The experience, smarts and energy of both our Extreme teams, coupled with the rigorous design process provided by the d.school, allowed for very significant leaps forward in two different areas. I really believe that the power of a Stanford/miraclefeet team will result in the development of a brace that will have significant impact on the cost and effectiveness of clubfoot treatment on a global scale. And the simple text message tool developed by the other Extreme team is practical, low cost and leverages a technology that is widely available. Both ideas will make major contributions to clubfoot treatment, which in turn will transform the lives of children around the world.

Extreme teams have the time and outside perspective to think deeply and creatively about a concept.  The organizational reality for us is that we need to move fast and execute efficiently, and this creates pressure to stick with “safe” ideas.  We leverage the creativity of Extreme teams to explore totally new ideas and keep us thinking outside the box.

This was my first exposure to the d.school process, and never before in my education have I had such open-­ended prompts and deliverables and such encouragement to be creative! The most appropriate summary is what Prof. Beach said to me when I first asked him about Extreme, “Extreme will change your life.”  You could say I’ve drunk the Kool-­Aid.

I came into Extreme with really high expectations. And I wasn’t disappointed. It is a real gem of a learning experience, one that goes a long way towards validating my b-school expenses, since it’s precisely the kind of work I’d like to do long-term. Knowing just how many hours I haven’t slept for this class, I would still do it again next year if I could.

Extreme will be a class that I talk about for the rest of my life, and will undoubtedly influence my future career choices, management style and approach to problem solving.

It has been extremely gratifying to contribute to improving critical medical systems for some of India’s poorest patients, even as these interactions have permanently altered my perspective on a doctor’s role in society. Extreme is perhaps the most important class I have taken in over a decade of medical training – and I am certainly a better physician for it.