Unit 2

SHSMD University

August 15, 2013

• 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 the Tough Spots (Session 4)

2

• 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

3

• First 5 Rules of Hospital M&A

• Theme: The Campaign Strategy

– Get Smart. Stay Smart. Be a “Reporter.”

– Be Transparent

– Think Like the Opposition

– Be Nimble

– Don’t Dance to Someone Else’s Music

• Must commit to these before getting tactical

4

• 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

5

• Your Role: Be a Reporter

• Perspectives that matter:

– Finance

– Clinical

– Operational

– Political

– Community

– Regulators

– Competitors

• The Goal: One Team. One Strategy.6

• 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

7

• The challenges of gathering perspectives in a partnership deal:– The Campaign Team may exist before

you join

– The timeframe may be highly compressed

– It may take tough conversations to get a seat at the table

8

• 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?

9

• Partnership team must commit to transparency:

– Among the Campaign Team

– With the public

• It’s about telling the right information at the right time

10

• 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

11

• The benefits of transparency:

– Set the stage

– Establish trust

– Engage

– Quiet competitors

– Stay in control

12

• 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?13

• Sources of opposition

– Internal

• Staff who is fearful

• Physicians seeking control

– External

• Competition hungry for market share

• Politician eager to lead on the issue

14

• 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?

15

• 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?

16

• 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

17

• 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

18

• 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 all19

• Balancing a response:

– Put you in the position of authority and rumor squashing

– Risk you losing the lead

20

• Separate the “smoke from the fire”

• Tightly focus your response

• Stay on message

• Be brief

• Be authoritative

• Be measured

• Remember: everyone is watching

21

• 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?

22

• Executing the Campaign

• Prep for Next Week

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