By Stephen Tweed

It’s been an amazing fall 2018 here at Leading Home Care and the Home Care CEO Forum.  I’ve been all across the country leading our Home Care CEO Mastermind Groups, speaking at home care association conferences and corporate meetings, and doing some business strategy consulting.

One of the things that has come out of this wonderful, fulfilling schedule is an opportunity to review and refine my Seven Steps for Scaling Your Home Care Business.  This is a process that I have been refining for the past 20 years as I have worked with over 500 different health care organizations in strategy and leadership development.  If you would like to grow your business to the next level, take a few minutes and consider the following seven steps:

1.  Have a Huge Vision – One of the characteristics of the CEOs of the largest companies in home care is that they have a huge vision. They see themselves running a large company.  What is your vision for the future of your business?  Are you clear about what you want your business to be like in five years?
2.  Clarify your Values – One of the leadership gurus I have followed for decades is Dr. Edgar Schein at MIT. He says, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”  To grow a large, highly successful home care company, you need to craft a strong culture.  Your culture begins with the leadership style of the CEO, and is built on your core values. Be clear about what you believe.
3. Create Distinction – What makes you different from your competitors?  Too many home care companies look alike.  We’ve defined the Seven Sources of Competitive Advantage in home care, and help our clients and Mastermind Members define what makes them distinct.
4. Be Clear About Your Purpose – To get your team engaged in growing your business, their work must have meaning. People want to make a difference.  You need to help them answer The Four Big WHY’s.
5. Put People First – The difference between the great companies and the good companies in home care is their people.  Recruiting, selecting, and retaining top talent in your office is huge. Then making sure everyone is clear about their role, and that they are working toward common goals.
6. Put Processes in Place – The CEOs of the largest companies are systems thinkers. Any task that you do every day needs to have a system. That’s a combination of people and processes that assures repetition and consistency.  Then you need to look at automation. How can you use your software system to automate as many tasks as possible?  One of the big conversations this year among our Mastermind Members is the paperless office.
7. Measure Performance – You’ve hear me say … “What gets measured gets managed, what gets rewarded gets repeated.”  We’ve been working diligently to define the metrics that you can use to measure each phase of your business so that you can benchmark your company’s performance against the leaders in the industry.

Need Help with the Seven Steps to Scaling?

If you are serious about growing your home care business to a large scale, but you need some help in defining the steps, let us know.  There are three ways that we can work with you to define the steps and apply them to your business:

Mastermind Group – there’s no better way to learn what works in home care than by being a part of a Mastermind Group of other CEOs and C-suite leaders.  You want to be part of a group of companies that are similar is size to your company and who do not compete with you.

One-on-one Strategic Focus Process – another way is to work one-on-one with me to apply the Strategic Focus process to your business. We’ll begin by assessing where you are not. Then we’ll help you define your Vision, your Values, and your Distinction. Then we’ll develop a one-year plan to define your Purpose, your People, your Processes, and your Performance.

Strategic Advisory Services – you may just need someone to talk through some specific issues or questions you have about trends in the industry, growth strategies, or some obstacle you are facing.  We have a four tiered Strategic Advisory Service that can be tailored to meet your needs.

I don’t believe that bigger is necessarily better. I don’t want you to get big just to be big. But there is plenty of evidence to show that a healthy home care company is a growing company.  Besides, if you deliver great care, then there are many seniors in your community who deserve to receive their home care services from you.

Let’s Talk

Let’s talk about what you would like your company to be in five years.

If you are stuck at a certain level and can’t seem to get past it, let’s talk.

If you are frustrated by some of the barriers that are getting in the way of scaling your business, let’s talk.

Then let’s talk about how we at Leading Home Care and the Home Care CEO Forum can help you achieve your Vision and fulfill your Mission.

Call me today at 502-339-0653.  

Or fill out the Contact Form, and I’ll call you.