Look to GHC for a lesson on rising above competition

To see where health care is headed, visit Dane County's Group Health Cooperative. GHC is mastering the art of improving health, not just treating sickness. As a result, GHC offers employers and individuals a compelling reason to select GHC over the competition.

"Why will your target market choose you?" is the third of four core strategy questions that collectively define your company's business model. If your answer is price, you're in a commodity market where only lowest-cost competitors build profits. If, instead, your organization delivers valued benefits that competitors cannot easily copy, you'll thrive as a strategically differentiated company. (Previous columns addressed "What business are you in?" and "Who is your target market?")

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Why do people choose GHC? "GHC cares about you, and makes you healthier," said Executive Director Larry Zanoni. "On the employer side, we disliked being an insurance vendor in a price-driven market. Today, we're forming genuinely cooperative partnerships with employers built upon our promise to improve employees' health while delivering opportunities to reduce their company's health-care costs." A healthier work force not only lowers longer-term health-care costs, it reduces sick days and other consequences of poor health that can wreak havoc on productivity.

"I'm from Missouri," Zanoni said. "Show me � don't tell me � is what matters." Zanoni's instincts are right. Sales pitches and advertising copy fail if a company can't back up its promised benefits. Strategy-driven companies create "proof of promise" by making decisions that ensure the company fulfills its promises. Let's look at a GHC investment decision to demonstrate this.

GHC was the first Dane County organization to adopt electronic patient medical records. With this investment, GHC can profile the health of a company's employees and the heath-care services they use, all while protecting individuals' privacy. GHC uses the data to identify an employer's cost drivers, such as a proportionately high number of employees with high blood pressure. GHC then creates programs to lower employees' blood pressure, thereby avoiding costly drugs and future heart disease.

Without electronic medical records, GHC would have less-robust patient information and therefore fewer opportunities to meet its promise to employers.

The electronic medical record also helps GHC physicians follow best practices for disease prevention and management. Recommended actions appear on the computer screen that the physician views while treating patients. "This standardization of best practices is managed care at its best," Zanoni said.

Finally, the investment allows individuals to access their own online medical record. You can, for example, review test results, make appointments, order prescriptions and communicate with your doctor � all online. The thinking is that people will take better care of themselves when it takes less time to do so.

There are challenges to the GHC model.

Will GHC's focus on long-term health generate more doctor visits and prescriptions that increase short-term costs? If so, GHC will need to narrow its target market to employers and individuals who take a longer-term view of health-care costs.

Will narrowing the target market reduce GHC's potential customer base too much? GHC's size and nimbleness have created a track record of successfully handling strategic tradeoffs such as this one.

Why do target customers choose your company?

This question is the essence of strategic thinking. If your answer is not as compelling as GHC's promise, it's time for your organization to create a better answer. Your future depends on it.