The Changing NHS

One feature of a new confident NHS, an NHS capable of creating its’ own future, will be organisations that are capable of making strategy for themselves.

Too often, what NHS managers see as strategy making is really a sort of meta-tactical discussion. The thing being explored will probably happen – its’ really just a question of how it gets implemented. Important yes, but not really making strategy is it?

If you don’t believe me try using the impact/uncertainity grid (shown above).

Brainstorm all the big issues that face your organisation over the next 10 years and then place the issues on the grid. My guess is that most of the issues you spend time ‘strategizing about’ are in the bottom right hand side of the grid. Yes, they are potentially very impactful but, relative to some other big issues, they also are much more likely to happen. It’s really just a question of how they are implemented.

What about the big issues in the top right hand side of the grid? The ones that are less certain to happen. Do you talk much about these issues? If not, why not? Are they in the ‘too difficult’ box? Or perhaps you think they’re in the ‘not something we can do anything about’ box?

However, if you’re going to become an organisation that really creates its’ own future then your going to have to get comfortable exploring these less certain possibilities.

Steve

nhs

strategy