SHSMD U Unit 2, August 2013

1. Unit 2
SHSMD University
August 15, 2013

2. • Next four sessions
– Deal basics (Session 1)
• Structure
• Timeline
• Political thinking
– Ten Rules for Healthcare M&A
• The Campaign Strategy (Session 2)
• The Campaign Plan and Efforts (Session 3)
– Troubleshooting theTough Spots (Session 4)
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3. • Comprehensive interaction among your
campaign team is critical
• It will take many perspectives to build your
message and plan
• It also takes commitment by the deal team
• Plan for resistance
• Stay in control, but be flexible
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4. • First 5 Rules of Hospital M&A
• Theme:The Campaign Strategy
– Get Smart. Stay Smart. Be a “Reporter.”
– BeTransparent
– Think Like the Opposition
– Be Nimble
– Don’t Dance to Someone Else’s Music
• Must commit to these before getting tactical
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5. • Establish foundational strategies of your plan
• Address key decisions your leadership team must
make
• Ask the right questions – easy and tough ones
• Answer those questions
• Navigate the tough conversations to get your team
on the same page
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6. • Your Role: Be a Reporter
• Perspectives that matter:
– Finance
– Clinical
– Operational
– Political
– Community
– Regulators
– Competitors
• The Goal: OneTeam. One Strategy.
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7. • Two ways to coordinate
perspectives
– Formally, through a campaign
team
• High level of collaboration
• Danger of ruling by consensus
– Individually, in one-on-one,
regular meetings
• Ability to garner detailed answers
• Need to bring perspectives
together without the benefit of
team collaboration
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8. • The challenges of gathering
perspectives in a
partnership deal:
– The CampaignTeam may exist before
you join
– The timeframe may be highly
compressed
– It may take tough conversations to get a
seat at the table
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9. • What is the vision for the partnership?
• What is the transaction process?
• What are the terms of the transaction?
• How will the news be received?
• Will there be resistance?
• What happens to employee
jobs/benefits?
• What communications vehicles will be
best received?
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10. • Partnership team must commit to
transparency:
– Among the CampaignTeam
– With the public
• It’s about telling the
right information at
the right time
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11. • The Risk of Secrecy:
The more you try to
keep secrets, the more
leaks and rumors
happen
• “We’re working on
that” is a perfectly fine
answer
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12. • The benefits of transparency:
– Set the stage
– Establish trust
– Engage
– Quiet competitors
– Stay in control
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13. • Sellers:
– Is potential partner willing to
be transparent?
– Will there be layoffs/services
closed?
– Does the potential partner
respect us?
• Buyers:
– Why is this hospital a good fit
for us?
– What reputational issues will
we have to overcome?
– How will we invest? For how
long? How much?
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14. • Sources of opposition
– Internal
• Staff who is fearful
• Physicians seeking control
– External
• Competition hungry for
market share
• Politician eager to lead on
the issue
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15. • Kinds of Opposition
– Quiet and stealthy
– Listen to me! I just want
to know
– Power players
• Strike the right balance:
– When do you just listen?
– When do you engage?
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16. • Develop a plan for each
potential opposition
source:
– What will their messages
be?
– How will they act?
– Who will they work
hardest to influence?
– How are they likely to be
most effective?
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17. • Opposition is not a matter
of “if” – it’s a matter of
when and from where?
• Don’t be tone deaf
• Don’t live for every “if-
then” scenario
• Shift tactics, but don’t
stray from the message
• Listening is your best tool
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18. • Set daily team call to share
feedback
• Formal listening: public
opinion survey
• Informal listening: Keep 5
community leaders on
speed dial
• Start a physician advisory
group (or other critical
audience advisory group)
• Monitor social
media/newspaper forums
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19. • Challenges and criticisms
should not dictate what you
say, and how and when you
say it
• Be proactive, not reactive
• Keep everyday campaigns
going
• Fill the communications
vacuum
– Before opposition can
– Even if your update isn’t really
an update at all
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20. • Balancing a response:
– Put you in the position of
authority and rumor
squashing
– Risk you losing the lead
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21. • Separate the “smoke from the fire”
• Tightly focus your response
• Stay on message
• Be brief
• Be authoritative
• Be measured
• Remember: everyone is watching
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22. • Class Q&A
• Online Discussion questions:
– Build a 5-question list that you need to ask to gather perspectives that
will inform your messages?
– What are effective strategies to bridge the risks of transparency?
– Of the Rules discussed so far, which will be the toughest commitment
for your team to make and how will you overcome it?
– Think about your informal sources of information. What strategies
can you use to make sure you are constantly listening?
– Where do the most unlikely sources of opposition lay? How do you
identify them?
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23. • Executing the Campaign
• Prep for NextWeek
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