Forming an Opportunity Belief: A Twist on Opportunity Identification

1. I work at a hospital in a very fast growing community. Our hospital is currently an adult hospital, so we aren't able to take any pediatric patients. The nearest pediatric hospital to where we are at is about 30 minutes away. The opportunity that exists here is building a pediatric unit to treat pediatric patients within our growing community.

2. The unmet need here is being able to provide care for pediatric patients so that they don't have to drive 30 minutes into town to receive care. The need is for the pediatric patients and their families. This need is new for this area. When the hospital was first built, the area it was built in was still being built up as well. But over the years the population has grown substantially so there is now a need for a pediatric care unit. I would say I'm 100% sure this is a need that exists.

3. The prototypical customer would be any family with a child under the age of 18 that needs medical attention in this area of town.

4. I talked with my brother who lives in that area who is hoping to start a family with his wife soon. He said that obviously they wouldn't have this need all the time, only some of the time when they have kids and if/when those kids get sick or need medical attention. My brother doesn't currently have this need, but when he starts his family he eventually will have this need. They are currently addressing their future need by trying to locate a closer children's hospital than the one that is 30 minutes away. They don't like that they will still have a ways to drive, because the hospital I work at is only a two mile drive for them, so it would be very convenient for them if that hospital had a children's unit.

I talked with a friend at work at the hospital who has kids and she agrees that we need a pediatric unit. She made the point that not only do the patients need that new unit, but it would provide more jobs for this area as well by adding the new unit. When her kids need medical attention, they have to go to the children's hospital 30 minutes away and she said it's a pain having to drive into town through traffic.

5. I learned that with this opportunity, it not only helps those in the community with kids, but it helps those who need jobs as well, so it's multi-beneficial.

7. I would say 100% of the original opportunity is still there. I think it is more accurate now, because I can now see that it would help more than just the kids and the families of the kids. It would also help other members of the community get a job with a great employer. I feel like you should always take the consumer's feedback into consideration, but still stick with what you know and want in the opportunity.