PERSONAL LEADERSHIP

Focusing on the 4 Cornerstones

of an Exceptional Practice

Rather than managing all the problems and crises that arise, the first step for practice improvement is “Choosing the Right Direction”, setting our sites on what we want rather than on what we wish to avoid. It requires replacing “Crisis Management” with “Management by Design”, designing systems and staff interactions which create a problem-free day. And the Right Direction for all successful practices is to constantly improve in only four areas: clinical care, customer experience, interpersonal relationships and financial management.

If we concentrate on becoming better in these four categories, the end result will automatically be the outcomes we want - a less stressful and more successful practice. A well-run practice which designs and executes these four fundamentals exceptionally well will so “Wow” it’s patients and referrals that it becomes the “practice of choice” for patients and ultimately the “employer of choice” for staff.

So, although the problems to address in a practice may be numerous, all practices are only striving to do four things exceptionally well. They focus their efforts on achieving:

Excellent Clinical Care
Remarkable Customer Experiences
Great Interpersonal Relationships, and
Sound Financial Management

The 4 Cornerstones of an Exceptional Practice

#1. Excellent CLINICAL CARE

All Exceptional Practices share the mission of providing the best clinical care for all of its patients. It's the reason for its existence and the foundation of its success.

#1. Excellent CLINICAL CARE

Our clinical skill and judgment are essential to a successful practice. But our ability to deliver excellent clinical care, requires three additional ingredients:

A well-trained staff,
A well-designed patient delivery system, and
A personal commitment to excellence by everyone involved.

#2. Remarkable CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES

Giving our patients “good customer service” is no longer adequate. The new standard has become the “customer experience” - high engagement with our practice while they’re in or out of our office. To have a great reputation in the community, we must make their experience so “remarkable” that they will “remark” favorably to others about it.

#2. Remarkable CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES

Even though there are hundreds of books written on how to give outstanding customer service, Customer Experience Management comes down to four basic principles:

Managing the “Moments of Truth” – exceeding their expectations in each of those discrete interactions with our people and the practice
Systematizing service – written protocols to deliver an exceptional experience every single time
Having great recovery plans – making it right when occasionally we don’t measure up to our own standards
Committing to constant and never-ending improvement - by constantly innovating to meet the changing needs of our patients and their families.

#3. Great INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS

Exceptional practices are passionate about building great relationships inside and outside the practice. Fostering and improving those relationships must be a top priority.

#3. Great INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS

There are two primary areas of focus:

Our Staff

Having a great relationship with each our staff is essential to delivering exceptional levels of customer experience and clinical results. It’s our Best Competitive Advantage. Having a staff that can handle the operations and management of the practice reduces our stress and frees us up to address more important practice issues. It’s also the only way we can consistently achieve the highest levels of performance without overwhelming us personally. See the Team Dynamics section of the website for more information on how to nurture a highly cohesive and productive team.

Our patients, their families, our referrals, our business partners, and the community

Exceptional practices are intentional about building great relationships with everyone. Fostering and improving these relationships can’t be left to chance. It’s not only about having great “marketing” to our patients, their families and our community. We must have a strategy and a plan for building and strengthening all of our relationships. This includes other clinicians and all of our business partners such as our banker, attorney, accountant, landlord and suppliers.

#4. Sound FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

And finally, exceptional practices are well-run businesses. They use their resources wisely to pursue excellence in a cost-effective way.

#4. Sound FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

They meticulously manage their finances by:

Monitoring the key practice indicators

Successful practices monitor the key practice indicators and use them to make great strategic decisions about the practice. They don’t wait until a short-term negative trend becomes a long-term serious problem.

Making great strategic decisions

They’re clear about the direction they wish to take and allocate the time and resources to achieve it.

Spending their money wisely

They control expenses while still investing for the future.

Improving staff productivity before hiring.

Great practices look first to improve staff productivity before they consider hiring someone else. If they feel they may need more staff to do a job better, they first ask, “Is this a question of staff number or of staff productivity?”

Summary

Practices are not “things” that can be fixed, but “patterns of interaction”, the habitual way everyone does their work AND relates to each other. And what happens (or doesn’t happen) each day is a by-product of those habits and interactions.

So, when problems arise and improvements are needed, the leader must move from “Crisis Management” to “Management by Design”, not simply trying to “fix” the problem, but reorganizing the people and procedures which have generated it.