The Story of Emil Freireich and Childhood Leukemia
- The story of Emil Freireich, hematologist in America. Drafted and sent to the National Cancer Institute. He reports and is directed by his boss Gordon Zubrod, “I want you to cure childhood leukemia.” It was the one of the most common causes of death for children at the point. Doctors were often unwilling to use the drugs commonly used because it just prolonged the agony.
- Freireich studies the four drugs and begins to use them together. They were highly toxic. Slowly he begins testing. In 1965, he publishes an article saying we have cured childhood leukemia. It was one of the most important medical findings of the 20th century.
- It’s a classic example of a great innovation. It was operational risk-taking.
Social Risk & Urgency
- To do something truly innovative, you need to take a social risk. You have to convince others that what you are doing makes sense.
- What is at its core? Urgency.
- What Freireich was proposing to do was conduct a blind experiment on deathly ill children using four untested, horribly toxic drugs. The idea was crazy. But he was persistent.
- Up until that moment, no one had seen the problem like Freireich had seen the problem. What sets him apart is that he is in a hurry. He sees the urgency. He’s willing to stick his neck out and try something new.
The Story of Xerox PARC
- Xerox PARC was right in the middle of Silicon Valley. It was started in the 70s. Xerox hired 60-70 of the greatest computer scientists of the day. They were to imagine the office of the future.
- They built the first real personal computer. They created the graphical user interface. They invented the mouse. They created the idea of windows, the ethernet, word processing, laser printer.
- In December 1979, Steve Jobs comes to visit Xerox PARC. They showed him the Alto, the personal computer. He asks, “Why haven’t you brought this to market?” They working to perfect it. He runs back to his headquarters. He tells his engineers to change what they’re doing. They create the Macintosh.
- Was Jobs smarter than the engineers at Xerox PARC? Was he wiser? No. But Jobs had a sense of urgency. He wanted to do it now.
- He had to admit that his own ideas were wrong and others’ ideas were better. He has to convince people to take another path. That social risk-taking is what leaders have to do.
Back to Freireich
- He is introducing a new treatment with horrible side effects. He says that he is going to have to do it every month for two years. People think he is a monster. Other physicians on the ward refuse to help. They would stand in the back of the room and heckle him.
- He was not at the National Cancer Institute to make friends. We need this attitude to take risks.
- Our leaders need to learn to protect and nurture this disruptive spirit.
- The real hero of the Freireich is not Freireich; it’s his boss Gordon Zubrod. Zubrod understood that his responsibility as a leader was to make his organization safe for risk-taking.
- We need more Emil Freireich in this world but we won’t get them without more leaders like Gordon Zubrod.
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