Our Story

USF Health created the Center for Transformation and Innovation (CTI) in 2005 to accelerate USF Health’s vision of changing the DNA of healthcare - by transforming how healthcare is delivered, and how health is understood in a continuum, from the environment, to the community, to the individual. CTI accomplishes its mission with a blend of leadership, strategy, and process improvement.

While many organizations see the need to transform the way they do business, few actually succeed while many continue to struggle. What remains constant is the need for transformational leadership in today’s dynamic times.

Einstein said: “Problems cannot be solved at the same level of awareness that created them." He was referring to the following paradigm: we cannot create solutions for today’s problems if we use the same thinking and tools that generated them. We need a shift in paradigm. However, a shift of paradigm is not linear or incremental, it is dynamic.

To put it in a business perspective, the paradigm shift for organizations implies a radically new way of conducting business. Ian Morrison describes this paradigm shift as the second curve (The Second Curve, Ian Morrison, 1996). Organizations experience stagnation in growth which results in decreased profits. They come to the realization that although their current profit is generated from the first curve, their future growth will occur through the second curve. The transition to the second curve can be challenging and thus, seemingly detrimental to organizations.

This is where CTI plays a vital role: we help organizations accelerate and achieve a smooth transition to their second curve, where newly acquired tools help organizations not only survive but thrive in challenging times. Having successfully transitioned to the second curve, CTI offers both the benefit of its personal experience and the confidence from its successful transition.

Since its inception, CTI has strived to become fiscally self-sufficient. However, due to a staggering economy, the timeline to achieve that goal was accelerated. The University experienced numerous budget cuts in a relatively short period of time. CTI was no exception, and as a result, the department’s budget was cut by two-thirds. Many university programs and initiatives faced with this dilemma might have opted to close their doors; we persevered. Our team quickly came together to discuss who we were, what we stood for, and what made us different. That gave us the confidence and determination to continue to pursue these goals. Our passion and creativity served as the impetus for moving forward. The journey was not an easy one and it came with its fair share of trials and tribulations. We knew that we should be willing to develop radically new ways of conducting business. We also learned the importance of celebrating the small successes, thereby fueling the motivation to continue the journey.

As part of our journey, we designed a model Leadership Institute which would later serve as the impetus for expansion. In its initial form, The Leadership Institute represented an investment in our top faculty and staff. Developing our faculty and staff was a critical building block in our quest for establishing USF Health as a premier academic health organization. To this day, our goal is to continue to transform leadership at all levels within the organization and to create a pool for succession planning. To achieve this transformation, we enhance the tools of leadership: Leading with Strategy, Leading People, and Leading for Results.

We continue to grow our services. By understanding organizations’ goals and forming working partnerships, CTI provides innovative, sustainable frameworks to improve and transform leadership, strategies, and processes.