How I create a strategic plan

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Welcome to the Clinician Researcher podcast, where academic clinicians learn the skills

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to build their own research program, whether or not they have a mentor.

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As clinicians, we spend a decade or more as trainees learning to take care of patients.

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When we finally start our careers, we want to build research programs, but then we find

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that our years of clinical training did not adequately prepare us to lead our research

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program.

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Through no fault of our own, we struggle to find mentors, and when we can't, we quit.

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However, clinicians hold the keys to the greatest research breakthroughs.

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For this reason, the Clinician Researcher podcast exists to give academic clinicians

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the tools to build their own research program, whether or not they have a mentor.

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Now introducing your host, Toyosi Onwuemene.

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Welcome to the Clinician Researcher podcast.

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I'm your host, Toyosi Onwuemene, and it is a pleasure to be speaking with you right now.

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Today, I'm going to talk to you about how I create a strategic plan.

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So last week I talked about the strategic plan, and I had questions.

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Asked of me about how I create a strategic plan, and I'm excited to talk about it today

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because I have to say that making a strategic plan is one of the things that's really changed

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my academic productivity.

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It just really helped me focus, and it gave me the opportunity to have serious productivity.

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Up until the time that I started creating a strategic plan, I maybe published a paper

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or less a year.

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And since creating the strategic plan, it's been so awesome, my productivity has increased.

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Probably on average, we do four to six manuscripts a year that are published, so you know they

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go through the system.

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But anyway, so yes, a strategic plan is so helpful because it's a roadmap.

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You stop looking around and saying, well, what project can I do?

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You're like, well, I have these projects.

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I should be working on them.

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You stop looking around and asking, well, what can I work on now?

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You have it before you, so you know that you have things to work on.

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So the strategic plan is awesome.

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I highly recommend it.

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And I'm going to talk to you today about five steps to a strategic plan.

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Five steps to a strategic plan.

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So the very first thing I do is I have an overarching goal for my future.

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And to answer the question of what is your overarching goal for your future is to ask,

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why are you here?

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Why are you in academia?

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You are a brilliant clinician.

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You could totally be doing anything else.

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You could own your own practice.

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You could be working in another person's practice.

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You could be working with the government.

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There are jobs at FDA.

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You could be working in industry.

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So why are you here?

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Why are you here in academia where you command the lowest salary that you could of anywhere

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that you work?

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Why are you here?

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And so the first question in creating my strategic plan that I ask myself is, why am I here?

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And it's important because it allows me to have an overarching goal for my career.

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I'm not here to play.

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I'm not here to see only patients.

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Patients are important, and they're the foundation of my clinical training.

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But what I realize is that health care, as it is right now, serves a lot of people, but

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it could serve more people.

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And there are so many questions that are yet to be answered.

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And I came to my career so that I could have impact, so that I could impact not just the

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patient in front of me, but the patient beyond that patient and patients beyond my lifetime.

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I came to have impact.

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I came to create a body of scholarly work that serves as a legacy that lives on after

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me.

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And I believe that academia is my vehicle to do that.

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And so yeah, it's why I came.

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And so that's why it was a shock to me when I started.

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And they're like, of course, you can be scholarly, but here's all this clinical work.

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Good luck.

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And because I have that overarching goal, I've continued to pursue it.

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And my strategic plan is my vehicle to do that.

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Yes, clinical care is still part of what I do.

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But in order to help the patient beyond the patient, I really do need to give space and

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time to my scholarly work.

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And so my strategic plan, first of all, starts with an overarching goal for my career.

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Why did I come?

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And yes, there are people around me who say, oh, no, no, no, clinicians don't do that

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anymore.

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That was in the days of Ian Fleming.

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Not today.

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But I believe it's achievable today.

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I'm here because the dream is achievable.

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I'm here because other people are doing it.

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I'm not even the first to say I want a scholarly research career as a clinician.

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I'm not the first.

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So is it extraordinary?

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Some people would say it is, but I would say it's not.

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And so my overarching goal leads me in creating my strategic plan because I want to lead a

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scholarly program of research that moves forward patient care, that transforms the lives of

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patients.

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I pay attention to my scholarly work.

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And my strategic plan is a vehicle that helps me get there.

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So number one is to be very clear about why you're here in academia and what you're here

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to accomplish.

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And I want to take a step back and say, I didn't always know that, or at least I couldn't

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always articulate that.

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When I started, I just wanted to do research.

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And that's all I could say.

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And people would say, well, what do you want to do?

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What do you want to do?

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I'm like, I want to do research.

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And they're like, yeah, but what do you want to do?

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And I was like, well, I don't know.

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I mean, I guess I could do cancer associated with thrombosis.

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Actually, I really want to do sickle cell.

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I just had so many things that I was interested in.

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And it's because I was interested in many things.

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In fact, I'm still interested in many things.

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If you're going to have impact, though, you choose one and you really focus in on that

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one thing, or you choose no more than a couple and really focus in.

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And when I began to realize that as I grew in the academy, then I had to narrow it down.

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And focus.

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And I'm not just now saying, well, I want to lead research.

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It's like, well, I'm very specific.

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I have come to the specific population to make this specific change.

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This is my goal.

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And if I achieve this goal, or when I achieve this goal, it'll have been an amazing, amazing

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achievement.

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I would be like, whoa, this was a great achievement.

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You know what I mean?

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Just wow.

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I'm just excited just thinking about all the lives my work is going to change.

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And so now I can articulate it.

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Now I understand it.

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Now I have the words.

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You know, in a sense, when I started, I was like a baby who could hear everybody speaking,

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but I couldn't yet speak the language.

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And that's for many of us clinicians.

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We understand research globally, but we don't understand the language of research.

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And not just the language people speak around research, but the way people behave and act

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around research.

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And it's by watching and being in close proximity with people who are succeeding in research

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that we're able to now be able to develop our own language and be able to put words

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to our feelings, to our experiences.

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And so my overarching goal is my first step.

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The second thing I do is I write down all the things that need to move my scholarly

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work forward.

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And those are mostly the things that have no accountability.

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I don't put anything clinical on there.

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I don't put clinical care.

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I don't even really put my presentations that I do at work.

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I don't because, you know what, if I don't show up to clinic, I'm going to hear about

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it.

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If I don't show up to round in the hospital, three people are going to call me within the

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hour.

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Right?

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There is built-in accountability for many things that we do in clinical care.

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But guess what?

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If I don't publish the paper, you know, it'll just be a paper that wasn't published.

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No one will know.

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If I don't move my, you know, grant writing forward, no one will know that I'm not working

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on the grant.

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It'll just be like a year later and at my annual review, it will say, okay, yeah, what

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grants did you submit?

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And I'll be like, well, you know, it was, right?

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There's no accountability, at least not an immediate accountability.

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Like, okay, maybe in a year, someone will ask me, how does that help me today?

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But clinical care, if I don't show up, somebody will call me within the hour.

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The patient is waiting.

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Where are you?

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And so the things that I want to move forward in my scholarly work that have no built-in

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accountability are the things that go on my plan.

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So I write down the list of everything that I want to accomplish that's not, that doesn't

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have any built-in accountability.

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And that's step number two.

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It's a long list of things I want to accomplish.

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And usually I'm a little bit ambitious.

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Or maybe it's not even so much ambition.

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It's that I don't really have a sense of how much it takes to do the things I say I want

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to do.

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And so I just have big goals.

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And I'm like, yes, publish paper.

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What does it take to publish paper?

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Analyze the results.

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What does it take to analyze the results?

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Collect the data.

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What does it take to collect the data?

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Submit the IRB.

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Wow.

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All I wanted to do was publish the paper.

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And all of a sudden I've dreamed up four steps before I can publish the paper.

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And so I have not always been realistic about what I can accomplish within the timeframe

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that I want to accomplish it.

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But that's not where I start, though, when it comes to writing the list.

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I just write a list.

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Like, this is all the things that I want to accomplish.

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This is the list of everything that is important to me in terms of my scholarly productivity.

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OK.

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So I have a list.

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It's a full list.

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It's got a lot of things.

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It's just like a brain dump.

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Just put everything on there.

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Number three, I create a category for grant submissions.

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I create a category for grant submissions.

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I create a category for grant submissions.

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My grant submissions category is first.

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It's the thing of all that I do that I love to do the least.

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I don't hate it, but I love it the least.

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I enjoy writing, but I love it the least.

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And so it comes as number one.

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Because no matter whether I love it or not, it's a big driver of my research program.

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Because when I have funding, I can focus on the work.

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When I have funding, I can recruit other people to the work.

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When I have funding, I can more easily convince collaborators to be part of the work.

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Funding is critical to the forward motion of my research program.

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And therefore, I spend a lot of time making offers.

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And I call it making offers now because now I understand in business is what you do.

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You make offers.

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No one can buy your product until you offer them the product to buy.

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Nobody can fund my research program until I make it clear what my research program is

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about.

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And so writing grants is the vehicle for funding my research program.

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Therefore I write grants.

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And it's on my strategic plan.

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I look forward to the next three months because each strategic plan I create, I create for

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a three-month period.

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It's a three-month strategic plan.

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And to be honest, I've experimented with a couple more months, a couple fewer months.

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And I would say I think the sweet spot for me is actually a four-month strategic plan.

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It's sufficient time to get work done without being overwhelming.

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Okay.

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So I create a category for grant submissions.

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And that is number three.

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What grants over the next four months am I going to submit?

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Now what's interesting is that I do need to look further ahead.

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And before this step, I've actually gone back and decided what are upcoming opportunities.

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You know, there are some opportunities that come every year.

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So if I miss the last cycle, I'll get the next one.

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There's some opportunities that are limited.

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It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

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I'm just going to pause and tell you that there is no such thing as a once-in-a-lifetime

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opportunity.

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In life, there will always be opportunity.

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It will come from everywhere.

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If you miss this opportunity, there'll be another opportunity and then the next opportunity

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after that.

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So my point is that never get anxious or afraid or allow yourself to be thrown off course

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by a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity because the reality of life is that opportunities

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will always come looking for you.

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Your job is to prepare for them.

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Okay.

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So I was talking about the grants that I write for and that I, you know, I put on my list.

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I have already earlier gone and looked and seen what are the RFAs that usually come around

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this time of year?

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Which grants am I committing to?

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What makes sense realistically as far as timeline?

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And sometimes the grants are due at the beginning of my strategic plan quarter or at the end

247
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of it and it just helps me plan.

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So the grants I'm going to submit are on my strategic plan is really the first thing I

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put on the strategic plan.

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Okay.

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That's number three, my category for grant submissions.

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Number four is my category for manuscripts.

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I have to tell you that this is my favorite category.

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Can you feel the love?

255
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Yes.

256
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I love manuscripts.

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Oh my goodness.

258
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They're so awesome.

259
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Okay.

260
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So I have to take a step back and tell you I love writing.

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When I was a child, I wanted to be a writer.

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And you know, I don't know why we ask kids this question.

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We're like, what do you want to be when you grow up?

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And I tell you the funniest and best answer I've ever heard was a kid who said, I want

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to be a good person.

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And I'm like, go kid.

267
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Yes, that's exactly right.

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Your goal is to be a good person.

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What's all this stuff where it's like, you know, I've got to decide what I am before

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I even understand what the world's about.

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Anyway, I'm getting off the soapbox now to say that when I was a child and people would

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ask me that question, what do you want to be when you grow up?

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I said, I want to be a writer.

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And I said that because I loved books and I love the power of storytellers to change

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my life.

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I didn't go out much when I was a kid.

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My siblings would be out playing, learning to ride bikes, doing all these fun things.

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And I would just be holed up in the bathroom reading a book.

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I loved books.

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I traveled the world in the books.

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Anyway, so that is the reason why I felt I was going to be a writer.

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So I love writing.

283
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And my parents discouraged me.

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At least my family did.

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They were like, yeah, you can be a writer.

286
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But what are you going to do for money?

287
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Yeah, so being a physician was my second plan.

288
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So anyway, I love writing.

289
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And so writing manuscripts is one of my loves in science.

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We love writing beyond science writing, but when it comes to my scholarly productivity,

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my best kind of writing is manuscripts.

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So they're number two.

293
00:15:19,720 --> 00:15:22,720
And I list them because I love writing.

294
00:15:22,720 --> 00:15:25,380
And what I do is I list all appending manuscripts.

295
00:15:25,380 --> 00:15:27,880
So I have a publication pipeline.

296
00:15:27,880 --> 00:15:32,560
And I will need to record a podcast episode as to what a publication pipeline is, if that's

297
00:15:32,560 --> 00:15:34,760
not something that's familiar to you.

298
00:15:34,760 --> 00:15:40,440
But just in brief, it's just a list of publications that you have either in concept, in development,

299
00:15:40,440 --> 00:15:45,360
already in progress, in data collection, just the different phases of your publication,

300
00:15:45,360 --> 00:15:46,360
of your publications.

301
00:15:46,360 --> 00:15:50,120
How many are submitted in review, in revision, just that whole list.

302
00:15:50,120 --> 00:15:54,560
You have a timeline so you know where the publications are and what is the next step

303
00:15:54,560 --> 00:15:56,180
on each publication.

304
00:15:56,180 --> 00:15:58,600
So I have a publication pipeline.

305
00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:06,640
And so going into the quarter with my strategic plan, what I do is I list all my publications.

306
00:16:06,640 --> 00:16:08,220
And I list them in order of priority.

307
00:16:08,220 --> 00:16:11,360
So priority is original research manuscripts first.

308
00:16:11,360 --> 00:16:14,040
So those are kind of like in my first list.

309
00:16:14,040 --> 00:16:20,400
And then everything else, reviews, case reports, all those great pieces of writing that don't

310
00:16:20,400 --> 00:16:24,040
carry as much weight as the original research article.

311
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Those are second tier on my list.

312
00:16:25,800 --> 00:16:28,120
And so I write them all out.

313
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And I will confess, and please do not tell Carrie Ann Rockamore, who taught me how to

314
00:16:32,280 --> 00:16:37,260
do a strategic plan, I will confess, I have 10 manuscripts on my strategic plan going

315
00:16:37,260 --> 00:16:38,740
into any quarter.

316
00:16:38,740 --> 00:16:42,520
And I don't have 10 manuscripts because I hope to submit 10 manuscripts in the quarter.

317
00:16:42,520 --> 00:16:46,400
But I just have a list of things that I'm working on so that if there is ever a day,

318
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I wake up and I'm like, wow, I don't have any work to do.

319
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I have all this free time.

320
00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:54,800
I look at my list and I'm like, wow, there are 10 manuscripts on there.

321
00:16:54,800 --> 00:16:56,720
Which one are you working on today?

322
00:16:56,720 --> 00:17:01,280
So there's just always that sense, not of anxiety, but always a reminder that there

323
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is work to be done, lady.

324
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You are not free.

325
00:17:04,040 --> 00:17:05,040
You have work.

326
00:17:05,040 --> 00:17:07,040
And but it's not also a thing of overwhelm.

327
00:17:07,040 --> 00:17:11,800
If I do not complete 10 manuscripts submission, and I'm yet to people, so the goal is not

328
00:17:11,800 --> 00:17:13,280
the 10 manuscripts.

329
00:17:13,280 --> 00:17:15,560
The point is not the 10 manuscripts.

330
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The point is just to remind me to keep moving work forward and to not be complacent.

331
00:17:21,240 --> 00:17:24,880
It also helps me because when people are like, well, Dr. Momener, clearly your schedule is

332
00:17:24,880 --> 00:17:25,880
free.

333
00:17:25,880 --> 00:17:30,720
I'm like, no, it's not because there are 10 manuscripts that need to be addressed.

334
00:17:30,720 --> 00:17:32,840
I don't have time for your extra stuff.

335
00:17:32,840 --> 00:17:34,120
So it's very helpful to me.

336
00:17:34,120 --> 00:17:35,120
And that's what I do.

337
00:17:35,120 --> 00:17:36,800
And I love manuscripts.

338
00:17:36,800 --> 00:17:41,360
And getting to the place now where I have a lot of trainees working with me and they

339
00:17:41,360 --> 00:17:45,600
get first dibs on writing manuscripts, which I have to tell you, it slows me down in the

340
00:17:45,600 --> 00:17:50,840
sense that I'm a faster manuscript writer than a fast than you know, if somebody else

341
00:17:50,840 --> 00:17:54,440
is writing the manuscript alongside me, then I'm really coaching them to write.

342
00:17:54,440 --> 00:17:56,600
And I have to tell you that it's so fun.

343
00:17:56,600 --> 00:18:01,760
And if you're not yet doing that, like mentoring someone to write, you absolutely should.

344
00:18:01,760 --> 00:18:06,540
Because no matter what stage of career you are in, you can always mentor somebody else.

345
00:18:06,540 --> 00:18:10,640
It's really fun to mentor someone in something you already know.

346
00:18:10,640 --> 00:18:15,160
But that means that my manuscripts don't move as fast as I would want them to.

347
00:18:15,160 --> 00:18:17,360
And that's part of the reason why I have 10.

348
00:18:17,360 --> 00:18:22,840
Because at any given time, my first authors are not ready to move the manuscript forward.

349
00:18:22,840 --> 00:18:28,600
So anyway, I have a lot and I enjoy writing manuscripts and I actually really enjoy mentoring

350
00:18:28,600 --> 00:18:31,480
the trainees who are helping me write manuscripts now.

351
00:18:31,480 --> 00:18:34,880
And so there's a category on my strategic plan for manuscripts.

352
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And that's number four.

353
00:18:37,240 --> 00:18:39,080
Number five is my creative pursuits.

354
00:18:39,080 --> 00:18:43,600
I told you that as a child, I always wanted to be a writer.

355
00:18:43,600 --> 00:18:45,000
Writing is my dream.

356
00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:46,160
It's my happy place.

357
00:18:46,160 --> 00:18:48,480
I love to craft sentences.

358
00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:50,240
I love writing.

359
00:18:50,240 --> 00:18:54,260
Yes, roll your eyes, call me a nerd, whatever you want to do.

360
00:18:54,260 --> 00:18:55,440
It's the thing that I love.

361
00:18:55,440 --> 00:18:56,640
What's the thing that you love?

362
00:18:56,640 --> 00:18:57,640
Yeah, own it.

363
00:18:57,640 --> 00:18:59,840
And I own my own my writing love.

364
00:18:59,840 --> 00:19:00,840
I love writing.

365
00:19:00,840 --> 00:19:05,600
But I tell you that when I was a child saying I love writing, I want to be a writer, I was

366
00:19:05,600 --> 00:19:10,680
reading books that excited me and that, you know, lifted me to new places of imagination

367
00:19:10,680 --> 00:19:12,200
and creativity.

368
00:19:12,200 --> 00:19:15,180
I was not writing science manuscripts.

369
00:19:15,180 --> 00:19:16,580
I was not.

370
00:19:16,580 --> 00:19:22,680
And so even though I write manuscripts and science and yeah, it's awesome and amazing,

371
00:19:22,680 --> 00:19:27,040
even more awesome and awesome and amazing are all the manuscripts I write that have

372
00:19:27,040 --> 00:19:29,620
nothing to do with science.

373
00:19:29,620 --> 00:19:32,840
So they're my number three category.

374
00:19:32,840 --> 00:19:34,360
So my first category is grant submissions.

375
00:19:34,360 --> 00:19:35,880
My second category is manuscripts.

376
00:19:35,880 --> 00:19:37,720
They're my number three category.

377
00:19:37,720 --> 00:19:40,520
They're my most important category to my life.

378
00:19:40,520 --> 00:19:44,520
But they're number three right now as I'm a faculty member in an academic institution

379
00:19:44,520 --> 00:19:47,840
where scholarly manuscripts are number one.

380
00:19:47,840 --> 00:19:51,560
But I don't allow my own creative pursuits to fall off because you know what?

381
00:19:51,560 --> 00:19:52,560
They give me life.

382
00:19:52,560 --> 00:19:57,160
Oh my goodness, the kind of energy that comes out of my body from writing a manuscript that

383
00:19:57,160 --> 00:19:58,160
I love.

384
00:19:58,160 --> 00:20:01,600
I mean you should check out my most recent publication, Miracle of Gratitude.

385
00:20:01,600 --> 00:20:05,200
You can buy it on Amazon.

386
00:20:05,200 --> 00:20:06,200
But I do.

387
00:20:06,200 --> 00:20:07,200
I do.

388
00:20:07,200 --> 00:20:11,400
And I will tell you, one of the reasons I have it on my strategic plan is because it's

389
00:20:11,400 --> 00:20:14,320
writing that gives me joy.

390
00:20:14,320 --> 00:20:17,640
And it's writing where I don't have to jump through hoops.

391
00:20:17,640 --> 00:20:20,960
I don't have to jump through hoops of the reviewers say go change this.

392
00:20:20,960 --> 00:20:23,760
I mean, every writing can be improved by reviewers.

393
00:20:23,760 --> 00:20:26,160
And I do have my own writing review.

394
00:20:26,160 --> 00:20:31,480
Like I will send my own writing out to be reviewed by my company of reviewers.

395
00:20:31,480 --> 00:20:35,520
But they're like family and friends and they love me.

396
00:20:35,520 --> 00:20:39,260
So they're not going to try to tear me down with their review, you know, with their reviews.

397
00:20:39,260 --> 00:20:41,840
But so I do send out my manuscripts for review.

398
00:20:41,840 --> 00:20:46,240
However, what I'm saying is that it's a space for my creativity.

399
00:20:46,240 --> 00:20:50,960
And so I do not allow it to be subject to the same, you know, sometimes the, you know,

400
00:20:50,960 --> 00:20:57,240
tear you down kind of reviews that can come back through, you know, reviewers for journals

401
00:20:57,240 --> 00:21:01,040
because, you know, there are a lot of people who are burned out and the burnout kind of

402
00:21:01,040 --> 00:21:03,760
just, you know, explodes in different places.

403
00:21:03,760 --> 00:21:05,520
And sometimes it's onto your manuscript.

404
00:21:05,520 --> 00:21:06,960
Wow, I digress.

405
00:21:06,960 --> 00:21:13,360
But I'm coming back to say I have a category for my creative pursuits because I love writing.

406
00:21:13,360 --> 00:21:17,840
And the writing that really brings me energy and just oh my gosh, it's just such a beautiful

407
00:21:17,840 --> 00:21:20,560
place for me is my own writing.

408
00:21:20,560 --> 00:21:22,120
And I publish my own work.

409
00:21:22,120 --> 00:21:27,280
I do because it's like, yeah, all my other stuff can go through the publication process.

410
00:21:27,280 --> 00:21:29,440
Stuff I write for myself, I publish for myself.

411
00:21:29,440 --> 00:21:32,880
So I have my own publishing company that allows me to do that.

412
00:21:32,880 --> 00:21:37,640
But anyway, so those are the three major categories because grants are important to fund my research

413
00:21:37,640 --> 00:21:39,840
programs or grants are on there.

414
00:21:39,840 --> 00:21:43,360
Manuscripts are important to move my scholarly work forward and communicate my science.

415
00:21:43,360 --> 00:21:44,360
And so I do that.

416
00:21:44,360 --> 00:21:49,840
But my creative pursuits give me joy and they're on my strategic plan as well.

417
00:21:49,840 --> 00:21:54,880
Okay, so that's five things that I do to create the strategic plan.

418
00:21:54,880 --> 00:22:00,760
And then I put them in an Excel spreadsheet and I outline them over the 12 weeks.

419
00:22:00,760 --> 00:22:03,920
So it's like you have 12 weeks in this quarter.

420
00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:05,440
What are you going to work on in week one?

421
00:22:05,440 --> 00:22:08,720
I have only three things I allow myself to put in any one week.

422
00:22:08,720 --> 00:22:13,280
And to be honest, it probably would be sufficient to have just one thing per week.

423
00:22:13,280 --> 00:22:15,440
But I put three things.

424
00:22:15,440 --> 00:22:18,280
And that's because, you know, your work is staggered.

425
00:22:18,280 --> 00:22:21,880
And so you're ready to write, but that manuscript is not ready for you.

426
00:22:21,880 --> 00:22:23,480
So what else are you going to work on?

427
00:22:23,480 --> 00:22:25,260
That's why I have three things every week.

428
00:22:25,260 --> 00:22:30,480
So I go through, I look at the 12 weeks and I arrange everything, you know, only three

429
00:22:30,480 --> 00:22:34,400
major things over the 12 week period.

430
00:22:34,400 --> 00:22:36,160
What I prioritize is grants.

431
00:22:36,160 --> 00:22:40,160
I prioritize grants according to when the submission deadline is and not the external

432
00:22:40,160 --> 00:22:46,000
deadline but our institutional deadline, which is freaky long before the grant is due.

433
00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:47,440
Oh, did I say that?

434
00:22:47,440 --> 00:22:48,560
I'm taking it back.

435
00:22:48,560 --> 00:22:53,400
I appreciate my grants office and the thoroughness with which they review my grants.

436
00:22:53,400 --> 00:22:54,560
Thank you, grant office.

437
00:22:54,560 --> 00:23:00,160
OK, so I write the grants out first and they take priority based on the deadline.

438
00:23:00,160 --> 00:23:03,000
And then the second thing are my manuscripts.

439
00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:05,320
And then the third thing are my creative pursuits.

440
00:23:05,320 --> 00:23:09,160
I don't put my creative pursuits on there first, even though I love creativity and I

441
00:23:09,160 --> 00:23:11,440
really enjoy that piece.

442
00:23:11,440 --> 00:23:15,240
Because to some extent, that's work I'm going to be doing anyway.

443
00:23:15,240 --> 00:23:19,120
And I don't really need anybody to give me accountability to do that work.

444
00:23:19,120 --> 00:23:20,160
I will do it.

445
00:23:20,160 --> 00:23:23,080
And so what it helps me do is accomplish all the other things.

446
00:23:23,080 --> 00:23:27,320
Like I finished the grant, I finished the manuscript, and now I can look forward to

447
00:23:27,320 --> 00:23:32,960
it's like the dessert at the end of a big, healthy meal.

448
00:23:32,960 --> 00:23:34,640
It's like, oh my gosh, I get to eat this dessert.

449
00:23:34,640 --> 00:23:38,560
And it helps you just go through the stuff, the broccoli and all the stuff that you might

450
00:23:38,560 --> 00:23:40,760
not want to eat so you can get to the dessert.

451
00:23:40,760 --> 00:23:44,320
And so my creative writing goes last on the list.

452
00:23:44,320 --> 00:23:47,560
And after I finished all the things, at least there's nothing left to do.

453
00:23:47,560 --> 00:23:51,160
It's like, oh, well, I'm ready to work on that paper, but it's not available.

454
00:23:51,160 --> 00:23:52,840
I'm going to write my own creative pursuits.

455
00:23:52,840 --> 00:23:56,420
So anyway, that is how I create my strategic plan.

456
00:23:56,420 --> 00:24:01,000
And then what I do is I take it off the Excel spreadsheet, I make it into a big PowerPoint

457
00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:03,520
poster, and I print it.

458
00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:05,000
I send it out to the printers.

459
00:24:05,000 --> 00:24:09,800
Yes, I pay money to send it out to the printers and I make it into a big poster.

460
00:24:09,800 --> 00:24:11,220
And then I put it in my office.

461
00:24:11,220 --> 00:24:15,920
It's a big poster on my office and there it is.

462
00:24:15,920 --> 00:24:16,980
There is the accountability.

463
00:24:16,980 --> 00:24:19,220
It's like, that's what you said you were going to do this quarter.

464
00:24:19,220 --> 00:24:20,220
There it is.

465
00:24:20,220 --> 00:24:23,920
And as I finish things, I go and I cross it off.

466
00:24:23,920 --> 00:24:28,600
And if you were ever an amazing intern like I was, okay, maybe my residents might not

467
00:24:28,600 --> 00:24:33,520
have called me an amazing intern, but I became better over the course of the year.

468
00:24:33,520 --> 00:24:34,520
Okay.

469
00:24:34,520 --> 00:24:36,740
As an amazing intern, you have a checklist.

470
00:24:36,740 --> 00:24:39,040
Every good intern has a checklist.

471
00:24:39,040 --> 00:24:40,760
I love checklists.

472
00:24:40,760 --> 00:24:46,360
And so what sweetness to go through and just cross things off my strategic plan.

473
00:24:46,360 --> 00:24:48,680
Oh my gosh, it's so awesome.

474
00:24:48,680 --> 00:24:49,680
Okay.

475
00:24:49,680 --> 00:24:52,760
It is really awesome to be able to cross things off the strategic plan.

476
00:24:52,760 --> 00:24:53,880
So I get to do that.

477
00:24:53,880 --> 00:24:55,640
And so there it is.

478
00:24:55,640 --> 00:24:58,000
That's how I create a strategic plan.

479
00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:03,320
I create a strategic plan every quarter, but really I create a strategic time three times

480
00:25:03,320 --> 00:25:05,720
a year.

481
00:25:05,720 --> 00:25:09,960
And I also actually this year I tried something different.

482
00:25:09,960 --> 00:25:15,960
I tried to do a transitional strategic plan because now that my, I have older children

483
00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:20,440
now, older as in they are not your teenagers, but they're older than, you know, when they

484
00:25:20,440 --> 00:25:23,360
were, when they required me for everything.

485
00:25:23,360 --> 00:25:27,960
I realize now that their schedules affect my productivity.

486
00:25:27,960 --> 00:25:31,560
For example, the summer schedule is a different schedule from the school schedule.

487
00:25:31,560 --> 00:25:34,700
I welcome the school schedule because it just gives us routine.

488
00:25:34,700 --> 00:25:38,920
I can be very, I know when things are happening because I know when the school day ends and

489
00:25:38,920 --> 00:25:40,720
I know exactly what time I have.

490
00:25:40,720 --> 00:25:42,240
So it does vary.

491
00:25:42,240 --> 00:25:46,180
So this year I experimented with two strategic plans, one for the first half of the year

492
00:25:46,180 --> 00:25:51,740
into the summer and then the second for the second half of the year after the summer,

493
00:25:51,740 --> 00:25:55,380
because the summer is kind of like a, you know, there's a lot, there's a lot of moving

494
00:25:55,380 --> 00:25:59,240
targets during the summer and it's not always realistic to imagine that I can accomplish

495
00:25:59,240 --> 00:26:00,440
so much during the summer.

496
00:26:00,440 --> 00:26:04,840
So I experimented with two strategic plans this year and I'll have to see if I continue

497
00:26:04,840 --> 00:26:05,840
it into the future.

498
00:26:05,840 --> 00:26:07,920
But yeah, there it is.

499
00:26:07,920 --> 00:26:10,420
My summary of how I create a strategic plan.

500
00:26:10,420 --> 00:26:14,940
I want to invite you this week to create your own strategic plan.

501
00:26:14,940 --> 00:26:16,360
Maybe you've never done it.

502
00:26:16,360 --> 00:26:20,400
Maybe you've never really thought about your overarching goal for your career.

503
00:26:20,400 --> 00:26:21,940
Today is the day.

504
00:26:21,940 --> 00:26:23,440
Go write it all on paper.

505
00:26:23,440 --> 00:26:29,900
What are the scholarly pursuits that you have that no one, no one is going to pursue you?

506
00:26:29,900 --> 00:26:31,980
Maybe your mentor will yell at you.

507
00:26:31,980 --> 00:26:33,680
Please don't let mentors yell at you.

508
00:26:33,680 --> 00:26:35,160
Yelling is not okay.

509
00:26:35,160 --> 00:26:38,680
But for the most part, no one's knocking at your door saying, are you working on that

510
00:26:38,680 --> 00:26:39,680
paper this morning?

511
00:26:39,680 --> 00:26:43,360
Most of the time people are not doing that, but they will knock on your door and say,

512
00:26:43,360 --> 00:26:44,360
where are you?

513
00:26:44,360 --> 00:26:45,360
The patient's waiting.

514
00:26:45,360 --> 00:26:50,200
And so what are the things that are on your list of scholarly activities that need to

515
00:26:50,200 --> 00:26:52,080
be on a strategic plan?

516
00:26:52,080 --> 00:26:53,080
Write them down.

517
00:26:53,080 --> 00:26:54,080
And guess what?

518
00:26:54,080 --> 00:26:55,080
I would love to hear them.

519
00:26:55,080 --> 00:26:56,520
I would love for you to share them with me.

520
00:26:56,520 --> 00:26:58,960
Share how you created your own strategic plan.

521
00:26:58,960 --> 00:27:03,520
Take a picture and send it to me via our podcast website, clinicianresearcherpodcast.com.

522
00:27:03,520 --> 00:27:06,440
All right, it's been such a pleasure talking with you today.

523
00:27:06,440 --> 00:27:11,040
I have to tell you, I have so much fun talking about the strategic plan.

524
00:27:11,040 --> 00:27:12,920
Yes, totally nerd activity.

525
00:27:12,920 --> 00:27:15,760
All right, it's been a pleasure talking with you today.

526
00:27:15,760 --> 00:27:19,240
Please share this episode with somebody else who needs to create a strategic plan.

527
00:27:19,240 --> 00:27:22,240
All right, talk to you soon.

528
00:27:22,240 --> 00:27:23,240
Bye.

529
00:27:23,240 --> 00:27:33,240
Thanks for listening to this episode of the Clinician Researcher Podcast.

530
00:27:33,240 --> 00:27:39,360
Where academic clinicians learn the skills to build their own research program, whether

531
00:27:39,360 --> 00:27:41,760
or not they have a mentor.

532
00:27:41,760 --> 00:27:47,880
If you found the information in this episode to be helpful, don't keep it all to yourself.

533
00:27:47,880 --> 00:27:49,600
Someone else needs to hear it.

534
00:27:49,600 --> 00:27:53,680
So take a minute right now and share it.

535
00:27:53,680 --> 00:27:59,120
As you share this episode, you become part of our mission to help launch a new generation

536
00:27:59,120 --> 00:28:05,080
of clinician researchers who make transformative discoveries that change the way we do healthcare.