What your hospital's CEO is thinking about

The contemporary hospital CEO is concerned about much more than just "big picture" environmental scanning and strategic planning. In fact, he or she is concerned with a host of problems and opportunities whose common denominator involves reconciling contradictions between, for example, mission and margin, risk and return, consensus and momentum, and strategy and opportunism. In this context, the hospital CEO is concerned especially about basic tasks related to focusing the organization, simplifying processes, creating a sense of urgency, and communicating effectively. These objectives often are elusive, yet the CEO ultimately is uniquely accountable for their accomplishment.