Think Like a Strategist
This article urges healthcare professionals to adopt a strategic mindset to navigate the evolving landscape of healthcare in Canada. It offers three key tips for thinking strategically about future opportunities and highlights the importance of a unique strategy that leverages personal experiences and competencies.
Opportunities are all around us. There are big and small problems to be solved and critical opportunities waiting to be taken advantage of. Strategy is largely about differentiation, being specific about what you do and what you don’t do. Your strategy should align with your values and your passions. As we reflect on the changing landscape of healthcare practices in Canada and as we foreshadow increased disruption and technological advancements, I encourage you to think like a strategist.
Here are 3 key tips to think strategically about future opportunities:
Pattern Recognition
Your ability to recognize patterns and be receptive to the opportunities that exist in your practice, communities, and profession comes with life experience. Your unique perspective as a human and as a healthcare professional will help you view opportunities as conditions change around you. Patterns can be identified through the questions from your patients, the frustrations of your team, the stories of successes and failures in your ecosystem, cultural barriers you encounter, and so much more. Consider making a few quick notes in a journal or digital folder as you notice patterns and opportunities in your daily practice. When you catch yourself saying things like “wouldn’t it be great if …” or “that’s the third time someone has asked about….”. These thoughts are born out of pattern recognition, and they are a sign that there may be room for strategic focus.
2. Breadth Does Not Equal Value
Mere competency in what you do is not the right goal. The reality is, it is easier to be strong in one area of practice than it is to be strong in every area of practice. Look, when I drive down a street in the city in which I live and see a car wash that is also a laundromat that also sells fried chicken it’s hard to believe that they are best in class at any of those three things. Similarly, it’s hard to believe, even though we want to, that a single practice can be honestly the best choice for everyone. Or that a single practice can perfectly tailor their services to meet the demands across all spectrums of the social determinants of health such as income statuses, gender identities, education levels, cultural factors, etc. Niching down and becoming excellent instead of merely competent is a switch that will help you serve patients better rather than one that takes away from patient care.
3. Align Operations with Strategy
Living and breathing your strategy while maintaining a competitive advantage requires you to be purposeful about ensuring the operational activities in your practice reinforce your strategic decisions. This means being intentional about strategic fit across all operational areas like processes, workflow, location and layout, marketing, competencies, resources, technology, organizational culture, and more. Evaluate each of your operational activities for alignment with your core strategy.
At the end of the day, crafting a strategy is not the same as making a business plan. Your strategy needs to be unique and built through your specific experiences, perspectives, competencies, and interests to be truly viable. It should be crystal clear about what you do and for whom. And remember, if your competitors would describe their strategy the same way you describe yours, it is not a strategy at all.
Adapted for general health practices from publications written for Pharmacy Practice + Business magazine: