I heard an interview today that mentioned what Andy Grove, former CEO of Intel, is attempting to do about the state of health care in the United States. I haven’t gotten a chance to read too much about his plans, but my understaning is that they involve using readily available technology to update the system and radically increasing the availability of health care. Sounds pretty good so far.
After I heard that interview, which was on NPR’s “Money Matters” show, I searched around a little and came across this interview with Grove, which mentions more about his thoughts about the world. It’s an interesting read:
A couple of pieces stood out for me:
“Grove: This is an ancient belief of mine: You get what you measure. None of them (Congress) measure contributions to the practical solution of a handful of problems.
Interviewer: How would you measure something like that?
Grove: We know how to measure it. You can measure the number of uninsured. Let’s say it’s a number like 46 million the year you go to Congress, and say you want to tackle it. At the end of the second year of Congress, it should be down to 40 (million), then down to 30 (million).”
Also, this:
“Interviewer: You’ve mentioned declining tech graduates and the need to reform education many times in the past. Anything there that needs changing today?
Andy Grove: The state of vocational education in this country is abysmal. Vocational education, job training, and retraining doesn’t exist. A well-organized federal program would lubricate the Schumpeterian engine. ”
As someone who’s spent the last 14 months working toward the chance to get involved in technology education in the public schools, it’s good to see someone in Grove’s position acknowledge this issue, and speak out about its importance.