Client Testimonials
Urban Medical Center – Chairman, Department of Surgery
“Initially, I thought, what a waste of time! After serving as a sponsor and spending 3 days, I left a believer! There is a method behind the madness of a Collaborative Work Session CWS. It comes out as you do the work. Private physicians who were leaders came because they wanted the hospital system to succeed, grow and flourish. Two years after the CWS, we enjoyed great success! The physicians brought their perspective about how to run things better. We had never had all the perspectives in the room together. We learned from each other’s perspectives and gained respect for each other. Physician’s learned a lot about how a business has to be run successfully. They learned about organizations and groups. Physicians are Don Quixote's – individualists; it is how we are trained. If you don’t learn how to operate as a group, you cannot be successful.”
Urban Health System – President, Physician Group / Medical Director, Health & Wellness
“For you docs considering attending a Collaborative Work Session, I will start by saying, as a physician, I was very skeptical and resistant to both the time commitment and the value equation of a CWS. Most docs do not go for the group sitting around singing Kumbaya, holding hands and visioning things--- I am one of those! But we also don’t understand strategy well---we are tactical and when we are asked to be involved in strategy planning, the length of time it usually takes to put the plan together and then act on it is also an endeavor we don’t have much patience for. Having said all that and not knowing what a CWS was except it was to set strategy in a short amount of time, I must say I was impressed that the methodology works. The value equation for me was that when we walked out of there after those long 3 days, we had a plan that would cover the next 3-5 years—it was written down, had been discussed and debated, had all stakeholders involved and ready for the tactical part of carrying it out. The time commitment was long and grueling but I now see why it has to be—there is no other way to get it done in such a compressed timeframe. To a person, all docs involved said it was not like anything they had ever experienced and worthwhile. It reminded me of the MBA I completed---the director when asked about how much work was involved, answered by asking us all 3 questions: 1)Do you want an approved and a real MBA?---we all said YES! 2) Do you want it Health Care relevant? ---we all said YES! 3)And do you want it in less than 2 years? ---we all said YES! So his response was to shut up and do the work because that’s what will come out of it and he was right. If this CWS is with a health care system, you must have docs in the room helping to shape the strategy. We do bring our experiences with us and drive our day-to-day activity. As I have said many times, the most powerful instrument in the entire healthcare system is the doc’s pen he or she writes orders with---without those orders, all the rest of us can go home. In healthcare, all we need two types of people—those providing the care and those supporting those who provide the care. So you must have providers in the room when strategy is being set.”
Urban Medical Center – Chairman, Department of Medicine
“We had a three-day Collaborative Work Session (CWS) to discuss the future of our hospital and the medical staff. How could we collaborate? This was a challenging undertaking that met with some initial resistance by the physicians. The time commitment was substantial but physician leaders recognized that our future was dependent on a partnership between our physicians and the hospital. This could only be achieved if the physicians were present at the table in the early planning for our strategic initiatives. This became a persuasive argument in convincing our physicians to attend. They did not want to be left out of the decision making process. Although at first skeptical (and in some cases very skeptical), by the second day the physicians were won over by the CWS process. The dialogue focused on physician’s concerns and solutions. After the meeting the physicians felt a genuine commitment from the hospital This reached a highpoint when the doctors heard that the hospital was going forward with a $170 million dollar building expansion project that was the major recommendation developed during the CWS. The tower is now open. This activity would have never succeeded if the physicians did not participate in a meaningful fashion.”
Regional Health System – Senior VP Physician Services
“First, it was merging two health care systems that had competed across the street from each other for a century in a rivalry that made Macy’s and Gimble’s look like child’s play. Next, it was the challenge of simultaneously creating a multi-year strategic plan and a first time Master Facility Plan. Each time we used a 3-day Collaborative Work Session and each time we achieved a roaring success. Ten year’s later, the merger stands as one of the largest and most successful health care systems in the state and the Master Facility Plan was completed...including a capital campaign that exceeded its $30 million goal by 20%.”
Health Insurer – VP Enterprise Process Approach
“There was absolute resistance to spending 3 days. The progression of the event from learn to test to decide allowed us to build on subsequent information we had been given or had developed. If we had not spent the time and dedicated the number and levels of resources, this would have been perceived as another "kick off event". Instead, people felt ownership in the approach and the desired outcomes for the program. Many of the roadblocks that were known, known and not spoken of, or unknown were identified and worked on in the session. This took courage to identify, admit and resolve. Courage and trust that would not have happened in a one day event. The three days allowed the team to develop trust among themselves, and establish a set of operating norms which cannot be done via a few hours of one way dialogue. It takes time and requires real work be done and critiqued.”
Urban Medical Center – President/CEO
“Two years of work done in three days; that’s what the Operating Vision Collaborative Work Session accomplished in 2004. Faced with the challenge of creating a multi-year strategic plan, a first time Master Facility Plan and bringing together a new board, a new health system and a new administration seemed like an impossible task. But with the tools, techniques and skills utilized in a collaborative work session and and in particular its facilitator, the job was done to rave reviews. Construction of the Master Facility Plan was approved and started within three months after the event and today it is nearing completion. That includes the construction project itself, and a capital campaign that raised $30 million in one year. That’s success!”