Earlier this week, I put up a post in my LinkedIn Group about the power of having a five-year vision. One of the lessons we have learned from our Home Care CEO Forum Mastermind Groups is that Home Care leaders in the top tier of our industry are visionary thinkers, and they have a huge vision for their companies.
I shared this image about Scaling Your Business, and shared some insights about working with over 500 companies in the past 45 years in strategic planning, teambuilding, and leadership development. I ended with a question … “Do you have a clear mental picture of what COULD be, fueled by the feeling of what SHOULD be?”
I got a wonderful reply from one of my LinkedIn connections. She said, “I am a firm believer in short and long-term Strategic Plans, both professionally and personally. It is so important to develop a clear vision and set bold goals that push teams to strive towards. In addition to short and long-term strategic plans, I also think a retro-review helps us highlight the successes and learn from our mistakes so we can pave a path forward.”
Learning from your Company History
As I pondered her comment, it reminded me of an executive leadership retreat I was facilitating many years ago. I had been introduced to this client by another long-term client, and the new CEO asked me to come a lead an executive retreat with his leadership team. He loved taking his top team away once every year, and he loved to go to a cabin in Oglebay Park in Wheeling WV. I ended up leading that retreat for him every year for ten years.
One of these retreats was celebrating the company’s 20th anniversary. To make this event really meaningful, I had the leadership team develop a 20 year timeline of the company’s history. I taped together twenty 8 1/2 by 11 pieces of paper and put them on the wall around the outside of the room. Each page represented one year of their business. I had the team members go around with felt markers and write in memorable events and business happenings in each year they had been in business.
After the team had finished creating the timeline, we went around the round and discussed each year, what happened, what was the impact on the company, and what we learned from that event. There were some significant insights that came out of that conversation:
- The team was amazed at all they had accomplished in 20 years, and how they had grown from two people in a garage to a major company in their industry.
- We had lots of laughter and good natured joking as the group recalled some of the more memorable and embarrassing moments that had taken place.
- There were some major lessons that had come out of some of the events that had a huge, lasting impact on the growth of the company.
Going Back to Your Roots
In 1979, I left a Fortune 500 Manufacturing company, moved back to Western Pennsylvania, adopted a little girl, and started into the speaking and consulting business. Very quickly I built a business leading Executive Strategy Retreats and facilitating the Strategic Planning process for a wide variety of businesses. I worked with small manufacturers, distribution businesses, banks, retail chains, and several CPA firms. Since then I’ve led this process for over 500 different companies.
In 1982, I was asked to lead a strategy retreat for a Home Health agency in my town, and that led me into the healthcare space. Over the next ten years, I led hundreds of retreats for hospitals, senior living organizations, physician practices, Home Health, and Hospice. The CEO of that first Home Health strategy session loved what I did, and brought me into the industry kicking and screaming. Ruthanne Nerlich was the CEO of the VNA of Venango County in Oil City, PA. She introduced me to the Pennsylvania Home Care Association, the National Association for Home Care & Hospice, and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, and the VNAs of America. (NAHC and NHPCO have merged into the National Alliance for Care at Home.)
You can find the rest of the story at About Leading Home Care.
As I look back at the history of our company, I am amazed at all that we have accomplished. I have to laugh at some of the crazy things we did and some of the mistakes we made. And I have learned some major lessons that have had a lasting impact.
To Scale your Home Care Business,I encourage you to set aside some time to craft your company timeline. Post the major events that have made your company special. And take some time to discuss these events and discover what you can learn. If I can help, let me know.
Enjoy every moment!
