ABSTRACT
Nearly every presentation in Virginia Mason Medical Center begins with the same slide-the organization’s strategic plan pyramid (Figure 2.1). “I’ve never seen anything like it,” says board member Bob Lemon, who has worked with many organizations over three decades as a partner at consulting giant Accenture. “That’s the ritual. It is just part of the culture, and everyone gets it.” Executive vice president and chief operating offcer Sarah Patterson adds, “We don’t just put it up and go through a rote process of going ‘Here’s the plan.’ Actually, the conversation is often very, very rich.”
