Marc Koska invented something to make an impact on the rapid spread of HIV and AIDS through re-used syringes:
'My motivation was half humanitarian and half wanting to see whether I could do it. I never set my sights on a Ferrari and I never wanted to be Joan of Arc; it was somewhere between the two.'
He read an article in 1984 about the problem and spent 27 years trying to invent and bring to market a device that could change the growing loss of life in the developing world. Marc devised a single use syringe.
Here's a man with A levels, who spent part of his time as a beach bum and then took casual jobs to keep himself going. The process was tough and there's little margin in selling syringes, so it was difficult to market the product initially.
'I think our product has won out because we didn’t set out to design the best syringe in the world – I designed it to be adequate and very easy to manufacture.'
Marc decided on 3 design pillars for the new syringe:
1 Make it on existing machines (with the same plastic)
2 Sell it for the same low price
3 Ensure it's used in the same way as existing syringes
His TED lecture includes examples of children recycling and selling old syringes or playing with syrings with traces of blood in them:
Who inspires Marc to keep going?
'I could have given up a number of times. I was offered quite a lot of money for the project before we even sold any, and I said "no" because it was likely to be killed at that point. The only person is the one that you look at in the mirror.'
This story highlights 2 distinct issues in developing innovations.
1 How to devise, manufacture and sell something the market needs and can use at a price consumers are willing to pay
2 How to ensure that the product or service is adopted, so that it becomes ubiquitous
Marc is aware that safe syringes will only be used when consumers demand them as standard. This is difficult in developing countries, where patients may not challenge doctors, who have high status. He noticed that his syringes were being used in one part of a Ugandan hospital, but conventional syringes were re-used in another part.
He founded SafePoint Trust to spread information to consumers about basic healthcare problems and to encourage the adoption of single use syringes everywhere.
In 2008 'After the gruelling five-day media blitz in the country in November, Mr Koska said he was able to return for a meeting with Indian health minister Dr Anbumani Ramadoss in December and leave with the guarantee autodisable syringes would be used in all public hospitals and clinics starting in April this year.'
There is no let up. The fight for basic healthcare in developing countries is tough and takes great persistence.
"When the minister said 'yes' I went outside and cried for five minutes."
Showing posts with label national culture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label national culture. Show all posts
Wednesday, 30 March 2011
Thursday, 24 March 2011
Climbing Everest in one bound
Edgar Schein has some wise counsel for young managers attempting to make rapid changes to the culture of their organisation:
'People often talk about changing their corporate culture and building a “new culture” within their organization but can you imagine trying to change the culture of the United States or France? Whether your organization’s history is long and stable or short and intense, its culture is complex and deeply ingrained in its people and operations. In order to successfully effect change, corporate culture must be taken seriously. Examining it at all levels uncovers the assumptions that determine the organization’s goals, strategies, and means of action. This knowledge is the stepping stone to promoting change within your organization.'
Dr Fons Trompenaars helps clarify culture in vivid terms:
He then contrasts this with corporate culture and provides some tools to help us analyse our own organisation:
Ricardo Semler took over the family firm, Semco, in Brazil fired with enthusiasm for a range of management fads. After a heart attack and major setbacks he began to find a different way by harnessing the enthusiasm and ability of his staff. This recognised the diversity and self organising capability of teams. The risks were outweighed by the benefits of an explosion of energy, inventiveness and flexibility. The change took a long time and involved a number of wrong turnings and setbacks:
Not everyone has the appetite for such a fundamental change.
'People often talk about changing their corporate culture and building a “new culture” within their organization but can you imagine trying to change the culture of the United States or France? Whether your organization’s history is long and stable or short and intense, its culture is complex and deeply ingrained in its people and operations. In order to successfully effect change, corporate culture must be taken seriously. Examining it at all levels uncovers the assumptions that determine the organization’s goals, strategies, and means of action. This knowledge is the stepping stone to promoting change within your organization.'
Dr Fons Trompenaars helps clarify culture in vivid terms:
He then contrasts this with corporate culture and provides some tools to help us analyse our own organisation:
Ricardo Semler took over the family firm, Semco, in Brazil fired with enthusiasm for a range of management fads. After a heart attack and major setbacks he began to find a different way by harnessing the enthusiasm and ability of his staff. This recognised the diversity and self organising capability of teams. The risks were outweighed by the benefits of an explosion of energy, inventiveness and flexibility. The change took a long time and involved a number of wrong turnings and setbacks:
Not everyone has the appetite for such a fundamental change.
Monday, 21 March 2011
Health Messenger
An article by Elizabeth Day caught my eye as it describes a practical example of innovation adapted to local culture and conditions, empowering people with lowest status and resources.
Dr Abhay Bang and his wife, Rani, have worked for 26 years training local volunteers in Gadchiroli, a deprived district of Maharashtra, India. The idea was to treat simple health problems at home. The volunteers are called arogyadoots or Health Messengers.
Results are impressive: newborn death rate has fallen from 121 to 30 per 1,000 live births. In 1988 the death rate among children who developed pneumonia was 13%, now it has fallen to 0.8%.
The mission of their charity, Search (Society for Education, Action and Research in Community Health) was to listen to the people and find out what kind of healthcare they wanted.
'"We are very MUCH part of the community," says Dr Bang, ...."I really can't say where the line of separation is between them and me. It is research with the people, not on the people."
Cultural differences derailed efforts by NGOs to impose western models of healthcare on rural India:
'"The villagers said they were scared to go to hospital," he says. "When we asked why, they told us something fascinating. They said: 'Your doctors and nurses drape themselves in white clothes. We wrap dead bodies in white shawls. How can you save lives if you are dressed like a dead person?' They said: 'When they admit a patient, we can only visit between 3pm and 6pm and we don't have wristwatches. We don't have anywhere to stay in town, so we go back to the village. The patient doesn't want to stay on their own."'
Dr Bang ran People's Health Assemblies to consult people on their most pressing issues in healthcare and heard about the high rate of death amongst newborn babies. Local women were then trained in low tech ways of managing neonatal care and went where they were needed using portable health packs. The Health Messengers passed on their knowledge and whole communities became empowered - from consultation, codetermination to control.
He also constructed a hospital that resembled a local village so that patients could stay with their relatives. This shifted a sense of ownership to the local community.
The innovations were driven by local demands (market pull) and the increasing availability of portable tools intended for outreach care (technology push).
Dr Bang was motivated to help by the story of a young woman who arrived too late for doctors to save her baby. She related the practical challenges she faced in coping with isolation, a drunken husband and travelling to the hospital. Rather than feel overwhelmed and give up because of the enormous size of the problem, Dr Bang reflected from a systems thinking perspective:
"But then I looked at the whole situation and asked myself: 'Do I really need to solve all the problems, all the links in the chain of this cause of death?' I started to think: 'Where is the weakest link I can attack?' and that was access to healthcare." He falls silent for a moment. "It was practical compassion, not a flash of genius."
Dr Bang and his wife also campaigned successfully for a ban on alchohol in Gadchiroli district to reduce some of the problems contributing to low income, fractured families and poor health.
Dr Abhay Bang and his wife, Rani, have worked for 26 years training local volunteers in Gadchiroli, a deprived district of Maharashtra, India. The idea was to treat simple health problems at home. The volunteers are called arogyadoots or Health Messengers.
Results are impressive: newborn death rate has fallen from 121 to 30 per 1,000 live births. In 1988 the death rate among children who developed pneumonia was 13%, now it has fallen to 0.8%.
The mission of their charity, Search (Society for Education, Action and Research in Community Health) was to listen to the people and find out what kind of healthcare they wanted.
'"We are very MUCH part of the community," says Dr Bang, ...."I really can't say where the line of separation is between them and me. It is research with the people, not on the people."
Cultural differences derailed efforts by NGOs to impose western models of healthcare on rural India:
'"The villagers said they were scared to go to hospital," he says. "When we asked why, they told us something fascinating. They said: 'Your doctors and nurses drape themselves in white clothes. We wrap dead bodies in white shawls. How can you save lives if you are dressed like a dead person?' They said: 'When they admit a patient, we can only visit between 3pm and 6pm and we don't have wristwatches. We don't have anywhere to stay in town, so we go back to the village. The patient doesn't want to stay on their own."'
Dr Bang ran People's Health Assemblies to consult people on their most pressing issues in healthcare and heard about the high rate of death amongst newborn babies. Local women were then trained in low tech ways of managing neonatal care and went where they were needed using portable health packs. The Health Messengers passed on their knowledge and whole communities became empowered - from consultation, codetermination to control.
He also constructed a hospital that resembled a local village so that patients could stay with their relatives. This shifted a sense of ownership to the local community.
The innovations were driven by local demands (market pull) and the increasing availability of portable tools intended for outreach care (technology push).
Dr Bang was motivated to help by the story of a young woman who arrived too late for doctors to save her baby. She related the practical challenges she faced in coping with isolation, a drunken husband and travelling to the hospital. Rather than feel overwhelmed and give up because of the enormous size of the problem, Dr Bang reflected from a systems thinking perspective:
"But then I looked at the whole situation and asked myself: 'Do I really need to solve all the problems, all the links in the chain of this cause of death?' I started to think: 'Where is the weakest link I can attack?' and that was access to healthcare." He falls silent for a moment. "It was practical compassion, not a flash of genius."
Dr Bang and his wife also campaigned successfully for a ban on alchohol in Gadchiroli district to reduce some of the problems contributing to low income, fractured families and poor health.
Saturday, 26 February 2011
World domination
Transnational organisations are commonplace. Many top brands have a global presence.
How do they cope with the variety of custom and practice in all of the different countries in which they operate?
Some American companies have had a tendency to attempt the Genghis Khan model of expansion. By this I mean that they tended to believe that Truth, Justice and the American Way are best and easily transplanted to every country of the world.
I've worked with American companies that started to stray from that model when the CEO was recruited from another English speaking country and not the United States. A relaxation of viewpoint gradually led to a dawning realisation that indigenous leaders might do better running the business in each country.
What followed was a tussle between aspects of the business that needed to be consistent across the world and those that could be adapted to fit the customs and culture of the local environment. Some found that management information systems could be homogenised and that some product development, brand management, marketing and sales needed to be adapted to the local market.
Why set yourself up for a fight that you will surely lose? Think about what you need to unify and run an efficient business and where boundaries can be relaxed for greater effectiveness.
This is one of my favourite examples of innovation in altruism led by Dr Sugata Mitra. I heard Hole-in-the-wall discussed on Radio 4 in the UK and a senior manager of Microsoft insisting that the only way to spread education to rural areas of India was to build schools and recruit more teachers.
I prefer to defer to local knowledge of IT specialists and educationalists in India.
Dr Mitra concludes with 4 points:
- Remoteness affects the quality of education
- Education technology should be introduced into remote areas first
- Values are acquired: doctrine & dogma are imposed
- Learning is a self-organising system
He proposes that education should develop its own technology specs to tackle remoteness, values and violence.
He calls his system: Outdoctrination.
How do they cope with the variety of custom and practice in all of the different countries in which they operate?
Some American companies have had a tendency to attempt the Genghis Khan model of expansion. By this I mean that they tended to believe that Truth, Justice and the American Way are best and easily transplanted to every country of the world.
I've worked with American companies that started to stray from that model when the CEO was recruited from another English speaking country and not the United States. A relaxation of viewpoint gradually led to a dawning realisation that indigenous leaders might do better running the business in each country.
What followed was a tussle between aspects of the business that needed to be consistent across the world and those that could be adapted to fit the customs and culture of the local environment. Some found that management information systems could be homogenised and that some product development, brand management, marketing and sales needed to be adapted to the local market.
Why set yourself up for a fight that you will surely lose? Think about what you need to unify and run an efficient business and where boundaries can be relaxed for greater effectiveness.
This is one of my favourite examples of innovation in altruism led by Dr Sugata Mitra. I heard Hole-in-the-wall discussed on Radio 4 in the UK and a senior manager of Microsoft insisting that the only way to spread education to rural areas of India was to build schools and recruit more teachers.
I prefer to defer to local knowledge of IT specialists and educationalists in India.
Dr Mitra concludes with 4 points:
- Remoteness affects the quality of education
- Education technology should be introduced into remote areas first
- Values are acquired: doctrine & dogma are imposed
- Learning is a self-organising system
He proposes that education should develop its own technology specs to tackle remoteness, values and violence.
He calls his system: Outdoctrination.
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