Becoming an effective manager of employees is a challenging task for every doctor, no matter the size or age of the practice. And this is not unique to heath care providers; it’s a nearly universal challenge in all businesses. Let’s explore a few simple structural pieces to be sure are in place in your practice and are actually used effectively and consistently. Policy handbook When I start with a new client, the most common response when asked to produce this is either that we don’t have one, or it’s around somewhere, but nobody pays attention to it anyway. This document is essentially the … [Read more...] about Managing Employees
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Old School Professionalism
Most of us have had mentors along the way, and sometimes from an unexpected source. There is definitely an element of readiness necessary in order to receive new ways of behaving and of thinking, and this cannot be rushed. Many times the mentor will pop up out of nowhere, and many times you will be surprised by his presence. The trick is to be aware of this phenomenon and to use the wisdom and insight you can gain. The Corporate World One of my early mentors had absolutely nothing to do with chiropractic. I was early in my professional life, where I was seeing the reality of all the things I … [Read more...] about Old School Professionalism
Happy Money
Can spending money with different priorities actually make you more or less happy? Clichés notwithstanding, it seems that it actually can. Social scientists Liz Dunn Michael Norton make a compelling, scientific case for the spending choices we make driving us to or away from greater happiness and satisfaction. This is of course predicated on the idea that spending for basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter, and transportation is well supported by your income or wealth. If you’re hungry, the only thing that’s going to bring greater happiness in the short term is spending on food! We can … [Read more...] about Happy Money
Risk and Uncertainty
Nearly all business decisions involve elements of both risk and uncertainty. This is just the nature of predicting the future course of events. They are not the same thing, but how do you identify which is which and how do you move forward, knowing that there is an element of both present? The basic distinction between these two features is this: in predicting the outcome of a decision, how much information can be known beforehand, and how much of that information do you know? If you know most of the data points, then you are dealing primarily with risk. If you do not know most of the data … [Read more...] about Risk and Uncertainty