I often invite leaders to think about strategic planning as a funnel, not a fire hose.
It is about making intentional choices—throughout the planning process. Choices about how we will spend our precious time, energy, money, and resources onwhat matters most.
This piece is written by my colleague Ayça Tümer Arıkan, a fellow member of the global PuMP team. Her recent post on LinkedIn resonated with so many people, and so I was grateful that she granted me permission to share it with you too!
Your strategic direction sits in a binder. Or maybe it’s a beautifully designed slide deck. Perhaps it’s even framed on the wall. But when was the last time someone on your team used it to make a decision in their work?
Given the tremendous interest in rural healthcare transformation, I feature this piece from my colleague and close collaborator, Christian Milaster. His pre-holiday article has struck a chord with many – from rural healthcare organizations, to private medical practices, behavioral health agencies, and, of course, States seeking a comprehensive, coordinated, non-duplicative approach. I share here so that you too can gain insight, inspiration, or a valued partner.
Thanks for the positive feedback… it is gratifying to know that the articles continue to inspire excellence for you, your programs and your organizations.
Here’s a recap of features from the last quarter.
I look forward to connecting in 2026.
For each of the past several years I have taken the time, in a peaceful space, to look back and look ahead.
One of my coaching clients suggested that I share this for others like yourself who are considering a similar practice as the year turns.
For many organizations, key performance indicators (KPIs) or measures or metrics are an essential and integrated part of their strategic management. For others, KPIs are not (yet) used strategically to the organization’s advantage.
This is the second of a two-part series celebrating the 100th edition of Excellence Advantage Inspirations. If you missed Part 1, it explored how Dell Anderson and Renew Behavioral Health began their journey to evidence-based excellence.
This is the first of a two-part series celebrating the 100th edition of Excellence Advantage Inspirations.
Have you ever been asked to prove your organization is fulfilling its mission and achieving its vision—and realized you didn’t have a good answer?
The question isn’t whether your KPIs lie—it’s whether you can tell the difference.
Picture your last leadership team meeting. Someone presents the monthly performance dashboard. Customer complaints are up from last month. Staff turnover dropped compared to last year but missed the target. On-time service delivery improved, but the year-to-date figure tells a different story.
