3 Given that a company has chosen this priority, what would it have to do to achieve success? At its peak in late 2000, Lasik Vision Corporation had over 30 clinics operating in North America, second only to TLC Laser Eye Centers of Toronto, Ontario, which had 62 clinics. Dr. Hugo Sutton, an eye surgeon and a clinical associate professor at the University of British Columbia, and Michael Henderson founded Lasik Vision in 1997. Since 1978 Sutton had been operat- ing his own eye clinic, initially specializing in cataract surgery. In the intervening years, technological advances such as the excimer laser had transformed refractive surgery (the process of correcting myopia, hyperopia, or astigmatism by altering the contours of the comea) from a low-tech risky procedure using lathes and sutures into a viable proposition for patients who could spend $5,000. After the surgery, they could discard their glasses or contacts. The effi- cient new procedure allowed surgeons to eventually reduce the fees for this service, thus making it even more attractive for patients. In 1991, in partnership with two other surgeons, Sutton set up his own refractive surgery clinic. By 1996, the Lasik technique, sparing patients the months of healing that came with older procedures, became the vogue.