Frank and his team had narrowed their choice down to three firms vying for the development of a new service line: our firm, and two other veteran players who didn't focus on having a strategic vision to guide their successes.
These were intelligent decision-makers, listening to final presentations about why each firm was the right choice for this business. They knew how to evaluate. They had a history of great decision-making. And as far as we could tell from people on the inside, the principals of each candidate firm were equally liked and well regarded, including us.
Later we heard that one of the teams brought goodies into the room. Cakes, cookies, sodas, and candy. We heard the other team brought their entire office into the board room, crowding the decision-makers with bodies that added little but extra heat and reduced oxygen.
When our time came, we focused all our confidence on the single most important determinant of success in building a new -- or redeveloping an existing -- blockbuster service line: the collaborative process of helping our clients arrive at a Strategic Vision. And it was just the two of us.
It was not a surprise to us that members of the Board sat in on these presentations. Hospital investment historically reached into the several millions when all was tabulated, and board members took their fiduciary responsibility very seriously. But it was the board chair, and not the CEO, who leveled the critical question to us: Why would a strategic vision make the difference between those who try and fail and those who wildly succeed? Our reply was as powerful as it was simple: The Strategic Vision sets the unified agenda for the expectation for, and definition of, ultimate success.
I'll repeat that: The Strategic Vision sets the unified agenda for the expectation for, and the definition of, ultimate success.
A strategic vision is a process that allows all key staff to participate in airing possibilities for success with regard to the customer environment, the competitive environment, the regulatory environment, the referral and reputation environment, the financial environment, and the physical environment. It seeks to discover successes and failures that correspond to this kind of service launch, as a basis of comparison for what will work and what will not.
The strategic vision begs the question how the launch will integrate with all other components in the hospital, not just functional but also cultural, and asks whether it can become integrated into the overall strategic plan for the company. The process helps all contributors winnow the possibilities to the one to three that are likely candidates for success. It articulates what that success looks like, and manages the expectations so that everyone on the team -- both at this moment and down the line when attrition and new hires have changed the team -- have the same, precise understanding of the final expected outcome, allowing the consultants and those who execute (we are both) to do what they do best: build a bridge from point A to point B.
We've witnessed hospitals have all the best resources in the world and fall on their well-branded faces because the team was not unified in its expectation for and definition of ultimate success. And we've seen organizations with very limited resources unsure how they'd compete realize amazing success because everyone was on the same team, both figuratively and literally. This kind of unity happens when a dream is shared, and people know they have a part in making that dream come alive.
A vision is a powerful tool that unites people for a common cause. It is at the heart of what it means to be American. It compels people to give their all, to sacrifice for ultimate glory, and to remember why they chose this line of work in the first place. And when a dream is infused with strategic intent and tactical fulfillment, nothing gets in the way of a predetermined successful outcome.
-----Michael
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