Filipe Carreira
We all experience it... the difficulty of change. I've been championing change for most of my career as a project manager, head of technology operations for a media company, and now VP of Operations at Voicebrook. I have a real passion for what technology can do for us, and I'm blessed to be living through such an amazing time of technology innovation. Just think about what the smart phone has done for our lives and how much untapped potential is still out there. My only hope is that I'm able to experience what is still on the horizon in terms of major advancements (mainstream self-driving cars, no traffic...ever). Let me stop there or this blog will go on forever... :)
I've had my struggles with accepting change, especially when I'm so used to the way something works, and as the saying goes... if it ain't broken don't fix it. In my experience, I've noticed that any time I resist change, it's not because I don't see the value or benefits, but instead it's because I'm so busy and keep thinking, "I'll just delay it for a while until I'm ready, until I have the time to focus on understanding the change and its impact."
The problem, as we all know, is that you'll never be ready because you'll always be busy! The biggest problem with kicking the "change" can down the road is an important one to understand. Typically there are benefits to the change, like with VoiceOver, there are very specific benefits that our clients can take advantage of, like improving TAT, empowering Pathologists, and giving them the control they need to provide the best service possible. The challenge is that sometimes these changes are at a macro scale, and individuals are looking at themselves and asking... "What's in it for me?!?" Macro vs. micro benefits, this is for another day... another blog...
The critical thing that many do not realize is that when we embrace change, and take advantage of it, we'll discover something great... (1) we realize the benefits of the change (efficiency, TAT, quality), but most importantly (2) we start to think differently and begin to realize what else is missing and/or possible. This is so important, because we don't know what we don't know, until we know, but when we embrace change the opportunity of additional improvements that can lead to additional benefits, begin to identify themselves right away. The discoveries will then lead to additional changes, which will lead to more benefits, which lead to more
Now, not every change is a walk in the park, but ultimately each step forward helps us learn and evolve in a way that will make the next change that much more effective.
So for anyone thinking... "When I get some time I'll look into a specific technology or automating my systems or workflow", I say "Stop thinking and just do it!" There's a tremendous amount of opportunity waiting to be discovered by you and your teams, and unless you move forward you are falling behind. That said, it's important to manage change well, and not allow a high level of risk to introduce itself when making change. This is where the help of a team of experts with a proven experience and process can benefit you. I will touch on this in my next blog, but for now, take a look at Ross Weinstein's blog, "Why Laboratories Need to Invest In Automation Solutions Today".
To see firsthand what Voicebrook can do to improve processes in your laboratory, please take advantage of our free demo offer.
