The Changing NHS

In Made to Stick, Dan and Chip Heath explain why some ideas take hold and others quickly fall by the wayside. In summary, they suggest adhering as much as possible to 6 principles help make ideas ‘sticky’. SUCCESs stands for Simplicity, Unexpectedness, Concreteness, Credibility, Emotions and Stories. The ‘stickier’ ideas reflect more of these principles. There’s quite a bit more to it than this but that is the 'gist'.

In an earlier post I wondered why NHS Mission or Vision statements have so little use as managerial tools for aligning and motivating staff. I think the Heath brothers have just helped me out.

Here’s a couple of Vision statements I found from two NHS Trust sites (picked at random, honestly) and two alternative versions that might be ‘stickier’.

Old Version

We will ensure the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is a locally, nationally and internationally renowned centre of excellence for patient care, education and research. We will deliver this vision by ensuring we attract the best possible staff and invest in their development.

New Version

The NHS employs 1.3 million people. Our 15,000 staff will be amongst the best there is and that's why Leeds Teaching Hospitals is talked about in 193 countries.

Old Version

To be the first choice for patients, offering access to high quality patient services. We will build on our success as an NHS Foundation Trust, continually developing services to meet the needs of our patients, working with partner organisations and staff to strive towards excellence. We aim to be an organisation that the community can be proud of, responding to the views of patients, members and staff.

New Version

People will choose to use our services more than 200,000 times every year. That’s because we make sure we know what local people want and we make sure we provide it.

I think these versions are simpler, more unexpected and more concrete and credible. What do you think? Are these newer versions 'stickier'? , More meaningful for staff? Would they be more useful in helping staff figure out what to do and how to behave?

Steve

nhs

vision

change management