MSSU dean publishes book on achieving success with a plan

(From Southern News Service)

Drawing on his experience transitioning from a two-decade career as a physician to healthcare administration, Dr. Richard Schooler has authored a book focusing on achieving success with a strategic plan.

“Planning for Organizational Success: A Leadership Guide to Achieving Success with a Plan” – published by Dorrance Publishing Company in Pittsburgh, Penn. – offers a message he believes many young leaders are missing as they pursue their education.

Schooler, now the Dean of Health Sciences at Missouri Southern State University, practiced as an OB/GYN physician in Joplin before becoming medical director and director of medical education for Freeman. In 2006, he was named the hospital’s chief medical officer, and in 2013 the executive vice president and chief operating officer.

“I didn’t have a business background, so the first few years in my role as a health-care executive had a steep learning curve,” he said. “But it was important for me to evolve through that to do what I ended up doing.”

That experience, along with leading the process of creating a strategic plan for the hospital following the devastating May 22, 2011, tornado that struck Joplin, helped him develop an appreciation for the importance of leadership.

About a year and a half ago, he began to put his thoughts to paper about the critical importance of planning for organizations.

“There are all kinds of books out there on how to write a strategic plan,” he said. “What I really want to share is how to achieve success with a plan … how to make it work.”

The book also focuses the dynamics of leadership as well as the importance of adaptability and accountability.

Available via Amazon, the Dorrance Publishing online bookstore and by contacting Dr. Schooler, book sales will help promote a new academic program at Missouri Southern.

“One-hundred percent of the proceeds will go to the Missouri Southern Foundation to an account that will be used for promotion of a new degree and curriculum I want to develop under the Health Sciences umbrella – a bachelor’s of health care leadership and management,” said Schooler.

“There’s a huge industry out there, and there’s a real need for it.”

To learn more about “Planning for Organizational Success,” visit Dorrance Publishing Co.’s online bookstore at www.dorrancebookstore.com.