Better Systems Lead to Better Outcomes

We live or die by the systems we use.

Systems help us get to where we want to go.

The lack of systems equates to the lack of direction.

We need systems if we want to go anywhere meaningful in this life.

We depend on systems to help us succeed, and even if we have a lack of systems… this is still the system we are using, albeit a very poor system, but is still how we are choosing to live our life.

Better Systems = Better Results

It’s true and unmistakably demanding once you see it.

Everything is a system. Every system contains macro- and micro- systems.

Every system needs to integrate well with other systems we depend on in our lives.

Let’s take a look at a few examples.

Suppose you want to reduce your consumption of alcohol in the new year.

Okay, so how will you achieve this? What systems will you put in place to help you succeed?

If you get invited to a party and have no system in place, no forethought to prepare yourself for the event and the environment where your friends are drinking, your will power in the moment will crumble.

As humans, our will power is fickle and finite. Especially with something like alcohol, if we have a history of drinking with friends, it would be ridiculous for us to assume we could just not drink in the moment when a friend offers us a drink.

We need to have a system in place before we enter into that environment. With better systems, we have a better chance at reaching success for what we want to strive towards.

Some of this might sound like simple common sense, but I think many people still lack the systems necessary to reach their vocalized goals.

If someone wants to complete a half-marathon, what will they need to do ahead of time to make sure they succeed with that intentional goal?

Will they declare their hopes and dreams to finish the race and ignore the idea until race day comes? No. They will break down details of their training program week by week and day by day to ensure they have a better chance at success come race day.

Our systems make us or break us.

Without systems, without intentional discipline to design the systems for our success we will remain aimless, floating in our mind and spirit.

We lack structure in this space and can often struggle with anxiety and depression as a result.

We need structure to feel grounded.

We need values, ethics, morals, beliefs to thrive as human beings. These are internal systems that we rely on for the chance to live our lives with others. Likewise, we depend on certain systems to help us succeed at every level of our lives from birth to death.

• Wedding ceremony? System.
• Funeral? System.
• Bar Mitzvah? System.
• Need to get to school on time? System.
• Need to leave work on time? System.
• Need to make a quick and easy, healthy family dinner in under 60 minutes? System.
• Want to get stronger at the gym? You need a System.
• Want to run faster and farther than you did last year? You need a System.
• Want to get your email inbox down to zero? You need a System.
• Want to grow your business and make more money? You need a System.
• Want to break the chains of generational trauma in your family? You will need a System in order to accomplish that.

Even something like how we engage with social media requires safety systems in place to make sure we don’t get sucked in for too long. When we make the mental decision to open up social media without a system in place to tell us when to exit or how long we expect to stay engaged, we can quickly get lost in the click-bait as the algorithms feed us more and more… and more and more.

This is why many people today now have set boundaries around their social media use via time and frequency restrictions placed on their phone’s app settings. Some people even place roadblocks and several layers of obstacles in the way between them and actually opening their social media apps. These are all systems being used to help humans not only survive but thrive with the tools we have around us.

Similar to alcohol, if we don’t have systems in place we can easily overconsume. You can apply these principles across different coping mechanisms from food to drinks to drugs to social media and more.

Systems help us succeed.

Without systems, we are at a higher risk for unnecessary strife. When it comes to my work with healthcare innovation strategies, this systems-framework becomes overtly apparent at every microstep of both the patient and provider experience.

Let’s consider healthcare as another example.

Healthcare is rife with poor system design.

Physicians are now staring into computer screens 10 hours a day without much time spent with the patient themselves. Patients are blankly staring at the doctor staring at his or her computer telling details of their story that clearly have emotional weight they still carry with them, but the doctor has less of a chance to catch the subtle cues of engagement.

Physicians are burned out and overwhelmed.

Their educational paths commonly encourage them to depend on poor nutrition, poor sleep, poor work-life balance, poor stress-management, and poor hydration yet we wonder why the stats for burnout, depression, anxiety, and suicide are so high amongst this demographic.

Sometimes we can have great systems. Sometimes it seems like we lack proper systems. Other times, the systems in place are brutally broken and in serious need of repair or reform.

Many of the systems we currently use in healthcare are unequivocally broken and hurting the very humans we so desperately depend on and the humans we so desperately strive to serve along every step of this lengthy value chain.

Health and happiness are not sparked overnight. Life is a journey and we all deserve a little encouragement from time to time. Here’s my encouragement to you for you to continue striving to live your best life.

As you think about the year ahead, what kind of intentions are you placing in front of you? What goals or resolutions are you considering for the next stage of your life well lived and life lived well?

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