At the start of every new year, many of us are setting up plans for the coming months. With this comes a lot of solutions, but do we really know what the problem is? We seem to jump to the plan real fast, but maybe we don’t determine the problem in its entirety first. Today’s guest is former VHMA President, Jim Nash. Jim has 20 years experience in Veterinary medicine and has served on the VHMA board for 13 years. He says that critical issues projects are near and dear to his heart and in today’s episode, he discusses present-day critical issues and how we can look at them through a diagnostic lens. This topic is so important as the landscape of Veterinary medicine has changed rapidly in recent years. Everything should be revisited and reviewed to help us all create an effective organizational plan.   Show Notes: [2:40] - Organizational plans are a newer development in recent years as veterinary medicine changes rapidly. [4:04] - Critical issues planning recently have included the workforce crisis. [5:23] - How do we look at a problem and design a solution around that problem? [7:06] - Looking at a critical issue with a diagnostic lens, it allows us to let go of preconceived notions. [9:02] - The rapid growth in the organization has taken a toll. [10:30] - Just because it has been done one way for a while, doesn’t mean that it is the right thing to do. Everything should be reviewed. [11:49] - The idea of efficiency needs to be redefined as well. What does it mean in the present? [13:00] - One tool to look at as an efficiency marker is revenue per team member hour. [15:32] - Part of the diagnosis solution could be to look at past strategies and try them again. [16:08] - Engagement is a critical piece to the organizational plan. [17:21] - Jim shares an experience with a client that was upset about delays. Delays in service is a critical issue. [18:55] - What’s a different way to provide veterinary medicine to serve everyone? There’s not a current answer to that question. There’s a finite number of clients we can see. [20:49] - Presently, there is a unique opportunity in this industry for innovation. [23:16] - Sincerely thank the people you are leading.  [24:04] - It is important to have someone you really like at work. How are we making it so that we have fun and enjoy the time we have together to build camaraderie? [26:23] - There’s a new level of flexibility and give-and-take that we’ve never had to consider pre-Covid.   Thank you for listening. Remember you are not in this alone. Visit our website for more resources.   Links and Resources:   VHMA Web Page VHMA Coronavirus Resources VHMA Facebook VHMA Twitter VHMA on Linkedin