Dan Heath

And as part of that checkout process, they have to remove the security anklet from the baby's leg. And unfortunately, they couldn't find it. It had fallen off somewhere. So they do this frantic search, and it turns up in the bassinet. And then Anita Tucker says three hours later the exact same thing happens with a different mother. The anklet's missing again.

They do another frantic search, and this time they can't find it at all. So the nurse goes to the boss. They figure out an alternate checkout process, and the mothers are dismissed. And so this is what it's like to be a nurse. You're running around. You're trying to figure out novel solutions to problems. You're being resourceful. You don't have to run for help every time something goes wrong.

They do another frantic search, and this time they can't find it at all. So the nurse goes to the boss. They figure out an alternate checkout process, and the mothers are dismissed. And so this is what it's like to be a nurse. You're running around. You're trying to figure out novel solutions to problems. You're being resourceful. You don't have to run for help every time something goes wrong.

They do another frantic search, and this time they can't find it at all. So the nurse goes to the boss. They figure out an alternate checkout process, and the mothers are dismissed. And so this is what it's like to be a nurse. You're running around. You're trying to figure out novel solutions to problems. You're being resourceful. You don't have to run for help every time something goes wrong.

You can handle it. And it's kind of an admirable portrait when I say it that way. But if you look at this from another perspective, what you realize, it's something that's a bit shocking, which is the system I'm describing here is one that will never improve. It's one that will never get better. Because what these nurses have learned to do is work around problems.

You can handle it. And it's kind of an admirable portrait when I say it that way. But if you look at this from another perspective, what you realize, it's something that's a bit shocking, which is the system I'm describing here is one that will never improve. It's one that will never get better. Because what these nurses have learned to do is work around problems.

You can handle it. And it's kind of an admirable portrait when I say it that way. But if you look at this from another perspective, what you realize, it's something that's a bit shocking, which is the system I'm describing here is one that will never improve. It's one that will never get better. Because what these nurses have learned to do is work around problems.

But they're never going upstream to solve them at the system's level. And back to this word tunneling, that's essentially what tunneling is. And to be clear, like the point of this story is not to throw stones at nurses, quite the opposite.

But they're never going upstream to solve them at the system's level. And back to this word tunneling, that's essentially what tunneling is. And to be clear, like the point of this story is not to throw stones at nurses, quite the opposite.

But they're never going upstream to solve them at the system's level. And back to this word tunneling, that's essentially what tunneling is. And to be clear, like the point of this story is not to throw stones at nurses, quite the opposite.

My point here is that I think all of us are tunneling in our own professions in the same way that when we're juggling too many things, too many issues, too many problems, we kind of abandon the idea that we might strategically prioritize them. And we just kind of get in the tunnel. If you can picture that in your mind, just being in a tunnel, there's only one direction, there's four words.

My point here is that I think all of us are tunneling in our own professions in the same way that when we're juggling too many things, too many issues, too many problems, we kind of abandon the idea that we might strategically prioritize them. And we just kind of get in the tunnel. If you can picture that in your mind, just being in a tunnel, there's only one direction, there's four words.

My point here is that I think all of us are tunneling in our own professions in the same way that when we're juggling too many things, too many issues, too many problems, we kind of abandon the idea that we might strategically prioritize them. And we just kind of get in the tunnel. If you can picture that in your mind, just being in a tunnel, there's only one direction, there's four words.

You hit an obstacle, you try to get it behind you as quickly as you can so you can keep making progress. And the great trap of being in the tunnel is that it's self-perpetuating. You know, what those nurses did is they solved their problems in the moment. You know, they got the mother dismissed. They got a fresh set of towels.

You hit an obstacle, you try to get it behind you as quickly as you can so you can keep making progress. And the great trap of being in the tunnel is that it's self-perpetuating. You know, what those nurses did is they solved their problems in the moment. You know, they got the mother dismissed. They got a fresh set of towels.

You hit an obstacle, you try to get it behind you as quickly as you can so you can keep making progress. And the great trap of being in the tunnel is that it's self-perpetuating. You know, what those nurses did is they solved their problems in the moment. You know, they got the mother dismissed. They got a fresh set of towels.

But they also doomed themselves to solving exactly the same kind of problems the next week and the next month. And so I think this is what we have to overcome, this kind of universal force of tunneling, if we're going to get serious about solving problems.

But they also doomed themselves to solving exactly the same kind of problems the next week and the next month. And so I think this is what we have to overcome, this kind of universal force of tunneling, if we're going to get serious about solving problems.

But they also doomed themselves to solving exactly the same kind of problems the next week and the next month. And so I think this is what we have to overcome, this kind of universal force of tunneling, if we're going to get serious about solving problems.

Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. That often what we find is when we start trying to get to the root cause of a problem, it gets really confusing. It gets very complex. I mean, there's a comfort in rescue because it's very tangible. You see the kid thrashing in the river. You can pull them out. You feel good. You get glory from your friends because you rescued a kid.