LF08 | Triple Shot - Dec 28, 2022
LF08 | Triple Shot - Dec 28, 2022
Complex vs complicated, optimisation masterclass and McKinsey's framework for healthy aging.
This week’s quick Triple Shot covers three nuggets of novelty from the Looking Forward agenda of healthy longevity, impact and Web3:
1. Buzzword Explainer of the Week
Is there a difference between “complex” and “complicated”? For many, even reference books, they’re the same. Actually as the Cynefin framework shows, they’re very different. The world of impact, healthy aging and other wicked, systems problems, lives in the realm of the complex, not the complicated. I thought this was a pleasing way to articulate the difference, pointing to the fact that when you put the components of a complex system together, you generally can’t predict the outcome:
Jim Rutt has said that the difference between something complicated and complex is whether we can take it apart and put it back together. For example, if we disassembled an entire Boeing 747, we could put it back together piece by piece and fly it again. But we cannot do that with a human body – or a country, economy, or corporation.
2. Biohacking Cookbook
If you’re interested in self improvement, longevity and biohacking then this Project Surpass may be worth a look. This is a mindmap that expands to a 200 page Word document; a labour of love and one-man’s obsession, covering topics that improve the mind and body ranging from treatises on the benefits of abstinence to veganism and every sort of supplement and hack in between. More of a one-person Wikipedia / notebook than anything definitive - and please don’t believe anything you read on the Internet - but all sorts of interesting cul de sacs to explore.
3. McKinsey on Healthy Aging
This is McKinsey’s take on healthy aging - similar elements to the Aging2.0 mindset of reframing aging from a burden to an opportunity, rethinking the out-of-date life-stage model to recognise constant renewal and lifelong learning, need to change ageism, especially in the workforce, and the importance of a proactive approach towards health through the lifespan. And happily the two innovation topics they highlight, which they deem worthy of government prioritization and funding to support market making, are dementia and caregiving, my two main current focus areas.
Here are the 6 shifts they propose, with my comments in italics.
invest in the promotion of healthy aging - reframing, raising awareness and prioritizing at the national policy level
improve measurements of health and get better data - creating metrics of success, calling for a standard catalog of metrics
scale interventions proven to promote healthy aging - we have ample evidence about certain interventions that work, we just lack the vision, will and business model to do it
accelerate innovation across the healthy aging ecosystem - calling for systematic (government funded) collaboration, especially in dementia and caregiving
unleash the potential of all industries to enable healthy aging - bringing the healthy aging opportunity to all sectors, not just healthcare, and supporting greater integration
empower and motivate older adults to live to their full potential - culture change to empower older people via education, community engagement and inclusive infrastructure
Ok that’s it for this week. Hope you had a relaxing break. This Friday Looking Forward will include a summary of some highlights of 2022 and a look forward to 2023. Am currently working on future Looking Forward deep dives for the weeks ahead, based on interview podcasts with hot startups Care Daily and Taproot among others, with bonus content and insights for premium members. More soon.
Feel free to spread the word about Looking Forward to those who might benefit. Meanwhile, wishing you all a healthy, productive and enduringly festive week.
