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128 In Pursuit of the Sunbeam: A Practical Guide to Transformation from Institution to Household
“Create genuine dialogue everywhere.”
Ways to Provoke the System
You began provoking the system when you formed the Steering Team. You see things differently. You continuously ask questions of each other. You seek knowledge. You learned new ways to actually be a team. You work within the Steering Team and the Action Teams you formed. You’ve made many changes as you are mapping out your household future.
And as long-term care folks always are, you’re ready to do something. It may be another year or even two before you move into households, so what must you do now?
As explained in the Leadership chapter, be aggressive about involvement. Get everyone – 100 percent of staff and residents and as many families as possible – involved. Create genuine dialogue everywhere.
In his book Business Systems Engineering, Gregory H. Watson said, “Strategy is the persistence of a vision. It is the art of seeing differently, and then planning to act differently. It is the combined ability of a group to see where it wants to go, to see where it is, and to identify what must be done to close this gap, and then to execute those changes that are necessary to get and stay on track that will close this gap. For a vision to persist, it must be carried out over time. Persistent visions are therefore aligned with the long-term business objectives that state what must be done to close the gap.”
We recommend using these strategies to get your whole organization involved:
1. Strategic Planning Process: Strategic planning is a formal
means of bringing the entire community into the Household Model’s revolutionary change process while helping ensure what is created has broad support and commitment. Equally important, strategic planning produces a values-driven roadmap for all stakeholders to use in closing the gap between the organization’s existing institutional structure and the Household Model.
There are a variety of approaches to strategic planning. Of course, you need to design or select that which works best with your organizational dynamics and culture. In building a new culture, it is all the more important to put considerable thought into strategic planning.
Many consultants facilitate multiple sessions over a period of several months. It can be difficult to keep large numbers of people engaged over such a long period of time. We recommend the “Five-Day Submersion” approach to strategic planning. This approach is designed to firmly ground the organization in its values and strategies in a short timeframe.