Making Your Case: Communicating Program Worth and Overcoming Obstacles

Welcome to Episode 24 of CHM Micro-Credential, hosted by Dr. Tami Moser. In today's episode, we delve into the art of storytelling within organizations and explore how natural storytellers can play a pivotal role in sharing human experiences and providing valuable insights. We'll discuss strategies to refine communication, engage stakeholders transparently, and address challenges openly.

Learn how to embrace skepticism as a tool for improvement, handle negative feedback constructively, and recognize the importance of acknowledging limitations. This episode also includes a call to action to draft a one-page value proposition for a program, identify potential challenges, and develop a robust stakeholder engagement plan. We'll guide you through creating emotional connections through storytelling and pilot programs to demonstrate effectiveness before full-scale launches.

Join us as we emphasize the impact on communities and prepare for the next steps in presenting and supporting your programs effectively. Let's get started!

Tami Moser [00:00:01]:
Welcome to the community health management design podcast. Making your case communicating program worth and overcoming obstacles is our topic for this podcast. I'm your host, doctor Tami Moser, and I'm excited to dive into discussion on crafting compelling value propositions, identifying and mitigating potential challenges, and developing effective stakeholder engagement strategies. Now you have your list of stakeholders now. So as we move into this, we're really gonna start to dig down into some of these other areas. Before we jump into some common questions, let's quickly recap why this topic is so crucial. In the world of community health management, having a great program isn't enough. You need to be able to articulate its value clearly and persuasively to secure support, funding, and engagement from various stakeholders.

Tami Moser [00:00:51]:
You also need to anticipate and address potential challenges head on. So let's get started with our first question. What are the key elements of a compelling value proposition for a community health program? And this is a great question. A compelling value proposition should include clear articulation of the problem your program exists, unique aspects of your solution, tangible benefits to the community, evidence of effectiveness or potential impact, and cost effectiveness or return on investment. For example, a value proposition rising childhood obesity rates in our community, which currently affect 25% of our children. Through our unique combination of school based nutrition education, family cooking classes, and community garden initiatives, we aim to reduce childhood obesity rates by 30% over 5 years. Based on similar programs, we anticipate this will lead to $5,000,000 in health care cost savings for our community. For every dollar invested in our program, we project $3 in long term health and economic benefits.

Tami Moser [00:02:15]:
Remember your value proposition should be concise, specific, and backed by data whenever possible. And you have collected, reviewed, or already written on some of this. Now you're bringing pieces of it together to really hone into what value you're offering. Another question may be, how can we identify potential challenges to our program before they become major issues? And this is an excellent question. Proactive identification of challenges is crucial for program success. And so here are some strategies, many of which we've already covered to some degree. Conduct a SWOT analysis. This is something that really does allow you to better understand what you're working with.

Tami Moser [00:03:02]:
Engage in scenario planning. Imagine best and worst case scenarios. Right? And we went through that. Best case, worst case, most likely case. Consult with experienced professionals in the field. So So broaden your net a little bit in capturing information. Ask call up and ask to interview somebody who has been a part of a successful program that is similar to yours. Right? Or maybe they it's not a similar program, but it actually they have a program that dealt with a similar participant base.

Tami Moser [00:03:41]:
So you can consult with them, ask to discuss it with them, gain more information and insight. 4th would be to review case studies of similar programs. So look at what's been printed and what's available to you about this particular type of program, and conduct pilot test or small scale trials. Often, those really uncover challenges you're gonna face that could inhibit the success of your program. And through that pilot study or small scale start, you can use that as an opportunity to not only figure out where to improve your program, refine it, but also to eliminate common challenges that until you run it, you just aren't going to see problem. And it may be we already have problems with people being able to get transportation to our facility. So transportation with the population we're looking at is going to also be an issue. So, you know, we know some of those things, but there are other challenges that we truly just are not gonna have uncovered until we start the program.

Tami Moser [00:05:02]:
Doing that small scale trial or pilot test allows you to make the changes before you actually open it up to a broader audience and negatively impact a broader audience, which might turn them off to actually engaging with your program, which means you won't be successful. So I am a strong proponent of pilot tests or small scales trials. I just think that that and it especially with PDSA and rapid Scott cycle improvement types of scenarios, you don't have to run it for 2 months. You could do a pilot test in a week to test some of your elements. It really depends on your program, but think through that as a possibility. It's also important to create a culture where team members feel comfortable raising potential issues. Often, those on the front lines can spot challenges before they become a parent at the management level or at the level where you're doing the review of data. So if I can actually tap into that front line and ask for their help, have them say, okay.

Tami Moser [00:06:10]:
Here are the challenges we think we may run into. Do any of you see other challenges that may occur within the program that we need to address before we actually take it live? Have those conversations to open it up. But here's the thing. You can't be so protective of what you you've designed that you refuse to allow people the opportunity to highlight things you didn't catch or weren't aware of the possibility of it being an issue. So that's one thing. You have to separate yourself back and go, this is for the good of the program. So, yes, I put this together, but there are always gonna be things that could be missed. And I want people to feel comfortable bringing those forward.

Tami Moser [00:07:00]:
That also means that when someone brings something forward, you can't jump on them or defend what you did or why you missed it. It's just like, thank you for bringing us to our attention. Now let's talk about it. Why do we why do you think that will be a challenge? Where have we seen this challenge before? Do we already have mechanisms to overcome this challenge? What could we do or shift to adapt to eliminate this challenge? And so you don't go into defending yourself and, you know, this wolf. I didn't mean to miss that or I thought of that, but I just didn't think it was that important. I mean, just don't get into that. Just go, thank you. Now let's discuss it.

Tami Moser [00:07:41]:
And there could be others that go, I don't know that that will be a problem here. I understand why she brought that up because that is a typical problem in what that we run into on the front lines on a regular basis. But you have this as an element of the program. And I think that that would actually offset what we see. I mean, so that's a possibility too. And then you just have a discussion about that. You set the tone for these discussions and for people to feel comfortable talking. So really think carefully about that because you're as a designer of the program, you have a fundamental responsibility for creating that culture where team members feel comfortable raising these issues.

Tami Moser [00:08:26]:
So here's another question. What are some effective strategies for engaging diverse stakeholders in our program? Well, let's start with identifying all relevant stakeholders early in the planning process. Now we've already addressed stakeholders, and we did that weeks back, earlier in our, design process. So you should have that really relevant group defined. Before you take anything live, you want to bring them into the planning process. You have stuff planned now. If you haven't engaged with any of your stakeholders, that could be now your next step if this is something you actually want to try to develop to take live. So you've identified them.

Tami Moser [00:09:13]:
Now engage them in the planning. Have them review what the plan looks like and provide you information if you haven't already done Understand each stakeholder's interests and concerns. Most stakeholders have different levels of interest and different types of concerns relative to what you're doing. And those are important things to identify, uncover, and then be aware of and possibly address. But when you understand what interests they hold and what their concerns for their particular area are, then that allows you to tailor communication with them in a way that targets their interests and helps them understand how you're addressing their concerns. So that leads us to the 3rd, tailor your communication to each stakeholder group. They all don't need the same communications. Sometimes they do, but oftentimes, they need variation depending on interests and concerns.

Tami Moser [00:10:20]:
You wanna involve stakeholders in the planning and decision making process. So if we go back to a little bit earlier here and we talk about our review process, we've set up how we plan on pulling together, how often we're gonna review, what that review is gonna look like, who's involved in that review. And so where do you want your different stakeholder groups involved in that? Because you make decisions based on the insights during your review process. Right? We have that adaptive process to work work with. So where are particular stakeholder groups embedded in that? And so if you didn't put them there and you're now looking at your relevant list, where are they engaging? And you can go to your works, Excel workbook and look at how you're gonna map that out. Regularly update stakeholders on program progress. So, again, specific stakeholders may not wanna be involved in the actual decision making. They're not really actively involved in planning, but they do wanna know what's happening, and they want program progress updates.

Tami Moser [00:11:26]:
They wanna know what you're doing when there's challenges. They wanna be aware. So who is that group or groups, and what does regularly update mean? So for some of those stakeholders, regular updates may be once a quarter. That's all they need. They consider that regular. Maybe even too much. You have others that will want updates or need them weekly. Have an idea about who that is and make sure you've set that up.

Tami Moser [00:11:52]:
And then create opportunities for feedback and dialogue with those stakeholder groups. So when you update them, how do you gain feedback from them about the update? When you provide them with information or they're a part of the decision making process, it doesn't mean they're making the decisions. But most people who are involved in decision making processes want to be heard and want their issues addressed and then want to know why you made the decision you made. So if they feel like they're heard, this is a buy in thing. Right? When people feel like they're heard, they don't necessarily have to agree with the final decision you make. But if they know you actually heard them and take their viewpoint into consideration and they feel there's this level of respect there, then while they might not agree with what you've chosen, that you've explained the why of it, and now they're like, okay. I I can get behind it. Wouldn't have been the direction I chose, but I can get behind it.

Tami Moser [00:13:06]:
Because I know that my concerns were were actually listened to and addressed to the degree they could be at this stage. How you communicate that becomes really important to the culture surrounding those communications and the culture associated with feedback and and their willingness to create and engage in a dialogue with you. For example, if you're running a community diabetes management program, your stakeholders might include your patients, health care providers, local government officials, and community leaders. Each group will have different concerns and interests as your engagement strategy should reflect. Our final question is, how can we address skepticism or resistance to our program? And this is a common challenge. Right? So here are some strategies. 1, acknowledge concerns openly and respectfully. I understand why you're concerned about the number of times people need to come visit our facility.

Tami Moser [00:14:11]:
However, here is why that's vitally important to the success of the program and the outcomes for the patients. So I've acknowledged your concern, and I said, I get why you're concerned about it, but here's why we need to do this and what kind of impact it would have on our outcomes if we did or didn't. Right? The second is to provide clear evidence based responses to that skepticism. So you're skeptical that these actions will have this impact on these participants. Fill in the blanks there. Right? But here's our evidence that shows that these types of interventions work best for these types of patients. And then I would pull out the studies, the percentages, the statistics to back that up. Now it does need to be clear, not jargon based, and easy to understand.

Tami Moser [00:15:06]:
So I'm not trying to drown someone in numbers or confuse them with it. And please, please okay. So this is another issue. I can take any statistics from any kind of study and and use cherry pick the statistics I'm gonna use to back up my claim. And based on those statistics, what I'm saying is correct. However, I'm not giving you the context or the full story and the other statistics that shift what that one actually means. Politicians are great at this, both sides. Just go listen to some debates.

Tami Moser [00:15:38]:
They could be using the exact same study and taking carving out small pieces to make their argument and back it up. And, legitimately, that small piece that they're using does sound like what they're saying makes sense. But not if you have the rest of the story, like Paul Harvey used to say. So you want to provide clear evidence that if they went and looked at it as a whole piece would still back up what you say and help overcome their skepticism. You wanna offer opportunities for skeptics to get involved and provide input. Okay. I'm gonna yes. This can be very helpful.

Tami Moser [00:16:26]:
If they're truly just skeptics, but would be willing to actually get involved and provide input to try to make it the best possible program they can. Where this gets a little dangerous and where I can differ and whether I think this is good or not. Most of you probably have those people in your organizations that are incredibly negative about anything and or really guard their power base closely. And so anything that comes up that or they could be narcissistic in nature, and if it's not about them and they didn't design it, then they think it's worth nothing. I mean, you know, you've got some different kind of variations on who and what this person looks like in your particular organization, But they're gonna be negative no matter what, and you're not go it it's not just skepticism about whether this will work. They truly aren't going to be helpful regardless. I don't think they're useful to bring in because I don't consider them skeptics. I consider them I consider them destroyers.

Tami Moser [00:17:32]:
They will always be problematic. They will never help improve, and they will always slow you down and try to stop or sabotage. And it it can't it doesn't even necessarily mean malicious. It just is how they operate. And you know this. You have lots of examples of it. Don't involve them in this. Now I said that, and there may be instances where they're your boss.

Tami Moser [00:17:58]:
They have to be involved to a certain extent. Hopefully, by this stage in your career or at this organization, you know how to deal with them effectively to work toward the program being effective. So if they're a true skeptic and you also have these people in your organizations that are skeptical of everything. If they don't see the evidence that it's gonna work, they're not going to believe you. The proof is in the pudding. They have to see the results. But it doesn't mean they're against it or they want it to fail. They're just skeptical about it.

Tami Moser [00:18:32]:
Now those are the people that if you can get them involved and get their input, they can be very helpful because they see things at times that you do not. Their natural in inclination to say, I don't think that's gonna work, or I'm I'm concerned that's not gonna be the way you think it is, or I'm skeptical. That's they don't always always use the word skeptical. So that doesn't necessarily define them. But they're giving you that kind of of input. But they regularly do that everywhere. Right? But often, what they're concerned about is very legitimate, and the issues it could cause to the success of the program are absolutely correct. They're great to get involved.

Tami Moser [00:19:15]:
So I would say really try to determine whether they're a skeptic or a problem and involve them dependent upon what you feel is most appropriate after your evaluation of that. Then you start with small scale pilots to demonstrate effectiveness. So this is also a way you can overcome skepticism about whether this will work or not. Right? Is let's run a small scale pilot. I don't have to take this to a multimillion dollar program to begin with. We could carve out 1 week where our organization is gonna invest the capital to run this program for a week. Now I granted, depending on what you're talking about, that may or may not be possible. You may have to do this a slightly different way.

Tami Moser [00:20:02]:
But within a week, we would see some of the results we would want to. This also depends on what they're skeptical about. And if they're skeptical about the the long term outcome, that's just gonna have to be we're gonna have to do it to get to it. Right? But there can be other things that we could demonstrate effectiveness on with a small scale pilot that would overcome stakeholders' concerns. Use of storytelling to illustrate the human impact of our program. Don't forget the value of highlighting the struggles your patients are having, the impact on their quality of life, the concerns for their family, their children, their long term health, their happiness. You you know, define it in ways that people can connect with. That's the storytelling art of it.

Tami Moser [00:20:56]:
Right? I'm illustrating the human impact. So let's talk about Maria and her family. And this could be Maria could be an aggregate composite of the types of patients that would come in to this program. Or and this is a really good place to start. Go back to the personas you defined as those that would be involved. Those are snapshots of the people that would be involved. So let's go back to those personas and go, okay. I'm gonna let let's I'm gonna tell John's story.

Tami Moser [00:21:31]:
I'm gonna tell Maria's story. I'm gonna tell Sarah's story. And I've already defined the elements surrounding them. Right? Their values, their beliefs, their income, their education levels. Now what would be the typical story I would tell to illustrate how this program could positively impact that persona's life? And now this really translate into something that many people can identify with. And it creates an emotional connection to the value of what you're offering. Right? So that's part of what you wanna do with your story is I'm looking at those personas, and I'm I've created a snapshot of their statistics and who they kind of are. So now let's extrapolate into I've said that they need the program because of x, y, and z.

Tami Moser [00:22:24]:
Now let's follow the line there of what x, y, and z in their current state does to them and their family. Now let's tell the story of involvement in our program and the kind of impact that could have. So is it make believe? Yes. To a certain extent, you're telling a story. But that's where I'm saying it's a composite or aggregate of specific types of people involved in the program. And so you're specific. You can pull data from other studies that are good reflections of who this kind of participant is and extrapolate out from there. What I will say is you have natural we've I've talked about this before.

Tami Moser [00:23:11]:
You have natural storytellers in your organization, and some of them are quite effective at telling the human story. They've got the art of storytelling down, and most times, those that are natural storytellers, anytime they ask them something, you ask them a question, they're gonna tell you a story about what that looked like. Like, if you ask them about how did the fair go on Saturday? Well, let me tell you. You know, I got my 2 kids in the car, and at first, the dog tried to go with us, and that didn't work out well. So we had to wrestle with them, and then we got to the fair. And, oh, let me tell you. It was just fantastic. The air was crisp.

Tami Moser [00:23:51]:
We all, you know, had on our pumpkin picking outfits, and we went out and we enjoyed some of the rides. And, oh my gosh, the funnel cake was just awesome. And let me tell you about the guy who was playing the fiddle. You know? I mean, I could just build I build the story. You have people that are like that. But let me tell you, if you just ask for a storyteller, they probably do not think of themselves this way. Almost every student we do an exercise in my degree specialization where I have students define themselves and then define everybody else privately, and then we do a match up to see how closely people got into these different roles. And every every time someone in the group is defined as a storyteller by everybody else, they do not pick that for themselves.

Tami Moser [00:24:37]:
They don't see themselves as a storyteller. And when they try some of the stories happens too. When they try to defend their belief, they're not a storyteller, they tell a story to defend it. And then everybody starts laughing and just points out that that's a story. They just so just asking for someone who can tell good stories to help you craft that might not get you what you need because often they don't think of themselves that way. You need to think about who talks to you and communicates through stories. Those are good people to sit down with to help craft 1. Okay? And you could just say, you know, here's this persona I have of a of a a participant that could be involved in this program, and and you work with people that would fit this all day long.

Tami Moser [00:25:26]:
Can you tell me about what they talk to you about and what the story looks like in general. I mean, I don't want the specifics of a given patient, but and they'll go off on a story, and that can help you. So the storytelling is useful. And then be transparent about challenges and how you're addressing them. I mean, some skepticism is really healthy. Remember that it pushes you to refine and improve your program when skeptics come forward and say, hey, concerned about that. The key is to engage with constructively. So say, you know, we identified that challenge.

Tami Moser [00:26:02]:
Now let's talk about how we can address it. Or with stakeholders, communicate challenges you faced, tests you've run to see, if you can improve that through a rapid cycle. Report on those rapid cycles and the changes they initiate. If you've got a challenge that you're, like, we have this challenge, it's creating this kind of issue, and we're not sure how to deal with it. By being transparent like that, you can do a call to action for people to give you options for how to address this. Right? So think through the value of being transparent. I, you know, I tell and I'm gonna tell you this. I don't know everything.

Tami Moser [00:26:45]:
Right? Absolutely. I don't know everything even about designing programs like this. Do I understand a lot? Yes. Even the most experienced in anything is still going to have blind spots, bias, just things they've never run into before, so they haven't had to learn how to deal with that. Right? And you need to understand for yourself that there's no shame in that. You don't need to feel like you have to be perfect, and you don't have to pretend you're perfect and the program's perfect to all the stakeholders. What you need to do is refine your communication methods, be transparent about challenges, create call to actions for input and help in areas that are challenging you to even find solutions. Engage your team.

Tami Moser [00:27:41]:
Be open to skepticism and concerns. This allows you to be better and to learn more. So don't be afraid of that. And if someone is skeptical or just negative, you know, you run into those negatives, just go, I understand why you might be concerned about it or why you might not think it would work. But we're really excited about going down this path and really trying to help our participants and our community in this way. We really wish you would help us and support it. And if you see areas where we could improve it, by all means, please let me know. And then go on your way and don't take their negativity to heart.

Tami Moser [00:28:26]:
And then when they point out something that maybe you didn't think about or even see, go, you know what? Thanks for that because I I just didn't see that. Or if they point something out where you made a mistake, go, thank you so much. I didn't realize that I had missed that. You know? And just go on. You know, as we wrap up, I want to leave you with a call to action. And this week, I wanna challenge you to draft a 1 page value proposition for your program. Identify at least 3 potential challenges and strategies to address them, and then create that stakeholder engagement plan. In our next session, we'll be discussing how to integrate all these elements into a final presentation in your next week for your community health management program.

Tami Moser [00:29:10]:
We're gonna talk about design to action and crafting a powerful call to action next, and then we'll move into that final presentation. What we want is to make sure we're articulating our program's value and addressing challenges head on. That's a key to gaining support and ensuring long term success. I'm doctor Tami Moser, and this has been making your case, communicating your program worth, and overcoming obstacles. Until next time, keep making a difference in your communities, and I'll talk to you soon.