsovård och politiker skulle kunna klura ut det. Men, det krävs ett systemtänkande och se på "ekonomin" i vidare perspektiv.

Det är ju möjligt att det visar sig att medicinen är BILLIG jämfört med vad följderna blir av att inte medicinera!

Här en liten model i ämnet. Om vi ger medicin til MS-sjuka så motverkar vi sjukdomen och personen kan jobba. Och därmed ge skatteintäkter. Dessutom så blir det inga - eller färre - sjukbesök hos någon annan vårdgivare. Och inga framtida bestående handikapp. Och därmed sparar vi massor av offentliga medel.

Undrar hur "dyr" medicinen egentligen är....





En kanske viktigare sak är ju också att vi pratar om livskvalitet! Och att ge alla den vård de behöver. Har vi råd att inte använda den dyra medicinen? Och ska verkligen medicin kunna ta slut - av pengamässiga skäl?

Lyft blicken och se en större bit!

Friday 5 June 2009

1, one, ett, uno....

If you focus too hard on one thing you might miss the others.

Yesterday I tried to listen to a debate. EU parliament election coming up.

They all used a singular focus when talking and discussing. "The problem is....", "...and the solution is....", "Your suggestion is....". And using that technique they walked through several different topics. But every time with a singular focus.

Mmmm. "several different topics" .... "singular focus".

I do not believe we have ONE problem to solve. And I do not belive that there always is ONE way to solve a problem. There will always be another problem. There are always other ways. What seems unconnected and unrelated always are.