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A Trip to Strategic Leadership
Mark Van Sumeren
August 2016 978-0-9977403-1-8DESCRIPTION:
This is a tale about Bill Ellis, a well-intended but heavy-handed CEO of a struggling medical device company. Facing consecutive years of stagnant revenues, Bill calls a strategy retreat of his senior management team. Only Bill doesn’t have any faith in the process, and his team knows it.
In the middle of the retreat, Bill walks out in disgust, sensing that little progress is being made in solving the company’s challenges. While exiting the room, he bangs his head against the wall, knocking himself out. When Bill comes to, he finds himself five years into the future, and leading the now high-flying company.
Follow along as Bill tries to figure out what happened to him and his company. Along the way, he comes to grips with his leadership shortcomings and he sets his company back on a path toward profitable growth. Bill’s woes, however, are just a backdrop to the real intent of this story. My purpose is to convey several principles of strategic leadership, as well as an accelerated process of strategy formulation. These lessons are equally applicable to public and private companies, charitable and for-profit organizations, and large and small enterprises.
Several of these principles are presented explicitly in the story; others are implied or can be inferred through a careful reading. Each is cataloged at the end of the story.
Also, the strategy formulation process revealed in this book is truly a fascinating means of accelerating the innovative work of management teams. Although not restricted to strategy formulation – I have participated in its use on several types of large-scale change projects and it does lend itself well for this purpose.
So, enjoy the tale. Test your reading, and my story-telling, to see if you discover each of the principles as you follow along with Bill’s self-awakening. And, enjoy the ride as Bill experiences the frenzy of an accelerated strategy formulation process.
EXCERPT:
We are wasting our time here!
My notes from the day’s proceedings sit in front of me. Staring out from these pages, our strategy looks frighteningly like a wish list of every hair-brained idea that could be thrown against the wall. We have no ideas for turning the business around and no compelling vision for the company. Just a bunch of Work Walls full of outlandish and risky ideas about what could-be and, each making the unconvincing argument that success is just around the corner. They’re even professionally-illustrated to show the proverbial hockey stick-shaped acceleration in revenues and profits in a few short years. As if a few well-drawn images will suddenly improve our fortunes.
How has my career led me to this point? What can I possibly do to break our leadership team and, frankly, our organization out of this malaise?
Each of Stone’s senior leaders are in attendance. Good leaders, I believe. Heck, I hand-selected every one of them to join my leadership team when I moved into the chief executive role five years ago. But now, in the midst of a strategy offsite that is getting us nowhere, I am letting them down. We in turn, are letting down our employees, our customers and our stockholders. We are in a rut and, for the first time in my career, I am out of answers.
I need a break. Some fresh air. So with that, I stand from my seat at the seventh Trade Show and excuse himself, ostensibly for a “bio” break. In reality, I need to clear my head. To think. To devise a way of pulling this offsite - and the company, out of the dumpster fire. For the first time in my career, “winging it” won’t fly nor will relying solely on my instincts.
I need a divine intervention.
Walking toward the door, I trip. On a power cord. My power cord, from my computer, which I had open at my seat. I was checking emails, despite my admonition to the team not to do so and to instead devote themselves 100% to the discussion.
Bad karma, right?
Trying to catch myself, I am a tad too slow. Falling, I hit my head against the wall, knocking myself unconscious. When I finally come around . . .
Praise for the Book:
“Finally, someone has produced a good weave about healthcare strategy. A book you won’t put down until the end and one that you’ll want to share with a colleague when you’re through. Bill’s story is my story and perhaps it’s every healthcare leader’s story. Confronted with the challenges posed by the rate of change in our industry, Van Sumeren lets you come away with learnings that you are sure to be able to apply in your organization” - Ed Hardin, Vice President, Supply Chain Management at CHRISTUS Healthcare
“The story of Stone Medical’s journey to develop a transformational business strategy provides an incredibly useful framework for any leader who is looking for a roadmap to achieve sustainable growth.” - Joe Pleshek, CEO, Terso Solutions, Inc.
“Mark does a great job of making strategy real in and quick, easy read. The anxiety is real. As hard as it is to take time away from solving the daily problems to look into the future in today’s short-term focused world, the results are indisputable. Regardless of the approach you take, forcing your leadership team to take the time to look forward and challenge everything is not only healthy, it is necessary to secure the future success of your organization. As an executive, what do you want your legacy to be?” - Kevin Stout, Founder and Executive Director, Medical Device Supply Chain Council (MedSC LLC)
“A market-relevant, quick read – this book provides a catalyst for all executives to re-examine the strategic direction of their business and to challenge their approach to charting an effective course for the future. Not only a great read for executives in all industries, this book should be mandatory reading for all healthcare industry executives. I plan to keep this book close-by and to revisit the message, on a routine basis.“ - Gary Dowling, Chief Supply Chain Officer, Enterprise Supply Chain Management, Johns Hopkins Medicine
“To 'get from here to there’, start with this book! A real “wake-up call’ regarding the importance of strategic thinking. A wise tale that all current and future leaders should read and absorb.” - Russ Rudish, President & CEO, Rudish Health Solutions LLC and former Vice Chairman and Global Healthcare Leader, Deloitte
“A tremendous inside view of the development of medical device company strategy. The guidance to “write about what you know” applies here because Mark Van Sumeren knows this stuff from multiple angles and it shows in this interesting book. Stone Medical CEO’s journey provides Van Sumeren a platform to share how an imperfect leader changes the strategic trajectory of his imperfect company. The story is personal, instructional and compelling.” - Eric O’Daffer, Research Vice President, Healthcare at Gartner