It is hard to believe it is June!  We have reached the time of the year when we take stock of our results for the first half of 2017 and begin planning for the coming year. We will reflect on our collective and individual performance using the mid-year review process this month, and preparation for the 2018 budget will begin in July.

Once again, our strategic planning process will be our guide. The URAC strategic plan includes four areas of strategic focus, all of which position us for growth. Work in these four areas will be the foundation for our goal setting, our budget and our operating plans for 2018. The four strategic focus areas are:

1. Adapt for Value: We will support and contemporize existing programs to reflect leading/best practice and industry advancements. We will improve what we have to maintain our leading edge and we will devote 15 percent of our resources to this effort.
2. Build for Value: We will position URAC as the leader through development of adjacent, value-added programs and services. Building on our current strengths, we will have a growth trajectory that will position us even more strongly in the marketplace and we will devote 40 percent of our resources to these strategic initiatives.
3. Innovate for Value: We will discover, develop and deploy first-of-their-kind programs and services.  We will be exercising our creative side to stimulate growth in areas new to us.  We will devote 30 percent of our strategic resource to innovation.
4. Achieve Durable Value: We will strengthen URAC’s organizational competencies and drive enduring value for customers.  Durability means we will strengthen and remain flexible in our day to day work to improve our organization and we will devote 15 percent of our resources to this effort.

We will “hardwire” our areas of strategic focus. Our leadership will develop 2018 goals based on these priorities and individual goals will reflect individual accomplishments needed to achieve our growth objectives.  I am looking forward to the planning process and identifying the contributions each of us will make this year, next year, and beyond.