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By Steve Berkowitz
In a previous blog, I discussed the first step in the critical analysis of artificial intelligence in healthcare—an operational or working definition of artificial intelligence. I would now like to take that definition and take the next step—develop a descriptive model of AI that would illustrate the evolution of artificial intelligence and help us better understand the future of AI in healthcare. The model I propose has three components. Each one can evolve separately as well as influence the progress of the others. The ultimate AI application or outcome is a function of the effectiveness of all three:
HARDWARE – THE RAPID DEVELOPMENT OF PROCESSING POWER When I talk about the evolution of the individual processing unit, I am primarily referring to the unprecedented progress that has been made in the past sixty years in terms of fulfilling the mantra: faster, smaller, cheaper. Moore’s Law, coined in 1965 by Gordon Moore, an engineer at IBM, stated that the number of transistors in an integrated circuit will double about every two years. This doubling process has continued unabated to this day. Processing speed and efficiency are essential in the ultimate evolution of AI, and until very recently, it has been the rate-limiting step in the development of advanced capabilities such as language processing and complex machine learning. It has only been in the last five or so years that we have had the processing capability to have such entities as GPT and deep learning applications. Now that this limit has been attained and exceeded, true advanced intelligence is operationally and commercially feasible. One can only imagine what will be possible as this capability continues to double. The recent development of quantum computers, for example, which rely on using quantum mechanics and subatomic particles to power the processing, is currently in the research stage, but it promises to further jumpstart this cycle of “faster, smaller, cheaper.” AI will operate more effectively, a million times faster and more efficient. CONNECTIVITY – INTEGRATION OF INDIVIDUAL UNIT INTO NEURAL NETWORKS AND THE INTERNET Put simply, not only is the individual processor becoming faster, smaller, cheaper at exponential rates as mentioned above, but each individual computer unit now has the capacity to become interfaced and connected to multiple units and form large computer networks. These neural networks have the potential to give each computer access to enormous amounts of data, including becoming part of the internet of things, or the “cloud.” The ability to work as large systems makes the AI process much more robust. All systems would have the potential to communicate with each other and learn from each other… and even influence each other. Neural networks using artificial intelligence resemble the human brain, in which thousands or millions of individual units become interconnected and organized into layers. The output of one of the individual entities is now the input of another entity. This synergistic interaction further empowers AI to do extremely complicated processing such as deep learning and to do so faster, smaller, and cheaper. SOFTWARE – THE EVOLUTION OF MACHINE LEARNING AND COMPLEX REASONING Now that the hurdles of requisite speed and power as well as the ability to interconnect on complex levels have been considered, the model now moves on to the actual application of learning algorithms and logic models. As algorithms and systems become more sophisticated, more complex logic that simulates or even exceeds human logic, are incorporated into the model. Supervised learning, where models, trained with labeled data sets and pre-set algorithms, can now progress to unsupervised learning, and even reinforced learning. This allows the AI to evolve and move beyond the initial data sets and algorithms. As I mentioned in my last blog, not only can this learning bear enormous benefits, but it also has the downside of potential negative effects of emergent properties, and even hallucinations. Not only can the model readily incorporate the most basic form of reasoning, deductive reasoning (going from the general to the specific), but it also can begin to develop more complicated patterns of inductive reasoning (going from the specific to the general). The potential further exists to incorporate or “learn” more advanced forms of the human reasoning process such as creativity, emotions, and even empathy. AI has not acquired these traits yet, but if the human brain can learn these traits, why couldn’t AI too? And do so more quickly and efficiently. I believe we will see increasing complexities of AI resulting in applications that combine deductive, inductive, and more creative forms of reasoning. Once again, we can only imagine what the ultimate applications will be able to accomplish as the three stages of hardware, interconnectivity, and software come together and mutually advance. MODELING THE FUTURE OF AI IN HEALTHCARE As healthcare executives better understand the application of AI, it is valuable to conceptualize the model into these stages in looking to the future. I hope this model gives us a better framework in which to analyze the evolution and future of artificial intelligence, particularly AI in healthcare. Putting the model back together, we see there are three major components: the hardware, connectivity, and the software. All three will continue to quickly evolve, and work collectively and synergistically to improve the ultimate sophistication of the application outputs. Products that now flood the media daily have resulted from the evolution and development of these three stages. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success!
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By Ron Culberson. With a master’s degree in social work, Ron Culberson spent the first part of his career working in a large hospice organization as a clinical social worker, middle manager, and senior leader. As a speaker, humorist, and author of "Do it Well. Make it Fun.The Key to Success in Life, Death, and Almost Everything in Between", he has delivered more than 1,000 presentations to associations, government agencies, non-profit organizations, and corporations. His mission is to change the workplace culture so that organizations are more productive and staff are more content. He was also the 2012-2013 president of the National Speakers Association and is a recognized expert on the benefits of humor and laughter.
I’ve said it before. I’ll say it again. I’m not as handy as I would like to be. One of my friends can completely gut and then rebuild a bathroom without cutting the wrong wires, puncturing any water pipes, or falling through the floor into the basement. I’ve done damage to drywall by simply trying to replace the toilet paper roll. In fact, when it comes to repairs, it typically costs me more to fix what I did than to have hired someone to do the work in the first place. But that doesn’t stop me from trying. I own a utility trailer and I use it to haul items that are too large for my car. Mostly, I’m transporting wood from a fallen tree in the yard to our church’s wood ministry. Last weekend, before transporting a load of wood, I checked to make sure that the brake lights were working properly. My lights quit working a couple of years ago when squirrels had chewed through the wiring. Ever since, I always check them before heading out on the road. However, unless my trailer is parked in front of a mirror, checking the brake lights is not that easy. And if it’s daytime, it’s even harder. On the day in question, the trailer was parked in front of a row of bushes. I pushed on the brake pedal several times but just couldn’t see if the lights were working. Then I remembered an old television movie from 1971 called Duel. It starred Dennis Weaver who played a man who was being pursued by a menacing tractor trailer driver. At the end (spoiler alert—but if you haven’t seen a 1971 movie by now, I’m guessing it’s not high on your watch list), Weaver wedges his briefcase between the seat of his car and the accelerator pedal to send his driverless car into the truck. Thinking this was a brilliant idea, I looked around the garage for a brief case. Since I’m not really a briefcase kind of guy, I grabbed a large rock instead. I lowered the rock onto my brake pedal and quickly ran to the back of the trailer to see if the lights worked. Unfortunately, the lights didn’t come on but I suspected that it was because the rock was not depressing the pedal far enough. I had to try something else. As I removed the rock, it got stuck between the brake and the accelerator pedals. As I struggled to un-wedge it, I broke off two finger nails. I probably don’t need to point this out but I had not even attempted any handy work and I already had a malfunction with one of my tools (the rock) and a personal injury (two bleeding fingers). I should have seen this as an omen sent by the spirits of Bob and Norm from This Old House. But, of course, I ignored the warning and simply asked my wife to help determine if my brake lights were out. She said one was working but the other was not. A repair was in order. I inspected the trailer to make sure the squirrels had not eaten through any of the exposed wires. Everything looked fine except for one section where two wires were hanging loose. I figured this had to be the problem. Now, I’m not an electrician but my gut tells me that wires should not be hanging loose. I mean, we don’t live in Hawaii (see “surfer Shaka Sign”). So, I did what any home repair novice would do—I reconnected the two wires and called my wife down to check the lights again. Please understand that when I call my wife during any home repair, I’m not just asking for her assistance. I’m also hoping that I get the opportunity to say, “Hey look at that. I fixed it.” For the record, it doesn’t happen that often. Oh sure, I’ve written four books and entertained audiences around the country—but I’ve never repaired a utility trailer. I was clearly on the cusp of a major engineering achievement. My wife took her position behind the trailer and I pushed on the brake. There was no reaction on her face. I flipped the turn signal in both directions. She did not respond. Then, as if she had been oblivious to my actions, she said, “Go ahead. Whenever you’re ready.” Clearly, the lights no longer worked at all. So, I unhitched the trailer, went back inside, and ordered a trailer light replacement kit. When the kit arrived, I read the instructions several times and committed them to memory. The whole repair seemed pretty straightforward (see “Naïveté”). Once I removed the old lights and wiring, I just needed to feed the new wires through the protective tubes that were installed on the trailer frame and then connect the wires to the new taillights. I installed the new lights without any issue. But when I tried to install the wiring, I encountered a problem. Apparently dirt and debris had built up over time in the protective tubes and there was a blockage about half way down the first tube. I tried multiple times to push the wires through the tube but they kept getting stuck. After about an hour of lying under the trailer, working with two injured fingers by the way, I tried another approach. I fed a stiffer wire from the other direction. Luckily, it went through. So, I tied the two wires together and pulled the new ones back through the tubes. One thing I didn’t realize though was that the edge of the protective tube was sharp. So, every time I pulled the new wire through the tube, it shaved off a bit of the wire’s protective coating. That required twenty minutes of taping over all of the damage I had done. Don’t worry about the extra work. I’m used to it. Eventually, I got the entire system installed and just needed to connect the lights into the proper wires. In this particular repair kit, I was given T-tap splicers. I had never used these before so I watched a video online to learn how to operate them. That’s when it occurred to me that I had actually seen these devices before. In fact, the previous wiring system on my trailer had used T-tap splicers. I rummaged back through trash and saw that the two wires that were “hanging loose” weren’t supposed to be tied together after all. Instead, they just needed to be reattached to the T-tap splicer. In other words, I didn’t need a new wiring system. After a few choice words, I connected all the wires and my wife confirmed that the lights were working properly. I looked at my watch. Between reading the instructions, watching online videos, and struggling to feed the wires through the protective tubes, I had logged in about six hours of repair time. If I owned a handy man business, I would be earning about ten cents an hour. And yet, I can’t wait for something else to break. In life, if we don’t try new things, we don’t get to experience adventures that might be unknown to us. If we try new things and fail, we can learn valuable life lessons from those experiences. And if we just take our utility trailers to someone who knows what they’re doing, we might get the six lost hours of our Saturday afternoon back. And that, my friends, is a handy lesson to learn. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Mary Kelly
Mornings can be a tough part of the day. Maybe we did not sleep well. Maybe we are not getting enough sleep on a regular basis. Maybe we woke up during the night, so we are not well rested. You may be like me, and you travel a lot so you might have a time change that makes getting great sleep more difficult. Most of us could use more real rest and quality REM sleep. What can you do if mornings just seem tough? Answer: Establish solid morning routines. A good morning is a key step to ensuring that you have a good day. If you hit the snooze button three times, stumble out of bed, fumble for coffee, and rush out the door feeling discombobulated, you are not setting the stage for a productive day. An effective day starts with an effective morning. You cannot be a disorganized mess and be at your best. Get your day off to a good start. 1. Make a to-do list the night before. Know what you have planned for the day. What important meetings do you have? Are you clear about where you need to be and who you are meeting with in advance? If you know what is coming, you can get your mind in the right place. Know how you are going to spend your day, and with whom. This may impact what you wear. 2. Drink a large glass of water, even before coffee. After a night of sleep, human bodies are dehydrated. So, when you wake up, your body craves water. Consider water before caffeine. Caffeine when you are already dehydrated, is hard on your body. Make water first thing a daily practice. I should add that this is difficult for me, but I know water is better for me first thing in the morning. While I prefer coffee, I know my body is better with water first, and then coffee. 3. Take a short, energy-infused walk. Put on comfortable shoes and take a brisk walk. Feel free to run if the urge strikes you. A morning walk is a terrific way to wake up and clear your mind. You will feel great and get a jump on your day. Any form of exercise is great, provided you feel better at the end than you did at the beginning. Now is not the time to wear yourself out. You should feel invigorated, not exhausted. Find the best form of exercise for you. 4. Have a good breakfast, or not. A good breakfast should make you feel good and provide the nutrition you require until lunchtime. You already know which foods are healthy and which are not. Make a few wise choices and note how you feel during the morning. Or not. Many of us are better without food in the mornings. While breakfast may not be necessary, being healthy when we do eat is important. 5. Practice affirmative thinking. You can mentally repeat affirmations while in the shower, exercising, or driving to work. Find a time that works for you and be consistent. Use affirmations that address the challenging areas of your life. The things we repeat to ourselves become truth. 6. Get up a little earlier than absolutely necessary. Yes, you can go from slumber to out the door in 30 minutes, but that is when everything goes well. If you start your morning schedule already feeling rushed, you are not able to take control of your morning when something unexpected happens. My dogs always seem to know when I am running late, and those are the times they want to chase squirrels or throw up on the carpet. It is more enjoyable to spend your morning without the pressure of feeling like you are already behind. Set the alarm for 10 or 15 minutes earlier than you think you need. 7. Be prepared to tackle your most important work first. This is easy when you make your to-do list the day before. Know your most important activities and focus on accomplishing them before you get distracted by other issues. Our resources are at full capacity earlier in the day. Most people start to run out of energy and focus by the afternoon. Devote your resources, your energy, and your time where they are the most productive. Have a plan, grab your list, and get busy. Life is hectic and chaotic. A good morning increases the odds of having a good day. Give yourself the time in the morning to gather your thoughts and prepare for the day. You will be surprised how much you can accomplish, and how much better you feel throughout the day. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By John O'Leary. This was originally posted on JohnOLearyInspires.com. When John O'Leary was 9 years old, he suffered burns over 100% of his body and was expected to die. He is now an inspirational speaker and bestselling author, teaching more than 50,000 people around the world each year how to live inspired. John's first book, ON FIRE: The 7 Choices to Ignite a Radically Inspired Life was published March 15, 2016. John is a contributing writer for Huff Post and Parade.com. John is a proud husband and father of four and resides in St. Louis, MO. Order John’s book today anywhere books are sold.
Spending several decades as a hospice doctor, Dr. Ira Byock learned much about the process of death. Perhaps surprisingly, though, spending years among the dying taught him even more about living. In their final days, his patients often reiterated what many of us know to be true. That experiences matter more than things. That life is temporary and each moment a gift. That we should strive to contribute to something bigger than ourselves. But for many of us, these platitudes become part of the noise. A quote card we scroll through on social media or see in the aisles of Homegoods. Something we say when other words escape us. For Byock, though, these weren’t just bumper stickers. These were the words and scenes played out not in the noise but in the quiet. Witnessed in patient after patient, family after family, year after year. But here’s the good news, my friends: We do not have to wait until our own final days are upon us or until we are at the bedside of someone we care about to live out these end of life lessons. He’s distilled years of experience into four short but mighty statements that allow us all to be liberated from the burden of regret. I forgive you. We have all been let down, discouraged, or wronged by others. There are disagreements – spoken and unspoken- we have with those we care for most that linger for years and poison our most important connections. ‘I forgive you’ frees us from carrying a grudge that further damages a relationship and allows the person we share it with to recognize we accept them as they are. Please forgive me. One of the most difficult aspects of any relationship is the awareness of when we have wronged another. Recognizing it is important, but humbly, sincerely asking for forgiveness brings us closer to true reconciliation and fullness in that relationship. Thank you. In a highly independent existence where individuality is prized above all else, we’ve been taught if we strive hard enough, we can achieve greatness. In reality, we do very little by ourselves. We are made to be in community with others and much of what we accomplish is because of them not in spite of them. Letting others know they matter, they are seen, and are a part of our journey helps give others purpose. I love you. Perhaps the sweetest words we can hear from another human being. They matter profoundly as we approach the end, but also each day we’re fortunate enough to be alive. These four statements are powerful words to hear and speak when we’re near the end of our lives, certainly. But this week as we step into a season of Thanksgiving, surrounded by family and friends, rather than wait to share these life-changing words, let’s say them now. Dying is inevitable. But learning from those who are facing it and immediately acting upon those learnings liberates us not only from potential regrets, but permits us to be far more joyful, loving, and free in the life we have. Today is your day. Live Inspired. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By LeAnn Thieman. This was originally published on LeAnn's blog.
November is National Caregiver’s Month, a time to honor the nearly 50 million Americans who care for a loved one. The approaching holidays bring joy to their lives, but it also often adds increased stress and sometimes sadness too. Often the caregivers are as homebound as their loved one. Lessons from LeAnn Over 40% of families who provide care for an elder have children at home under the age of eighteen. Seventy-five percent of caregivers are women. Part of the “sandwich generation,” many will spend more years caring for a parent than they will raising a child. Here are 12 easy tips for you to help care for that caregiver:
Sip du Jour – A Healthy Quote Rosalynn Carter and LeAnn partnered to create an amazing event that left attendees feeling loved, nourished and appreciated. Contact us to learn more about LeAnn’s speaking and training! I was privileged to be invited by Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter to speak at her caregiver’s conference. Her quote sums up how caregiving affects us all: “There are four kinds of people in the world: those who have been caregivers, those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers, and those who will need caregivers.” Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Kristin Baird
Recently, I was talking to a friend about her recent, emergent, hospital stay. She described it as, “A nightmare.” Always the researcher, I had to dig a bit to learn more. What contributed to “Lauren’s” nightmare boiled down to not being listened to, slow or no response, and poor follow through on promises. Like many dissatisfied patients, none of the examples she shared would have been classified as egregious medical errors or omissions, but all eroded her trust in the organization. THE COSTS OF DISSATISFIED PATIENTS When looking at the cost of a complaint, consider hard costs as well as soft costs. Hard costs include staff time to resolve issues and replacements (a different meal, etc.) Soft costs can be much more costly. For example, consider a patient that shares a bad experience on social media. That share can result in additional hard costs, including loss of future revenue from patients who don’t return or prospective patients that never make appointments after reading poor online reviews. In Lauren’s case, her loss of trust was significant because she was repeatedly disappointed by staff who didn’t respond or follow through on little things that all added up. Lauren happens to be an influencer whose word carries clout with community leaders. In addition, Lauren is a philanthropist who has donated substantial money to the foundation of the hospital. You can see how the hard costs of failed service can keep adding up here. FINDING THE ROOT CAUSE Listening to Lauren, I couldn’t help thinking that every single irritation she described could have been prevented by simply listening. In each situation, staff could have apologized and immediately corrected the situation. But, from what she described, they simply didn’t know what to do or how to solve simple problems for dissatisfied patients. Hard and soft costs can add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost revenue. Because of this, it’s critical to ensure that your team members know how to do effective service recovery. Does staff know how to handle an upset patient? Have you given clear permission for them to act? A service recovery culture won’t happen by default. Consequently, leaders must work to put together a well-crafted service recovery plan. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Chip Bell
Robert E. Lee is a plantsman from Independence, Louisiana (no relation to the General.) He is famous for creating the encore azaleas—a hybrid between a standard azalea and a Fourth of July Rhododendron. (I am not making up any of these patriotic metaphors.) The result of his cross-hybridization, patented in 1998, was a gorgeous plant that blooms in the spring, summer, and fall. We have them all around our yard. We live on the shores of a large lake. That means we share the territory with sometimes naughty critters—deer, rabbits, raccoons, and coyotes-all of whom are tough on these beautiful plants. Armadillos will uproot them in search of grub worms. We do all we can to protect them with a lawn maintenance professional, proper sunlight, and a closely monitored sprinkler system. They are properly trimmed, fertilized, and watered. One year, early in their tour of duty, the critters almost won the war between the species. We thought the encore azaleas were goners forever, and we would never have a shot at getting “yard of the month.” But, in sync with the name on their “battle flag,” they refused to retreat and grew back, even more beautiful. Today, they are strong, giant plants with hundreds of blooms. Just like loyal customers, these beauties were determined to be their radiant best despite the circumstance of not-so-nice rabbits and deer that had no regard for their beauty. We felt a giant payoff for all of our TLC. We take great care of them; they take great care of us. Customers today are at great risk of all manner of danger–physical, emotional, and financial. The TLC you provide them will determine if they are encore customers, returning with their patronage, and bringing along customer seedlings to brighten your reputation and enrich your revenue. Never forget they sign your paycheck with the ink of their patronage. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Kenneth Kaufman
On October 1, 1908, Ford produced the first Model T automobile. More than 60 years later, this affordable, mass produced, gasoline-powered car was still the top-selling automobile of all time. The Model T was geared to the broadest possible market, produced with the most efficient methods, and used the most modern technology—core elements of Ford’s business strategy and corporate DNA. On April 25, 2018, almost 100 years later, Ford announced that it would stop making all U.S. internal-combustion sedans except the Mustang. The world had changed. The Taurus, Fusion, and Fiesta were hardly exciting the imaginations of car-buyers. Ford no longer produced its U.S. cars efficiently enough to return a suitable profit. And the internal combustion technology was far from modern, with electronic vehicles widely seen as the future of automobiles. Ford’s core strategy, and many of its accompanying products, had aged out. But not all was doom and gloom; Ford was doing big and profitable business in its line of pickups, SUVs, and -utility vehicles, led by the popular F-150. It’s hard to imagine the level of strategic soul-searching and cultural angst that went into making the decision to stop producing the cars that had been the basis of Ford’s history. Yet, change was necessary for survival. At the time, Ford’s then-CEO Jim Hackett said, “We’re going to feed the healthy parts of our business and deal decisively with the areas that destroy value.” So Ford took several bold steps designed to update—and in many ways upend—its strategy. The company got rid of large chunks of the portfolio that would not be relevant going forward, particularly internal combustion sedans. Ford also reorganized the company into separate divisions for electric and internal combustion vehicles. And Ford pivoted to the future by electrifying its fleet. Ford did not fully abandon its existing strategies. Rather, it took what was relevant and successful, and added that to the future-focused pivot, placing the F-150 as the lead vehicle in its new electric fleet. This need for strategic change happens to all large organizations. All organizations, including America’s hospitals and health systems, need to confront the fact that no strategic plan lasts forever. Over the past 25-30 years, America’s hospitals and health systems based their strategies on the provision of a high-quality clinical care, largely in inpatient settings. Over time, physicians and clinics were brought into the fold to strengthen referral channels, but the strategic focus remained on driving volume to higher-acuity services. More recently, the longstanding traditional patient-physician-referral relationship began to change. A smarter, internet-savvy, and self-interested patient population was looking for different aspects of service in different situations. In some cases, patients’ priority was convenience. In other cases, their priority was affordability. In other cases, patients began going to great lengths to find the best doctors for high-end care regardless of geographic location. In other cases, patients wanted care as close as their phone. Around the country, hospitals and health systems have seen these environmental changes and adjusted their strategies, but for the most part only incrementally. The strategic focus remains centered on clinical quality delivered on campus, while convenience, access, value, affordability, efficiency, and many virtual innovations remain on the strategic periphery. Health system leaders need to ask themselves whether their long-time, traditional strategy is beginning to age out. And if so, what is the “Ford strategy” for America’s health systems? The questions asked and answered by Ford in the past five years are highly relevant to health system strategic planning at a time of changing demand, economic and clinical uncertainty, and rapid innovation. For example, as you view your organization in its entirety, what must be preserved from the existing structure and operations, and what operations, costs, and strategies must leave? And which competencies and capabilities must be woven into a going-forward structure? America’s hospitals and health systems have an extremely long history—in some cases, longer than Ford’s. With that history comes a natural tendency to stick with deeply entrenched strategies. Now is the time for health systems to ask themselves, what is our Ford F150? And how do we “electrify” our strategic plan going forward? Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Josh Linkner
Do you prefer the crispy mozzarella, tempura watercress, and black garlic mayonnaise cheeseburger or the pumpkin mustard, bacon, cranberries, and sage hot dog? For something sweet, would you rather try the black sesame milkshake, the pancake and bacon frozen custard, or stick with a cold brew float? What sounds like a scene from the Culinary Institute of Paris is actually playing out at the Shake Shack over on Varick Street in Greenwich Village, Manhattan. These strange dishes are not on the burger chain’s permanent menu. Instead, they emerge from the Shake Shack Innovation Kitchen located in the basement directly underneath the bustling restaurant. Opened in 2018, the underground kitchen is a culinary playground, equipped with a cornucopia of high-tech gear, unusual ingredients, and the ethos of creative experimentation. The Innovation Kitchen is the brainchild of Shake Shack’s culinary director, Mark Rosati. He explains, “One of the biggest things any company has to think about as it grows is how to stay nimble and able to push boundaries. We ask ourselves, if we started Shake Shack today, what would we do differently?” In fact, the company looks nothing like it did when it got its start. In 2001, high-end restaurateur Danny Meyer launched a hot dog stand in Madison Square Park, adjacent to one of his swanky upscale restaurants. It was fun for him to offer his signature culinary playfulness at a lower cost and faster speed compared to his far pricier dining options at the Gramercy Tavern, Union Square Cafe, or Maialino Mare. As the hot dog stand grew in popularity, Danny added burgers and crinkle-cut fries to the menu, eventually changing the name to Shake Shack in 2004. A long way from its humble roots, the burger chain has expanded to more than 250 locations around the world, enjoys more than $600 million of annual revenue, and boasts a market value of more than $3 billion. The company’s per-store sales are more than double that of an average McDonald’s location, and its growth rate is giving Ronald McDonald some serious heartburn. Despite their runaway success, the Shake Shack team works hard to maintain the creativity of a startup. At corporate headquarters, a prominent sign hangs on the wall reinforcing their entrepreneurial roots: “The bigger you get, the smaller you have to act.” To drive the principles of creative exploration, Shake Shack’s wild success comes directly from a core principle of everyday innovators: open a test kitchen. From regional restaurants to global conglomerates, food industry leaders rely on test kitchens to drive innovation. The industry’s equivalent of a scientific laboratory, they’re designed to provide a safe, well-equipped environment for inventive thinking. Recognizing it would be impossible to dream up a complex new dish during the Saturday evening dinner rush, test kitchens provide the time and resources required to invent a delicious future. From unrestricted ideation sessions to rigorous testing and measurement protocols, test kitchens drive growth while reducing risk. With a live restaurant only a flight of stairs away, the five-person crew at Shake Shack’s test kitchen has access to immediate feedback from real customers. This allows the team to cook up wild ideas, test them quickly, and then have customers play a crucial role in the invention process. “There are risks when you bring customers into the testing process,” Rosati explains, “but in the end, their feedback will always make the food better.” Inside the Innovation Kitchen, the chefs are cooking up a wide array of Big Little Breakthroughs. In addition to running experiments on new menu items, the team also spends time innovating on process improvements, training upgrades, and customer experience enhancements. How will customers respond to a digital self-serve ordering kiosk? What would happen if we used 4 percent more seasoning during the burger prep stage? How could we shave just five seconds off the cooking process? Ideate, experiment, refine. Rinse and repeat. Shake Shack’s remarkable success is directly tied to their experimentation mindset. Whether they’re exploring something really odd, like the time they created a hot dog poached in sparkling wine and topped it with caviar, crème fraîche, and crumbled potato chips, or they’re investigating a more efficient way to clean the countertops at the end of a shift, the company’s test kitchen approach has helped them become one of the most beloved restaurant chains in the world. Luckily, you don’t need to be in the food business to open a test kitchen. Lawyers conduct mock trials to test out their arguments in a safe environment before making their case to a live jury. Surgeons now hone their skills using augmented reality goggles as they practice experimental procedures on robotic patients. Car companies prefer to bang up test dummies rather than real customers, while life insurance sales professionals conduct simulated presentations so they can optimize their approach before stepping in front of paying customers. Your test kitchen may be a designated physical space like Shake Shack’s Innovation Kitchen, or it could be a metaphorical one that lives only in the hearts and minds of your team. The common thread is a safe, well-equipped environment where you can invent, test, and refine. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By John O'Leary. This was originally posted on JohnOLearyInspires.com. When John O'Leary was 9 years old, he suffered burns over 100% of his body and was expected to die. He is now an inspirational speaker and bestselling author, teaching more than 50,000 people around the world each year how to live inspired. John's first book, ON FIRE: The 7 Choices to Ignite a Radically Inspired Life was published March 15, 2016. John is a contributing writer for Huff Post and Parade.com. John is a proud husband and father of four and resides in St. Louis, MO. Order John’s book today anywhere books are sold.
Remember those masks we used to wear on Halloween? No, not the modern masks my children grew up wearing. I’m referring to the old-school, far cheaper, far more dangerous ones; the ones that scratched our faces with dangerously jagged edges, had eye cutouts that never actually matched our eyes, and had a rubber band so cheaply fastened to the mask that after just three houses, the band would break and we’d spend the rest of the night holding a bag of candy in one hand and our mask in the other. Remember THOSE masks? This time of year, masks are mainstream for adults and kids alike. Halloween gives us an excuse to lean into childlike playfulness, get dressed up for a night and be someone radically different than we typically are. I love Halloween. And I love getting dressed up for it. (For proof of that, check out the photo of Beth and I at a Halloween party last year!) But for many of us, masking our true selves isn’t reserved for once a year. For many, it’s Halloween all the time. We wear masks in seeking approval from others. We may mold our words, our opinions and even our appearance to fit whatever room we’re in. And in trying to fit in, we may go along with things we disagree with and pretend to be who we’re not. In hoping to be somehow more worthy of being accepted, we cake on makeup less to amplify our natural beauty and more to hide perceived imperfections. In pursing success, we stay so busy and run so fast so we can avoid letting others see our shortcomings, our weaknesses, our scars. We strive not to become the best version of ourselves, but to become worthy in the eyes and opinions of others. And yet in the end, we still feel too fat or skinny, too old or young, too accomplished or marginalized, too unconnected or broken. Someone else always has a better house, better family, better job, better physique, better life. I spent decades wearing various masks, trying to measure up and fit in. Always joking, always partying, always busy, and finding myself too frequently feigning confidence, quietly struggling, and often longing for something more. And in that time, I found that joking often masks pain. Anger masks fear. Addiction masks longing. Arrogance masks insecurities. Busyness masks meaninglessness. Removing the mask of inauthenticity, however, liberates us to fully embrace who we are, whose we are, why we’re here, and what matters most. So rather than losing the comparison game by attempting to measure up to someone else, consider a far better comparison. Compare yourself each day with who you are, who you were, and who you could become. Tonight, we have a wonderful excuse to get dressed up, act like a kid, give out candy, sit around firepits, visit with friends, have a couple beers and toast life. Tonight, the streets will be packed with kids wearing costumes, gleefully filling buckets with candy, racing through neighborhoods. But as the last visitor departs, the firepit is extinguished, and the candy is sorted, let’s agree to put away the masks along with the rest of the costumes until next year. And then starting tomorrow, let’s strive each day to become the best, most authentic version of yourself. Today is your day. Live inspired. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! |
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