The Strategic Management of Health Care Organizations Quotes

“strategic planning without managing strategic momentum. Alan Weiss, in his irreverent book Our Emperors Have No Clothes, explains that in these situations the problem is that “[s]trategy is usually viewed as an annual exercise at best, an event that creates a ‘product,’ and not a process to be used to actually run the business.”30”
― Peter M. Ginter, The Strategic Management of Health Care Organizations

“Strategies must be developed that best deliver the products or services to the customers through pre-service, point-of-service, and after-service activities.”
― Peter M. Ginter, The Strategic Management of Health Care Organizations

“Directional strategies are the broadest strategies, set the fundamental direction of the organization, and generally include the organization’s mission, vision, values, and strategic goals.”
― Peter M. Ginter, The Strategic Management of Health Care Organizations

“External forces, such as a change in health policy or an increase in competition, suggest “what the organization should do.” That is, success is a matter of being effective – doing the “right”
― Peter M. Ginter, The Strategic Management of Health Care Organizations

“The plan sets direction for the organization and – through a common understanding of the vision and broad strategic goals – provides a template for everyone in the organization to make consistent decisions that move the organization toward its envisioned future. Because strategic planning provides a platform for setting direction for an organization, it is seen as essential for all types of organizations. Bain and Company, a global consulting firm, tracks the trends in management concepts. They accomplish this tracking by means of a survey of executives throughout the world. In most years of the survey, strategic planning has ranked as the number one management concept used by the responding executives. In its most recent ranking, strategic planning was tied with benchmarking as the second most often used management tool.”
― Peter M. Ginter, The Strategic Management of Health Care Organizations

“Leadership is a performing art – a collection of practices and behaviors – not a position.27 Everyone, at all levels, should be encouraged to think strategically and consider how to reinvent what he or she does.”
― Peter M. Ginter, The Strategic Management of Health Care Organizations

“Successful strategies often require being what you haven’t been, thinking as you haven’t thought, and acting as you haven’t acted.26”
― Peter M. Ginter, The Strategic Management of Health Care Organizations

“Strategic thinkers are always questioning: “What are we doing now that we should stop doing?” “What are we not doing now, but should start doing?” and “What are we doing now that we should continue to do but perhaps in a fundamentally different way?”
― Peter M. Ginter, The Strategic Management of Health Care Organizations

“Strategic thinkers draw on the past, understand the present, and envision an even better future. Strategic thinking requires a mindset – a way of thinking or intellectual process that accepts change, analyzes the causes and outcomes of change, and attempts to direct an organization’s future to capitalize on the changes. More specifically, strategic thinking: Acknowledges the reality of change. Questions current assumptions and activities. Builds on an understanding of systems. Envisions possible futures. Generates new ideas. Considers context, organizational fit, and industry dynamics.”
― Peter M. Ginter, The Strategic Management of Health Care Organizations

“Strategic thinkers see the future. Vision and a sense of the future are inherent parts of strategic thinking. Strategic thinkers are constantly reinventing the future – creating windows on the world of tomorrow. James Kouzes and Barry Posner in their book The Leadership Challenge indicated: “All enterprises or projects, big or small, begin in the mind’s eye; they begin with imagination and with the belief that what is merely an image can one day be made real.”
― Peter M. Ginter, The Strategic Management of Health Care Organizations

“Mired in a complex situation, the leader must rise above it to understand it. Preserving distance may be the only way to see the full picture.24 This skill is similar to an athlete leaving the playing field and going to the press box to observe the game and see its broader context. Thus, strategic managers must be able to keep perspective and see the big picture – not get lost in the action. Continuing the sports metaphor, to truly understand the big picture, one must not only go to the press box to observe the “game,” but must also have a “quiet room” to periodically think about it, to understand it, and perhaps to change the strategy or players.”
― Peter M. Ginter, The Strategic Management of Health Care Organizations

“and see the “big picture.” It has been observed that leaders, similar to great athletes, must simultaneously play the game and observe it as a whole.”
― Peter M. Ginter, The Strategic Management of Health Care Organizations

“The distinction among the terms strategic thinking, strategic planning, and strategic momentum is important and all three activities must occur in true strategically managed organizations. Therefore, each element of the model is explored in more depth.”
― Peter M. Ginter, The Strategic Management of Health Care Organizations

“analyze, use intuition, and reinvent the strategy as they proceed. As the physicist David Bohm observed, the purpose of science is not the “accumulation of knowledge” but rather the creation of “mental maps” that start our journey to further discovery.22”
― Peter M. Ginter, The Strategic Management of Health Care Organizations

“What is needed is some type of model that provides guidance or direction to strategic managers, yet incorporates learning and change. If strategy making can be approached in a disciplined way, then there will be an increased likelihood of its successful implementation. A model or map of how strategy may be developed will help organizations view their strategies in a cohesive, integrated, and systematic way.20 Without a model or map, managers run the risk of becoming totally incoherent, confused in perception, and muddled in practice.”
― Peter M. Ginter, The Strategic Management of Health Care Organizations

“The concept of the compass provides a unique blend of thinking, performance, analysis, and intuition.19 Similar to the scientific method, which in theory has clear specific steps to be followed, in reality strategy making is a messy process with many starts and stops.”
― Peter M. Ginter, The Strategic Management of Health Care Organizations

“pacesetter organizations “did not wait to act until they had a perfectly conceived plan; instead, they create the plan by acting.”18”
― Peter M. Ginter, The Strategic Management of Health Care Organizations

“The analytical approach is similar to a map, whereas the emergent model is similar to a compass. Both may be used to guide one to a destination. A map is a convenient metaphor for a predetermined plan, guideline, or method. Maps are better in known worlds – worlds that have been charted before. A compass serves as a useful metaphor for an intuitive sense of direction and leadership. Compasses are helpful when leaders are not sure where they are and have only a general sense of direction.17”
― Peter M. Ginter, The Strategic Management of Health Care Organizations

“As can be observed world-wide, referendums, elections, and changes in government can have a substantial impact on organizations and a clear understanding of the difference in health policy and strategic management is essential.”
― Peter M. Ginter, The Strategic Management of Health Care Organizations

“strategy is a consistent, relatively enduring approach to achieve a goal or objective; a type of plan that provides a set of guidelines or a line of attack for an organization to move from where it is today to a desired state sometime in the future.”
― Peter M. Ginter, The Strategic Management of Health Care Organizations

“collectively referred to as “strategic management.” More specifically, strategic management is the process of strategic thinking, strategic planning, and managing the strategic momentum of an organization to provide direction and achieve the organization’s mission and vision.”
― Peter M. Ginter, The Strategic Management of Health Care Organizations

“Strategic management enables leaders to make sense of change and develop strategies to position organizations for success in the continuously evolving health care environment.”
― Peter M. Ginter, The Strategic Management of Health Care Organizations

“Staying relevant is the key to success.”
― Peter M. Ginter, The Strategic Management of Health Care Organizations