Harness the East Winds blowing through healthcare

The winds of change are blowing – gusting even – in health care. Some say these are the East Winds, the winds that topple the foundations of historically successful organizations if they cling to the status quo. I agree and believe we must embrace the winds. They will make us stronger, and they can deepen and broaden our roots if we position our companies effectively. Even sailboats can travel faster than the wind if they position their sails the right way. So, how can we position ourselves to move faster than the health care winds of change?

First, we must analyze and document our assumptions about the future. What is our belief about the future in three, five, seven and even 10 years? What will customer and consumer behavior look like? What will the industry landscape look like? What will capital markets look like? What will the regulatory landscape be? While there is no certainty, this helps us document plausible futures, articulate our beliefs through available evidence, and then pick a future we believe is the most likely.

Next, we must manage our business model portfolio. Let me distinguish – this is not project portfolio management. Many companies do well with this, but they believe that successful projects tied to current strategy is an indicator of their alignment and future success. In my humble yet bold opinion, this does not help a company withstand the East Winds. Projects are not the unit of competition – business models are.

Projects should be linked to the renovation or creation of business models. How else can you articulate where you are headed and how to get there if you don’t address the unit of choice and competition in the market? Take a rigorous approach to scoring your current portfolio of business models against the future you believe will happen. Once that work is done, it will be easier to know which business models need to be renovated, created or exited, and which partners you will need to work with to strengthen your ability to win.

Remember that the focus isn't on trying to beat your competition. The obsession must be on the customer and their influences. If you are chasing the competition, you are already behind. What you read about and observe about your competition is a rearview mirror. We don’t compete back there. We compete now and build to compete tomorrow. Delighting the customers and consumers leads to winning. Harness the wind; to do that you must have a consumer- and customer- driven business model transformation system.

Stitching together your portfolio of business models into a winning proposition is the key to withstanding the East Winds. That is the premise of a strong company. Once you have a clear vision of a probable future with prioritized business models to create and renovate, it is time for the final step - execute!