Some of the life-saving, life changing tools that are available to you, you’re likely not even aware of. And many of them cost nothing. That is why we write about bowel cancer prevention in Australia.
“Dad, what’s the most dangerous animal?”. Now this is a a good question for a Dad who runs a data science business focusing on human health and well-being, because helping people identify and quantify risk so they stay alive (and healthy!) is what we do. At HeadUp Labs, we’re really good helping people identify what their big risks are. But what are the biggest risks to your kids? It’s not something like heart attacks or strokes… so, what is it? Hint: it’s something much bigger.
In a world that is so all about the numbers these days, the most common misstep (I’m looking at you, insurance companies) is simple. It’s the idea that you can reduce people to a single ‘health score’.
Here’s a term that I recently learned that’s worth knowing: a micromort. Unless you’re an actuary or have swallowed a dictionary, you probably haven’t come across this term before. I only know it due to spending the last couple of years absorbing myself in the world of insurance, and it’s worth knowing—and not just for potential Scrabble points. We love the saying “one in a million”, but we’re not that great at perceiving and understand risk… even in a global pandemic.
As we push the rose-coloured glasses down the bridge of our nose and start looking through a clearer lens, it’s important to remember: there may be little good tucked away in the idea of wellness, but what is good can be lifechanging for the people who need it most.
One of the reasons that wearable technology by itself hasn’t transformed people’s health – the way we’d all hoped it might – is because it’s mostly just spitting out numbers. People are drowning in numbers and data points and starved of knowledge and wisdom.
People are not one number. You are not one number. People are people and they’re scared and just doing the best with what they have. They need your help. But if you’re thinking of distilling their entire life down to one number. Don’t. Just don’t. We can show you a better way.
Working backwards from an extrinsic end goal doesn’t work. Instead, the key to successful population health is understanding how people think and feel, where changing this then naturally changes their behavior. For instance, don’t implement recycling quotas, but instead educate on why recycling is important (because we all love polar bears).
I appreciate that the old adage; “the customer is always right,” has value. But we’ve found that it’s blocked innovation and it seems that this is because, in essence, customers aren’t visionary enough.
Creating a culture of health is a public declaration of your commitment to your organization’s future. Great leaders don’t just say ‘people are our greatest asset’, they actually take care of that asset, starting with themselves. They walk the walk. Literally.
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