Organizational Models Behind Healthcare Delivery

In a review of the China Study, I wrote about how Healthcare discussions often revolve around insurance, treatments, technology, operational excellence, etc. but not as often on driving factors like lifestyles, choices, etc. As a product manager, I'm often confronted by similar questions on strategy; for example, can organizational culture be a source of sustainable advantage? Are we overly focused on business models, technology leadership, incumbency  when we should also think about how are teams operate and how members relate with each other?

Today's HISTalk mentions how Epic, the leader of the EMR vendor market if you measure momentum, focuses not on hiring candidates with the best experience but instead selects those with the right traits, qualities, and skills. HISTalk states:

"Epic emphasizes that many hospitals can staff their projects internally, choosing people who know the organization. However, they emphasize choosing the best and brightest, not those with time to spare. Epic advocates the same approach it takes in its own hiring: don’t worry about relevant experience, choose people with the right traits, qualities, and skills, they say."

Top-tier management consulting firms like BCG, Bain, and McKinsey have always known this. As a result, these firms test candidates on scenarios (or "cases") to evaluate how a candidate would think in a particular situation rather than evaluating the candidate on behavioral questions (that can generally be memorized). Other companies in other industries are catching on. Netflix famously released it's Freedom and Responsibility Culture reference guide that emphasizes context over control.

How much time do you spend on your organization's team dynamics? What methods do you use to select candidates?