We have been observing value analysis team dynamics for over 33 years and then analyzing them to determine what makes the most successful teams excel. “The X-Factor” is the one element that propels value analysis teams to even higher levels of performance.
Without keeping you in suspense any longer, “The X-Factor” that we have identified is that one individual in a hospital, system, or IDN who takes pride and ownership over their value analysis program and keeps the momentum going with their VA teams in good times and bad.
In some healthcare organizations, this individual is the director of materials management or value analysis, and in other organizations it is the chief executive officer, chief financial offer, chief operating officer, or vice president of support services. These champions can be found in almost any level of your healthcare organization, but they all have one thing in common: They understand the importance of value analysis and never let it become stale, overwhelmed, intimidated, or irrelevant in their healthcare organization. They keep striving for excellence!
Just the other day, one of these value analysis champions told my vice president of operations that he was going to reintroduce a topic on his value analysis agenda that was previously rejected because he never gives up, never gives in, and is never discouraged by disappointments in the past. He is always moving forward to save more money for his hospital’s value analysis program, even when the odds are stacked against him.
This is the attitude of an individual (The X-Factor) who is the glue that holds a hospital value analysis program together: Tough but fair, dogged but flexible, and protective but not defensive of his or her value analysis team’s challenges. These are the attributes of leadership that must be integrated into every successful value analysis team that is going to survive and thrive in today’s healthcare supply chain climate. There is no substitute for leadership!
That’s what “The X-Factor” is all about — LEADERSHIP! If you don’t have it from one or more individuals in your healthcare organization to sustain and maintain your VA teams at peak performance, then your value analysis program is predestined to remain in its present state of mediocrity as your performance standard. Don’t let this happen to you!
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