The 3 Headed Office Manager

Leadership Insights

from LeadershipOD.com

June 2011- Vol 2, Issue 6

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Greetings!

Yesterday was Father's Day and I hope you were able to enjoy it. Since I am lucky enough to be a father, I actually received some presents. This year's Father's Day was so good for me, I almost feel bad talking about it. Almost.

Father's Day Gifts From my son, Samuel, I got the coolest eye chart coffee mug. And Caroline, my 13 year old daughter, gave me a book called Daddy Dates. Is this her way of telling me that she wants to spend more time with me? I don't know, but I bet you can guess what I will be reading this week. And how I will be drinking my coffee.

This week, LeadershipOD starts what I think will be an interesting series. Over the years, I have become aware of 6 Basic Fundamentals that seem to be present in every successful optometry practice. I have found that profitability may be possible without these Basic Fundamentals, but a "feeling a success" is not.

I also belive that it is true that following each of these Basic Fundamentals doesn't guarantee success, but it does give us a fighting chance.

For the rest of the year, I will be unveiling one of these Basic Fundamentals one at a time. I hope you enjoy and welcome your continued feedback.

Sincerely,

Mike Rothschild, LeadershipOD

Leadership Tips from Mike Rothschild

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?