Doubled Annual Supply of Contacts

I know this is hard to believe, but last month our percentage of patients purchasing a year's supply of contacts more than doubled. I expected some improvement because we gave it some attention at our retreat, but nothing like this. So naturally, I wanted to know what we did so right, so we can keep doing it. A little background: Last month, I told you about our retreat - The Best Ever. During the retreat, we were in the final stages of our BluePrint program, and were in the middle of Contact Lens Week, so we were in a contacts state of mind.

And since we had been sharing ideas and perceptions with each other, we all had a really good handle on the overall status of the practice. Over and over, during the retreat someone said, "It's like we said in the BluePrint....".

Why did we pick annual supplies as one of our primary goals? We already have a pretty good system in place and our average supply ratio is above average already. But our biggest problem right now is that we are too busy. And when you are a Service Based practice and you are too busy, some important things start to slip.

So how can we free up some time and keep our current schedule? One big factor was the amount of time we were spending with people in discussions about their contacts - number of boxes, rebates, shipping to home, shopping around, calling to let them know they have arrived, dispensing them, pay now, pay at dispensing. It should not be so complicated.

So we decided to simplify. Big Time. The biggest change was FREE shipping for all contacts, plain and simple. The only downside is that if the patient buys less than a 1 years supply, we have to pay for the shipping.

Now, no reason to wait to pay, no need to call to let you know they have arrived, no return to the office necessary, and no chance the patient will call at closing time and ask us to wait 15 minutes until they can get to the office.

Until now, we offered free shipping if you bought a year's supply, thinking that it encouraged them to buy the year's supply. I now believe it was counter-intuitive because it is too much to think about. Simplify.

Before we made the change we looked at every aspect of of our Contact Lens Process.Then we pulled the trigger and BOOM - big increase in annual supply sales. Plus, a decrease in phone calls being made and less patients needing their contacts "dispensed" in the middle of a busy afternoon.

Megan, the contact lens manager says, "The patients love us making it easy for them. We tell them about the price of the contacts, explain they will be receiving them at work in a few days and almost everyone is saying, 'OK sounds good.' No big deal."

If you would like to see our updated Contact Lens Process, feel free to take a look. Remember - this is a simplified version and it has to match all the related process manuals. And it is specific for our office and is not perfect for everywhere. It only works if you fit it with other aspects of your practice - which is why you need the BluePrint. Alright then,

Mike Rothschild, LeadershipOD P.S. More Simplification? Next time, I am going to tell you about a doctor who got rid of all of his New Patient paperwork and traded it for a "Wish List."

Our Best Retreat Ever

I try to have office retreats twice each year and I have had a number of opportunities to facilitate retreats for other practices. My point is I have been to a lot of planning retreats for optometry practices. And I feel compelled to tell you that the one we had with my team last week was probably the best one I ever ever attended. I always de-brief after a retreat and look for ways to make it better next time. So I am asking myself now, what made this one so good?

Location: We found the greatest spot to have a retreat and lucky for us, it is in our backyard. The environment was beautiful, there were many activities available for us and the facilities had everything we needed. It is a new sporting resort in our area and has jumped to the top of our list for retreat locations. I am even looking at family activities out there. They have horses and fishing and ATV's and bicycles and hiking and horseshoes and I don't know what else.

The location is 30 minutes from the Atlanta airport so if you ever host a meeting where people fly in, this place has my full endorsement. It will be the location of the first ever LeadershipOD conference.

Oh, it is called Foxhall Resort and Sporting Club.

Weather: It was perfect. Sunny, 72 degrees and low humidity in Georgia. I will plan for that next time.

Guest speaker:Dr. Jason Miller from Ohio happened to be in town doing some lectures for Alcon. I asked my rep, Larry Savage, if he would bring him by and they both said "Yes." If you have ever heard Dr. Miller speak, you know how talented he is. He graciously allowed us to present to him our findings from the morning and asked him how to fix it. An outside expert is always a plus. We owe Dr. Miller and "Larry the Contacts Guy" a big thanks.

The BluePrint: My office is the first one to repeat the BluePrint program. The first time we went through the program, it was the Beta test. We have made many improvements, but still a lot of it is the same. Currently, we are in Week 6 - Responsibility Grid. We had such a head start, because the entire team has been contributing to the retreat for the previous 6 weeks.

I was able to say, "Here are your responses to the survey in Week 1," and "These are the goals we set early in the program." Much of a retreat is compiling thoughts and we had already done that. (We will be looking at our recommendations about following up on the BluePrint with an Office Retreat.)

Plus Week 6 of the BluePrint is Contact Lens Week and Larry got to take a look at that.

The Best Staff is our History: I honestly believe that right now we have the best team of professionals in optometry. We know that we have a lot to learn and a long way to go but we are determined to learn it and to get there. Right now, we have the right people and they are in the right seats.

We re-dedicated to excellence: I led a very frank discussion with the premise that maybe we are making this too hard. Maybe all this work to be better is not worth the trouble. There are a lot of mediocre practices that seem to do just fine. (There is always a risk when you take a group down this road.) I said, "We could just see a few more people, take care of them quicker, give them the minimum, and quit with all this extra stuff."

But our collective stance was summed up by a brilliant comment from Aerial, who has been with us for just one year. She said, "You might see more people, but it doesn't mean you are taking care of them." She is exactly right.

Practice: Maybe it's like playing piano or baseball, you just get better when you do the same thing over and over.

Thanks for reading this and I hope it doesn't sound to much like I am tooting my own horn, but this is really exciting for me.

Truly yours, Mike

group

horses

P.S. Dr. Bazan is not giving up. He sent me a very well-thought out retort about our Facebook article. I will share that with you soon. I am still recommending the Marketing Calculator to find balance in your marketing strategy.

Everybody "likes" getting "poked" sometimes. But....

I am talking about Facebook here. What did you think we were talking about? Facebook is really big and it is growing, I get it. But I think there is a lot more to effectively marketing an optometric practice than having an awesome web presence. I agree that it helps, but it is a piece of the puzzle.

Last month, we featured Justin Bazan's follow-up to his bold decision to make his Facebook page his practice web-site. It seems to be working well for him. I will not be converting mine and recommend you don't either.

We have been putting a lot of time into marketing studies at LeadershipOD and have learned a lot about this new age. It is getting tougher to know where to put you time and your dollars in this area. Every practice situation is different and a marketing strategy needs to be balanced to meet your specific needs.

To help find a good starting point, we just released a Marketing Calculator. This unique app gives a general recommendation for your marketing strategy. But be careful, it budgets money and time. To check it out for yourself, Click here and sign up for the e-mail series. We will be talking more about it later, but back to Facebook.

Social media is a really good conversation tool but I am not sure it is a good for conversion, which is the true purpose of marketing. It is a good place to let people "poke" you and "like" you and "friend" you. But in order to convert them into a patient, people still want substance and assurance you are trustworthy. Facebook is good for the surface, but for someone to really check us out, they still want a traditional web-site.

10 reasons that Facebook should not replace your web-page:

1. Branding: Simply put, you are driving your business to another brand.

2. Control: They have control, you don't. Have you ever read their Terms of Service? Read them, but make sure you're sitting down.

3. Ownership: You don't OWN Facebook. It is not a "public place." It is owned and led by some guy named Zuckerberg.

4. Closed Network: Sure it's a big club, but it still requires membership.

5. Revenue Conflict: Facebook really doesn't care about your business. Their revenue comes largely from two things: selling ads and selling user info.

6. Search Engine Optimization: You don't have any say over "being found" online.

7. Analytics: Data is extremely limited.

8. Layout and functionality: Here today, gone tomorrow. You're at their mercy.

9. Distractions: Facebook is very distracting. They are fighting for eyeballs on every square inch.

10. Customer interaction: Their access with your brand may be easier, but not more meaningful. Which do you prefer? (Hint: they didn't get on Facebook to talk to YOU.)

11. (Bonus) Future: Anyone ever heard of MySpace? Yeah, they used to be a social media giant.

Bottom Line: Facebook should work with your web-site, not be your web-site.

Alright then, Mike

P.S. I asked Justin what he thought about my opposing view and he said, "Your patients need to be your fans". I think that its not about balance, its about analysis and adjusting. If things were balanced and all parts were equally, you strengths would be undeserved and your weakness would be over emphasized. Its about finding the right marketing mix right?"

The debate continues..... Let me know what you think.

Latest Developments from LeadershipOD

LeadershipOD has begun an in-depth study about the effectiveness of a long term and consistent marketing strategy.  As you recall, it was one of the Basic Fundamentals for Practice Success.  Of all the fundamentals, I feel this is where we are most inconsistent.  All of us. We can market ourselves and we have all had some success with this program or that.  But very few of us have developed a strategy to be consistent in our marketing and even fewer do a good job in following our plan for very long.  The truth is we get slow, run a reactionary promotion, get busy, and stop actively promoting our brand.

Primary Eyecare Network has recently commissioned me to a series of webinars about marketing that begin this Wednesday (3/28)  at 8:30 p.m. (Eastern Time).  It is titled, "Your Practice Personality" and is the first step in launching any branding efforts.

The other webinars in the series are "Creating a Balanced Marketing Strategy" (May 16) and "Building Loyalty with Internal Marketing" (July 25).  They are open to non-members and I would love to see you there.  Click here to register for the PEN Webinar.

We continue to make improvements and expansion to the  BluePrint.  This revolutionary program is really taking shape and continues to evolve.  We have made it easier to get started in the program and easier to explain to those on the team who just don't get it.  If you have been on the fence for a while with the BluePrint, please take the time to check it out again.

We have also been getting some exposure in the video world.  Look at these two videos recently released about some innovative things we are doing in the practice.  (Ignore the fact that I am wearing the same tie in both videos.)

• "Getting Staff off to a Great Start" Video from MBA Program.  You will need a login and password to see this.  If you don't have one, it is worth signing up because it is full of great insight from a number of experts.

• "Seeing the Big Picture" Video on the Review of Optometric Business website.  This shows a simple solution to a big problem for me.  I like to spread it all out to get the big picture, EHR made it harder for me to do that.  Now I can again, find out how.

Loophole Found in the King-Sized Snickers Crisis

snickers

Thank you all for your kind words of support at the mention of the loss of the beloved King Size Snickers.  Further research has led to some news about the Snickers that is both disturbing and some that is comforting.

First, this directive is straight from the top.  First Lady Obama is the one killing the King Size Snickers with her Let's Move campaign.  We all admire your drive to make Americans healthier, but keep your laws off my Snickers!

However - there is a loophole.  The Snickers 2 to Go has all 440 calories of its King Size predecessor.  It even has a convenient twist-able wrapper to save the second half for later.  "Later" means when you finish the first one.

King Size Snickers lives on.  Just a different name.........Good try, Mrs. Obama.

Remember, "You're Not You When You're Hungry"

Basic Fundamental #6 - Strive for a Stronger Team

To effectively build a strong team, you need to be committed to building individuals on that team. How do you "build individuals"? Building individuals involves all the tools to make them a strong member of the team. There is unlimited variety in what this means.

All practices that are successful have made a significant investment in the building of a strong team. Team building requires constant attention, much like marketing. With the best plan in place and a strong history, some neglect can go un-noticed for a little while, but will eventually catch up with you.

First is the need to create a "desire" to improve. 

I have never been disappointed when asking someone to commit to a self-improvement program. Because I wait until they are ready to receive.

Second, determine the needs of the individual as it relates to the team. 

A powerful tool is some form of a personality test. At LeadershipOD, we recommend CPT 260 or a free version,HOTS.  A tool trusted by some guest writers for LeadershipOD, including Carole Burns, is the Personality Plus. This forces people to take a strong look at themselves and hopefully demonstrates that others may do something better or that they have areas to improve.

Third, incorporate the programs. 

There are again many opportunities to guide individuals in this self- improvement. I've used 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, Meta-MORE-Phosis and developed our own, The BluePrint. Participation in Optometry Meetings or local leadership seminars are also great opportunities.  The trick is to constantly find what people need and find a way to deliver it.

It is important that the programs you choose include information about finding entire life-work balance because personal influences cannot be fully separated. To be effective, we must offer the chance to help them find the balance.

Fourth, strive to put the best person in the best place to be most effective. Make everyone the best they can be, then put them in a position to shine. When this combination works well, a person will be fulfilled and give all they can for a long time. They will give with joy and always look for ways to make it better. However, making someone better and leaving them in a less than ideal situation will lead to unmet dreams and a desire for something else. Eventually, this will show with decreased results, defiance or the loss of a good employee.

Basic Fundamental #5- Consistently Market

Marketing advice from a very successful OD in his 70's:  "Have one of the (staff) start at the A's, pulling down each record off the wall.  Open it and if they haven't been to the office in two years or more, call them and tell them it is time to come back.  That's what saved my practice." Marketing advice from an enteprising 50-something year old doctor with several practice locations and a multi-million dollar business: "One word - Radio."

Marketing advice from a 20-something year old associate OD working for a small two doctor practice:"Social Media and Search Engine Optimization.  It is the way of the future."

And remember last month, the example of the doctor who felt the secret is accepting every vision insurance plan available?

Who's right?  Everybody.  They are all correct in their own way.

While few of us would be so inefficient to pull a paper record down and call one at a time, you can't deny it would be highly effective and highly reliable way to stay in touch.

In my study of long term successful practices, they all have a strategic method of continuing to attract new and retain existing patients.  Everybody markets, but the successful practice has a strategy in place and sticks to the plan.  Many practices participate in "knee-jerk" marketing by simply reacting to reduced practice activity.  Others focus on the "one thing" that they are convinced is the secret.

Developing a Successful Marketing Strategy 

1 - Identify Tools

List every avenue you can think of that gives you an opportunity to spread the word about your practice.  Think of signage, internal systems to show off new equipment, advertising, recalls, phone calls, emails, asking for referrals, and social media specifics.  Look through old notes, read articles.  Visit ROB for some very good ideas.

2 - Choose

It is not a good idea to try to do everything you can.  Categorize and decide where you want to concentrate your energies and money.  But make sure to spread it out and not put all of your eggs in one basket.  Sometimes it is easy to get excited about something new and neglect effective marketing tools.  Care needs to be taken to make sure the strategies match the vision of the practice. You don't have to implement every good idea.

3 - Delegate

One person in the office needs to be given the responsibility of making sure that all things on the plan are done as scheduled.  This person should be empowered to make things happen and everyone should have a role and understand the importance promoting the brand.

4 - Re-Visit

Maybe the most critical step.  Plan to plan.  Things are changing so fast and new methods are constantly emerging to help us stay in touch.  No matter how perfect your marketing plan is today, parts of it will soon be obsolete.

Every strategy will be different and will depend on a number of factors: practice personality, budget, age of practice, demographics, personnel availability, etc.  The point is to concentrate on marketing and be consistent year round and year to year.

Basic Fundamental #4 - Face the Facts

There is an objective reality out there, but we view it through the spectacles of our beliefs, attitudes, and values.  ~David G. Myers, Social Psychology

I recently received a pearl of wisdom from a collegue at a practice seminar. "The secret to practice success is being on every vision insurance out there."  It's not a terrible concept, when he explained his logic:

"It is a ticket to get them in the door, find out what they need and find ways to get it to them.  If they have medical issues, we can bring them back for medical testing and we can always offer them something in addition to what they cover."  He understood the lower exam re-imbursements and the lack of profitability on covered materials, but he stood his ground.

But does it work?  Exactly how much does it cost you to do an eye exam?  How much must you collect to break even?  What percentage of your full schedule is made up of these free exams and how much for that profitable medical testing? And how profitable is that medical testing anyhow?

This strategy almost always works to fill up the books and that usually brings short term benefits.  Those benefits are often enough to convince us that it was a good idea that we need to continue.  But often, the books are full of un-profitable visits and we are again un-fulfilled.

This is one example of an idea sounding good, making sense but maybe coming back to burn you.  There are some facts that need to be faced logically to know whether or not this strategy is working.  And you have to go get the truth.

Fundamental # 4 - Successful practices face the facts

Successful practices seek out the facts by watching the trends of the business and looking for problems and for opportunities.  Many times they are found at the same time.  Practices that are growing, that are thriving are consistently looking for ways to do things better.  But the truly successful ones can face the facts about decisions and look at it from every angle.

By far, the biggest struggle for facing the facts is pride.  If I decide to make a change and it turns out to make things worse, how quickly can I say, "My bad."?

Steps to Face the Facts 

Try to keep emotion out of it

This is much easier said than done.  You will be surprised how many big decisions you make based on an emotional attachment to a person or a method you thought up or worked well before.

Inquire before sharing your opinion

Nobody likes to disagree with the boss.  So by making a habit of asking for input from the team, before sharing your views, you will get better input.

Avoid seeking real input via e-mail 

If you are truly interested, get the facts from a face.

Be systematic in gathering data

Find the way that you best analyze data and design a system to put it in front yourself routinely. Plan for a date to follow-up and when you do follow-up, set another date.

Case Study 

This is a real world example for my practice.  I am sure many of you can relate.  First you should know that my practice is based on relationships with my patients.  We strive to build trust with our patients every day.

Many of our patients are communicating by email and text and we have been working for a couple of years to find the best tools to use to stay in touch through this medium.  Does this sound familiar?  We finally implemented a program that automatically reminded our patients about upcoming appointments via email or text message.  They loved it.  We got so many great comments about our tech savvy methods.  We celebrated these comments that made us look better than our competitors.  I was proud of our innovative efforts.

Fast forward six months.  At a Leadership Team meeting, we notice that our no-shows and cancellations have been on the rise.  We began pointing fingers at each other.  Looking for the cause, we decided it may be the internet making the reminder calls.  We defended the system, because it was so much easier, people talked about loving it and it was a great idea.  After facing the facts, we couldn't deny that it is a lot easy to cancel your appointment via email.

We reacted with a quick study:  A person called the patient and says, "We are starting to prepare for your visit, and wanted to call to see if you had any special concerns."  No Shows went away and no one complained because we didn't send them a text.

People call from my office now.

Basic Fundamental #3 - Find Opportunities in the Barriers

"Every cloud has a silver lining," is a well known idiom that can be traced all the way back to 1634. This of course is a common metaphor for optimism and looking at the bright side of things.  If storms and clouds represent barriers that come to us, the silver lining is the opportunity that is waiting on us when the cloud fades away.  And the clouds always fade away. Successful practices have made a habit of focusing on the silver lining rather that the dark cloud.

 Fundamental # 3 is Finding Opportunities in the Barriers.

This is easier to follow if you are already practicing Fundamental #1 - Not Placing Blame and Fundamental #2 - Having a Vision, a Plan.  #1 helps the team feel safe to make you aware of the barriers sooner, so they can be dealt with.  #2 gives us clear direction as to how we need to re-set our direction after the barrier is dealt with.  Without a clear vision, the barrier may put us in a completely different direction.

Barriers can come in the form of a storm that rolls in without warning.  This can be a break-in, a complete staff walk-out, or a large local employer changing insurance plans.  They can also come in the form of a depressing haze that lingers for an extended time.  Maybe decreased staff morale, extended periods of depressed economy or an appointment book that just won't get filled.

How often are you thankful for a problem that arises within your practice? When you find yourself welcoming barriers because you know something good will come of it, you are practicing Fundamental #3.

Here is a little example that illustrates how simple this can be: Patient brings back a pair of progressive lenses complaining, "I can't walk in these stupid glasses.  They give me a headache and make me want to throw up."  If you are working with your optical team to become experts on matching a person to the proper progressive lens, you have just come across a real life case study. What luck!

We all will experience barriers in practice and in life.  Looking beyond each problem, to find the opportunity it presents gets easier with practice.  Next time any problem arises, likely today, look for an opportunity to improve rather than focusing on the problem itself.  If you succeed in finding the silver lining, look again next time.  Before you know it, you will be practicing Fundamental #3.

Basic Fundamental #2 - Have a Plan, a Vision, a Blueprint

Call it what you want, but all successful practices know what success looks like. In other words, it has been defined, explained and is clear to every member of the team.

It is not uncommon for us to have an idea about the practice we would like. I believe that everyone thinks about what could be before they start or purchase a practice. I also think we do it when we accept a new position within an organization. But for some reason, it usually doesn't make it beyond the idea stage.

I wrote the first "Vision" for my practice before I started it. It was called a Business Plan and it was a requirement from the bank. To me, I thought this was a waste of time because it was common sense. Why was it necessary to spend all this time putting it on paper, organizing my thoughts? That document is still re-visited from time to time.

Visualize

Seeing into the future is possible, but it takes practice. When you visualize what you want, you can start taking the necessary steps to make it real. It involves using a part of the brain we aren't used to using. Many of us start "what if-ing" when we try to create a vision. We start looking for all the reasons it might not happen. "What if I don't get enough patients?" "What if a competitor moves in next door?" "What if?" is a defensive question that stops us.

But what if it became a hopeful question? What if we opened our minds to what could be? "What if" is now hopeful and empowering. It is an action phrase. "What if I had a well established reputation in my community as the doctor that truly listens?" "What if I became the first in the area to offer sports vision services?" "What if every patient sends me one new patient?"

How to start

You can start developing your Vision simply by completing the Defining the Dream form on LeadershipOD.com. It is designed to draw out of you, just what you want the practice to look like when you are "finished." Whatever finished means to you. This is always the first exercise I go through with any client I have. Why start going, if we don't know where we are going?

Basic Fundamental #1 - It Doesn't Matter Who is to Blame

There are many excuses for why our practices are less than perfect.  Plenty of reasons they are not successful.  Yet some of us are able to succeed in spite of these challenges - these excuses.  Some are able to thrive BECAUSE of these excuses. Those who succeed watch trends, look at the industry and study new concepts not to find reasons or explanations for their short-comings but so they can adapt when necessary.  These are some of the things that some have thought would put an end to optometry as a profession:

• Pearle Vision - The first big, national eye care franchise that many thought was the end of optometry as we knew it.  Others have come, they scare us too.

• VSP - The first big, national vision insurance that caused some wide-spread panic about choices of our patients.  Others have come, they scare us too.

• Auto Refractors - A machine that does what we spent years learning how to do with a retinascope.

• Provider Discrimination - If we don't have access to our patients, we will not be able to take care of them.

• LASIK - If none of my patient's need glasses, I will starve to death.

• MultiFocal IOL's - See LASIK

• The Economy

• El Nino

• This list is endless

"None of these will end our profession and the only thing that will allow our practice to fail is ourselves."  The Basic Fundamental is firm belief in that fact.

In The Traveler's Gift, Andy Andrews describes this decision by teaching that "The Buck Stops Here."  In the 7 Habits of Highly Successful People, Stephen Covey says that we "Act or be acted upon."

There has been a lot of talk lately about the effect of Health Care Reform in America.  "What is going to happen to us?"  "What are we going to do?"

My answer is that I don't know, but I will adapt, I will learn and I will move on.  Right now, I know that the AOA is acting on my behalf and I need to show my support.

If we stop using energy to find our who to blame, we can get busy solving the problem.  So to truly become competent at this Basic Fundamental, we must work to stop looking for a reason things are they way we want and start looking for ways to make our vision a reality.

Can I get an AMEN?

Thinking Like a CEO

CEO's of any company set the direction of the organization, make major decisions for the company based on educated counsel from others and provide encouragement and motivation for those he/she leads.  Unfortunately, the natural progression of practice growth leads to the doctor role growing (thanks to a full schedule), the manager role becoming bigger (due to more staff/business "fires") and the CEO part of our job fades into the background.  The day to day business gets to the point we neglect planning, we stop listening to the concerns of the team and our decisions are urgent and made without much consideration. Our inner CEO role shrinks so much that it is no longer effective.

When the CEO of an organization is not effective, there is a lack of direction, a lack of inspiration.  We go from proactively building the practice of our dreams to reacting to the daily concerns of the business.  I call it "putting out fires." (In later issues, I will discuss Fire Prevention vs. Fire Detection vs. Fire Extinguishing.)

Bringing the CEO Back

Justin Timberlake said he was bringing sexy back.  I don't know if we can do that, but I do know that we can bring the CEO back.

To effectively receive the benefits a CEO can bring to your organization, you have to carve out time just for that.  Many start by blocking one half of one day without patients.  I have recommended this to many practices. Most hesitate,arguing that they are too "busy."  But none, who have made this commitment say they have felt it was a bad decision.  Being the CEO when you have time, does not work.  Being the CEO between patients does not work either.  It is worth it.

Make good use of this new time.  Schedule CEO tasks that need to be accomplished during this time.  The CEO is the visionary, the proactive thinker.  This is the time to work toward the future of the practice.  Some typical CEO tasks will include:

• Re-Visit the Vision, consider updating

• Evaluate Practice Goals / Compare to Responsibility Charts

• Develop / Marketing Strategy (Yellow Pages vs Facebook)

• Write a Budget - Look at Financial Benchmarks

• Improve Staff Development Plan

It is easy to see how time spent on these tasks can be beneficial for the long term health of the practice, but also how tough it is to concentrate in small bursts.  So step one in Becoming the CEO is to schedule time to perform CEO tasks and make good use of the time.

Fostering a Teamwork Culture

For any team to be successful, everyone has to be working toward the same vision. The entire team needs to clearly understand the vision and be motivated to get there. Do Your Part - On successful teams, every member of the team does their job the best that they can - every time. They work hard consistently because they have a desire for the team to succeed and they understand their role and feel appreciated.

Pep Talks - Teamwork requires constant motivation. Great coaches give "pep talks" more than once a year, but before every game, at time outs, half-time and when the game is over (win or lose). Motivational talks are given at practices and team meetings too.

Stay Positive - Teamwork also requires feedback on performance. Most leaders, including myself, tend to concentrate on giving negative feedback, correcting mistakes. That is necessary, but I find it to be most effective when I concentrate on giving positive feedback, congratulations and gratitude for outstanding work. Try to give three positive comments on performance for every correcting comment. It is important not to get caught up in how often "reviews" are given. But have a habit of saying "thank you" and "great job."

Trust - True teamwork is achieved when everyone on the team trusts that everyone is doing their job. Trust comes from faith in each other that can grow, with time, into a strong comradery that is felt among the team.

Building Your Leadership Skills

Is there such a thing as a born leader? Leadership involves a set of skills that can be improved, tweaked and enhanced.  These skills need to be practiced in order to be the best that they can be.

We all have talents that lend themselves naturally to leadership.  You may be a people person, a dreamer or a natural motivator.  We also have tendencies that hamper our ability to effectively lead others.  I personally have to resist my urge to jumping into a project before thinking it through.  Others may have a difficult time understanding other points of view and may not naturally listen to other opinions.  Another tendency may be to change courses too often, always working to seek a better way.

Leadership is a collection of all methods we use to motivate and coordinate others to want to work to make our vision a reality.  To be our best, these methods require practice.  All professions find a way to practice, to enhance their skills.  As doctors, they call the work we do in the exam room "practicing."  Actors and professional speakers rehearse their acts.  Pilots and police officers go through simulations to enhance skills so they are ready if the life or death moment ever shows.  Athletes of all kinds use drills to enhance particular skills in their sport.

Try these one day "Leadership Drills" to improve your skills with your team:

• Improve Everyone's Day - Make a point of making every person you come in contact with have a better day.  Look for ways to compliment everyone.  Make a point to make them smile or feel better about themselves.  Start with your team, your family and every one of your patients.  It is easy to support a leader who makes us feel better.

• Ask Questions and Listen to the Answers - Sometimes it is difficult to ask for help or for advice.  So to become a better listener, make a point of asking members of your team questions.  Look at them while they reply and then ask yourself, "Did I truly hear the answer?"

• Find Someone to Do It Better - For each task that you do during the day, stop long enough to think if there is someone on your team who could do it better.  Create a list during the day and use it as you are considering delegating these tasks to your team.

• Share a Note with Leaders You Admire - We have all been part of organizations that were led by people who have shaped us.  Sharing a note with these individuals is a nice payback, but it also forces you to reflect on what aspects of their leadership made a difference to you.

Simply by deciding to focus on one of these drills for an entire day, you will notice that it becomes second nature.  The task will seem easier, not because it has changed but because our ability to do it has increased.

"Synergize" the Talents of Many

Synergy happens when a team of good people support a common mission.  Each person has a role in the group's success.  I am often asked how to handle a person in the office who does not seem to blend well with the rest of the team.

Each person on any team has their own style of working, learning and being motivated.  But everybody wants to do a good job.  If energy is spent on getting the most out of each team member by matching them to a perfect set of responsibilities, the accomplishments of the group can be multiplied.

Sometimes team members get a reputation for not pulling their weight because they are not responsible for tasks that suit their talents.  A friendly insurance processor who is constantly distracted by "friends" who want to say hello will always run behind with paperwork and stay frustrated.  And a receptionist who thrives on keeping up with paperwork will inevitably start taking shortcuts with client greetings when the workload increases.  Is there a way to shift responsibilities so the clients are treated better, the paperwork is processed on time and everybody is happier?  YES

Leaders first determine the vision of the organization, communicate that vision to the team then put them in the best position to excel:

1. List each position in the office and describe the perfect person for that job.

2. Look at the person doing that job and evaluate if it seems like a match.  Many times, it is necessary to move someone into another seat.

3. Once that is done, continue to tweak responsibilities until everyone is doing mostly what they enjoy doing.

A word of caution:  It is critically important that the entire team understands the overall mission of what you are trying to accomplish.  Shifting responsibility from one person to another makes people wonder,  "Was I doing a bad job?"  The task is still worth tackling, just be clear about your objectives.

Get Some Momentum

Momentum is a measurement of the force resulting from a moving object.  The more momentum an object has, the harder it is to stop.  Momentum is a term used a lot in sports.  When your team gets the momentum, you want to keep it. Businesses and other organizations can have momentum too.  It is how we gauge the progress we are making toward realizing our vision and reaching our goals.  To build significant momentum, we simply need to 1) get moving and 2) maintain a constant direction.

Get Moving

Momentum is only possible if you are moving toward a goal.  And that is only possible if you know what you are pursuing.  To set the direction, you need a defined vision of what you are trying to build and that needs to be shared with the team.  Define the barriers and the opportunities and develop the plan.  Then, steps need to be taken to change the direction toward the vision you have created. Only leaders can create momentum, the team will follow and managers maintain.

Maintain a Constant Direction

It is often easy to give up on a good plan, to lose momentum before it even gets started.  Some things that cause us to drift away from our initial direction are:

• distractions that seem more important because they are urgent

• other goals that are newer, more fun or easier

• unforeseen barriers

• whining from team members not sold on the idea

• others in the organization who lead more effectively than we do

Knowing that these and other momentum-blockers are out there, we can prepare and react appropriately when necessary.

We must keep our eye on the prize, the reason we created the momentum in the first place.To maintain direction, we need to evaluate ourselves consistently and from now on.  A lot at first and then less frequently.

Not All Momentum is Good

Back to our sports analogy - When a team has momentum, it is good for one team and bad for the other.  In business, the "other team" can be a lot of things.  It can be decreasing morale of a team, increasing financial trouble or a relationship with decreasing communication.  When things seem to have bad momentum, it is important to see it, call a timeout and find a way to stop it from getting worse.  More on that next month.....

Staying Pro-Active

Proactivity* is taking steps to create a situation rather than just accepting things as they are.  Being proactive is sometimes considered the opposite of being reactive, which is a response to an event. In business, I like to think of proactive activities as acting like the CEO and reactive as acting like the manager.  Both are important, but when we are working to make things better, we are being proactive.

True proactivity* is about balance.  We need to be proactive for our self, our family and our work to make a true difference.

All leaders strive to remain proactive, yet sometimes slip into a reactive mindset in some area.  The secret is to stay proactive as much as possible.  Here are some tips for staying proactive:

Be unavailable - Being proactive really requires having uninterrupted time.  It takes some time for your mind to get into that mode and a phone can pull you right out of it.  Turn it off, just for a little while and you decide when you are unavailable.

Schedule time to plan / think -   This is important for yourself and for your team.  A daily or weekly meeting time, a scheduled office retreat, and an administrative day are all great examples of scheduling in proactivity*.  Doing it in your spare time will not work.

Create and maintain a system of proactivity* - This may involve a number of tools and team members to create a situation where it is normal that it will happen.  The system always needs to be tweaked and adjusted to remain effective.

Set goals, list steps for the goals and keep them visible - In the next article, Doug Hanson discusses in detail how to create STRONG goals.  Once you do, find a way to keep them in front of you so you can work toward them a little everyday.

Delegate - Effective delegating takes practice and is a topic we will cover extensively soon.  But for now, it is a skill that needs to be developed by practicing. Start by delegating small tasks and be sure to discuss follow up.

Get help - There are a lot of great books, programs and services that can help you find a system of being proactive that works for you.

Click here to see my article in Review of Optometric Business about the benefit of coaching.

It is easy to stay proactive.  It just takes practice.

*  (It turns out that "proactivity" is not a real word, but I think it should be, so I used it.)

Getting the "Right" People

Getting the "Right" People My favorite quote about getting the right people comes from the movie Miracle about the 1980 USA Gold medal Olympic hockey team. In that movie, Coach Herb Brooks says of his player selection, "I am not looking for the best players.  I am looking for the right ones."

Coach Brooks had thought about the team, the talents needed BEFORE he started looking.  The more common method is to look at all of the candidates and pick the most impressive (the best).

When looking at your team, and the individuals that make up that team, it is vitally important to put them in a role that they can excel.  If there is not a match, it is a matter of time before performance begins to be less than optimal.

Finding the Right Person

When selecting new members of your organization, I argue that the resume' matters very little.  What matters is if the person has values that match the values of the organization.  In order to determine that, the organization's values need to be defined.  Then questions need to be developed for the interview process that pull that out of people.

Getting People in the Right Spot

To put them in the right position, first requires a good definition of the job responsibilites and expected results from the position.  This is more than just a "Job Description."

Two examples of responsibilities may include:

• Greet everyone who enters the front door with a genuine smile, direct eye contact, and by name (whenever possible).

• Analyze every transaction to confirm the proper amount was billed and collected from every responsible party.

Each responsibility requires a different mind-set.  Yet many of us are expected to perform both with perfection.  Imagine if a person's responsibities were aligned with their own individual talents and passions.  The result is a happy employee who continuously does great work.

Most organizations have a majority of one personality type, usually similar to the leader. I first realized this was true about my practice when we took a simple, and free, personality test at OneMinuteMillionaire.com, called the HOTS survey.  Since then, we've begun using more sophisticated tests and strategically matching people to responsibilities.  We also actively work to better understand and appreciate each other.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Later in Miracle, a frustrated team goalie, Jim Craig said to his coach, "I don't understand you with your ridiculous sayings and those stupid psychology tests!" The point is that this stuff works if you stick with it even when your whole team is frustrated and thinks its "stupid."

Hang in there.

LISTEN

Leadership is about building trust in your team.  Listening makes our team feel worthy, appreciated and respected.  It also fosters the skill in others by acting as a model for effective communication.  Good listening also saves time and money by decreasing misunderstandings.

The skills needed to be a good listener can be developed, or re-developed, by anyone.  It just takes initiative, drive and practice.  I have found that the best way to start being a good listener is to act like a good listener.  Just pretend.

Next time you find yourself in the presence of someone talking, pay attention to these things:

• Face the speaker and maintain eye contact (but don't stare)

• Don't look at your cell phone

• Focus on the speaker and give appropriate responses

• Squash your own, unrelated thoughts that creep in

• Keep an open mind, try to absorb their point before disagreeing

• Avoid telling the speaker how you would do it

• Let them finish and ask for clarification

If you create a listening culture in your organization, you will have employees know that their input about their job matters and is relevant.  You also will assure your customer's concerns are addressed, leading to continuous improvement.

Improving the listening ability of your organization takes a bit more time, effort and energy.

1. Become a good personal leader - Follow these steps from our previous articles: Become a Leader, Define Your Vision, Share Your Vision

2. Develop a good plan of communication - In last month's issue we covered how to establish a good communications plan within your office.

3. At meetings, have various staff members report / facilitate - The best way to teach your team that you value their input is to put them in a position to speak up.  Sharing meeting duties or giving reports helps with this.  Make a habit of asking for clarification during the meetings.

4. Daily Huddles - We call ours a "Basic Meeting," because our agenda includes a small discussion of one of our 20  Basics.  A few minutes of organized discussion daily is invaluable. It is important to have a topic to cover daily.  For an idea, see this issue from the August edition of our newsletter.

5. E-mails, Memos - Have a consistent method of inter-office communication. I have seen memo's and mailboxes, bulletin boards, e-mails and web-pages.  All work well, if consistently used.

6. Develop a Leadership Team - A big, big endeavor that is worth the effort.  Defining your leaders, building their skills and establishing a culture of teamwork contributes to the creation of a listening organization more than anything .

7. Retreat - My favorite.  I like twice yearly office retreats to share ideas, set goals and just get your act together.  LeadershipOD has a 2 day retreat guideline that you can use to get started or visit our Services page to find out how LeadershipOD can provide a full service retreat for you and your team.

Motivating the Team

As practicing leaders, many of us try to jump straight into team motivation, not recognizing the importance of laying the proper groundwork.  So first, a quick summary of previous Leadership Tips: Becoming a Leader, Defining Your Vision and Communicating the Vision. All organizations are led by someone.  It is not always the person "in charge" who is leading.  The leader is anyone who influences the direction of the individuals that make up the team.  Some actually lead the organization in an unproductive direction.

Many books and articles have been written about motivating a team.  Classes are taught about this subject and you can even earn a degree in aligning a team with a common goal.  The next several columns in this newsletter will focus on a variety of methods to use to accomplish group motivation.

Topics will include:

Listening to Individual Team Members

This is a skill that is more difficult than most think.  It is also more powerful than most can imagine.  Listening with empathy is listening with the intention to see things from that person's point of view.  It is typically not possible to change someone's motivation until you know where they are coming from.

Identifying Leaders (and Non-Leaders)

Who are the leaders in your organization?  How do you know?  It is often difficult to tell who has natural leadership skills, who has skills that can be developed and who needs to stay away from leadership positions.  There are some great tools to help sort through it all.

Momentum (Building It and Maintaining It)

Recognizing positive momentum in your organization is an opportunity that is easily missed.  Momentum in the wrong direction can cause tremendous harm if you don't catch it early.

Building Leadership Skills

Being a leader takes practice.  I have been guilty of thinking I am a good leader and therefore don't need to improve.  I have also been guilty of thinking that my team has had adequate leadership education because they've had more than most.  How do you continue to improve these important skills?

Delegating, Follow-up and Tracking Progress

The ability to effectively delegate is harder than it sounds.  That is why so many of us continue to do it ourselves.  We will cover laying the groundwork for proper delegation, scheduling a follow-up method (not micro-management), and proven methods to keep up with it all.

Capitalizing on the Talents, Skills and Goals of Many (Synergize)

Vanilla Ice said, "Stop, Collaborate and Listen." It is this wisdom that encourages us to find ways to collect input, knowledge and motivation from all team members.  When this is done well, unbelievable goals can be accomplished.

Developing your Proactive Mentality

Before Leadership Insights had a name, our first article was titled "First - Become a Leader." That's easy to do for a short time but it is hard to do over a long period of time.  How can you maintain that proactive mentality and how can you get it back when it gets "soft?"

Your task is to evaluate your own knowledge and recent performance in each of the above areas.  As the lessons come, you will see how they begin to build on one another.  If you have an expertise or elevated interest in any of these areas - Please Share.

Sharing Your Vision

Last month, we discussed Defining Your Vision and prior to that, we talked about Becoming a Leader.  It is really important to follow those steps before moving on to the next level in your Leadership Development. Staff communications and building staff morale are the most common issues that I am asked to help with. In a team setting - a vision, a mission and a set of goals are wasted unless the entire team is intimately familiar with them all.

To have a unified and motivated team there must be a deliberate system of communication.  The system needs to include opportunities for everyone to listen AND to share.

Follow these steps to develop a strong communication system within your organization:

1) Commit - In order to have excellent staff communications, you first have to commit to success.  There will be challenges and roadblocks to your goals, but once you have committed, you will continue to adapt until you have a strong system.

2) Decide what to Communicate - Meetings without agendas soon turn into "complaint sessions".  Decide the purpose of the communications overall then break it into little bites that can be spread out over time.  (See the next article for an idea to get started.)

3) Develop a Communication Plan - Every organization is different and needs a different blueprint of communications.  Some practices are run by family members, others have multiple locations and some are staffed by primarily part time people.  Look at several options of methods to communicate and pick the best.  Some tools you can use are meetings (before, during or after office hours), e-mails, message boards, conference calls, video conferencing, etc.  Beware - There is not a perfect plan and that is ok. (Click here to see the plan for my practice.)

4) Implement the Plan - You have taken the time to carefully develop a communication plan.  Now start.  I recommend a little at a time.

5) Adjust the Plan - Your first try will not be perfect and even if it is, it will not stay perfect.  It is important that you schedule a time to make adjustments to your plan.

This may sound complicated and that's because it IS complicated.  It is a critical component of becoming an effective leader and is worth the effort.  The rewards are a motivated, dedicated and aligned staff and will come with time.  Stick with it.