The 5P Pyramid--Level 3

“Well Curmudge, we’re still here on the second level of the 5P Pyramid (1). Let’s either go higher or get off this thing.”

“We’ll go on up, Jaded Julie, but first let’s review where we are. The second ‘P’ stands for Promise, which is Affinity’s promise of personalized care.”

“I’m puzzled about two of the elements of personalized care that we mentioned last week. If doctors and nurses are already fully committed to their current patient load, where are they going to find the additional time for patients that we promise in Personalized Care?”

“The answer, Julie, is Lean.”

“Lean! That seems to be your one-word, default solution to every problem. It’s like giving every patient chicken soup for every ailment.”

“Actually Julie, common sense should provide the solution to most problems. Lean is just one of several ways to organize common sense, and it’s the one we use at Affinity. You’ll see after we have climbed to Level 3. If you’re up to it, you can lead; and I’ll belay you from down here.”

“Oof! We’re here on Level 3. That was a challenging climb; you did pretty well for an old guy. Hey, look over there! Chiseled into the wall is the name of this level, ‘Process.’ And right next to it is ‘Lean.’ Tell me, O Grizzled Wizard, what all this means.”

“The concept shouldn’t be too much of a stretch, Julie. We should be able to achieve our promise of personalized care by improving and enhancing our processes. We use Lean concepts and tools—kaizen events, going to gemba, value stream mapping, root cause analysis, A3 reports, standard work, and visual control—to remove waste and inefficiency from our processes.”

“That’s how the physicians and nurses gain the extra time for their patients.”

“Right, Julie. We also implement things we have learned from Quint Studer (2), like AIDET, rounding, and key words at key times. These should enhance each patient’s experience and help us further to accomplish our promise of personalized care. All of this must become ‘the way things are done around here.’”

“I’ve got it Curmudge! If each of us can hardwire the elements of the Affinity 5P Model of Excellence into our personal brand, we will have achieved the Affinity Brand Promise.”

“Nicht so schnell (not so fast), Julie. You’ve got the right idea, but we still have the top two ‘P’s of the pyramid to explore.”

“Let’s rappel off this thing, Curmudge, and come back next week. My husband would never believe me if I told him that I spent the weekend on a pyramid with a septuagenarian.”

Affinity’s Kaizen Curmudgeon

(1) The 5P Model of Excellence may be found in the Affinity Brand Tool Kit in the right margin of the Affinity Intranet Homepage.
(2) Studer, Quint. Hardwiring Excellence. (Fire Starter Publishing, 2003)