Healthcare Flywheel^®

In the book Good to Great, Jim Collins writes about great organizations benefiting from the flywheel effect where the power of continued improvement and the delivery of results create momentum. Applying this concept to health care, the Studer Group developed the Healthcare Flywheel^® to help organizations understand the journey in creating great places for employees to work, physicians to practice, and patients to receive care.

The beginning of this journey is not a launch or a kick off. It is simply recognition that all we do should start at the core of the organization: our values. In this way, we center or balance the flywheel. In health care, we have great purpose, do worthwhile work, and have the opportunity to make a difference. This is our hub.

From here, the first step to creating movement is to connect the dots to our hub so that people truly believe that they can make a difference. This inspiration is what allows organizations to implement initial changes.

The second part of our flywheel is when we give organizations very prescriptive To Do's, called Nine Principles® to achieve results. From measuring the important things to rounding for outcomes, to implementing an objective performance measurement system, to discharge phone calls, these prescriptive To Do’s—when implemented—will continue to turn the flywheel.

The third part of the flywheel process is when the organization starts to see results under the Pillars, which provide a framework for prioritizing the desired results in step two. Instead of focusing on what is not getting done, the organization focuses on what is getting done.

In studying great health care organizations, we find what motivates people is the accomplishment of desired results. By tying results back to purpose, worthwhile work, and making a difference, the organization is inspired to follow more prescriptive behaviors to achieve even greater results, thereby creating a self perpetuating culture of excellence, fueled by the momentum of the flywheel.