Dear Doctor,
September is such a busy month, especially after squeezing all the laziness out
of late summer. People are awakening, enthusiastically or begrudgingly, but
awakening nevertheless. Most of us get swept up in the energy and do spur
ourselves into motion, but is it as productive as possible?
When we have a lot to do, it’s a good strategy to calibrate the degree of
productivity of our actions. Many of us fall into the common trap of believing
that if we are moving, we’re moving forward, but this isn’t necessarily the
case. Taking action is a vital component to the process of success, but some
actions give you a better return than others, so it makes sense to evaluate your
habits and behaviors to be sure you’re following the most efficient path
possible to achieve your outcomes.
For example, if you have a goal to attract a certain number of new patients this
month, and you have recognized that asking for referrals is your most fruitful
new patient generating activity, then even if you find it a bit uncomfortable,
plan to include sufficient interaction with patients to stimulate the desired
response. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t perform screenings, speak in your
community, or participate in health fairs – a variety of new patient generating
activities keeps it interesting and fun. But if you know that asking for
referrals works best for you, then schedule enough referral-asking time in your
plan, even if you prefer speaking or screening – do what works.
This may seem obvious, but so many of us squander valuable time and energy on
less-than-ideal patterns of activity. Dr. Bob Hoffman talks about “dollar
productive behavior” and “maximum outcome activities,” terms that help you
conceptualize and measure your actual results. For example, you could spend an
hour reading a journal, perhaps of some value in the future, but not of much
benefit right now unless you make a significant distinction based on what you
read. Or, you could spend the same hour training your staff, which gives you no
dollars now but many down the road, as your staff applies what they learn and
master.
You could adjust patients for an hour, which gives you your fee times the number
of people you can adjust in an hour. Or, you can do a talk and attract ten new
patients, so your return is ten times your case average, with your associate
doctors providing much of the hands-on work necessary to fulfill those new
patients, while you do the things only you can do. By noticing and analyzing
your yield on different aspects of your work, you can reorganize your time and
optimize your return on investment.
Becoming a better manager of your time and energy is an important step toward
running your chiropractic business effectively. While you may start out doing
everything yourself, it’s smart to delegate tasks that can be done well by
others as soon as you can, to free you up so you can dedicate your attention to
those functions that move the practice ahead. In any business, three major roles
must be played, the Technician, the Manager, and the Entrepreneur (see Michael
Gerber’s “The E-Myth Revisited”) and you’ll want the right players wearing the
right hats in your practice.
By monitoring your work to increase your return, you’ll improve your dollar
productive behavior. By concentrating on maximum outcome activities, you’ll
distribute the work more appropriately, and your profitability will reflect it.
Don’t settle for activity, go for productivity! You’ll love the results!
Dr. Dennis Perman,
for The Masters Circle
PS We need more DCs to step up as community wellness doctors – to learn how to
participate, go to
www.DiscoverWellnessMonth.com – it’s free, easy, and it positions you as the
local wellness expert!
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