Leverage Points: Mission and Vision
By Willis C. Triplett, Pharm.D.
In previous issues, I’ve talked about (1) getting the wrong people off the bus, and (2) getting the right people onto the bus. I quoted Jim Collins as saying that having the right people on the bus is even more important than it is to know where the bus is going. The importance of having the right people reemphasizes itself every day as you interact with your co-workers. There is a joy to working with like-minded, similarly-dedicated teammates. Conversely, there is great discomfort when you feel like you are the only one who cares. Once you are quite certain that you’ve got the right people on the bus, the next priority is to deploy the
Mission and Vision (M&V). Working with the right people, but leaving them ignorant of the M&V, is like a day without sunshine.
1. Define the
Mission and Vision with crystalline clarity
You cannot teach your staff what you yourself do not know. Therefore it is imperative for you to take the time and effort to clearly develop what you are in business to do, and what your priorities are. The way to do this is to ask yourself the question, “Why am I in this business?” This is no trivial question and the answers are not trivial either.
Are you in business to make money? Is optimization of profit a high priority? Are you doing this to provide the best care in the world or are you satisfied to simply meet community standards? Do you absolutely prohibit any variance from legal or billing compliance? Chances are that the answer to more than one of these questions is some degree of “yes.” Setting M&V is about setting our points of compromise. It’s like “peeling the onion.” We peel away the outer layers – the priorities that are less dear – driving toward the inner layers – the most precious priorities.
I suggest that you undertake the definition of priorities as a formal, rigorous process, because, once you have, you will have a compass for your business. You will have defined “True North.” It can be your guide through troubled times.
2. Prepare your Training Program
Relative to training, the home infusion industry is stratified along two lines. There are the big companies, with many operational sites, in contrast to the many smaller companies that operate only 1 to 4 sites. The bigger companies typically have a rigorous, formal program, but the smaller companies typically do not. The larger companies often have a corporate-level training department. Smaller companies cannot typically spare the resources for such activities. They may recognize the need, but training cannot usually climb high enough up the list of priorities to get done. Training perpetually remains “tomorrow’s priority.”
For those companies that do not have a rigorous, formal training program, my advice is that you force yourself to get it done. Lay out a plan for it, that incorporates reasonable timelines, and stick to it. When you get it done, it will pay dividends for years to come.
3. Deploy your M&V to all staff
After you have clarified your M&V, and you have prepared a training program to allow your staff to understand your values in order of priority, you should then deploy that knowledge to your staff. Each pertinent staff member should be able – at the end of the training – to make decisions on your behalf that will approximate the decisions you yourself would have made. They will know the outer layers of the onion from the inner layer, and will make the “right” judgment in the great majority of cases.
4. Test the effectiveness of your deployment of M&V
Every business runs on measurement. This principle should include deployment of mission and vision. After you have defined your mission and vision and trained your staff in the hierarchy of your organization’s values, you must ensure that the planting of seeds yields a crop. You should systematically re-examine each and every staff member regularly to demonstrate that they have retained the lessons. Furthermore, you should observe their day-to-day decisions and provide them clear and immediate corrective feedback on whether those decisions are in keeping with your corporate values.
Undertaking these steps requires an investment on your part. The return on investment is that you can trust that when you are not watching your staff’s every action, they will (probably) be making the decisions and judgments in alignment with your mission, vision and values. In my opinion, this “ROI” is attractive enough to take action.