For organizations to insert creativity, intuition, a future orientation, and new perspectives into its strategic planning process, strategic thinking is required. It is the type of thinking that attempts to determine what an organization should look like in the future. Strategic thinkers ask questions such as: “What are we doing now that we should stop […]
Participation and collaboration are not only ideal in any strategic planning process, they are essential. In previous posts, we’ve discussed the importance of having a variety of stakeholders throughout your organization participate in the strategic planning process to gain buy-in for the final plan. Just as important in knowing who to have participate, is knowing […]
Consider this common position of a strategic planning leader: During the course of the interview process for a strategic plan, a key physician leader notes his discontent with current OR operations, specifically turnaround time; He wants to know how this issue will be improved as a result of the planning process. What is the best […]
One effective way to involve a large stakeholder group in the strategic planning process is through a leadership retreat. A retreat can be an opportunity to kick off the process, gather feedback, or transition to implementation. Additionally, annual retreats are an effective way to update your strategic plan throughout the current planning horizon. To […]
An important component of any strategic plan is an accurate internal assessment of the organization. It combines data analysis with qualitative information and analysis to formulate an accurate profile of the historical performance. Along with the external assessment, it establishes the organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) and identifies competitive advantages and disadvantages that […]
There are multiple factors to consider when building a strategic plan; competition, quality and care experience, culture, and market and industry innovation, are just a few of the most critical components. It is often said that sound strategy development is both an art and a science – requiring planners to blend intuition and creative problem […]
Successful strategic planning begins with careful, thoughtful organization. One mistake commonly made in an organization’s strategic planning process is the failure to appropriately organize the process before diving into the work and/or analyses. To avoid this mistake, organizations are encouraged to spend time working through an organizational phase prior to engaging in the actual planning […]
Many health care organizations that undergo a strategic planning process come across common issues that can cause a plan to derail or stall. Some of the typical problems that can limit the effectiveness of strategic planning process include: Failing to involve the right people There are times when too many or too few stakeholders are […]
Community hospitals are facing a new era of health care where shrinking margins are not the only concern. They will be responsible for managing the health of the community, as opposed to just episodic treatment. In order to meet this need, the community hospital must be able to provide, or engage a partner to provide, […]
Once the majority of a strategic planning cycle has occurred – including a thorough environmental assessment, comprehensive review and appropriate revision of mission, vision and values, and development of goals and strategies – a transition will take place, shifting attention away from planning activities and toward more action-oriented implementation activities. Engaging in structured and objective […]