Strategic Planning and Strategic Thinking in the Healthcare Industry - Term Paper Example

? Day Month Year Strategic Planning vs. Strategic Thinking in the Healthcare Industry Introduction The healthcare industry is quite unique in corporate America. The very nature of the business requires leadership to be fluid and constantly changing. A strategic plan must be properly implemented in order to allow for continued growth and profitability, yet to arrive at that point also requires strategic thinking. Developing a strategic plan involves creating a regular and periodic process whereby the goals and objectives of the healthcare organization are evaluated and updated as needed. Such a plan is needed in order to provide for an overall operation that is successful, allow for expansion, and ensure profitability in the long run. A strategic plan also requires strategic thinking. The healthcare industry needs visionary leaders that are willing to think outside the box, pushing the organization forward with a plan for the present and an eye towards the future. Such strategic thinking put the teeth to an organizations goals and objectives, something that is desperately needed in an industry that is changing as rapidly as that of healthy care. It is also critically important to consider new legislation, cost containment measures, the ever-changing innovation offered to patents today in terms of taking care of their health. The visionary healthcare leader must take all of these factors, and more, into account before a strategic plan can be developed and implemented. This paper examines the process of that strategic planning and thinking in the healthcare industry, with the goal of making recommendations about how leaders in the field can better push their respective organizations forward towards increased success and prosperity. Strategic Planning Many healthcare organizations today lack true vision. Simply put, they may have great and lofty vision statements, but without action, they mean little. In order for a healthcare provider to truly live by its stated vision for the future, an innovative and forward thinking leader is needed. Such a person would push the organization towards getting to exactly where the vision directs them to go. This is often a painful process, but the rewards would be well worth it. In order then, for a healthy care organizations to reach the goals and objective set on in a vision plan for the future, a solid strategic plan is necessary. The strategic plan for an organization takes the vision and turns it into a timeline of sorts. It gives the executive team and all stakeholders involved in the organization a detailed plan that, if followed, should hopefully lead to the realization and actualization of whatever objectives are set forth in the vision statement. Such a plan would end up dictating and guiding what needs to be done, by whom, and list certain critical deadlines. This involves creating a roadmap of sorts where the organization takes the vision statement, creates a path to follow, and then sets out to get there on a realistic timeline. Without a strategic plan, the vision statement for an organization would likely end up being just another glossy piece of paper that is hung on the walls of the facility and quickly forgotten (Ginter & Swayne 33). In essence, then, it can be said that a solid strategic plan for a health care organization involved first creating a focused strategic plan. Current shifts and changes in the healthcare industry necessitate such a strategic plan. These changes are affecting virtually every aspect of the healthcare industry. This includes emergency services, outpatient care, long-term care facilities, and the list goes on. The healthcare industry is currently undergoing much change in terms of demographic and financial organization. To develop a strategic plan in the healthcare industry means that leaders must outline a vision that covers activities in all areas of the field, while at the same time ensuring that the facility remains competitive in the health care services marketplace. This is no easy task to be sure. This idea of strategic planning involves looking towards the future by consider new healthcare services that can be offered, taking into consideration new innovations and advances that will be coming on the market. In addition, it can entail the formation of an entirely new medical practice that capitalizes on employee strengths and fits a growing need within the community that it serves. Strategic planning also requires a leadership team that is constantly looking for ways to improve the current operations and flow of patients within the facility (Ginter & Swayne 33). This aspect of the plan focuses on improving patient satisfaction, maximizing the number of individuals that can receive quality care on a daily basis, and minimize expenses at the same time. This can only be accomplished through careful planning and a vision for the future. Healthcare organizations are not immune from market pressure and competition. Every year, countless facilities are forced to shutter their doors, not necessarily due to a lack of patients, but as a direct result of failing to implement a solid strategic plan that could have guided the organization through tough patches that do occur from time to time. Such a plan involves creating a master strategic plan, developing marketing studies that are designed to assist leaders how best to implement the plan, and then look towards the financial feasibility of reaching the goals that they have set out for the organization (Ginter & Swayne 33). With shifting legislation, such as the Affordable Care Act on the horizon, it is essential that such a business and strategic plan be consider as the model for effective healthcare organizations. The facility that stays stagnant, with no direction for the future, will likely find itself quickly swallowed up by other organizations that are more forward thinking and progressive. Finally, it is important to remember that no strategic plan succeeds perfectly every time. There will need to be certain flexibility with the roadmap presented, whereby the leadership team can make needed adjustments as bumps and forks in the road crop up along the way. This is natural state of any business, but is especially true of the dynamic and rapidly changing nature of the healthy care industry (Ginter & Swayne). For this reason, leaders in this field need to possess the ability to not only plan, but to think strategically. Strategic thinking, therefore, is just as critical to long-term viability of health care organizations that the strategic planning process is overall. Strategic Thinking The role of the leader in a healthcare facility must not simply be viewed as the individual in charge of operations, budgetary matters, or marketing of products and services. If this were the case, then there would be no need for a COO or CFO. The leader of such an organization must be viewed in a different light. It is important that the leader be visionary and that they think with a critical mind always centered on the present, but focused on the future. When this occurs, strategic thinking takes place and the entire organization will see lasting and long-term benefits from a solid plan focused on growth the viability. There are some commonly held qualities of a visionary healthcare leader who is a strategic thinker. One such area of leadership is insight. This encompasses many areas, beginning with experience, continuing on to have a unique perspective about all matters related to healthcare, and ending with the ability to constantly assess situations and provide firmly grounded recommendations. It is important to remember that an insightful person can be a young person (Fontaine 87). While age can certainly add maturity that transcends boundaries, we must be mindful that the healthcare industry is quite unique in its dynamic nature. A young person may possess, for example, far more experience that a professional twice his or her age, particular in certain strategic areas of the company that need to be addressed immediately. It is also important that a strategic thinker and visionary leader exude and openness and desire to learn from others that is contagious. Strategic thinking most definitely involves a team-oriented process. The leader alone should not desire to implement radical change without being open enough to ask questions, share experiences, and gain input from all sectors and departments in the organization. In the healthcare industry, as in most forward thinking organizations, there is no place for a leader to exert an ego that prohibits him or her from listening to subordinates, being willing to adapt to the ideas of others, and to be willing to admits mistakes or failures. In fact, part of strategic thinking involves trying new ideas or concepts, and learning from failures that are likely to occur from time to time. In this day and age, strategic thinking in healthcare is largely focused on cost containment. Visionary leaders, however, will be open enough to not implement any plans that sacrifices or compromises patient safety. At this same time, the public is greatly concerned about the rising cost of medical services, so it is important that those involved in the strategic thinking process devise ways that brings down costs by reducing costs, while actually expanding services to provide for a better patient experience (Fontaine 87). This is not easy task to be sure, and requires an individual willing to be open and insightful. While it is true that ego’s should be set aside when an individuals enters into a leadership position at a healthcare facility, it is also important that this person be self-confident and sure in his or her abilities. The strategic thinker and leader do need to be open-minded, but eventually they must make decisions that impact the entire organization (Fontaine 87). This includes patients and employees alike. As such, at some point they need to exert the self-confidence required to take all of the various ideas presented to them, arrive at what they feel to be the best course of action, and proceed with authority by developing a related strategic plan. A strategic and visionary thinker is responsible for the decision that they eventually make. They must submit their plans to an executive board and answer for any mistakes that are made (Fontaine 87). It is a difficult position to be in for the healthcare professional because so many lives are at stake. Self-confidence, therefore, is a must. In addition, clarify is a must. Strategic thinking does lead to a strategic plan. Such plans, however, are meaningless if they are made completely clear to everyone involved in the organization. This involves constant communication, trainings, and updates. Patients and staff alike that are involved in the organization need to feel comfortable in the changes that are being implemented, and they need to be cognizant of what is expected of them. The leader that can provide clarify in their communication is more likely to achieve complete buy-in when it is time to put real action to the strategic plan being proposed. Conclusion Strategic planning and strategic thinking are two complementary concepts that are essential processes in the modern healthcare organization. They may seem like the same notion, but they have some innate differences that this paper has highlighted. A strategic plan for example, is nearly meaningless, if strategic thinking did not take place during the process of mapping out a future that is hopefully filled with promise and increased productivity. Too many leaders set out to create a strategic plan without have a vision for the future. This vision can only come about through careful consideration and thinking. This can take place through numerous brainstorming sessions with key staff involved in the operations of the facility, and it occurs through having an openness and willingness to entertain suggestions and to ask questions of everyone involved. Finally, strategic planning and thinking in a healthcare organization involves a leadership team that is focused on developing and implementing a mission and vision statement for the organization. A mission statement will serve to facilitate a discussion about the objectives and goals that the facility has in a particular areas. It move the conversation towards a focus on how the healthcare organization will get to where it wants to be, by looking at where it is today. Such a statement will provide clearly defined objectives that are directly related to the values that the organization espouses. In essence, a mission statement talks about the present of the facility and leads is to the future, which is where a vision statement will help to facilitate the creation of a strategic plan. Mission statements can change over time as the needs of the person or company changes, but they should still related back to the original core values of the organization – which should not change. ??By contrast, a vision statement maps out what the future should look like.  It is the ‘where’ you want to go, even if you are not there right now.  Vision statements will typically contain timelines and definitions about how certain objectives and goals will be met at some point down the link.  It would be a clearly defined statement, realizing that the organization or person is not ‘there’ quite yet.  This is the process in developing a strategic plan, through engaging in a strategic thinking process, guided by a visionary leader who can push a healthcare organization into the next realm of delivering quality services, at affordable costs, to all patients. Works Cited Ginter, Peter and Swayne, Linda. “Moving Toward Strategic Planning Unique to Healthcare”. Frontiers of Health Services Management 23.2 (2006): 33. Fontaine, Rodrigue. “Teaching Strategic Thinking”. Journal of Global Business Trends 2.1 (2008): 87. Read More