Pursuitology

I just finished reading an awesome article recently published in Forbes on “pursuitology”—the concept that “great leaders are never satisfied with traditional practice, static thinking, conventional wisdom or common practice. In fact, the best leaders are simply uncomfortable with anything that embraces the status quo. Leadership is pursuit,” says Myatt, “pursuit of excellence, of elegance, of truth, of what’s next, of what if, of change, of value, of results, of relationships, of service, of knowledge, and of something bigger than themselves.” I couldn’t agree more, and indeed, I would argue that such pursuit goes beyond the upper echelons of organizational structure to the more personal and professional mandates we place on ourselves that make progress possible.

As clinicians, we critically evaluate data and clinical practice guidelines as we continue to try to push the envelope to improve outcomes for our patients. As researchers, we thrive on questioning why things are the way they are and finding novel therapies that advance our standard of care. As teachers, we seek means of improving knowledge transfer while adhering to work-hour restrictions. We continually pursue process-improvement, embracing information technology, and widely accepted quality measures. We seek to innovate, inspire, and implement...

ASCO, as an organization, has distinguished itself as a “pursuer” and as we look back over the past year, has made significant strides. As we look towards 2012, however, the question we must ask ourselves, both personally and as a global community of cancer professionals is: “What shall we pursue next?” What are the challenges that we should seek to address in the year to come, where should we put our energies, what should be our priorities? And on a personal note, what will you pursue in 2012? I look forward to your comments!

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