This month’s guest author, Afshin Fatholahi, sent us a piece that he wrote back in 2000, and it’s still relevant 13 years later. So is Afshin some kind of oracle, or does it really take that much time to move the needle? Fred Crans comments on Afshin’s article and offers up the following quote (which I believe answers the question): “In theory, there’s no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is.”
We can all wax eloquent on what is needed (theory), but execution (practicing) is hard. Executing the degree of change needed in our industry takes a very strong leader and visionary/enabling senior leadership above him/her. Ours is a very conservative industry. Afshin isn’t an oracle, but he is a good leader and has left every organization that he has served better for it.
Fred closes his piece referencing chemistry and a catalyst as necessary ingredients of greatness. I agree, and believe that the Affordable Care Act is the catalyst and the chemistry is leadership accountability. Chemistry grows out of some tangible core belief or value (such as “affordable care”) and requires messaging, measurement and maintenance to become fully effective.
For instance; a group of guys in a bar in Melbourne, Australia, combined a common core desire to have a positive impact on men’s health with the bygone era of the dapper gentleman sporting a moustache. The result, after 10 years of messaging, measurement and maintenance, is Movember.
“Movember has grown to become a truly global movement inspiring more than 4 million Mo Bros and Mo Sistas to participate across 21 countries worldwide. …Together these selfless Mo Bros and Mo Sistas have raised $446 million, which are funding 577 projects aimed at achieving our vision of having an everlasting impact on the face of men’s health,” the Movember website says.
Do you have a message, the measures and a maintenance plan for supply chain’s contribution to ensuring affordable care for the patients that your organization serves? If not, we can help. If so, we can tech enable it.
