How a Toyota Car compares to a Hospital Patient

Culture of Safety News

JULY 2012

“HOW WE CARE FOR

EACH OTHER EXTENDS

TO THE PATIENT”

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT: First and foremost, lead with people!

Adaptive Design leaders, like Toyota leaders, have respect for people!

Specifically, they become increasingly skillful at cultivating humans’ natural

propensity to adapt, change and improve. These skills have been fundamental to

human survival since our earliest emergence as species, and Adaptive Design’s

knowledge management methods further develop and leverage that truth on a daily

basis. (p71)

Leadership and management, in turn, become the “Help Chain” to develop and

support this frontline focus on excellence. (p vii)

Adaptive Design has shown us how obstacles are always system-problems, not

people problems. Today our care is not only more efficient and patient-centered, it

is also much, much safer. Our problem solving has created a sustainable, blame-

free culture of safety. Not only is no one to blame for identifying a problem, it is

now clear that identifying problems and participating in problem solving is

everyone’s responsibility. And we take that responsibility seriously. But, honestly,

now we don’t have to think about it much anymore. We just do it; it’s part of our

everyday work. (page 21)

Viewing every employee as a valuable knowledge-worker, it revitalizes an

organization so that each person becomes a skilled problem solver. (page 28)

The 3-Ms: Make changes. Maximize what works. Minimize what doesn’t. (page

29) EXECUTION: Adaptive Design is first about changing minds, then about changing

behaviors, and finally about changing systems. For example, let’s discover and

transform, “That problem is too small to worry about. I have bigger fish to fry.” (pp118-119)

True culture change occurs as staff and management consistently experience

and participate in a work environment where the goal is to immediately

problem-solve toward Ideal. (p113)

From Designed to Adapt, Leading Healthcare in Challenging Times by John

Kenagy, MD 2009

Adaptive Design uses knowledge, training and the work

itself:

to develop people

to problem solve problems

to achieve a unifying, common strategic purpose focused on the patient.

The focus is on people, problem solving and purpose.

Toyota manufacturing has moved

You cannot just think your way into a new

way of acting. You must also act your way

into a new way of thinking. (p72)

the moment a system fails address the

problems that caused the failure in real-

time and in a disciplined, structured,

replicable way. (p74)

NHYOKO – Issue #3

Seven cultural barriers to

sustainable improvement

1. Workarounds

2. Fear of Failure

3. Blame

4. Chronic Dysfunctional

Behavior

5. Backsliding

6. Lack of Accountability

7. Organizational Silos

Hurry up - checkout this book from the

hospital library for your learning pleasure.