Granovetter MS. Strength of weak ties. American Journal of Sociology. 1973;78(6):1360-1380.

This article argues that the degree of overlap of two individuals' friendship networks varies directly with the strength of their tie to one another. The impact of this principle on diffusion of influence and information, mobility opportunity, and community organization is explored. Emphasis is given to the cohesive power of weak ties, and to the relations between groups and the analysis of segments of social structure not easily defined in terms of primary groups.

Szulanski G, Winter S. Getting it right the second time. Harvard Business Review. 2002;80(3):62-69.

People approaching best-practice replication are overly optimistic and overconfident. They try to perfect an operation that's running nearly flawlessly, or they try to piece together different practices to create the perfect hybrid. Getting it right the second time (and all the times after that) involves adjusting for overconfidence in your own abilities and imposing strict discipline on the process and the organization. The authors studied numerous business settings to find out how organizational routines were successfully reproduced, and they identified five steps for successful replication.

Plsek P, Kilo C. From resistance to attraction: A different approach to change. Physician Executive. 1999;25(6):40-42.

How can physician executives interested in promoting change be more effective at the task? This article explores how to create an attraction towards change, as opposed to viewing change as overcoming resistance. Learning to recognize naturally occurring change, identify attractors, explore the rationality of others' points of view, and reduce risk are clear and constructive insights from research and emerging systems science.

Bisognano M, Lloyd R, with Schummers D
Chicago, Illinois: Health Administration Press with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement; 2007

This is the third book in a series for health care executives designed to share innovations in patient care that are reliable, ready for implementation, and have been used successfully. Each chapter provides a description of the idea, an example of it in practice, and the results that have been achieved, where available. Topics include: Using Early-Detection and Monitoring Systems; Transforming the Discharge Process; Implementing WalkRounds to Address Safety Issues; Accelerating Improvement; Establishing Red Rules to Increase Reliability; others.

McCannon CJ, Schall MW, Calkins DR, Nazem AG. Saving 100,000 lives in US hospitals. British Medical Journal. 2006 Jun;332(7553):1328-1330.

An initiative to cut avoidable deaths required rapid recruitment and support of large numbers of US hospitals. Campaign leaders describe how they coordinate nationwide implementation of effective health care interventions and document lessons for effective spread.

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Hackbarth AD, McCannon CJ, Martin L, Lloyd R, Calkins DR. The hard count: Calculating lives saved in the 100,000 Lives Campaign. ACP Guide for Hospitalists. Apr 2006:1-5.

This article forms an outline of the approach chosen by the 100,000 Lives Campaign to calculate lives saved, as well as a short discussion of how the results should be interpreted.

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Rashad MR, Nielsen GA, Nolan K, Schall MW, Sevin C. A Framework for Spread: From Local Improvements to System-Wide Change. IHI Innovation Series white paper. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Institute for Healthcare Improvement; 2006.

IHI Innovation Series white paper

A key factor in closing the gap between best practice and common practice is the ability of health care providers and their organizations to rapidly spread innovations and new ideas. This white paper describes the major spread projects that IHI has supported, and harvests the lessons learned about the most effective ways to spread change.

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Bisognano M, Plsek P, Schummers D
Chicago, Illinois: Health Administration Press with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement; 2005

Authors Maureen Bisognano and Paul Plsek — both frontline figures in the improvement and innovation field — share concepts in enhancing care and service delivery that have been developed and successfully implemented in outpatient as well as inpatient settings of actual health care organizations. Topics include creativity and innovation, bundles, pattern mapping, Rapid Response Teams, medication reconciliation, flow, spreading improvements, and more. [This is the second book in a series.]

Berman S (editor)
Chicago, Illinois: Joint Commission Resources and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement; 2005

Health care leaders are now finding quality and safety to be vital not only to the health of patients but also to the health of the enterprise. In this book, the experts widely considered top in their respective fields describe the most challenging issues facing health care leaders today and provide guidance and suggestions on how to address them. Topics include microsystem peak performance; organizational infrastructure for patient safety; using information technology for safety and quality; patient flow; staffing for organizational excellence; and strategies to spread improvement.

Nolan K, Schall M, Erb F, Nolan T. Using a framework for spread: The case of patient access in the Veterans Health Administration. Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Safety. 2005;31(6):339-347.

This article describes a framework for spread that was used in the VA Healthcare Network VISN 2 to spread improved access to its outpatient clinics.  This case example includes both the theoretical background and practical guidance that organizations can use in planning for the spread of improvements.

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