By Tom Schramski, PhD
Volume 1 Issue 4, March 18, 2014
It’s possible that “strategy” is one of the most misused words in today’s business English. With much thanks to Alan Weiss, mentor and best-selling author of Million Dollar Consulting, as well as Benjamin Tregoe and John Zimmerman, authors of Top Management Strategy, it is quite clear to me that what we call strategy is a disservice to understanding what effective strategy is about. As Trego and Zimmerman emphasize, strategy is “the framework which guides those choices that determine the nature and direction of an organization.” In other words, strategy is the vision of what an organization should be and provides guidelines for the choices made at the outset and along the way.
With this in mind, here are five truths for the leaders of companies, healthcare and otherwise, who are looking to formulate a strategic view of their marketplace:
Clearly understanding the driving force of your strategy and developing an effective strategic framework requires self-discipline. Many of us balk at this in our preoccupation with daily operations and prefer the “fly by the seat of our pants” approach that may have even worked at one point. The problem with the latter approach is that it will bring anarchy to your business model while decreasing your opportunities for success in the rapidly evolving new normal.
Tom was the Founder and Managing Partner of VERTESS. He was a Certified Merger & Acquisition Advisor (CM&AA), consultant, and Licensed Psychologist with over 35 years of very successful national experience in the healthcare marketplace, including co-founding and building a $25 million behavioral health/disabilities services company. Tom represented sellers and investors across the healthcare spectrum and was recognized for his executive leadership in the 2005 Entrepreneur of the Year issue of Inc. Tom passed away in December 2018.