INNOVATION AND HOLISTIC CARE

Innovation Always a Winner?

■ Jean S. MacFadyen, PhD, RN

Holist Nurs Pract 2015;29(6):343–345

Doesn’t everyone want to be a winner? Being a short by a life-threatening car accident that fractured winner brings a sense of accomplishment. There are both his ankles and his left wrist and ruptured his the accolades and recognition from friends, family, diaphragm. Multiple surgical procedures put this professional colleagues, and total strangers! The status world class athlete back together again, but recovery conveys the concept of a positive future, as it can open was slow, and Calvin had a passionate need—to row up doors heretofore closed and raises horizons to again. It took a year to get Calvin back on the water, heights heretofore unknown. Winning brings personal but how did he accomplish this? Calvin Coffey chose pride, which motivates a person to reach for higher innovation. Most health care professionals think they goals, believing that greater aspirations are attainable. know the majority of answers to rehabilitation But what does winning mean when it comes to protocol, but this Olympian had a new idea! (C. innovation and who is the winner? Is winning the Coffey, oral communication, July 25, 2015). monetary reward that comes with the Being an elite athlete brings much knowledge about commercialization of one’s ideas? Is winning the the sport in which one participates. The knowledge is number and kinds of accolades and awards given not limited to an understanding of how one’s body when others find utility in the form and function of an performs in the sport of choice, but there is an acute innovation? And/or is winning the personal understanding of the equipment that is used in the perspective of the person who birthed the innovation? sport. In rowing, there are many things to take into Who is it that actually “wins”? consideration, but basically there is an understanding Let’s consider an Olympic rower, Calvin Coffey, of the shell (boat), its construction and component who rowed with his partner Mike Staines in the 1976 parts, and the technology of the oars. Calvin had Olympics in Montreal and won a silver medal in the started a company that was optimizing new materials coxless pairs event (2 persons in a shell/boat with no for the sport. The health care professionals thought one else in the shell to direct its route to the finish they were going to send Calvin to a rehabilitation line).1 At Northeastern University, he was a 2-time facility with all his pins and plates in his ankles and Sprint winner and Grand Challenge Cup finalist (very wrist, and a newly constructed Gortex diaphragm. But impressive accomplishment in case you don’t know this Olympic silver medalist decided he was going to anything about rowing!). The bottom line here is that row is way back to health and invented the sculling this gentleman developed a very refined skill that SimulatorOAR (http://www.coffeycorporation.com/ offered to him a bright future. But his future was cut SimulatOAR S2TI.php). The Coffey SimulatorOAR mimics the water

Author Affiliation: MacFadyen Learning Enterprises, West Chester, sculling experience including the feeling of pitch and Pennsylvania. yaw. It is used today to train new athletes in the The author has disclosed that she has no significant relationships with, or technique of sculling and to provide practice financial interest in, any commercial companies pertaining to this article. opportunity when water conditions are undesirable. Correspondence: Jean S. MacFadyen, PhD, RN, MacFadyen Learning En- The design is patented worldwide and continues to terprises, PO Box 1803, West Chester, PA 19380 (macfl[email protected]). undergo improvements that enhance its functionality. DOI: 10.1097/HNP.0000000000000115 It took iterations of his idea to perfect the design that

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Copyright © 2015 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited. 344 HOLISTIC NURSING PRACTICE • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015 some might call failures, but there is no question that nothing to do with it.7 When funding for Nupedia Calvin Coffey’s innovation was a winner in many disappeared and a nonprofit organization that accepted respects. Not only was a profitable product created donations was established to continue the existence of that was needed by the rowing world but he also Wikipedia, Larry Sanger resigned. Was this going to maximized his mental and emotional facilities to be another loss? enhance the recuperation of his body parts. Calvin’s To the amazement of everyone, Wikipedia was an primary win was rehabilitating his body so he could instant success, far outstripping the response to row on the water again (C. Coffey, personal Nupedia and former Web site ventures. What could communication, July 25, 2015). But this goal was have been perceived as a loss, that is, moving to a supplemented by meeting a significant need in the nonprofit status, actually accelerated the financial rowing world that challenged his intellect and success of Jimmy Wales, making him an instant directing his emotional response to an uncertain future Internet star. His fame brought him many speaking and it provided another offering in his company’s engagements and lucrative product endorsements. He product line. The return on the investment has been has testified before the United States Senate Homeland excellent. Calvin Coffey’s innovation was a Security Committee8 and cochaired the World triple-crown winner, benefiting not only his physical Economic Forum in the Middle East.9 He has advised and mental health but also the international rowing the UK government on how to put taxpayer-supported world and his own company. academic research online at no cost.10 He has taken Here is another innovation to consider—Wikipedia! the stage with John McCain, Manual al-Sharif, the All of us realize that Wikipedia is not an acceptable, Saudi Arabian women’s right activists, and Shree academic source as the validity and reliability of its Bose, a celebrated researcher at Harvard University.11 data are questionable.2 But the concept of a free, He has been awarded an honorary doctorate from open-sourced encyclopedia of information that can be Maastricht University and has been given the Dan read online in multiple languages was truly an David Prize at Tel Aviv University. This prize comes innovation when it was launched on the Internet, with a million dollar reward recognizing “innovation January 1, 2001.3 Although credit for this innovation and interdisciplinary research.”12 is very controversial, Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger In terms of how the world generally distinguishes are recognized as cocommercializing this concept that winners, that is, wealth, position in society, others had proposed in earlier years.4 It is Jimmy association with famous persons, involvement with Wales who remains with the organization that supports global programs with international recognition, etc, this Web site, so for the purposes of this article, focus Jimmy Wales appears to have achieved the title of will be on the winning innovations of Jimmy Wales. “winner.” His winning, however, is different from Wikipedia was the end result of evolutionary Calvin Coffey’s. His name is more recognizable; his disappointments. Wales had started other Web sites, accomplishments are internationally paraded in the but they did not produce the revenue or response that media; and his net worth is probably at a higher level. he had anticipated. But these efforts did provide him But does any of this matter in terms of being a with the funding to pursue his passion, an online winner? Greater degrees of wealth and recognition are encyclopedia.5 With a credible, scholastic nice, but most innovators agree that winning in background, Wales was eager to apply academic innovation is about personal satisfaction from an effort standards to his online encyclopedia. With the help of well-conceived and directed toward a real need that Larry Sanger, Nupedia was Wales’ first online attempt meaningfully contributes to a greater good. Coffey at a peer-reviewed, open-sourced encyclopedia, using created a product that can be used in any rehabilitation the standards of academia. However, the complicated environment that requires the dynamics of his nature of managing the academic review process simulator. The innovation helped him recovery from proved to be unproductive.6 The concept of “wiki,” an life-threatening injuries, and it will help train all levels application that allows anyone to add or delete of rowers in the future. Jimmy Wales satisfied a deep, information from a Web page, was introduced to Larry personal passion, that is, to provide the world with a Sanger and then incorporated into Nupedia. Peer free, online, open-access encyclopedia. reviewers, however, felt it was an unacceptable Winning does matter. Or perhaps better stated, the compromise with academic standards and wanted attitude of seeking to be a winner makes a difference

Copyright © 2015 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited. Innovation 345 in life and in creating novel innovations. The solutions to pressing problems. Be a winner . . . determination to win helped Calvin Coffey and Jimmy innovate! Wales push through adversity and refine their ideas. The iterative process of constantly seeing a need and REFERENCES the deficiencies surrounding that need made them strive for more complete answers. Neither Coffey nor 1. US Rowing. Sweep rowing versus sculling. http://www.usrowing.org/ Wales was always a winner. Although it seems about/rowing101/sweepscull. Accessed July 26, 2015. contradictory, some of their failures funded and 2. Harvard College Writing Program. Harvard Guide to Using Sources. What’s wrong with Wikipedia? http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/ directed their research, helping them perfect their final icb.do?keyword=k70847&pageid=icb.page346376. Published 2015. product concept.13 The result was greater Accessed July 26, 2015. self-satisfaction, as their products were more useful 3. Roy R. Can history be open source? Wikipedia and the future of the past. JAmHist. 2006;93(1):117-146. doi:10.2307/4486062. and had a greater impact on the audience for which 4. Wales J. 3apes open content Web directory. Yahoo! Tech Groups forum they were intended. post. http://www.webcitation.org/5fhXjrexf. Published August 6, 2002. Have you ever had the same experience when Accessed July 20, 2015. 5. Singer M. Free encyclopedia project celebrates year one. Jupitermedia. practicing holistic nursing? Have you tried to http://web.archive.org/web/20030316082912/http://siliconvalley. implement an innovative idea, but it did not “work.” internet.com/news/article.php/3531 956641. Published January 16, Were you criticized for your presumably vein attempt? 2002. Accessed July 20, 2015. Fleshing out the many issues that surround a problem 6. Wales J. The Future of Free Culture; Jimmy Wales, Founderof Wikipedia [videotape]. New Haven, CT: Yale University; 2009. Event occurs often involves layers of understanding. Although one at 43:19. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9Vu69Ajtlk. Accessed tries to address all the factors involved, latent issues July 20, 2015. may not always be apparent until a failure is incurred. 7. Sidener J. Everyone’s encyclopedia. The San Diego Union-Tribune.De- cember 6, 2004:C1. http://www.utsandiego.com/uniontrib/20041206/ Contextualizing failure helps one see the opportunities news mz1b6encyclo.html. Accessed July 20, 2015. that failure presents and plot a better solution. 8. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Af- Do not give up in your attempts to innovate! Nursing fairs. Lieberman Calls for Government Information and Services to Be More Accessible, Transparent, Interactive. Press release. needs constant refreshment and new perspectives. https://web.archive.org/web/20071226140404/http:/hsgac.senate. Your failures are just a stepping stone to better gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease id= ideas that will more fully resolve the problems you 1598&Affiliation=C. Published December 11, 2007. Accessed July 20, propose to solve. Think through the reasons why your 2015. 9. World Economic Forum. World Economic Forum on the innovation failed; collaborate with your colleagues Middle East 2008. http://www.weforum.org/events/world-economic- to generate new ideas as a result of the failure. forum-middle-east-2008. Published 2008. Accessed July 20, 2015. Seek out interdisciplinary opinion. Persist. If you need 10. Jha A. Wikipedia founder to help in government’s research scheme. The Guardian (London). May 1, 2012. http://www to take a different direction, that is most acceptable. .theguardian.com/technology/2012/may/01/wikipedia-research- But do not remain on “pause.” Enjoy the initiative jimmy-wales-online?newsfeed=true. Accessed July 20, 2015. that you have taken, bask in the new knowledge you 11. Clinton Global Initiative University. 2014 CGIU Meeting Agenda. https://www.clintonfoundation.org/clinton-global-initiative/meetings/ discovered, and keep looking forward. Winners are cgi-university/2014/agenda/day-1. Published 2014. Accessed July 20, often redirected failures. Remember, “real” winning 2015. for the innovator is personal satisfaction with their 12. Dan David Prize. The Dan David Prize. http://www.dandavidprize.org. accomplishment(s). Appreciating the context of one’s Published 2015. Accessed July 20, 2015. 13. Mangu-Ward K. Wikipedia and beyond: Jimmy Wale’s sprawling vi- innovation will help one better ascertain one’s winning sion. Reason. 2007;39(2):21. http://reason.com/archives/2007/05/30/ status, which ultimately helps produce more valuable wikipedia-and-beyond. Accessed July 20, 2015.

Copyright © 2015 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.