A Journey to Pathology 3.0: Strategy Kernel
Branko Perunovic
Chief Medical Officer @ Black Country Pathology Service | Histopathology
Players, thinkers and power brokers within the pathology family should be thinking very actively about the world beyond 2024. In that context, a disposition towards productivity and innovation and the ability to move quickly, ?precisely and economically will be pivotal. But, frequently, the noses of people who should think about the future are pressed up so close to the ephemera of petty politics or petty cash that they seem incapable of stepping back and seeing the bigger picture until reality hits hard. Many will be tempted, as a safer option than sticking their neck too far by standing behind their original ideas, to accept the opinions of influential pundits and armchair strategists. These frequently dispense their advice or instructions from the comfort of their bubble, building their argument using vague theoretical frameworks, historical examples, formal authority or plain gift of the gab, without needing a reality check or bothering with the grit of implementation.
However, it is implementation where the rubber of the strategy meets the road, and good strategy invariably boils down to a coherent and coordinated set of discrete choices between competing values and priorities to address critical challenges. As Richard Rumelt described in his eye-opening "Good Strategy, Bad Strategy" classic, good strategy requires a framework for dealing with challenges. It requires its kernel.
A good strategy kernel consists of three components. The first step is a diagnosis. Pathologists should be familiar with this. A good diagnosis is more than just describing the situation. It involves a detailed analysis to identify the problems and challenges that must addressed, and, to be helpful, it offers a streamlined view of reality.
The second step is a clear guiding policy. It is an overarching approach or method for overcoming the diagnosed challenge. Just as the diagnosis narrows down the problem, the guiding policy should help focus on the solution. Again, this should be the bread and butter stuff for the pathology community.
Finally, a good strategy will contain a set of practical, coherent and coordinated actions that carry out the guiding policy, complement each other and create synergy designed to overcome the challenge.
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The latter may not be our cup of tea. The history of many pathology networks shows that our actions often resemble the movement of the dust particles put in verse by the Roman philosopher-poet Lucretius or the motion of pollen grains described by the botanist Robert Brown, by whom this phenomenon is eponymously named. To be fair, the challenges for the pathology networks and profession were and will be at multiple levels and inextricably linked to those of the healthcare ecosystem and society.
There was not and still isn't sufficient leadership and management bandwidth needed to orchestrate and implement the most significant transformation in the profession's history while maintaining standard service simultaneously. Also, we jump-started the pathology transformation without scaling up and distributing the skill set required to organise system transformation of this scope. Only recently, as our collective experience with pathology consolidation grew, have we gained the opportunity to share knowledge and learn from one another.
We must face reality and admit that there is a massive gap in the context of volume and specific facets of expertise that we need for our journey. Some of these skills we may need in our repertoire for good and are worth embedding, while others may not be. Both of these will require engaging external expertise. Choosing the partners right for you, avoiding potential problems highlighted in the opening paragraphs, and empowering your team and external partners to work effectively to safeguard desired outcomes is a skill in its own right.
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Laboratory Performance Leader | Organizational and Individual Development | Empowerment through Consulting, Solutions and Learning | Entrepreneur
11 个月The emphasis on shifting from a focus on isolated, specific issues to a broader, systemic approach is both timely and relevant, given the complex challenges laboratory organizations face today. I recommend this as a read for my colleagues at LTS Health and LabVine.
Head of Service, Pathology & Trust Lead Healthcare Scientist, Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust. Research Interest - Long noncoding RNAs in Prostate Cancer Dormancy.
12 个月Very interesting piece Branko. For me , it is about productivity and efficiency and the guiding light for both is innovation. We have to be more creative and innovative with the way we design pathways and processes to allow for both continuous growth and reduction in spending. And yes, we may seek expertise from external sources, especially companies that have achieved verifiable success in the subject area. I remember in my previous employment, Roche Diagnostics UK & Ireland supported us with customer relationship management (CRM). Working with Kalwinder Ghatora and the team at Roche Diagnostics UK & Ireland opened up other opportunities for future collaboration. One important point to make is that we must acknowledge that to run successful networks, we need capable hands who understand what success and failure means and what it takes to achieve both.
Innovative Healthcare Professional | Open to New Opportunities
12 个月Branko Perunovic Interesting read on my Saturday. For me it boils down to proper usage of #designthinking & #Agile way of working. (When looking for a fitting picture, majority was included with Lean., not yet convinced that's an essential ingredient)