In a particularly powerful scene in the movie "Apollo 13," Jim Lovell looks up at the moon and says to his wife, "From now on we live in a world where man has walked on the moon.  It's not a miracle.  We just decided to go."
 
Deciding to go is the first step on the journey to greatness and becoming an "indispensable" organization.  But complacency is a powerful force.  The fact is that past success can be, and usually is, the enemy of future success.  We must be willing to let go of what we are in order to become what we want to be.   A good example of this was when Deluxe Financial Services realized that being in the business of printing checks was not exactly what you'd call a growth industry. Deluxe made a clear decision to reposition itself with customers. They undertook a program of helping their customers (banks and credit unions) improve service and create value. This was a very gutsy decision, as it involved a literal redefining of the business that they were in. So far, customer reaction has been extremely positive. Decide to look at everything you do as a business and adjust, reposition, or even redefine if necessary.

 In healthcare, the changes taking place are so rapid, so significant, and so constant that the decision to take performance to a new level is often a matter of survival.  The reality is that if the changes taking place outside your company are greater than the changes taking place inside your company - you are in serious trouble. 

Very often great companies become even greater when a crisis forces the decision to go.  There's a tremendous sense of clarity and urgency that can come when you're facing great challenges.  It's in these moments of truth that the truly "indispensable" organization rises, like cream, to the top.  For example, Palm Harbor Homes was struggling with how to respond to a downturn in their market. CEO Larry Keener saw the crisis as a chance to bring company-wide focus to a core strategy of driving quality in everything they do. They made a clear decision "to go" and began a system that encompassed Philip Crosby's Quality Improvements Process. Keener says "it became our 'religion' and nearly a universal answer to any 'how' questions of performance improvement."  Decide to improve and institute the processes necessary to make it happen.

Greatness is a decision.  It must be chosen.  And making that choice is a defining moment in the life of an "indispensable" company.  Once a gut level commitment to go is made, everything changes.  Past assumptions are questioned and you begin to reexamine everything about the "way we've always done it."  Consider the actions of Commerce Bank, a financial services retailer with over 300 branches in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware, and Connecticut. Their goal was to be the most accessible financial services provider in their region. Their "decision to go" involved breaking all of the traditional rules of "banker's hours." Commerce Bank branches are open from 7:30 AM to 8:00 PM Monday through Friday, 7:30 AM to 6:00 PM on Saturdays, and 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM on Sundays. It took a tremendous commitment to structure a financial services company around these hours, but their "decision to go" has made them the market leader in their region. Decide to break the rules of "how it's always been done" in your industry or profession.

 Ultimately the decision to go becomes a never-ending process for the simple reason that you never "get there."  The second you achieve success in the marketplace, the marketplace changes, and you have to decide how to win in the new reality.  Success is a moving target that causes a very positive version of permanent dissatisfaction.  The "indispensable" organization will never rest on yesterday's accomplishments.  That's not where the fun is.  The fun is in what's next.