Who Should Promote Strategic Planning in Healthcare Organizations?
At the highest director in the organization, the chief executive
officer (CEO) has the duty to promote the SP process and provides
the organization with a plan for the future.7
Such planning is the
mostimportant core function of any CEO and is their raison d’eˆtre.
Making plans for the future is probably the one function of CEOs
that cannot be delegated and may represent their biggest ‘‘gamble’’
as heads of organizations. The CEOs can and should rely on their
teams to create the plan and can also receive assistance from third
parties (consultants). However, neither the team nor consultants
can replace their initiative when analyzing the current situation,
creating a shared vision of the desired future and identifying the
best way to close the gap between reality and desire. Strategic
plans cannot be purchased. However, methodological support can
be purchased to develop the strategic plan. The executive board
thatdoesnotplan(orbuysaplan)is failinginitsmostfundamental
task