| Our best ideas, quick and curated | April 22, 2022
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| This week, we focus on a more ambitious and relevant goal for human health. Plus, an interview with Ron O’Hanley of State Street, and the effects of inflation on defense spending. |
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| L’Chaim! What if six years of higher-quality life was in reach for everyone on the planet? It’s possible, according to new analysis from the McKinsey Health Institute, if society challenges its beliefs about the definition of health—and reorients portions of public policy and the economy accordingly. |
| 73 is the new 30. Good health is the foundation for leading a productive and enjoyable life. It is a key determinant of life satisfaction and, more broadly, it underpins social development and economic growth. Scientific progress, innovation, and investment across the public, private, and social sectors have led to great advancements in prolonging and improving life: between 1800 and 2017, average global life expectancy more than doubled, from 30 years to 73 years. |
| Reducing time spent in poor health. While it’s important to recognize such progress, there’s more to be done. Health inequity remains a major problem across the globe, with disparities in access and outcomes persisting between and within countries and regions and across gender, wealth, and other demographic identifiers. What’s more, the share of our lives spent in poor health has not diminished over time. On average, people spend about 12 percent of their lives in poor health, research shows. The best available data suggest that this ratio has not changed much in the past 50 years; indeed, chronic conditions now afflict growing numbers of people for significant portions of their lives. |
| Broadening the definition. To set the right course, embracing a modernized understanding of health will be crucial. This means changing the definition of good health from the absence of disease to one that better aligns with individual aspirations and the latest scientific research. The World Health Organization proposed just such a broad definition of health, with a greater emphasis on well-being, back in 1948: “health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” |
| Aiming higher. Six key shifts are needed to reach the full potential for human health. They include viewing health not just as an expense, as we do today, but as an investment. It is crucial to improve the measurement of health through better data collection, as well as to scale proven interventions and strategies more consistently and broadly across populations. People can also be empowered to steward their own health through education, public-sector innovation, and robust application of public policy. |
| Human kinder. Humanity mobilized against COVID-19 at a speed and scale previously unseen. The response at its best demonstrates that when resources and motivation coalesce, scientific breakthroughs and large-scale behavior change are possible within very short periods of time. Humanity needs a goal that yields more time with loved ones, more accomplishments, and more time free from cognitive or physical impairment. Every institution, every leader, and every person has an important role to play. |
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| OFF THE CHARTS |
| The IT factor: Making the right tech moves to win |
| In a time of significant, ever-quicker shifts in the IT portfolio, a new survey suggests that a company’s foundational technology has never been more important. In the latest McKinsey Global Survey of technology and business leaders, we find that the competitive divide between winners and the rest has only grown during the pandemic. Compared with the IT organizations at other companies, those at the top—rated by respondents in the top quartile of effectiveness for 15 key technology activities and capabilities—have made much more progress in their cyber, digital, and cloud moves. What’s more, at companies with top-performing IT organizations, technology leaders are much more likely to be involved in company-wide strategy.
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| INTERVIEW |
| A finance expert on strategies for sustainability |
| In a recent episode of the McKinsey Global Institute’s Forward Thinking podcast, Ron O’Hanley, the president and CEO of State Street, talks about how the major servicer and manager of institutional assets is trying to make its portfolios carbon neutral by 2050, the growth potential of digital finance, and how the pandemic dramatically illuminated societal vulnerabilities. “I think it’s fair to say that the multiple crises that started in 2020—but first and foremost, the pandemic—really did highlight both strengths and weaknesses that are in the public and private sectors,” says O’Hanley. “And I think it also highlighted the linkages and connections between corporate resilience and ESG [environmental, social, and governance].” |
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| What is the S-curve of learning? |
| The S-curve of learning is a very simple visual model for what growth looks and feels like. It’s based on the diffusion curve that was popularized by E. M. Rogers back in the 1960s. He used it to help us figure out how quickly groups of people change. We can use the S-curve to help us think about how we change, how we learn, and how we grow. |
| Every time you start something new, you are at the base of the S. This is what I call the launch point. This is the place where it’s going to feel like a slog; it may feel discouraging; it may feel overwhelming. That’s because even though growth is happening, it’s not yet apparent. You’ve got this predictive model in your brain. It’s making lots and lots of predictions, and those predictions can be incorrect, [in which case] your dopamine drops. |
| The second phase of the S-curve of learning is the sweet spot. You hit the knee of the curve—it’s that steep, sleek back of the curve. This predictive model that you’re running is becoming increasingly accurate. You’re getting lots of dopamine, lots of upside surprises. You’re feeling competent and confident. |
| This is the place where it’s still hard, but it’s no longer too hard. You feel exhilarated. You feel like you’re right where you’re supposed to be. This is the place where growth is not only fast—it feels fast. |
| Then you hit the third part of the curve: mastery. You’ve figured everything out, but because you’re no longer enjoying the feel-good effects of learning, you can get bored. Growth is actually slow. You’ve got slow and then fast and then slow. Once you understand what growth looks like, once you have this very simple visual model, you can increase your capacity to grow. |
| Why do we need to be smarter about growth now? |
| One of the things that psychologists have seen is that when we come through a period of severe stress, which the pandemic has been, we are in this place where we’re poised for tremendous growth. |
| Over the past couple of years, we were all on this S-curve, and then we were pushed off. Whether we liked the S-curve or not, we’ve now realized, “Oh, I’ve got this different perspective. I’m now in motion. I’m moving. I have more resilience than I thought I did.” |
| People are really evaluating their lives, and they’re asking themselves, “Do I want more?” In terms of people quitting their jobs, I don’t think it’s so much the Great Resignation as the Great Aspiration. People are aspiring for more—they’re not resigning from. They’re aspiring for more because they want to grow. |
| How do you balance looking back with looking ahead in your learning? |
| We can think about our life and plot it out as a series of S-curves. And I do think it’s useful to look at our prior S-curves; I do believe that no S-curve is ever wasted. The challenge is if we look at it and we think, “This should have been different, my life should have been different.” That is actually very counterproductive and can become an excuse. |
| To the extent that we look at it, we learn from it—that will give us information. When I know I’m on the launch point of the curve, then I can say, “Oh yeah, I do feel exhilarated, but I also feel overwhelmed. I feel discouraged. This is normal.” That allows me to think about what I need to do to move into the sweet spot. |
| — Edited by Barbara Tierney |
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| BACKTALK |
| Have feedback or other ideas? We’d love to hear from you. |
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