When Stanford Medicine’s three organizations set about working together to achieve a shared vision, it was an opportunity to collaborate in ways they never had before. Together, Stanford’s School of Medicine, Stanford Children's Health, and Stanford Health Care spent months examining their goals and priorities, involving thousands of people in the effort. The process led to an unprecedented milestone for Stanford Medicine: an integrated strategic plan for the future.
In my story, "Stronger Together", for the latest edition of Stanford Medicine magazine, I share how the process took place, and how the three organization engaged faculty, staff, and community members to explore their vision and shape a future together:
…The three organizations got down to basics: What are our shared values? And where do we want to be in 2025? Where are we today with regard to our aspirations? With those questions in mind, a diagnostic phase began. In January 2017, the integrated strategic planning team — led by Priya Singh, senior associate dean for the School of Medicine and chief strategy officer for Stanford Health Care, and Sean Hennessey, chief planning officer for the School of Medicine — sent a diagnostic survey to 16,000 individuals across the three organizations. By April, they had nearly 4,000 responses.
'During that phase, we wanted to find out: How do people feel? Do they even see a need for a strategy?' said Singh. 'And we were thrilled that people really did. From the survey responses and from the one-on-one interviews we did, what we heard consistently was that the people at our organizations were hungry for strategic direction.'
Ultimately, three priorities emerged that would guide Stanford Medicine’s future: value focused, digitally driven, uniquely Stanford. Read the rest of my story for details.
Photo of David Entwistle, CEO of Stanford Health Care; Lloyd Minor, MD, dean of the School of Medicine; and Dennis Lund, MD, interim CEO of Stanford Children’s Health, by Edward Caldwell Photography
