Excelerate Consulting: February 2011

Monday, February 21, 2011

Health Sector Resources from those in the Know

I was recently following a discussion group related to HIMMS and saw one that invited people to share their favourite health sector sources. As I reviewed the list and started to make notes, I thought, why not share with a broader audience? So here is the list from a variety of colleagues involved in healthcare, for your interest:

Books:

Healthcare Quality Handbook by Janet Brown

Results that Last by Quint Studer

Innovators Prescription: A Disruptive Solution for Healthcare by Jason Hwang and Clayton Christensen

Chaos & Organization in Health Care by Thomas Lee MD and James Nonjan MD

Journals:

Health Management Technology

Journal of HIM

Journal of AHIMA

Web:

www. Advanced.com

www.AHIMA.org

www.AHIP.org

www.beckersasc.com/eweekly/HRE021611.html

www.expresshealthcaremgmt.com

www.fierce.com

http://geekdoctor.blogspot.com

www.healthcarescene.com

www.healthdatamanagement.com/reader_services/enewsletters.html

http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/

http://ehealthmusings.wordpress.com/

www. ihealthbeat.org

http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/

http://www.runningahospital.blogspot.com/

www.smartbrief.com/ahip

Twitter:

#hcsmca

#cmaer

#HIMSS11

#ehealth

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Aging: the next hot opportunity

As I approach the mid-century mark in the next few years, you could say this is self-serving. Fair enough! I was inspired by a client I am working on behalf of to think about what aging means to me. Of course, we all know about the aging demographic in North America and Europe. And smart companies and organizations are thinking about how to re-tool what they do to tap into the tremendous opportunities. While cosmetics companies have been promoting anti-wrinkle and age defying make up for years, others are looking at brain mapping, cures for dementia or how to keep seniors living independently for longer. I hope you are thinking about how you and your organization can leverage this exciting shift.

On a personal level, here's my list of why being a senior is better than being a teenager:
1. No pimples
2. You can be cranky and people make allowances
3. Maybe you don't move as fast, but you probably have a better strategy
4. Hopefully you have the money and the time to do what you like
5. Grandchildren to dote on and then send home
6. Friendships to treasure that you have built over a lifetime
7. You have learned how to roll with the punches
8. Ability to start a second, third or fourth career
9. The teen age years of resisting peer pressure on smoking, drugs and alcohol have paid off
10. We were there for the Rolling Stones, Nirvana and countless other hot bands

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Primary Care as Complex Adaptive System

Primary Care is a fascinating and rewarding sector that I enjoy working in tremendously. I recently summarized a presentation made by Dr. Clare Liddy at the OCRI Health IT lunch series, held February 9, 2011. Please read about it in Michael Martineau's blog at http://ehealthmusings.wordpress.com/2011/02/11/primary-care-as-an-example-of-complex-adaptive-systems-presentation-by-dr-clare-liddy/

Here's What My Clients Have to Say

Steve Doty
Executive Director, OneChange

"Mary quickly understood the opportunities for OneChange, working effectively with the staff to bring in new business development tools, improve the turnaround time in proposal development and set measurable objectives for the team."

Richard Bergman
President, Titan Building Products

" Mary provided me with strategic and tactical advice on creating a newsletter which she documented into a concise plan. She also shared her insights on social media and leveraging Twitter to build my brand."

Services

Marketing & Communications Capacity

Many organizations find themselves with plenty of ideas or projects, but not enough qualified marketing and communications resources to get the work done. Or, you may suddenly find yourself stranded because a key member has resigned and the hiring process may take 6 months before you get a replacement.

As an experienced marketing, communications and strategy executive, I can provide you with the expert project support and advice you need to keep the momentum building for your organization.

Strategic Planning Audit

Before you start your next round of planning, have an audit conducted to identify key areas of strengths and opportunities for improvemet in your planning process and the outputs. Whether your organization is embarking on an ambitious growth journey or is seeking to optimize its current strategies, I will work with you to revitalize your planning. Many organizations simply add or modify the prior plan, which can lead to lack of engagement and commitment to its achievement.

I will complete an audit of your planning process looking at the tangible inputs such as templates and tools, as well as the qualitative factors such as organizational alignment and the documents themselves. A comprehensive written report will outline key findings and recommendations based on documentation provided, interviews with key stakeholders and best practices.

Annual or Strategic Plan Development & Consultation

Do you need to put together a strategic or annual plan for your association or organization but you are not sure where to start? You likely have a lot of great ideas but no time to put together a strategy session. Or perhaps you would like some expert help to facilitate your planning while helping to engage your key staff or board in setting the path for the future?

I will work with you and your team to draft your strategic or annual plan based on pre-work, two days of planning workshops and final review of your plan.

Aligning your Strategic & Annual Planning: Workshop

Learn how to apply best practices to your planning process in this one day workshop. This highly interactive session provides both theory and practice to help you hone your planning skills to benefit your organization. Whether you are new to planning or have been leading for several years, you are sure to come away with some new pragmatic ideas, tools or templates to help you get the most from your effort.

Let's Start a Conversation

Strategy is about making choices about where you want your organization to go, getting your resources lined up to achieve the direction and making sure your processes are enablers.

I've seen brilliant strategy written in one page or buried over fifty! What does your strategy look like? How easy is it to communicate? Are you measuring your results?

If you think your organization's planning & execution needs a tune up, that your marketing & communications strategy could be polished or that your web and social media presence could be improved, I'd love to hear from you.

Mary Van Buren
maryavanburen@gmail.com

Excelerate Consulting