Matthew's Blog
Innovation, ikigai, and Mister Rogers
In a prior post "Physician: Know Thy ikigai? Then Know Thy Twitter" I discuss ikigai: The confluence of passion and ability with something the world needs and for which something the world will pay you for. Well, mix ikigai in a little innovation and what you may...
What Healthcare Can Learn From Hootsuite and Owly
Owly is the Hootsuite mascot; a simple piece of swag. But at the last social media conference I went to (Social Media Camp in Victoria BC, one of Canada's largest social media conferences), it actually appears to be a little more. You see, at the conference, when...
Going Out on an Innovation Date
In the book, The Artist's Way, one of the two criteria Julia Cameron suggests for releasing your creativity is "The Artist's Date". The Artist's Date is a date with yourself. It allows you to get out in the world and see things outside of your normal world to release...
What Healthcare Can Learn From Texas Instruments About Designing a Culture of Innovation
Over thirty years ago, as I was pursuing my Masters degree in Physics and before I went to medical school, I worked at Texas Instruments as an engineer. Texas Instrument ( fondly known as "TI"), - although best known at the time as the "calculator" company - was...
My New Definition of Innovation (Thanks MIT Sloan Executive Program!)
I recently completed two sister courses from the MIT Executive Program centered round innovation - The Innovator's DNA: Mastering Five Skills For Disruptive Innovation and Innovation Ecosystems: A New Approach to Accelerating Corporate Innovation and...
Digital Platforms and Jigsaw Puzzles
I just finished a great jigsaw puzzle with my wife, Alexa. The specific jigsaw puzzle which we completed is from a company called Wentworth, and it was designed and produced in England with these wonderful wooden pieces. The particular puzzle we completed was 250...
Why I Don’t Blog About Politics
I am fairly well read in political philosophy. I have a reasonably good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of democracy. I understand how classical philosophy underpins many elements of our democracy, and how the modern philosophers, such as Hobbes and...
Photography, Medicine, and The Power of Story
I recently completed a 6 week evening class devoted to Photography and Story. It was a fun, light class, mixing the technical skills of photography (exposure, speed, focal length, etc.) with the creative aspects of story, (perspective, mood, message, beginning, end,...
Social Media and Becoming A Digital Health Topologist
(Joke: What is a topologist? A: Someone who cannot distinguish between a doughnut and a coffee cup.) I have always had difficult explaining to people why, as a physician, I am interested in social media, Here’s why. People are becoming more and more entwined with...