Passion & Certainty

We have written and lectured a great deal over the past few years about keys to practice success, including clinical, management, financial, and leadership success. Clinically, we have written and lectured on the Modern Chiropractor, whose treatment toolbox can include adjustments, soft tissue techniques, stretching of shortened muscles, end range loading, low tech rehab, and anti-inflammatory nutrition. Have you done the reading, taken the classes, and applied your knowledge in a caring way with your patients so that you are supplying the best conservative care available?

For managerial success, we suggest “the system is the solution” concept, as taught by Michael Gerber with The E-Myth. If any job is to be done more than once in your office, you need a system in place to maximize efficiency. This may sound extreme, but it is not. As a D.C., you are selling your expertise and your time. Time becomes your key commodity, so you must manage this incredibly valuable commodity. Streamline any procedures that might be slowing you down, hence costing you money. The old adage, “time is money” is still as true as ever. Consistent, clear communication is another key component of managerial success. Communication is critical at the office, in your personal relationship, everywhere. Have weekly staff meetings, schedule training sessions, and openly communicate with your staff and your patients. When your team understands you and what you do, they are naturally more enthusiastic and better employees. When your patients understand, they follow your care recommendations better and refer more.

Charge for what you do and charge for your time. What you offer is valuable, so please get paid for it. If we have a patient who has genuine financial problems and wants our help, we will help them, but that is the rare patient. Understand how wonderful chiropractic care is, and you will be compensated accordingly.

Work diligently to remove practice capacity blocks. What stresses you will shrink your practice. Ask yourself, “What is stressing me about my practice?” Once you answer that fundamental question, you can work to remove it. Be honest with yourself here. These items, combined with a balanced, thought out approach to spending, makes for financial success.

Providing a vision for your practice while being a true leader for your home, your practice, your community, and your profession is common in excellent practices. We see this everywhere, in chiropractic and the rest of the world. Be a living example of what a leader should be.

Now, having said all that, it seems there are two absolute keys to practice success. These two key attributes are passion and certainty. D.C.’s who have great practices routinely are led by D.C.’s with passion and certainty. Passion for chiropractic, passion for helping people, and passion for life. These D.C.’s also have certainty about what they are doing for their patients, including confidence that they are providing excellent care and that chiropractic is a great profession. Former examples of these types of D.C.’s include Henri Gillet, D.C., Stephen Pletain, D.C., Clarence Gonstead, D.C., or even B.J. Palmer, D.C. A current list could include Len Faye, D.C., Peter Gale, D.C., Carl Cleveland, DC, or William Morgan, DC. The readers of this article have their own examples, but we recognize D.C.’s with passion and certainty when we see them. It seems some D.C.’s have passion and certainty, and some do not. Do you have these two absolute key attributes for success?

Mark A. King, D.C. [email protected]
Brett Winchester, D.C. [email protected]
Steve W. King, D.C. [email protected]

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