Week 1 Ascend Your Start-Up

In Ascend Your Start-Up by Helen Yu, there are 5 decisions to make at base camp, prior to any big moves to climb upwards. 

Decision #1: Why are you on this journey?

Consider your dreams when starting the journey and ask yourself why you want to achieve a certain goal. Many people focus on the bottom-line and making money, but at the end of the day, you will be remembered for how you made somebody feel based on experiences. I am currently pursuing an MSN/MBA to try and link the business world with healthcare better. With the pandemic, many of the issues that were under the surface started to show their true colors. Hopefully, there will be teams of people to work with and help find solutions to some of the problems. 

Decision #2: What problems are you solving?

It is important to identify a problem and not necessarily the solution. The problem will have multiple solutions if you look at the various options presented. However, if you are focused on one solution you are limited yourself to the real possibilities. There are many issues within healthcare and a constant battle between insurance, financials, and lack of quality care (especially considering the insane amount of money spent within our healthcare systems, the U.S. lacks in many areas pertaining to quality and services provided.) Within healthcare there are problems that can affect multitudes of people. At some point, everybody will be sick. The questions that remain are 'will they have access to quality care, can they afford the costs, how many complications will arise, and will the outcome provide a form of quality of life that is manageable.' 

Decision #3: What does success look like to you?

In order to achieve success, there will need to be lots of small steps that lead to the larger goal. It is important to define objectives and key results that require action. It is also necessary to take time away from the business to think and capitalize on creativity and ideas. Sometimes going back to the basics can lead to something great. The best part of nursing is working with patients directly, away from all the noise, machines, and computers. Being personable and enjoying quality time when there is time available are the moments most remembered within nursing. Sometimes I wonder if we are going the wrong direction in healthcare by adding more and more gadgets.   

Decision #4: How will you honor your brand?

Find your vision, mission, beliefs, and roots. Your brand is composed of all those things and defines how others will perceive you. It can be broken down into 3 words or categories: what you do, for whom, and why. V2MOM can be useful in finding your brand:

Vision (make the future resonate)

Values (core beliefs)

Methods (build your path)

Obstacles (anticipate risk)

Measures (track results)

This can change over time; however, it is a great way to provide some direction and clarity on the overall mission and brand for what you want to do. In healthcare there are some quality improvement projects that are initiated by upper management and often the SBAR is used which stands for situation, background, assessment, and recommendation. V2MOM seems similar but on a larger scale and for branding purposes rather than initiating a single project. 

Decision #5: How will you prepare for the climb?

Being prepared is essential to surviving. There should be strategy with backup plans in case the situation changes. It is also important to separate personal attachments from business decisions, so you are not held back by preconceived notions that did not end up being reality. Sometimes when a plan is put in action, there are some curves in the road that need to be navigated and take the scenic route. Other times there may need to be a full pivot to avoid a roadblock. The pandemic seemed to be a fairly large change and unexpected impact on hospitals and the strain of current worker situations. Hopefully, we can learn from this experience and create a better, improved healthcare system, one piece at a time.