His passion in life is getting women pregnant. As catchy one liners go, Shamus Husheer’s is one of the best. The founder of DuoFertility is so confident that his technology can help a couple to conceive, that if they are not pregnant in six months, he’ll give them their money back. The likeable New Zealander represents just one of nineteen companies on the Future Health Mission, spending a week in San Francisco and Silicon Valley exploring business opportunities.  In my best impression of someone herding cats, I’ve been attempting to co-ordinate and keep track of them.

Throughout the week, from the opening night’s welcome, through visits to some of the world’s most innovative companies (including Cisco and HP), I have been speaking to the founders and trying my level best to get my head around their work.  To be honest, some of the explanations start off sounding like something from a science fiction novel.  Admittedly, I am someone who thinks that Photosynthesis is another name for a Polaroid… Luckily, the passion and ability of the companies to explain their work has helped us all to engage. Take Paul Ko Ferrigno for example, whose company, Aptuscan is able to make a human protein. Or Mike Raxworthy, whose company (Neotherix) makes tissue to repair holes in a patient’s body.  If only he could repair the holes in my sicentific knowledge, we might really be onto something. 

One of the most inspiring visits has been to IDEO, the leading design firm. Charlie Burton, who has been travelling with us, has written the trip up for Wired Magazine over here. Meeting the IDEO team, several things about the company culture shone through. They are not believers, for example, in the myth of the ‘lone genius’. Instead, the whole company, right down to the fact that no-one has their own desk, is designed to enable collaboration and creativity. When they recruit, they look for what they call ‘T-Shaped People’. They want a specialism in a particular field (architecture or healthcare, say), and then a broad range of skills and passions on top, to complement that. Touring their San Francisco office, it was difficult not to dream of working there one day. I just need to wait until they start looking for Hyphen-Shaped People.

Entrepreneurs are often asked what problem they are solving. As someone who once started a sock subscription company, I have learned that some firms have the potential to change the world more than others…. This week has inspired me to rethink which problems are worth solving. For Roger Killen of The Learning Clinic, I think that reducing the number of deaths in a hospital by 28% over two years can count as well worth the effort. His device, which replaces the clip-board at the end of a hospital bed, alerts a nurse (via their iPhone) when something goes wrong, allowing them to interact through an application to say that they are on their way, and to update the system on what action they have taken.

The mission’s partners and sponsors include the Technology Strategy Board, UKTI, Microsoft, Polecat and McKinsey and a large part of the value has been in the experiences shared between the companies. One of the most experienced of the entrepreneurs is Sara Murray. Her Buddi device is a GPS tracker which can be used by the vulnerable, to keep a track of their whereabouts. During the week, Sara signed a significant deal with Mace (they of the pepper spray), to distribute the product in the US. In a week in which we Brits have been repeatedly encouraged to be more ‘in your face’, it was arguably appropriate that one of the mission companies should sign a deal with a firm whose product is, quite literally, in your face.

Time will tell what happens to the seeds sown throughout the Future Health Mission. The sheer number of side meetings which have been set up, with investors, partners and journalists has been amazing.  I look forward to keeping in touch with all of the companies, and trying to share their success stories. I suspect that they will boil down to slightly more than pithy one-liners.

Oli Barrett is a co-founder of the Future Health Mission and a director of the Co-Sponsorship Agency, which brings companies and causes together to create social action projects.

The Apache Wedding Blessing

Now you will feel no rain,
for each of you will be
shelter to the other.

Now you will feel no cold,
for each of you will be
warmth to the other.

Now there is no more loneliness,
for each of you will be
companion to the other.

Now you are two bodies,
but there is only one
life before you.

Go now to your dwelling place,
to enter into the days
of your togetherness.

And may your days
be good and long
upon the earth.

 

Leafing through the business section of the Evening Standard, I catch sight of a familiar face.  Carolyn McCall and I have never met, however I do recognise her as the former chief executive of the Guardian Media Group.  Today, following a considerable career change, she is running EasyJet.  She has swapped broad sheets for narrow seats.  Quite a move!

Switches in jobs always interest me, especially between industries.  I’m often reminded of the excellent Richard Alderson’s site, Career Shifters, with the great motto that “life’s too short to be miserable at work”.  If they were ever keen, I would encourage them to advertise on the London tube.  You should have seen some of the faces on there this morning.  ‘Bulldog chewing a wasp’ doesn’t even come close.

It must be that time of year.  I put a note out on Facebook today because I had been thinking about a couple of New Year’s resolutions.  Without boring you to tears, one of mine boiled down to practising what I preach, and making considerably more helpful introductions in 2011.  On the mighty (face)book, I offered to try to help anyone who was currently ‘buffing their CV’ and thinking about a change.  To be honest, I have been amazed by how many people have been in touch.  One American colleague wonders if I would consider a US to UK ‘translation’ for his wife.  I’m not entirely sure if he wants me to change ‘buff your CV’ to ‘polish your résumé’ or whether he is looking for a wife swap.

Speaking of alternative lifestyles, I caught up with my old friend John O’Sullivan the other day.  He is one of the brains behind Ten2Two, a brilliant concept which is all about flexible working.  I don’t think John will mind me telling you that he and the team had their brainwave whilst meeting some incredibly bright ‘new mums’.  These women had formidable professional track records.  They wanted a return to work, but not necessarily back to the rat race of nine-to-five. Something more local, more civilised.  More like ten ’til two.     

You can do a lot in four hours.  Just ask Tim Ferris.  The man who brought us the Four Hour Work Week  (a must read, by the way), returns just in time for those January resolutions.  That’s right fellow Ferrero Rocher fans, it’s the Four Hour Body!  Tim is back with a physical vengeance with his latest book, which has just gone to the top of the New York Times bestseller list.  Top of the list of things ‘you will learn’, says Tim, is “How to prevent fat gain while bingeing (Xmas, holidays, weekends)”.  The book is retailing at 27 dollars.  Which, as you know, is almost a couple of Ferrero Rocher Gift Boxes.

 

One of my Christmas presents (recommended by the charming James Wills at Watson Little, and bought for me by my lovely sister) was Rework, the New York Times bestseller, by Jason Fried and David Hansson.

It is a deliberately provocative book, which sets out to challenge much of the conventional wisdom surrounding business.  According to the authors (who founded the incredibly successful 37 Signals), “Meetings are toxic” and you should “Send people home at 5”.

On balance, despite the fact that some of the entries may have you shaking your head, whilst others will make you shout in agreement, this is a book I recommend.

For me, the best is saved until last.  This is from the conclusion, where the authors wrap up with the idea that ‘inspiration is perishable’.

“We all have ideas.  Ideas are immortal.  They last forever. 

What doesn’t last forever is inspiration.  Inspiration is like fresh fruit or milk:  It has an expiration date.

If you want to do something, you’ve got to do it now.  You can’t put it on a shelf and wait two months to get around to it.  You can’t just say you’ll do it later.  Later, you won’t be pumped up about it anymore.

If you’re inspired on a Friday, swear off the weekend and dive into the project.  When you’re high on inpspiration, you can get two weeks of work done in twenty-four hours.  Inspiration is a time machine in that way.

Inspiration is a magical thing, a productivity multiplier, a motivator.  But it won’t wait for you.  Inspiration is a now thing.  If it grabs you, grab it right back and put it to work.”

Check out Rework if you have time.  And let me take this chance to wish you a very happy, healthy and successful 2011, whatever if may bring.

 

What have penicillin, Viagra and the smallpox vaccine all got in common?

They were all discovered by accident.  And they were all discovered by Brits.

Great Britain has a stunning history of invention,

From Cats Eyes to the Electric Motor, the Internal Combustion Engine and the World Wide Web, some of the world’s most significant inventions began life on this island. 

Steve Jobs invented the Mac. We invented the Mackintosh. 

Now a group of entrepreneurs from the nation which came up with the word Silicone, is travelling to Silicon Valley. 

Yes, following in the steps of WebMission and the Clean and Cool Mission, this is Future Health Mission.  Supported by partners and sponsors including the Technology Strategy Board,UKTI, Microsoft, McKinsey & Company and Silicon Valley Bank, I’m co-hosting the mission with my partners (James, Bron, Edie and team) at Polecat. 

We have selected 20 fantastic companies, which you can read about here.  Each of them is interested in the future of health.   Their companies range from fertility monitoring to GPS devices for the vulnerable, from mobile health to DNA testing.

Meeting investors and potential partners, exploring expansion opportunities and spending time with each-other, this will be an action-packed week.  I know from previous missions that trying to organise a group of entrepreneurs can be a bit like herding cats…

Lots is planned.  Lots will happen by accident.  It’s a combination which has served us Brits well.