TEAM TATRC Gathers for Strategic Planning Offsite – Big Ideas Yield Big Results for Organization
December 31, 2019 | Download PDF
As an organization, we do not get the opportunity for the entirety of our team to gather in-person nearly enough! Luckily, we were able to do just that last November when the team came together for our inaugural all-hands strategic planning meeting to discuss the state of our current affairs, our organizational mission, strategic messaging, restructuring and reorganizing, as well as important aspects regarding the future of TATRC.
Team TATRC gathers for rare cross-lab photo op during the Strategic Planning.
Held offsite at the Morningside Inn in Frederick, MD, the interactive all day event provided an excellent opportunity for the entire team to come together and brainstorm on all things TATRC, including our focus, our vision, and how best to spread the message of who we are and what we do. Additionally, the event provided the perfect opportunity to debut our newly updated Mission statement – “Forging the future by fusing data, humans, and machines into solutions that optimize Warfighter performance and casualty care.”
TATRC’s Leadership team, including Director, COL Jeremy Pamplin, and Deputy Director, LTC (P) Justin Stewart, presided and got things started with kickoff presentations on organizational business and an introduction to the overall purpose of the meeting, which was to begin the process of developing the TATRC brand and determining how best to position ourselves as an organization to support and advance Military Medicine.
COL Jeremy Pamplin set the stage for the team by stating, “The world as we know it is changing. Specifically, the world related to military medicine. One of the issues facing us is distance. Prolonged field care is something we must grow our capabilities for. How do we go from the space where we have a lot of stuff, capability, and resources, to the space where we don’t have those things? Where our Warfighters don’t have those things. It’s us. It’s technology. It’s TATRC.”
The team then broke out into individual work groups and worked together to solve interactive, hands-on tasks to develop key aspects of the TATRC mission, including the nature of the relationship between TATRC, the Warfighter, and medical providers, as well as ways to optimize performance within the organization by addressing things like management structure and the dynamics between our various labs and programs. These work groups proved to be highly productive, with each team creating unique components that will ultimately be combined and help to build and refine the new mission of TATRC.
Following the work group sessions, the team was treated to a comprehensive, informative presentation on the various types of management structures by our very own Ms. Tabitha Waldrop, MS, PMP, PMI-ACP and Telehealth / Virtual Health Project Manager from our mHIC office at Ft. Gordon! Ms. Waldrop expertly guided the team through the various styles of management and the pros and cons of each, following up with tasking the groups to determine which style they thought best suited TATRC. This resulted in thoughtful, productive discussions across the spectrum of team members, including Leadership, Lab Leads, as well as support staff, which could only have been possible at an event such as this.
Staff member Mr. Ray Samonte, Graphic Designer and Webmaster who works on the Public Affairs team stated, “It really is empowering for someone who is not a scientist, like me, to have a voice and be a part of an organization where the leadership team is bringing all of us together to have a voice in forging a future vision together. It allows those of us even in support roles to truly feel like we’re a part of the incredible mission TATRC has moving forward.”
Ms. Dawn Petruzzello who serves as the service contract manager on the Resource Management team was able to get a deeper look into what goes on in each individual lab on the day to day. Ms. Petruzzello said, “To be out of my comfort zone, in workgroups that included scientists, technology experts, and program managers that I don’t normally work with, really allowed me to have a better understanding of the organization as a whole. It opened up a whole other perspective for me and enhanced my understanding and appreciation of everybody’s role here, and how each person has a vital role to play.”
At the end of the day, the event had proved to be a resounding success! Perhaps most importantly, with the exception of a dearly missed few, the meeting allowed for all of the team’s voices to be heard in person and in a meaningful way – something that is not always easily achieved due to personnel locations and day-to-day tasks.
LTC (P) Justin Stewart concluded the off-site meeting with the following sentiments, “The future fight requires different ways of thinking. We need to understand what threats our Warfighters are facing and how to address them. This is the beginning of rebranding and defining our role in that fight. There is a lot of hard work ahead, but I think we’re up for the challenge.” A big thank you to all our staff for your dedicated efforts in helping to refine and improve the TATRC brand! We are excited to see what TATRC’s future holds.
This article was published in the July 2020 issue of the TATRC Times.