This post is part of NACHC’s monthly Innovation Blog Series hosted by NACHC’s Center for Community Health Innovation (CCHI).
As the new year starts, we are pushed to create resolutions that will make our lives different, better. But sometimes we forget that who we are is enough. That same mentality can be translated into our organizations, especially as it relates to innovation. When it comes to innovation, I often hear “we are too busy,” “we are too small,” “we are too much of something to innovate.” But what you are too much of may be exactly the secret ingredient to change hundreds or even thousands of lives.
I am a firm believer that your health center, PCA, HCCN already has all the ingredients needed to be innovative. Why? Because the secret ingredient of the Community Health Center Movement are the people behind it! In the book, “The Innovator’s DNA,” by Jeff Dyer, he identifies five skills of disruptive innovators:
- Questioning. Asking questions to understand how things work, why they work, how they can be changed or improved.
- Observing. It goes beyond simply looking, but really seeing the world around them.
- Networking. This goes beyond talking to people, but it really refers to looking for others to actively search for new ideas and insights.
- Experimenting. Trying new things, these can be big or small. It can be part of a PDSA cycle or taking a different approach or new mindset to a task.
- Associating. This refers to associating thinking, it simply means taking everything, synthesizing it to make new ideas.
So, knowing that the Innovator’s DNA is already part of your staff, which innovation resolutions will your organization have to take advantage of the things you might be “too much of?”
Need some inspiration? Below are some resolutions from NACHC’S CCHI staff and some of our Innovation Advisory Council members.
Now it is your turn! Use the comments field below to share your innovation resolution for 2023 with us.