Don't create your healthcare roadmap without a final destination

“We know what to do, we just need to start doing it.”If I had a dollar for every time I heard this from an executive, I would probably have about $150. So I definitely couldn’t retire from it. But it is a phrase I hear quite often in meetings with clients and prospective clients. And whenever I hear it, only two thoughts jump to mind – they really don’t know what to do, or they don’t have any accountability to get it done. Either way, they need helped getting started.When an organization doesn’t know the next step to take, it procrastinates. Too often we look at these complex issues and opportunities and try to tackle them all at once. This paralyzes us, because the issue or opportunity is so large that we don’t know where to start. We try to transform the entire healthcare system instead of focusing on what we can influence. We try and make every procedure faster and better instead of focusing on the ones that make the most sense. We try to tackle funding issues all together instead of just the most needed areas.Not knowing where to start is a result of not knowing where you want to finish. Not having a clear vision of the direction the organization wants to take. If you don’t know where you want to get to, how can you determine the right way to get there? Think of your last road trip. Did you have a final destination? When you know the final destination, you can plot the steps to get you there. Too often in healthcare we leave for a road trip without knowing our final destination, so we drive around, going farther than we need to. Do you have a clear roadmap and know the first steps you need to take?Other organizations don’t have the right accountability in place to get things started. They may have a clear roadmap (although that is not always the case), but they haven’t decided who the driver will be. Everyone wants to sit shotgun so they can help navigate, but no one has taken the wheel and started driving.Lack of accountability happens for two reasons – no one wants to take accountability because of the risk, or the organization has not made clear the expectations. One of the first questions I ask prospective clients when we discuss a new project is, “Who is ultimately accountable for success or failure of this initiative?” That is the person that needs to be involved.Many organizations don’t make it clear who should be accountable for success or failure and what that accountability really means. What are they accountable for? How will we know if we succeeded or failed? What support will the person have?Only one person can be accountable for the success or failure of a project or initiative.Which of the two reasons stated above are stopping you from moving forward and improving performance?Andrew Miller is a leading expert in operational excellence, who helps his clients maximize profitability and performance by integrating strategies around driving innovation and collaboration, improving customer on boarding and retention, aligning strategy and execution, hiring and retaining top people, and optimizing speed. He can be reached at andrew@acmconsulting.ca

Don't create your healthcare roadmap without a final destination

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Andrew Miller