TSO Network Update - July 2018

July 2018 z 19 Creating an Edge over Competition Design and measure your success - Part 1 Writing the story… When was the last time that you went to the doctor? What was your experience like? Did it seem like organized chaos? I know that this probably doesn’t describe your practice, but a recent study of 50 Texas based optometry practices reported that 82% of patients felt that the office staff were distant, not friendly and not organized. Wow! That’s a big number. I guarantee, if you were to ask the staff members if they were friendly and organized you’d get a completely different answer. So why the difference? The answer is if you do not intentionally design your practice and make sure it consistently follows that design, then after a while, chaos seems normal. In this two-part series I will explain how developing a story for your practice along with simple but definite ways to measure its results can dramatically improve patient care and your bottom line. Think what would happen if a broadway theater production would open each night without a story or a script;100% improvisation without direction. You know some nights would work out and the audience would rave about the play. Some nights it wouldn’t and they would discourage anyone from wasting their money. Some nights, it would conclude on time, some nights it wouldn’t. You won’t be a broadway success without the right story and script. Recently, I spoke with a doctor who owns a very large practice. We talked about how his life and practice had changed over the years while his annual sales grew from mid $800K to well over one and half million. He shared with me that as the practice was growing he felt completely out of control. He knew patients were not getting the level of service they deserved and he wasn’t sure if he was making the money he should. He described it as controlled chaos. He decided to take control of the chaos, be confident in their service and effectively manage the practice revenues. Here are five important steps that my doctor friend used to write the script for the story he wanted to tell. 1. Reflect on the practice and your professional self. Sounds simple doesn’t it? Creating a successful career has to be intentional. Set aside a few hours and think about your past few years in practice. Make a list of the things that make you proud and a list of areas that are problems. Make this a routine practice, every quarter, set aside time for reflection. I suggest this be at least four hours and preferably an entire day. 2. Write the ending first. In Stephen Covey’s book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People the second habit is Begin with the End in Mind. This means, first decide the story you want your practice to tell. What do you want people to think about your practice, what do you want them to feel about your practice? 3. Identify key players in your story and enlist them to help write the script. Explain the ending and empower them to define their part. Chances are, they will be much more thorough and effective when they take responsibility for their own part in the story. This doesn’t have to be complicated. Each player simply identifies important key activities that must be consistently performed in order to deliver the desired ending. 4. Write it down! I can’t overstate this. Each player writes down how they contribute to the ending. If it’s written down it will be consistently performed. If it is written down, it can be improved. Think of our broadway production again, why do the actors follow a script each night? Often their scenes are rewritten to make them connect better with the audience and the ending of the story. 5. Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. There’s an old saying, “Champions don’t become champions in the ring, they are only recognized there.” Joe Frazier, former Heavyweight Champion of the world said, “You can map out a fight plan or a business plan but when the action starts, it has to come down to reflexes.” This is true in your practice. Each staff member rehearsing, role playing and practicing how to tell the story will ensure that it is told in the day to day delivery of care. This approach is simple, but it requires the discipline of following through with each step. If you will decide and then daily manage that decision, we’ll see your name up in lights on broadway! This column by John D Marvin is published with permission from INVISION magazine.