The benefits of creating a strategic plan

1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,860 Welcome to the Clinician Researcher podcast, where academic clinicians learn the skills 2 00:00:05,860 --> 00:00:11,260 to build their own research program, whether or not they have a mentor. 3 00:00:11,260 --> 00:00:17,340 As clinicians, we spend a decade or more as trainees learning to take care of patients. 4 00:00:17,340 --> 00:00:22,380 When we finally start our careers, we want to build research programs, but then we find 5 00:00:22,380 --> 00:00:27,780 that our years of clinical training did not adequately prepare us to lead our research 6 00:00:27,780 --> 00:00:29,200 program. 7 00:00:29,200 --> 00:00:35,480 Through no fault of our own, we struggle to find mentors, and when we can't, we quit. 8 00:00:35,480 --> 00:00:40,580 However, clinicians hold the keys to the greatest research breakthroughs. 9 00:00:40,580 --> 00:00:46,200 For this reason, the Clinician Researcher podcast exists to give academic clinicians 10 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:51,800 the tools to build their own research program, whether or not they have a mentor. 11 00:00:51,800 --> 00:01:01,100 Now introducing your host, Toyosi Onwuemene. 12 00:01:01,100 --> 00:01:04,680 Welcome to the Clinician Researcher podcast. 13 00:01:04,680 --> 00:01:09,280 I'm your host Toyosi Onwuemene, and what a privilege it is to be speaking with you today. 14 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:11,140 Thank you for tuning in. 15 00:01:11,140 --> 00:01:16,560 I'm especially excited to be talking to you today about why you need a strategic plan. 16 00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:19,280 Why you need a strategic plan. 17 00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:22,760 Now a strategic plan has been called so many types of things. 18 00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:30,560 I think there is an individual development plan, or it could be in, I don't know what 19 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:33,360 else it's been called, but I'm calling it a strategic plan. 20 00:01:33,360 --> 00:01:38,040 Okay, let's just pause and call it a strategic plan, and I'm going to explain what I mean. 21 00:01:38,040 --> 00:01:43,040 First of all, I'll tell you about when I first encountered the idea of a strategic plan. 22 00:01:43,040 --> 00:01:48,520 Now the time I encountered the idea of a strategic plan, I had been a faculty member for about 23 00:01:48,520 --> 00:01:52,400 seven years, and somehow honestly I had been successful. 24 00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:56,280 I made it. 25 00:01:56,280 --> 00:02:01,260 But most of the time what I would try to do is to create large blocks of time to get my 26 00:02:01,260 --> 00:02:03,600 research and writing done. 27 00:02:03,600 --> 00:02:09,200 And if you are a busy clinician without real, you know, protective time for research, you 28 00:02:09,200 --> 00:02:12,600 know, sometimes protective time is protective time on paper, but it's not protective time 29 00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:16,760 in reality, especially when you have a busy clinic with no support. 30 00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:22,360 It's like, okay, when, you know, in about a week and a half, there'll be like a drop 31 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:26,000 off, there'll be, I don't know, there'll be a thunderstorm or a snowstorm or something, 32 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:29,880 half the patients will cancel, I'll get an eight-hour block, and then I'll be able to 33 00:02:29,880 --> 00:02:30,880 write this paper. 34 00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:37,800 So anyway, let's just say that I was getting stuff done, and somehow I was advancing. 35 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:43,160 And yes, it was hard, and yes, there were, you know, very few of these big blocks that 36 00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:47,720 I needed to do the work, but when they came, you know, I could really use them and get 37 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:50,120 a lot of things done. 38 00:02:50,120 --> 00:03:00,320 And then I attended this program called the Faculty Success Program, also called the National 39 00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:05,200 Center for Faculty Development and Diversity Boot Camp. 40 00:03:05,200 --> 00:03:09,760 There's another name to it that I don't remember, but Faculty Success Program is what it's really 41 00:03:09,760 --> 00:03:18,120 called, and it is a, you know, 12-week program, and they walk you through just different habits 42 00:03:18,120 --> 00:03:21,600 to grow as an academic. 43 00:03:21,600 --> 00:03:28,240 And I think for the most part, the program is geared towards PhD scientists and PhD researchers, 44 00:03:28,240 --> 00:03:33,320 but definitely it has some great tools for anybody, especially if you are in medicine 45 00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:37,720 and, you know, going, creating structures for your writing and research is not part 46 00:03:37,720 --> 00:03:38,720 of what you do. 47 00:03:38,720 --> 00:03:42,280 So anyway, as part of the program, one of the things we did was to create a strategic 48 00:03:42,280 --> 00:03:47,600 plan, and it was such a novel concept to me, this idea that you look forward into the future 49 00:03:47,600 --> 00:03:53,680 for the next three months, and you say, this is what I need to do. 50 00:03:53,680 --> 00:03:57,280 These are the things I need to do to move my research and my writing forward. 51 00:03:57,280 --> 00:04:03,440 And the reason a strategic plan is so helpful, and I learned from the National Center for 52 00:04:03,440 --> 00:04:11,320 Faculty Development and Diversity, is that, you know, the strategic plan is the list of 53 00:04:11,320 --> 00:04:17,140 things that no one's going to come knocking down at your door to tell you to do. 54 00:04:17,140 --> 00:04:21,360 For example, you don't put on your strategic plan, patient care. 55 00:04:21,360 --> 00:04:23,760 You don't say, clinic on Monday. 56 00:04:23,760 --> 00:04:26,800 No need to put it on the strategic plan, because guess what? 57 00:04:26,800 --> 00:04:34,400 If you don't show up to clinic on Monday, people will come and find you. 58 00:04:34,400 --> 00:04:38,040 And if they are not able to find you, you will hear about it. 59 00:04:38,040 --> 00:04:43,620 The backlash from a missed clinic where you just didn't show up will be so big, you know 60 00:04:43,620 --> 00:04:46,120 you're not going to miss clinic. 61 00:04:46,120 --> 00:04:51,360 But what happens if you don't submit your manuscript that's important for you to apply 62 00:04:51,360 --> 00:04:54,320 for the next grant? 63 00:04:54,320 --> 00:05:00,040 Maybe a mentor might be mad at you if they even know that the deadline has passed. 64 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:03,040 Actually, they'll be upset with you if they're the senior author and that paper actually 65 00:05:03,040 --> 00:05:04,480 matters to them. 66 00:05:04,480 --> 00:05:11,360 But if, you know, it's just one of 700 papers coming out of their lab, you know, it's kind 67 00:05:11,360 --> 00:05:15,840 of like, well, it's nice if it gets in, but if it doesn't, it's okay too. 68 00:05:15,840 --> 00:05:21,760 And so the strategic plan really is your home for all things that move your research and 69 00:05:21,760 --> 00:05:25,760 writing forward that don't have accountability. 70 00:05:25,760 --> 00:05:26,960 That's what the strategic plan is. 71 00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:31,320 At least that's how I'm talking about it in this episode. 72 00:05:31,320 --> 00:05:37,920 The strategic plan is your plan for your research and writing for the next three to four months. 73 00:05:37,920 --> 00:05:44,000 And these are especially the things that nobody, nobody's going to chase you around, at least 74 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:48,720 not to the extent to which they will chase you if you don't do something like show up 75 00:05:48,720 --> 00:05:50,900 and do your shift. 76 00:05:50,900 --> 00:05:57,160 You know that there's accountability for patient care, but not as much accountability for your 77 00:05:57,160 --> 00:06:00,280 faculty development and advancement. 78 00:06:00,280 --> 00:06:04,080 So I'm going to be talking about the strategic plan today. 79 00:06:04,080 --> 00:06:11,040 And I'm going to be talking about five things, five reasons why you should create a strategic 80 00:06:11,040 --> 00:06:17,360 plan, why it benefits you, why if you've never created one, you should create one. 81 00:06:17,360 --> 00:06:23,680 And I have five reasons today and I probably have more, but these are just the five that 82 00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:26,160 I'm going to focus on. 83 00:06:26,160 --> 00:06:33,280 The first thing that doing a strategic plan does for you is it gives you clarity. 84 00:06:33,280 --> 00:06:38,640 The very first thing it does for you is it shows you exactly what you need to be working 85 00:06:38,640 --> 00:06:39,640 on. 86 00:06:39,640 --> 00:06:44,600 Now here's the thing, before you put it on your strategic plan, it was in your head. 87 00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:45,760 You know, it was in your mind. 88 00:06:45,760 --> 00:06:49,760 You've had some conversations probably with a mentor or two talking to you about the things 89 00:06:49,760 --> 00:06:52,160 you need to do and why it's important. 90 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:56,600 And you know you need to submit a couple of manuscripts and then apply for the K or a 91 00:06:56,600 --> 00:07:03,480 couple of manuscripts and then go for the R. You know, you know that you need to start 92 00:07:03,480 --> 00:07:06,160 this new IRB for this research project. 93 00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:08,280 You know all these things. 94 00:07:08,280 --> 00:07:12,800 And yes, you have in mind that you're going to do them. 95 00:07:12,800 --> 00:07:15,720 Somehow you just haven't committed that goal to paper. 96 00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:21,840 You haven't said very specifically that by the end of March 2024, I will have finished 97 00:07:21,840 --> 00:07:26,520 the protocol for this IRB that we're submitting. 98 00:07:26,520 --> 00:07:27,680 You haven't committed it to paper. 99 00:07:27,680 --> 00:07:29,620 You haven't made it a smart goal, right? 100 00:07:29,620 --> 00:07:32,800 People talk about specific, measurable. 101 00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:33,800 What is it? 102 00:07:33,800 --> 00:07:34,800 A? 103 00:07:34,800 --> 00:07:37,040 I don't remember what A is right now. 104 00:07:37,040 --> 00:07:42,240 Time bound is T. Realistic is R. And I don't remember A. 105 00:07:42,240 --> 00:07:43,800 But anyway, a smart goal. 106 00:07:43,800 --> 00:07:46,160 I'll put it in the show notes if I remember. 107 00:07:46,160 --> 00:07:52,600 But you know, people talk about making goals and you have these ideas in your head, but 108 00:07:52,600 --> 00:07:56,800 you've never really committed them to paper to make them concrete. 109 00:07:56,800 --> 00:08:00,400 You've never set time bounds around it because it's like, oh yeah, maybe in the next year 110 00:08:00,400 --> 00:08:03,060 or two I'll be done with this. 111 00:08:03,060 --> 00:08:04,600 But you haven't said, no, no, no. 112 00:08:04,600 --> 00:08:09,000 By March of 2024, I will have completed this project. 113 00:08:09,000 --> 00:08:14,280 I will have the tangible protocol in hand ready to submit to the IRB. 114 00:08:14,280 --> 00:08:16,400 You've not made that commitment. 115 00:08:16,400 --> 00:08:20,760 But the moment you do, then you give yourself clarity on the things you're supposed to be 116 00:08:20,760 --> 00:08:23,240 working on in the next three months. 117 00:08:23,240 --> 00:08:25,620 And this clarity is such a beautiful gift. 118 00:08:25,620 --> 00:08:27,300 It's so powerful. 119 00:08:27,300 --> 00:08:32,480 It's so powerful because the moment you're clear about your goals, then you're clear 120 00:08:32,480 --> 00:08:34,240 about how to achieve them. 121 00:08:34,240 --> 00:08:37,400 Or even if you don't know how to achieve them, you're clear about what information you need 122 00:08:37,400 --> 00:08:40,080 to be able to successfully achieve them. 123 00:08:40,080 --> 00:08:44,480 And so, okay, you need to maybe submit your first manuscript or write and submit your 124 00:08:44,480 --> 00:08:48,380 first manuscript, or maybe it's your first proposal. 125 00:08:48,380 --> 00:08:54,160 And even if you've never written a proposal before, you now know that this is the information 126 00:08:54,160 --> 00:08:58,040 you need to be able to successfully write and submit the proposal. 127 00:08:58,040 --> 00:09:01,760 But until you decided it was a goal that you were going to try to accomplish in the next 128 00:09:01,760 --> 00:09:07,080 three months, then you didn't have to put your foot in the ground and go find the information 129 00:09:07,080 --> 00:09:09,600 necessary to move forward. 130 00:09:09,600 --> 00:09:14,680 And so, developing a strategic plan is so vital because it gives you clarity. 131 00:09:14,680 --> 00:09:21,080 And I think it's been said that the real win is not the plans that you make. 132 00:09:21,080 --> 00:09:22,080 Plans are worthless. 133 00:09:22,080 --> 00:09:28,520 But the actual act of planning is so powerful because you first of all have to figure out 134 00:09:28,520 --> 00:09:35,680 what is the most important thing, the thing for which I have no accountability, the thing 135 00:09:35,680 --> 00:09:39,600 for which no one's going to come knocking down my door if I don't do it. 136 00:09:39,600 --> 00:09:42,880 But it's the thing that actually advances my career. 137 00:09:42,880 --> 00:09:53,040 And when we think about that matrix of urgent and not important versus not urgent, definitely 138 00:09:53,040 --> 00:09:55,680 important, there's a specific name for the matrix. 139 00:09:55,680 --> 00:09:59,440 I really need to look these things up before I come talk to you guys. 140 00:09:59,440 --> 00:10:07,200 But that matrix of the things that are most important are the things that are not urgent 141 00:10:07,200 --> 00:10:09,960 but extremely important to your advancement. 142 00:10:09,960 --> 00:10:16,080 And a strategic plan allows you to define what those things are and put them on a plan. 143 00:10:16,080 --> 00:10:18,320 It gives you clarity. 144 00:10:18,320 --> 00:10:20,720 And that is such a beautiful gift. 145 00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:21,720 Okay. 146 00:10:21,720 --> 00:10:24,080 So, it gives you clarity. 147 00:10:24,080 --> 00:10:26,560 The next thing it does is it gives you focus. 148 00:10:26,560 --> 00:10:30,640 So, the moment you have decided on a set of goals that you're going to accomplish over 149 00:10:30,640 --> 00:10:34,320 the next three to four months, now you know what to focus on. 150 00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:35,560 You know. 151 00:10:35,560 --> 00:10:38,480 There's no, oh, I'm not sure when I'm supposed to, you're like, no, no, no, no, no, no. 152 00:10:38,480 --> 00:10:41,920 I said that by March 2024, I will do this. 153 00:10:41,920 --> 00:10:45,480 Therefore, I know what I'm going to do. 154 00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:48,920 You can focus on the thing that you've determined. 155 00:10:48,920 --> 00:10:54,240 One of the things I love about the strategic plan is that you make it for yourself. 156 00:10:54,240 --> 00:10:57,160 I make my strategic plan for me. 157 00:10:57,160 --> 00:11:00,320 And I'm so glad it's for me because if somebody else saw my strategic plan, they would be 158 00:11:00,320 --> 00:11:02,800 like, what? 159 00:11:02,800 --> 00:11:07,960 It is uniquely targeted and tailored to me. 160 00:11:07,960 --> 00:11:10,640 Only I understand my strategic plan. 161 00:11:10,640 --> 00:11:14,900 The person who taught me how to do the strategic plan would probably be shocked at the kind 162 00:11:14,900 --> 00:11:17,520 of strategic plan I create these days. 163 00:11:17,520 --> 00:11:20,400 But it's uniquely yours. 164 00:11:20,400 --> 00:11:22,240 Nobody can create a strategic plan for you. 165 00:11:22,240 --> 00:11:24,360 Actually, I take that back. 166 00:11:24,360 --> 00:11:31,120 Anybody can create a strategic plan for you, but it's not powerful or effective until you 167 00:11:31,120 --> 00:11:33,880 create your own. 168 00:11:33,880 --> 00:11:37,400 And the reason you've got to be the one to create it is because it's for you. 169 00:11:37,400 --> 00:11:41,060 You commit and then you go execute. 170 00:11:41,060 --> 00:11:47,040 And so the goals you set for yourself because you decided that they're important are the 171 00:11:47,040 --> 00:11:51,840 goals that you have power, energy, strength to execute on. 172 00:11:51,840 --> 00:11:56,800 The goals you set for yourself because you're afraid that someone's going to be mad at you, 173 00:11:56,800 --> 00:12:03,280 be disappointed in you, honestly, are not as sticky. 174 00:12:03,280 --> 00:12:09,600 And if for whatever reason that person maybe is out of town for a two to three week window, 175 00:12:09,600 --> 00:12:13,480 you'll feel relief that, oh, okay, I might not need to do this. 176 00:12:13,480 --> 00:12:18,760 Or you'll feel dread and anxiety over your goal. 177 00:12:18,760 --> 00:12:24,920 And not many good things come out of that space of anxiety and dread over a goal. 178 00:12:24,920 --> 00:12:27,120 And so it really does need to be yours. 179 00:12:27,120 --> 00:12:30,720 It really does need to be your plans. 180 00:12:30,720 --> 00:12:34,040 And if you're not sure what to put on your strategic plan, yeah, talk it over with a 181 00:12:34,040 --> 00:12:41,020 mentor and definitely flesh out what kinds of things should you be working on over the 182 00:12:41,020 --> 00:12:42,440 next three to four months. 183 00:12:42,440 --> 00:12:48,000 But in the general scheme of things, it's the manuscripts, it's the grants, it's the 184 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:54,480 research, it's all the stuff that's so important but that you may not actually have anybody 185 00:12:54,480 --> 00:12:56,920 pounding down on your door to do. 186 00:12:56,920 --> 00:13:03,060 And writing them all in a strategic plan gives you focus on what to do. 187 00:13:03,060 --> 00:13:05,960 You know exactly what you need to focus on these next three weeks. 188 00:13:05,960 --> 00:13:08,420 You know you're going to be on consults. 189 00:13:08,420 --> 00:13:10,720 You know you're going to be rounding the hospital. 190 00:13:10,720 --> 00:13:14,960 And you know that when you come down from that week, you know what to focus on. 191 00:13:14,960 --> 00:13:20,600 You know when there is a little bit of space in your schedule, you're like, oh, I'm not 192 00:13:20,600 --> 00:13:21,600 free. 193 00:13:21,600 --> 00:13:24,080 I know what I need to focus on. 194 00:13:24,080 --> 00:13:27,080 And it's really helpful in that way. 195 00:13:27,080 --> 00:13:32,560 The third thing a strategic plan does for you is it helps you be realistic. 196 00:13:32,560 --> 00:13:35,480 It really helps you be realistic. 197 00:13:35,480 --> 00:13:40,440 You know how it is for many of us in medicine, how we love to please people. 198 00:13:40,440 --> 00:13:42,160 We're so good at it. 199 00:13:42,160 --> 00:13:44,600 I think it's just a big part of our training. 200 00:13:44,600 --> 00:13:47,240 Just some things we have to unlearn. 201 00:13:47,240 --> 00:13:49,320 And people pleasing is one of them. 202 00:13:49,320 --> 00:13:54,240 But you know someone says, hey, hey, I have an emergency and I'm going to need to cancel 203 00:13:54,240 --> 00:13:56,360 my clinic on Thursday morning, but it's too late. 204 00:13:56,360 --> 00:13:57,760 Can you just take the whole clinic? 205 00:13:57,760 --> 00:14:01,120 And you're like, of course I can help you. 206 00:14:01,120 --> 00:14:02,920 Because of course you have time. 207 00:14:02,920 --> 00:14:09,600 But when you create a strategic plan, you know. 208 00:14:09,600 --> 00:14:12,160 You know what you're supposed to be working on. 209 00:14:12,160 --> 00:14:18,400 And you know you do not have an extra five hours in the day for an impromptu clinic. 210 00:14:18,400 --> 00:14:24,280 You know that it doesn't fit in your strategic plan because you made the strategic plan. 211 00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:29,320 And so one of the benefits of a strategic plan is it helps you become realistic about 212 00:14:29,320 --> 00:14:32,520 what you can and cannot commit to. 213 00:14:32,520 --> 00:14:36,480 Someone says, oh my gosh, I have this amazing new manuscript project. 214 00:14:36,480 --> 00:14:39,000 And you would be perfect to be the middle author. 215 00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:42,400 You're like, my gosh, this is such an important project. 216 00:14:42,400 --> 00:14:43,400 When does it do? 217 00:14:43,400 --> 00:14:47,480 Oh, three weeks from now. 218 00:14:47,480 --> 00:14:51,600 You're like, wow, three weeks from now. 219 00:14:51,600 --> 00:14:54,240 I was hoping you would say four months from now. 220 00:14:54,240 --> 00:14:59,560 In three weeks I have this project, this project, and this project that I need to wrap up. 221 00:14:59,560 --> 00:15:04,420 And you're realistic about the things that you actually need to do. 222 00:15:04,420 --> 00:15:10,440 And so you're not just saying yes and giving away your time without realizing how much 223 00:15:10,440 --> 00:15:12,840 else is waiting for you. 224 00:15:12,840 --> 00:15:21,960 You have a clear understanding of your commitments over the next few months because you created 225 00:15:21,960 --> 00:15:23,120 the strategic plan. 226 00:15:23,120 --> 00:15:28,040 You put time zones, you put time bounds around what you said you were going to be doing. 227 00:15:28,040 --> 00:15:30,840 There is no question what you're supposed to be working on. 228 00:15:30,840 --> 00:15:35,720 And yes, great projects will come along and want to derail you. 229 00:15:35,720 --> 00:15:40,520 But because you set the goals yourself, then you're able to be realistic about what you 230 00:15:40,520 --> 00:15:44,240 can and cannot commit to. 231 00:15:44,240 --> 00:15:45,240 That's number three. 232 00:15:45,240 --> 00:15:48,160 It helps you be realistic. 233 00:15:48,160 --> 00:15:52,320 Number four is that it gives you direction. 234 00:15:52,320 --> 00:15:53,600 I love this one. 235 00:15:53,600 --> 00:15:58,200 I love the direction that a strategic plan gives you. 236 00:15:58,200 --> 00:16:02,080 It says, hey, I'm on my way to Germany. 237 00:16:02,080 --> 00:16:03,080 Okay. 238 00:16:03,080 --> 00:16:06,320 There are many ways to get to Germany. 239 00:16:06,320 --> 00:16:09,200 But there are many ways. 240 00:16:09,200 --> 00:16:14,480 There are more ways to leave to not go to Germany than there are ways to get to Germany. 241 00:16:14,480 --> 00:16:16,680 You can go by land. 242 00:16:16,680 --> 00:16:19,120 Actually, well, you can mix it up. 243 00:16:19,120 --> 00:16:21,420 You can fly. 244 00:16:21,420 --> 00:16:23,880 You can take a ship and then go some by land. 245 00:16:23,880 --> 00:16:26,840 It depends on where in Germany you're going. 246 00:16:26,840 --> 00:16:28,040 There are different ways to get there. 247 00:16:28,040 --> 00:16:30,160 You can mix and match different strategies. 248 00:16:30,160 --> 00:16:34,440 You can go to one other country, fly to one country, and then take the rail to get there. 249 00:16:34,440 --> 00:16:36,320 There are different strategies. 250 00:16:36,320 --> 00:16:42,120 But there are more ways to not go to Germany than there are ways to get to Germany. 251 00:16:42,120 --> 00:16:47,760 And so what a strategic plan does for you is it gives you direction so that every time 252 00:16:47,760 --> 00:16:51,640 somebody comes and tries to take you away from the direction in which you have said 253 00:16:51,640 --> 00:16:57,120 you're going over the next three to four months, you get to say, hey, hey, hey, this is taking 254 00:16:57,120 --> 00:17:00,000 me in a different direction than I committed to. 255 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:02,160 And now here's the thing about the strategic plan. 256 00:17:02,160 --> 00:17:07,160 It's not like it's set in stone and written down forever and ever and you can never change 257 00:17:07,160 --> 00:17:08,200 it. 258 00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:10,160 It's not that. 259 00:17:10,160 --> 00:17:14,000 But it is that you are very clear on where you're going. 260 00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:18,180 And if anything is going to come and take you and move you in a different direction, 261 00:17:18,180 --> 00:17:26,380 it's an opportunity for you to stop and say, hmm, this new direction, does it serve me? 262 00:17:26,380 --> 00:17:28,160 Does it serve my career? 263 00:17:28,160 --> 00:17:30,680 Does it serve my interests? 264 00:17:30,680 --> 00:17:34,960 And it's an important question you get to ask only because you've already set the direction. 265 00:17:34,960 --> 00:17:36,800 It's like you already set the GPS. 266 00:17:36,800 --> 00:17:39,280 You're on your way to Canada. 267 00:17:39,280 --> 00:17:40,280 Or let's be more specific. 268 00:17:40,280 --> 00:17:42,080 You're on your way to Montreal. 269 00:17:42,080 --> 00:17:47,040 And then all of a sudden, someone comes and says, hey, I see that you have set your GPS 270 00:17:47,040 --> 00:17:51,160 to go to Montreal, but I really love you to go to Texas. 271 00:17:51,160 --> 00:17:56,280 And if you're going to go to Texas, you've got to readjust the GPS. 272 00:17:56,280 --> 00:18:01,840 You've got to say, okay, well, why don't I take Montreal out and put in, you know, Houston, 273 00:18:01,840 --> 00:18:04,720 Texas, because that's the new direction. 274 00:18:04,720 --> 00:18:10,680 But if you're going to go to that, then you ask yourself, is this new direction the direction 275 00:18:10,680 --> 00:18:12,680 I now want to go in? 276 00:18:12,680 --> 00:18:20,960 Knowing that, hmm, Houston, Texas is all the way on the other side, far, far, far from 277 00:18:20,960 --> 00:18:24,360 the direction you were going in towards Montreal. 278 00:18:24,360 --> 00:18:28,640 And you need to dress differently too, depending on what time of year you're going. 279 00:18:28,640 --> 00:18:31,080 And is this really what you want? 280 00:18:31,080 --> 00:18:36,440 Do you want at the end of your journey to Houston, Texas to be so far from Montreal? 281 00:18:36,440 --> 00:18:38,520 Is this what you want to do? 282 00:18:38,520 --> 00:18:41,240 And so it helps you be very, very clear about your direction. 283 00:18:41,240 --> 00:18:46,440 And it helps you decide on whether or not you want to change your direction. 284 00:18:46,440 --> 00:18:52,820 But the beauty of it is that you're making the decision intentionally, not by accident. 285 00:18:52,820 --> 00:18:57,400 Because what's happening to many of us without a strategic plan is that by many of us, I 286 00:18:57,400 --> 00:18:58,400 mean me, right? 287 00:18:58,400 --> 00:19:03,720 For some years of my faculty career, I had no strategic plan. 288 00:19:03,720 --> 00:19:08,780 What happens to people like us when I had no strategic plan is that I would wake up 289 00:19:08,780 --> 00:19:13,120 and find myself in Houston, Texas and be like, oh, what a lovely place to be. 290 00:19:13,120 --> 00:19:14,800 It's so worth here. 291 00:19:14,800 --> 00:19:17,240 And then remember that, wait a minute, aren't I supposed to be in Montreal? 292 00:19:17,240 --> 00:19:19,080 How did I end up here? 293 00:19:19,080 --> 00:19:24,080 And so the lack of direction just can be very confusing for you. 294 00:19:24,080 --> 00:19:28,360 And it allows you to make decisions that take you far away from your intended destination 295 00:19:28,360 --> 00:19:32,560 because you didn't set an intended destination. 296 00:19:32,560 --> 00:19:38,360 And so it really helps you get direction. 297 00:19:38,360 --> 00:19:42,080 The other thing it does for you is it helps you assess yourself. 298 00:19:42,080 --> 00:19:44,360 It helps you with self-assessment. 299 00:19:44,360 --> 00:19:49,000 You know, it's one thing for you to have that meeting with your chief or your chair at the 300 00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:56,120 end of the year and say, wow, you didn't accomplish these important metrics of being a faculty 301 00:19:56,120 --> 00:19:57,220 member. 302 00:19:57,220 --> 00:20:03,000 It's one thing to have that conversation with somebody once a year, but to have with yourself 303 00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:10,920 three months later and say, huh, you said XYZ was going to be accomplished by the end 304 00:20:10,920 --> 00:20:15,920 of three months and wow, not even a quarter of X is accomplished. 305 00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:17,680 What happened? 306 00:20:17,680 --> 00:20:22,040 You know exactly where you didn't accomplish the things you said you were going to accomplish. 307 00:20:22,040 --> 00:20:27,560 You don't even need anybody beating up on you or yelling at you or asking you, hey, 308 00:20:27,560 --> 00:20:29,500 why didn't you do this? 309 00:20:29,500 --> 00:20:31,200 You are able to assess yourself. 310 00:20:31,200 --> 00:20:34,400 In fact, you don't even have to wait till three months are over. 311 00:20:34,400 --> 00:20:37,400 In the middle of the first month, you know how far you've gotten. 312 00:20:37,400 --> 00:20:42,960 You know by the second month, you know by the third month, you're able to assess yourself. 313 00:20:42,960 --> 00:20:47,440 And so then you're able to decide, well, did I try to do too much? 314 00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:49,960 Did I cut back the next time? 315 00:20:49,960 --> 00:20:54,400 Because it is actually hard for us to be realistic about what we can and cannot accomplish in 316 00:20:54,400 --> 00:20:56,200 the three to four month period. 317 00:20:56,200 --> 00:21:00,960 It takes many iterations of creating a strategic plan to be clear about what can and cannot 318 00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:03,200 be accomplished in that period of time. 319 00:21:03,200 --> 00:21:06,480 But it allows you to do the self-assessment. 320 00:21:06,480 --> 00:21:08,320 So you don't have to externalize it. 321 00:21:08,320 --> 00:21:12,200 You don't have to have somebody else come tell you what you're supposed to be doing. 322 00:21:12,200 --> 00:21:17,800 You don't have to have somebody else come tell you what you're supposed to do because 323 00:21:17,800 --> 00:21:25,400 you got guidance in creating the strategic plan and you're able to tell at the end whether 324 00:21:25,400 --> 00:21:29,720 you met the goals that you set for yourself or not. 325 00:21:29,720 --> 00:21:34,440 And so those are five reasons, five things, five good points. 326 00:21:34,440 --> 00:21:40,440 So five reasons why a strategic plan will help you, five benefits of a strategic plan. 327 00:21:40,440 --> 00:21:46,760 Number two is focus, number three is being realistic, number four is giving you direction, 328 00:21:46,760 --> 00:21:50,440 and number five it helps you do your own self-assessment. 329 00:21:50,440 --> 00:21:55,040 These tools are important because if you think about the theme of this week, you really are 330 00:21:55,040 --> 00:22:00,400 big on you taking ownership of your own career, you leading your own experience because you 331 00:22:00,400 --> 00:22:05,980 know what, you can't lead anybody else, not in your own career. 332 00:22:05,980 --> 00:22:09,140 You can't force anyone to do anything for you. 333 00:22:09,140 --> 00:22:12,800 You can't make anybody care for your career as much as you care for your career. 334 00:22:12,800 --> 00:22:17,640 And so I hope that these tools have been helpful for you to think about how to move your career 335 00:22:17,640 --> 00:22:18,880 forward. 336 00:22:18,880 --> 00:22:25,600 And if you are looking to work with a coach to help you move forward, identify your goals 337 00:22:25,600 --> 00:22:32,960 and to create structure and strategy to succeed in moving those goals forward, I would love 338 00:22:32,960 --> 00:22:34,440 to talk to you. 339 00:22:34,440 --> 00:22:36,840 I'd love you to reach out to me on Facebook. 340 00:22:36,840 --> 00:22:38,840 Send me a DM. 341 00:22:38,840 --> 00:22:46,840 So you'll see in webinar or you can even send me a message on LinkedIn and I'm also an Instagram, 342 00:22:46,840 --> 00:22:50,720 but you probably will get higher engagement if you send me a message through LinkedIn 343 00:22:50,720 --> 00:22:54,400 or Facebook, but I will definitely be looking out for that. 344 00:22:54,400 --> 00:22:59,040 And I just want to encourage you that you know what, you've been betting on yourself 345 00:22:59,040 --> 00:23:06,480 since you started your medical journey and I believe that you don't have to stop betting 346 00:23:06,480 --> 00:23:10,280 on yourself today because you know what, you are pretty amazing. 347 00:23:10,280 --> 00:23:14,840 You've come this far because you have done the work you put in the hard work to make 348 00:23:14,840 --> 00:23:18,680 it possible and you've done it before you will do it again. 349 00:23:18,680 --> 00:23:21,760 I'm so confident of you doing that. 350 00:23:21,760 --> 00:23:22,760 All right. 351 00:23:22,760 --> 00:23:24,880 I encourage you to enjoy your week. 352 00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:26,520 Practice one of these things. 353 00:23:26,520 --> 00:23:31,620 Tell me if creating the strategic plan, if you're able to, if you need some pointers 354 00:23:31,620 --> 00:23:33,960 in creating a strategic plan, I'd love to help you. 355 00:23:33,960 --> 00:23:37,000 Send me a DM and I'll give you some more information. 356 00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:38,000 All right. 357 00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:39,640 It has been a pleasure talking with you today. 358 00:23:39,640 --> 00:23:50,560 I look forward to talking with you again the next time. 359 00:23:50,560 --> 00:23:55,880 Thanks for listening to this episode of the Clinician Researcher Podcast where academic 360 00:23:55,880 --> 00:24:01,240 clinicians learn the skills to build their own research program, whether or not they 361 00:24:01,240 --> 00:24:02,700 have a mentor. 362 00:24:02,700 --> 00:24:08,680 If you found the information in this episode to be helpful, don't keep it all to yourself. 363 00:24:08,680 --> 00:24:10,560 Someone else needs to hear it. 364 00:24:10,560 --> 00:24:14,600 So take a minute right now and share it. 365 00:24:14,600 --> 00:24:20,060 As you share this episode, you become part of our mission to help launch a new generation 366 00:24:20,060 --> 00:24:32,920 of clinician researchers who make transformative discoveries that change the way we do healthcare.