Dan Heath

And number two, despite the presence of those obstacles, we've got to try because that's the only recipe for permanently improving systems in our lives and our work and in our communities.

And number two, despite the presence of those obstacles, we've got to try because that's the only recipe for permanently improving systems in our lives and our work and in our communities.

No question. Yeah. In fact, everywhere you look, there's the evidence of people before us that have had the foresight and the patience to do this for us. You think about the rate of car accidents and fatalities has declined from Oh, boy. I better make sure I'm getting my denominator right. My memory is that, say, 50 years ago, it was about five deaths per 100 million miles traveled.

No question. Yeah. In fact, everywhere you look, there's the evidence of people before us that have had the foresight and the patience to do this for us. You think about the rate of car accidents and fatalities has declined from Oh, boy. I better make sure I'm getting my denominator right. My memory is that, say, 50 years ago, it was about five deaths per 100 million miles traveled.

No question. Yeah. In fact, everywhere you look, there's the evidence of people before us that have had the foresight and the patience to do this for us. You think about the rate of car accidents and fatalities has declined from Oh, boy. I better make sure I'm getting my denominator right. My memory is that, say, 50 years ago, it was about five deaths per 100 million miles traveled.

And today, it's down to one. There's been an 80% reduction in fatalities. And you ask, how is that so? I mean, are we all just naturally better drivers today? And the answer is no. I don't think driving ability has improved a lick. It's all about the systems that have been designed to try to forestall those problems. It's about safer roads. It's about better lighting.

And today, it's down to one. There's been an 80% reduction in fatalities. And you ask, how is that so? I mean, are we all just naturally better drivers today? And the answer is no. I don't think driving ability has improved a lick. It's all about the systems that have been designed to try to forestall those problems. It's about safer roads. It's about better lighting.

And today, it's down to one. There's been an 80% reduction in fatalities. And you ask, how is that so? I mean, are we all just naturally better drivers today? And the answer is no. I don't think driving ability has improved a lick. It's all about the systems that have been designed to try to forestall those problems. It's about safer roads. It's about better lighting.

It's about better brake systems. It's about seat belts and airbags. It's about mothers against drunk driving, reducing the incidence of drunk driving on the roads. And we're talking about thousands of people over decades who are all committed to this idea of what if we put our hands together? What if we put our resources toward preventing bad things from happening?

It's about better brake systems. It's about seat belts and airbags. It's about mothers against drunk driving, reducing the incidence of drunk driving on the roads. And we're talking about thousands of people over decades who are all committed to this idea of what if we put our hands together? What if we put our resources toward preventing bad things from happening?

It's about better brake systems. It's about seat belts and airbags. It's about mothers against drunk driving, reducing the incidence of drunk driving on the roads. And we're talking about thousands of people over decades who are all committed to this idea of what if we put our hands together? What if we put our resources toward preventing bad things from happening?

And like the police officer in that story, those people will never know who they helped. They won't know who those thousands of people are whose lives were saved because of their work, but we can see in the data that it happened. And that's the power of upstream thinking.

And like the police officer in that story, those people will never know who they helped. They won't know who those thousands of people are whose lives were saved because of their work, but we can see in the data that it happened. And that's the power of upstream thinking.

And like the police officer in that story, those people will never know who they helped. They won't know who those thousands of people are whose lives were saved because of their work, but we can see in the data that it happened. And that's the power of upstream thinking.

Yeah, it's a fair question. I think the advantage of upstream thinking is it works really on any level. You can think about it at the national level, like with the healthcare example, but you can think about it in your own life. And I'll give you the most trivial example possible from my own life. So I am, you know, as you know, I'm a writer and I tend to write in coffee shops.

Yeah, it's a fair question. I think the advantage of upstream thinking is it works really on any level. You can think about it at the national level, like with the healthcare example, but you can think about it in your own life. And I'll give you the most trivial example possible from my own life. So I am, you know, as you know, I'm a writer and I tend to write in coffee shops.

Yeah, it's a fair question. I think the advantage of upstream thinking is it works really on any level. You can think about it at the national level, like with the healthcare example, but you can think about it in your own life. And I'll give you the most trivial example possible from my own life. So I am, you know, as you know, I'm a writer and I tend to write in coffee shops.

I don't know why that works for me, some busy, loud coffee shop, but it does. And so I'm used to shuttling my laptop around. Like I'll go to the coffee shop and write for a while, then I'll come back to my office. And so I'm constantly packing my laptop, unpacking it. I bring a power cord and I plug it in at the coffee shop, pack it back up, bring it back to my office, plug it in there.

I don't know why that works for me, some busy, loud coffee shop, but it does. And so I'm used to shuttling my laptop around. Like I'll go to the coffee shop and write for a while, then I'll come back to my office. And so I'm constantly packing my laptop, unpacking it. I bring a power cord and I plug it in at the coffee shop, pack it back up, bring it back to my office, plug it in there.

I don't know why that works for me, some busy, loud coffee shop, but it does. And so I'm used to shuttling my laptop around. Like I'll go to the coffee shop and write for a while, then I'll come back to my office. And so I'm constantly packing my laptop, unpacking it. I bring a power cord and I plug it in at the coffee shop, pack it back up, bring it back to my office, plug it in there.