Top 10 Takeaways from #SXSW2014: Part Two

As promised, here are the remaining five of my Top 10 from this year’s SXSW marathon! If you haven’t been, I think it’s still worth going but the meeting itself is changing as  this year SXSW seemed to play host to a much larger big business presence than just past years. Innovation is contagious, and I believe those who jump in overcome common objections rooted in fear fairly quickly.

As promised, here are the remaining five of my Top 10 from this year’s SXSW marathon! If you haven’t been, I think it’s still worth going but the meeting itself is changing as  this year SXSW seemed to play host to a much larger big business presence than just past years. Innovation is contagious, and I believe those who jump in overcome common objections rooted in fear fairly quickly. “I’m not creative,” “Where’s the research?” and “I’m too old for change,” many be voiced silently or outwardly by leaders–in healthcare and elsewhere when it comes to the change associated with trying new approaches to common practice, but the fact that so many large organizations, from Blue Cross/Blue Shield to Deloitte & Touche, had a presence leads me to believe those fears are being overcome by opportunity realized.

1. Share ideas-In Show Your Work, repeat speaker and tribe leader, Austin Kleon (author Steal Like An Artist ) shared the value in making your work public early, in a non-promotional way, and how that leads to being noticed. Sharing what you’ve discovered or what you’ve created allows for others to comment and build upon your work too, moving ideas forward faster. In healthcare, this idea remains a challenge, as Steal Like An Artist takes on a whole new meaning. But crowdsourcing for change has proven to work wonders in many industries, including healthcare–think FoldIt-a computer game enabling anyone to contribute to scientific research. Why not give it a try?
2. Identify Pain Points-For software developers and more, this apparently is a common refrain. But this year at SXSW, I heard the phrase used more than ever before. In healthcare, we may know what our pain points are, but do we have a working strategy and action plan in place to actually move beyond them? Do you really know what your pain points are, and do you have a strategy in place to mitigate or move beyond?
3. 3D Printing-3D Printers were everywhere in Austin this year. Last year, I saw only one exhibit throughout the meeting with a 3D printer in action. This year even Deloitte & Touche had a 3D printer putting out chachka for those who stopped by to visit. With Grey’s Anatomy using a 3D printer to save an infant, healthcare will undoubtedly see the maker movement invade our space.
4. Anyone Can Create A Start Up-This follows the next takeaway: Do What You Love! While many of the keynote speakers made it sound easy to achieve their level of success, I’ve come to see that what these folks have in common is courage, passion, resilience and an unwillingness to settle for anything less than what they want. The cost of starting almost any online business is within reach of almost anyone, removing one of the greatest barriers to taking that first step. What do you have to lose?
5. Do What You Love-This should be number one on the list. If you’re not doing what you love, change things today. Life is short!