Director, Pediatric Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins

Ben Carson is a legend within the medical community. Having been named Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Baltimore's Johns Hopkins Hospital at age 33 (the youngest U.S. doctor to hold such a position), Carson performs as many as 500 operations each year on the most delicate of patients - children. His Career exemplifies what it takes to achieve success, to handle stress, and to manage risk. His unique perspective focuses on leadership, excellence, and humanity - lessons on why each of us must work for positive change.

Says Carson, "Another way I handle pressure - and this may sound strange too - is to focus clearly on what can go wrong. I seldom do just one operation in a day; I may do as many as five or six. I think through every procedure: how I expect it to go, how long each phase will last, when I can move on to the next one. But the real value of planning comes when things don't go the way I expect. I always anticipate the worst-case scenario: What's the worst thing that could happen? What can I do to make sure it doesn't? What will I do if it does?

Read the Fast Company article This is Brian Surgery
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