September kicks off fall, my favorite season of the year. Fall has the hallmarks of new beginnings, as it was the start of a new year for myself when I was younger and, more recently, for my children. For me, fall is a time to look up, step back, take a deep breath of the crisp air, and look forward.
For many healthcare organizations, the fall also kicks strategic planning into full gear. And, with so much change on the horizon, strategy has never been more important.
Many healthcare strategic leaders are looking deeper at their ‘strategic stack’ to ensure that their organization is positioned to thrive in the coming era. With this in mind, and the early scent of fall here in New England, I thought I’d share some thoughtson how strategy has moved front and center as the most critical task of healthcare organizations over the next few years.
Revisiting Strategy
At Spring Street Exchange, we define strategy as a means for sustainable differentiation. This means offering something special to consumers, patients, members, and/or partners that generates value that cannot be duplicated by others.
Many healthcare organizations have relied upon their nonprofit status or mission as a means of differentiation. Yet, the mission of most healthcare organizations is shockingly similar and usually less visible to consumers. Leading in the new era is likely to require unlocking value for consumers that is realized through cost savings, better experience, or both in a way that is not industry standard.
Strategic or table stakes?
Many healthcare organizations have missions or strategy statements that are too general to offer differentiation or that are focused on catching up with the same attributes of others in the industry. Some examples include:
Helping people to achieve their greatest level of health: Most sectors and organizations in the healthcare ecosystem are trying to help people lead their best lives available given their health status. It is a fantastic goal and focus, but not unique.
Embracing whole-person care: There is growing recognition that social factors are a strong driver of health for individuals, families, and communities. As government programs and risk-based contracts increasingly recognize the importance of socially informed care, most payers and providers are exploring their role in this ecosystem. Without a doubt, there are ways to embrace socially informed care that lowers costs and improves health that are different from competitors. Almost all are talking about a listening approach to community partnerships. Because funds are limited, this will likely require additional strategic focus.
Simplifying healthcare: I don’t know anyone who thinks the US healthcare system is simple, accessible, or truly consumer friendly. Therefore, everyone wants to work on this. Simplifying healthcare truly cannot be achieved by being more and more efficient at how healthcare has always been. With AI and other emerging technology, there are new ways to solve historic problems. Truly simplifying healthcare will require re-imagining the healthcare journey.
Many companies don’t make their strategy publicly known, but you can pull together the mission, vision, values, and what you can gather about the strategy of your competitors and place these in a framework for a strategic view of your market. You may believe that your competitors don’t live up to all of their promises the way your organization does, but they still are leading on these values in their communications.
Strategies are more difficult to compare because most organizations do not directly share their secret sauce. Still, you infer strategic direction through websites, annual reports, press releases, analyst reports, filings, and community giving. By placing these on brand and strategy maps, you can see where there is differentiation and overlapping messages in your market. Aside: We love this work – call us if you’re interested in developing a regional brand and strategy map.
Can we wait just one more year until our ducks are in a row?
The rest of the industry is not waiting to evolve until your organization catches up. Competitors are working at breakneck speed to form alliances, embrace new tech, and achieve efficiencies on new dimensions. Because the bar is always moving, there will never be a magical moment when the organization has caught up.
Even more, waiting to align ducks misses a critical opportunity. Updating vision and strategy is likely to influence how your organization takes on current gaps and challenges. Your team's mindset when addressing problems can be leavened and even invigorated if it is done in a manner that helps the organization drive toward an inspiring vision. Even if many of the same activities are taking place, that process feels more meaningful to a mission-driven team than fixing problems to catch up.
How to connect future thinking with your current work plan
On a hopeful note, because there is little differentiating strategy in healthcare, the opportunity when adopting one is immense. Whether focusing on a unique position in the community, specializing in working with a particular demographic, or redefining the healthcare administrative and financing process, there are opportunities to carve out a value proposition that will make it hard for others to match.
The fall can be the perfect time to engage in an assessment of your current strategic planning process for recommendations to inform the following year. This period is an efficient time for such an assessment because it allows your strategic advisor to follow along in real time rather than having to come back later to review and re-construct the process. Many companies may want to consider including an initiative to refresh their strategy as part of their strategic plan for 2025. This can take place while you're still getting your ducks in a row!
I’d love to hear how your strategic planning process aligns (or not) with what I’ve described here. It’s absurd how much I love this stuff – feel free to reach out if you’d like to chat about any of it.
Warmly,
Nancy