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| Dear Friend,
Why think when you can copy?
It was perhaps the funniest healthcare headline ever: “Zimmer Biomet to combine spine, dental businesses to form a company called NewCo”.
If you're not laughing, a “NewCo” isn’t a business name and it’s certainly not Zimmer Biomet’s new corporate baby. It is a placeholder for a new entity in an organizational structure.
For example, actually, in Zimmer Biomet’s example, the press release issued by the company states their intention to spin off certain business lines into a new and independent publicly-traded company, a NewCo.
You and I might use the same term if we were drawing a chart of the structure of the deal between your entity and Company X that results in the creation of a new entity for which we don’t yet have a name, NewCo.
So how did a well-known healthcare publication, whose name I am withholding only because it seems unseemly to rub it in, run a headline, and an accompanying article, reporting that “NewCo” was to be the actual name of the spinoff entity?
My guess is that it's a simple matter of copying. The press release says "NewCo”, so the name of the new company must be “NewCo”.
But as much as I'd like to end this post here and simply make it about stupid headlines, that would be shortchanging you. For the truth of the matter is that simply copying gets a lot of medical groups, as well as other business entities, into trouble.
Note that I am not saying that copying alone is the problem; rather, it's the "simply" part of it.
This plays out in a number of ways.
On the more sophisticated end, if one can call it that, and something that I have written about before. It is when a medical group leader or group of leaders sees that someone else has structured some business model. The example I used in that earlier post was a CIN, a clinically integrated network, and decides they want one, too. But simply knowing, and copying, the acronym, or even the observed model’s exact structure, might not be what you actually want, and might not actually be something that works.
On the more unsophisticated end, it's the simple coping of a document that you believe works for someone else into one that you believe works for you. For example, the copying of articles of incorporation into those for your medical corporation when later, even decades later, you realize that you formed a lay corporation, not one authorized to conduct the practice of medicine. Or, for example, the relabeling of cousin Bob’s employment agreement into an independent contractor agreement for your radiologists.
There may be nothing new under the sun, and good [artists/poets/composers/you-fill-in-the-blank] copy, but great [artists/poets/composers/you-fill-in-the-blank] steal. However, neither mean to copy or steal blindly, especially when doing so doesn’t advance your goals, doesn’t advance your interests.
Instead, focus on what it is, bottom line, that you want to achieve.
Then, and only then, should we ask the question of what tool or tools . . . the specific structure or even documents . . . can be applied to get you there. |
| | | Business Life in the Time of Coronavirus Mini-Series
The coronavirus crisis caused a short term economic crisis for many medical groups. Our mini-series shows you the way out. Plus, many of the concepts discussed are applicable during both good times and bad.
[If you haven't already seen them, follow this link to watch our entire series.] |
| | Watch Tuesday's video here, or just keep reading below for a revised, more polished transcript:
I want to talk with you about the OODA loop, and how you can use it to deploy your strategy, especially your negotiating strategy.
First, some background. Col. John Boyd was a famous fighter pilot, known for his ability to very quickly figure out his position within a dog fight and then get behind his opponent to shoot him down.
Over time, Boyd realized that the strategy that he developed for plane-to-plane combat was translatable, in a larger sense, to military strategy in general. His career advanced and he became a strategist at the Pentagon. Some claim that Boyd was the second greatest military strategist ever to have lived, eclipsed only by Sun Tzu, the author of the book, The Art
of War.
Boyd is most known for what he called the “OODA loop,” OODA standing for Observe, Orient, Decide and Act. It Is easy to see how this works in the context of Boyd as a fighter pilot, which was to observe what the enemy was doing, to then orient himself to it (What was his position? What was the enemy's position?), to decide what he was going to do, and then
to act.
Note that “act” doesn't necessarily mean to act affirmatively, it could mean to act in the sense of a conscious decision not to yet take action. The object is to gain the ability to quickly cycle through the OODA loop, to be faster than your opponent at observing, orienting, deciding and acting. Boyd called that "getting inside" your opponent's OODA loop.
How does this work in connection with health care negotiation?
Let’s say we are talking about an exclusive contract between a radiology group and a hospital system. The hospital says, here is our draft, get back to us in 30 days.
How are you going to use those 30 days? How are you going to observe and orient yourself to the way that hospital is acting, whether seen or unseen? Based on that, what decisions must be made? Once you've made them, how are you going to act?
In the context of that radiology contract, are you simply going to say, “Well, here is our
revised draft, what do you think?” Or will you first deploy a laid-out strategy based on your use of the OODA loop? Will you make additional comments, filter what their reactions are, make additional decisions, and then act, at some point the action being some type of
formal response?
It is the quick and continuous deployment of the strategy, the fast cycling through the OODA loop that makes the difference.
Many medical groups tend to think that the way to negotiate is simply to get a copy of an agreement, look at it, make some notes, send it back and wait for the hospital's legal department to get back. Big mistake!
What could you be doing in the interim to change the circumstances? What could you be doing to change the way that you're getting support? What could you be doing to document the support? What can you be doing to make it difficult for those who gave you support to backtrack? These are all based on observations. They are all the result of orientation. They are all decisions, and they are all actions that can be cycled faster and faster through the loop. If you want to learn more about Boyd, there are several blog posts at weisspc.com that you can find - just search on the blog for "Boyd." There is at least one biography on Boyd that is very interesting and probably available at Amazon. And, if you Google his name, you'll come across at least one or two sites that deal with military strategy that will have links to his now declassified military strategy papers. (I probably have some of that original source material which I would be happy to share with you.)
In any event, think about cycling your strategy faster and faster through the OODA loop. And, whatever you do, don't fall prey to someone else's timing, especially if they have read Boyd. |
| | How to Deploy the Secret Sauce of Opportunistic Strategy
Webinar On Demand
They say that COVID-19 has changed the world, creating the "new normal." Many of your colleagues and many hospital administrators are running scared.
Others, leaders like you, know that crisis means opportunity.
Let me provide you with the strategic tools and insights that you need in order to seize opportunities, whether they’re in the context of your current business relationships, the expansion of your business activities, or the creation of new ventures.
You will learn:
•Defense as a defective default: It’s necessary, but not sufficient.
•Exploiting weakness: Drop the guilt and identify opportunity.
•Flat line negotiation is fatal: Understand its myths and limitations.
•Negotiation reality: Learn to identify and deploy on multiple planes to affect the outcome.
•Maneuver: Harness the power of maneuver, both in overall strategy and in specific negotiation strategy.
Others see a crisis and freeze in fear. Learn how to see the opportunities and obtain the tools to increase your odds of obtaining them.
The price to attend is $479. The cost of not attending is astronomical. |
| | | Wednesday - More On What Do You
Call a Hospital with Irrelevant ORs
Other Than “Bankrupt"? - Medical
Group Minute
Watch the video here, or just keep reading below for a slightly polished transcript:
Quick quiz: If a patient or a payor has the choice of having a procedure performed (A) on a hospital inpatient basis, or (B) on an outpatient basis, then, assuming it's safe to perform that procedure on that patient in either setting, at which setting will it be performed?
If your answer was "A," then I suggest that you stay away, far away, from Las Vegas.
Although, in general, physicians will be taking a cut in Medicare reimbursement, this post centers on the continuing shift from hospital inpatient care to outpatient care in general and, eventually, to care delivered in the ASC setting.
As foreshadowed in its interim pronouncement, CMS announced the addition of over 200 billing codes to the 2021 ASC fee schedule for Medicare, and it's almost a given that private payors will follow the lead.
Even more revealing is that CMS finalized its proposal to eliminate the inpatient-only list in its entirety over the next 3 years.
As I stated in the August post . . . shh . . . hang on for second. Can you hear that? Yes, it’s the American Hospital Association screaming.
In the long run, for those physicians performing facility-based services, such as anesthesiologists, these pronouncements are clear signs that unless your business model takes into account the fact that hospitals as we know them will soon no longer exist, your business might soon no longer exist.
And, of course, on the flipside, for all physicians who understand that competing with hospitals on the facility-side is becoming easier and easier, it’s time to consider
ASC development. |
| | | Listen to the podcast here, or just keep reading for the transcript.
Recently, I saw an article in The Wall Street Journal about pandemic economics and
work-life balance.
In particular, they wrote that people’s balance was off because they were working from home. In fact, they stated that work was keeping people from having a life.
But that’s an entirely fallacious concept. If you like what you do, if you are doing something that energizes you, empowers you, that gives you a purpose, then that is your life. It is not something separate from your life.
This reminds me that many physicians live by the concept of what I call the “physician expiration date”. You know, like some date stamped on the bottom of a can: Good until September 15, 2025. Then, all of a sudden, they are retired.
But yet, what happens to so many people who retire, when they lose that larger purpose, that work that somehow “interfered” (so the WSJ claims!) with life? They no longer have that work and they have lost the purpose for life.
Don’t fall into that trap.
It is a trap that not only has an unfortunate payday when that big piece of your life called work is gone, but it’s also one that prevents you from taking on new challenges, from expanding your practice, from expanding your business.
Look, even if it were true that you had 12 months to live, would you want to stop doing anything new because your last day is about to come? I maintain that you wouldn’t.
Think about that. Think about how that actually intersects with your business strategy, your group’s business strategy, or your facility’s business strategy.
Take work life balance, turn it on its head, and make it pay off for you.
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| | | Calibrate Your Compass
Read our exclusive RedPaper to guide you through this evolving situation.
The coronavirus crisis caused a short-term economic crisis for many medical groups. Our RedPaper shows you the way out. Plus, many of the concepts discussed are applicable during both good times and bad.
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| | Help Us Help You With Helpful Content
What tailored content would you most like to see during this
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| | | | We all hear, and most of us say, that the pace of change in healthcare is quickening. That means that the pace of required decision-making is increasing, too. Unless, that is, you want to take the “default” route. That’s the one is which you let someone else make the decisions that impact you; you’re just along for the ride. Of course, playing a bit part in scripting your own future isn’t the smart route to stardom. But despite your own best intentions, perhaps it’s your medical group’s governance structure that’s holding you back.
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| In fact, it’s very likely that the problem is systemic. The Medical Group Governance Matrix introduces a simple four-quadrant diagnostic tool to help you find out. It then shows you how to use that tool to build your better, more profitable future. Get your free copy Free.
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| | | | Whenever you're ready, here are 4 ways I can help you and your business:
1. Download a copy of The Success Prescription. My book, The Success Prescription provides you with a framework for thinking about your success. Download a copy of The Success Prescription here.
2. Be a guest on “Wisdom. Applied. Podcast.” Although most of my podcasts involve me addressing an important point for your success, I’m always looking for guests who’d like to be interviewed about their personal and professional achievements and the lessons learned. Email me if you’re interested in participating.
3. Book me to speak to your group or organization. I’ve spoken at dozens of medical group, healthcare organization, university-sponsored, and private events on many topics such as The Impending Death of Hospitals, the strategic use of OIG Advisory Opinions, medical group governance, and succeeding at negotiations. For more information about a custom presentation for you, drop us a line.
4. If You’re Not Yet a Client, Engage Me to Represent You. If you’re interested in increasing your profit and managing your risk of loss, email me to connect directly. |
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