Identify solutions
Once people own the problem and are buying in to it, then you need to find a way to solve it. Kennedy-Scott says you can form work groups or look at other industries or organizations and also gather data.
“You come up with a solution,” she says. “Not a solution — the best solution. The best answers to any problem will have more than one solution. There has to be a plan B. There always has to be a plan B. I think that too often in problem solving, folks don’t appreciate the value of a plan B, particularly when the answer seems really good.”
For example, a few years ago Kaiser of Ohio wanted to have electronic medical records in a central system so doctors and nurses all had access to the same information, in real time, regardless of which facility you visited. But the technology and financial resources weren’t yet available, so Kaiser implemented a less efficient system that was doable with the resources and technologies it had. It was the best solution for what the company had at the time, so it became plan A.
“If you’ve done a really good job at being very specific in defining the problem, plan A becomes obvious,” she says.
While it’s important to have backup plans, you have to be careful that you don’t try to implement those plans simultaneously.
“You have to be very clear in your own mind what you’re trying to achieve,” she says. “Sometimes leaders get caught up in the strategy du jour, and you have to really have the discipline to understand whether the strategy du jour is one that makes sense for you.”
Kennedy-Scott points to Apple as an example of a company that stuck to its guns and resisted temptation.
“They resisted the strategy du jour at points in time, and they pay the price in terms of short-term market position but long-term they didn’t,” she says. “They stuck to their strategy, and it’s paying off for them.”
When she wants to know if a solution or strategy is best for the company, Kennedy-Scott asks herself if it meshes with the mission. So when members were complaining about wanting a new way to interface with their physicians, she asked herself if finding a solution to that problem would mesh with the mission of providing high-quality health care to members and serving the greater community. Because it directly affected members, it did mesh. Kaiser created a system where people could schedule Web chats with their doctors to talk about issues and symptoms, and while it’s not conventional, it still fulfills the mission.
“Being true to your mission doesn’t mean continue to do the same old things the same old way,” she says. “The mission of an organization has to have life through the vision of the organization. I look at the vision as really being the road map that is influenced by the environment, so as your environment changes, you have to look at the vision and your goals and the mission, of course.”
This is especially key right now as companies are tempted to venture into areas that don’t support their mission as they react to the tough market. As the leader, you are completely responsible for ensuring that you keep any new strategies and solutions aligned with your mission.
“That’s your job to wake up every morning and look at every decision and ask yourself, ‘Is this aligned with our mission?’” Kennedy-Scott says. “If it isn’t, you have to have the courage to take on whoever it might be that’s proposing this and take it on.”
