The new pharmacy sweet spot

How do you flexibly navigate the unknown?

In Adam Grant’s book Think Again, the author challenges us to rethink our old ways. His research shows an interesting find that is relevant to pharmacy.

As seen in his figure below, as we gain knowledge, we must maintain our humility to find a new sweet spot of performance and decision-making. If we change our minds too much (low conviction), we will forever operate insecurely.

Conversely, when we hold on too tightly to those beliefs (high conviction) we risk operating arrogantly. Somewhere in the middle (the sweet spot) is where we are aware of our old ways and willing to change our stance as we gather new experience, knowledge and skill.

What does this mean for pharmacy professionals? 

In an era when pharmacy scope of practice is changing rapidly and we venture out into new practice models, we may feel insecure at first. Perhaps the first few times we administer subcutaneous injections or prescribe antibiotics without a physician we will feel out of place. In these moments we must develop new beliefs, new confidence and a willingness to have flexible convictions as we practise deeper.

It also means that we must assess our older, more comfortable models of practice such as prescription checking and previous habits of giving services away for free. We must be able to rethink what got us here in order to find our new sweet spots that the public will come to expect and deserve.

Maintaining a balance between sticking to what we know (the arrogant zone) and what we are unknowingly capable of (the insecure zone) will allow us to navigate the future of pharmacy and maintain our genuine and essential relevance to the health care system.

Let’s find the sweet spot together!

Join a group of your colleagues in a virtual 6-week pharmacist mastermind called Cascade where Jason moderates a group of pharmacists to find answers to their biggest pharmacy problems and discover cutting-edge solutions of practice and business.