Act with Purpose and Deliver Things

A few years ago, a friend of mine was preparing for a meeting with some big cheese at her place of work. It was a rather slow-moving institution, so I suggested that she throw the word ‘pace’ into conversation a few times and see what happens. Apparently, it went down a storm, as though it had ignited some long-forgotten passion for action and progress.

Controlled purpose and pace - just release the brakes

At the time, I was working in an industry that actively promoted the idea of getting stuff done and asking questions later. “Better to ask for forgiveness than permission” was acceptable. We had deadlines for everything – and missing them was unthinkable. Sure, quality suffered at times and we spent far too long fighting fires, but the pace and urgency were energising when things were going well.

I mention these extreme examples because I think that the IVD industry has an issue with pace.

It’s not a fault of any or individual, organisation or company, but there’s a general acceptance that things move slowly and it has now become a debilitating norm. It’s not an industry that needs to move with reckless speed because delivering products of genuine quality requires, planning, focus and care. However, where the technology to improve health outcomes exists – there should be a strong sense of purpose that drives an equally strong sense of urgency.

Instead, we have become used to waiting. Policy makers, investors, regulators, suppliers – seemingly everyone – is waiting, for information, decisions, money, materials. The cost of delays being hard-wired into the system is incalculable and the frustration is that as an industry we’re all in a position to start delivering now.

I’m a big advocate of respect and good manners, but patience is intolerable when the benefits of action are literally life changing. I’d happily upset a sensitive soul if it meant that thousands of people’s lives were saved by the early detection of a critical condition.

I don’t think that change requires a system overhaul. Everything is in place. I’m rarely accused of optimism, but from my observations, if more people demanded a step-up in pace, the momentum that it would create would sustain long-term progress. No one is encouraging that we move fast and break things, but we could all use a bit of act with purpose and deliver things.

I hope this is fuel for action and not just food for thought.

Feedback welcome.

Richard

 Photo by sayan Nath on Unsplash