I was honored last month to receive an award as one of the Top 50
entrepreneurs in Charlotte, NC. That got me thinking about
entrepreneurship in general. Small business represents more than 80
percent of all businesses, employs more than half the workforce and
creates 66 percent of net new jobs in this country. There are 17.5 million
sole proprietorships, 1.3 million limited liability companies, 1.3 million
partnerships and yet only 4.8 million corporations. Most of the healthcare
world falls into the latter. But being "biggie sized" doesn’t mean you
can’t learn from these small fries.
Hats Off to the
Entrepreneur
Consider the sole
entrepreneur. Who better to know how a business runs inside and out? Look
at all the hats he or she wears:
- They conceive a
product or service. (Research and development)
- They test it with
potential customers. (Market research)
- They develop plans to
raise awareness and educate the public about the product or service.
(Marketing, Advertising, PR.)
- Once awareness is
raised, they have to get someone to take the leap and purchase the
product or service. (Sales)
- They deliver the
product or service. (Logistics, packaging, customer service.)
- They gauge
satisfaction. (More research)
- They develop pricing
plans and billing and collection systems. (Accounts Receivable)
In short, they see and
know their entire operation and how one piece affects all others. We
should be so lucky as to be able to see that deep into our organizations.
And even if we could, would we be able to make sense of what we see?
A New Set of Eyes
Entrepreneurs see the
world in different ways than those working for others. And different
perspectives are needed to help foster innovation. All around a given
community there are hundreds of success stories of mom and pop operations
that have stood the test and have grown successful enterprises in all
types of product and service areas. And it does not have to be a
healthcare enterprise. Better maybe that it is not. Seek out and engage
these entrepreneurs for new ideas.
Things To Consider
- Ask successful
entrepreneurs to address your staff, your executive team, and your
board. Entrepreneurs are agile, adapt to changing market conditions
quickly and learn how to prosper in all types of situations. There are
lessons to be learned there.
- Consider appointing
these types of people to the board.
- Include them as part
of your own personal advisory team.
- Bring them in when you
have a challenging situation to see how they would address it.
- Particularly look for
people who are not in healthcare but have a track record of success. It
is infinitely more interesting to see how someone with little domain
knowledge of your area but with the “street smarts” would address a
situation.
Get Your Dose of the
Entrepreneurial Spirit
Many universities offer
entrepreneurial programs and majors. Take a course and see how what you
learn can be brought back to your own job and applied.
Like the entrepreneur,
get to know your organization inside out, top to bottom. You can’t truly
change experiences or market a service until you know every aspect of it.
Collaborate with
Entrepreneurs
Increased competition
from physician entrepreneurs building their own surgery centers has
threatened hospitals’ most profitable lines for years. Health care
executives must recognize that future growth will occur outside of their
doors – be it ambulatory centers versus hospitals or aging in place
initiatives versus the long term care industry - and they must figure out
how to create collaborations with entrepreneurs.
Many of the world's
greatest companies were founded and turned into Fortune 500 firms by their
original creators - 3M, American Express, Boeing, Citicorp,
Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Marriott International, Merck,
Motorola, Nordstrom, Procter & Gamble, Sony, Wal-Mart, and Disney are all
cases where it was the original entrepreneurs who built them into great
companies.
So take an entrepreneur
to lunch or even dinner and spring for dessert while you’re at it.
