What does the word iteration, as applied to business, mean? A quick Google search gives the following definition:

“Iteration in a business is the concept of repeating a process, analyzing the outcomes each time, and modifying for ultimate efficiency in hopes of achieving a certain objective or outcome.” In other words, after careful study, you change your business practices, hoping to make them as effective as possible. You don’t stay still or stagnate, you adapt in order to become the best possible version of your company or yourself.

That seems simple enough, but when you apply that word to our modern world of startups, what does it mean to iterate? The answer below comes from Harry Jiang, co-founder of the company Tripcipe.

“Iteration is a general term applied to the product development cycle, and is not specific to startups, although startups tend to have much more rapid iteration periods.” Iteration refers to “the general process through which a startup goes from the initial version of the product to fully featured and polished.” However, according to Jiang, it is important to note that “a company may never actually reach a ‘fully featured and polished’ product.”

Since first hearing this term, I have tried to apply it to my own business. When something is not working in my clinic, or in my life, the first thing I do is to look at the situation and change directions as needed to make life better! This philosophy requires constant work. In order to keep moving forward in a positive way, we have to look at our life every so often, possibly every few weeks, and make the changes necessary to improve what is not working. In our clinic, we try to meet monthly and address any issues or policies that are problematic. Iteration is a repeated process of looking at oneself or one’s business and then constantly striving to improve.

In our clinic, we have been using a business model from the book Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time by Jeff Sutherland and J.J. Sutherland. It has helped us to operate more efficiently and improved how we communicate with one another in my clinic. You can check it out at the following (*affiliate) link:

I credit this book with teaching me to iterate. When I was listening to people who run startups, I learned the term. I like the word because it helps us not blame individuals for causing the problems, but shifts our focus instead to the systems that are not working well, which are actually at the heart of most business challenges and failings. I try to apply this principle to my own business. Whenever something is not working at my clinic, instead of attacking the person, I try (and I encourage my staff as well) to take a hard look at the systems in place and thing about how we can work together to make everything function more smoothly.

While I was thinking about this word today, I heard a podcast shortly after that explained exactly what iteration can do for us! I often listen to podcasts when I am doing housework, completing chores or soaking in Epsom salts in the tub. This podcast listed below I found so interesting. It is called Cautionary Tales, and I truly hope it is successful.

From the podcast site, Cautionary Tales is described as: “We tell our children unsettling fairy tales to teach them valuable lessons, but these Cautionary Tales are for the education of the grownups–and they are all true. Tim Harford (Financial Times, BBC, author of ‘The Data Detective’) brings you stories of awful human error, tragic catastrophes, and hilarious fiascos. They’ll delight you, scare you, but also make you wiser.” You can find it at the link below:

Cautionary Tales

You may wonder what iteration and efficient business practices have to do with food, farming and medicine. I feel strongly that in order for anyone to live a more vibrant, more productive life and be successful in their farming, gardening and health practices, you have to work on creating effective systems. We often have to go through many iteration cycles to get things right. However, it is encouraging to see people do this as they are always striving to improve their lives and finally, hopefully, achieve their goals! I love to see people work at improvement over time until they figure out how to be the best they can. I am also fascinated by the different things that motivate individuals, and the diversity of goals and dreams in the human condition.

One of my primary reasons for creating Agroshare was for it to be a source of motivation. I hope to help other solo practitioners see that being in a solo practice can be so rewarding and I would love to help them learn about “Scrum”, iteration and remaining hopeful in an ever-changing medical environment! I hope to help people learn how to be successful at getting healthier, learning to provide healthy food for themselves and preventing or possibly reversing debilitating diseases. 

These topics can be daunting, especially when you are considering drastic life changes needed to achieve your goals. Knowing that every day presents a new opportunity to improve on your choices from yesterday takes a little of the pressure off, and provides, at least in my case, inspiration to keep moving forward. Like always, I’d love to hear what motivates you, what goals you hope to achieve, and ideas to make each iteration better than the last.