Counterintuitive Thinking During Difficult Times: Bold Growth Strategies

A Texas-based community hospital offers an example of the patient and employer-oriented category. It is pursuing accelerated entry to targeted markets on both sides of its current service area and simultaneously creating barriers to competitor entry in those regions by establishing a joint venture with a large retailer that would incorporate health clinics in its stores in both markets. A moderate level of innovation will be incorporated specific to patient access and care coordination through the use of electronic medical records and other tactics. The strategy is anticipated to have a high level of impact specific to creating awareness, preference, and use of the hospital by two large new pools of patients. The strategy was managed within an environment that has a high level of risk considering that the hospital had no prior experience with retail healthcare and the return on investment is deferred.

To be bold, a technology-oriented strategy must create a fundamental change to one or more of the following: the location, process, outcome, and/or cost of clinical care. Such strategies typically involve disruptive innovation rather than an iterative evolution. For example, the adoption of a 128 slice CT scanner would constitute an incremental evolution. In contrast, implementation of a handheld MRI device would be disruptive and bold. Technology-oriented bold strategies are demonstrated by companies that are achieving innovation in diagnostic and therapeutic clinical equipment as well as those developing wireless healthcare products. This includes using smart phones and wearable, ingestible, and implantable monitors and medication delivery products. A few examples among the many exciting concepts are physiologic function monitoring, cardiac function monitoring, mobile medication reminders, and wireless band-aid based sensing and communicating devices.

A close review of the organizations briefly described above and others reveals that there are 10 critical success factors for the pursuit of bold growth strategies. Those CSFs are summarized here:

• Create/reinforce a culture that emphasizes openness to change, taking control of transforming the organization, as well as accepting and learning from failure. Avoid "hunkering down."
• Allow flexibility to reallocate capital and operating funds mid-year to capitalize on new qualified opportunities that are suddenly identified.
• Identify the implications of the convergence of trends within and beyond healthcare.
• Change and integrate the organization's structure, process, people, resources, and rewards as needed to streamline and accelerate analysis and decision-making related to bold strategies and their implementation.
• Strong, proactive, and visible support by the CEO.
• Designate a "champion" for the growth initiative. Free-up 30 to 100% of his or her time to devote to that initiative, and allow for changes in processes so he/she can expedite analysis, decision-making, and implementation.
• Once a decision is made, all parties must be fully "on board" and committed 24/7 to success. There are no allowances for second guessing or foot-dragging.
• Where possible, leverage existing resources (e.g., minimize time to market and investment) and/or utilized strategic partnerships (e.g., expertise, brand identity, funding)
• Be creative in considering a broad array of sources for and creative approaches to accessing capital
• Establish and reinforce accountability

To enhance an organization's future success, its leaders should not wait for change but instead "drive" it with bold revenue growth strategies. The identification of opportunities for those strategies is simply the initial step. A second critical component is to accelerate the decision-making and implementation of those strategies.