Then there are the entrepreneurial doctors, those who want to grow their practices beyond themselves. By setting goals and systematizing their procedures, it is possible to “scale,” or grow without a corresponding increase in overhead or ownership time. Unfortunately, most doctors who work to scale their practices experience the Practice Roller Coaster. This is common, but after a while, the zest for practice gets hammered down so that practicing is no longer a hobby.

In a business, it is common for procedures and processes to become abbreviated, overlooked, and dropped out. When this happens, the quality of the outcomes or products deteriorates. When quality decreases, the business begins a seemingly inexplicable downward spiral. I call this Procedure Atrophy and cover it in my book, The Goal Driven Business. (page 164).

Scripts, like procedures and policies, help us stay on track. They are helpful for new staff, but even the pro’s can go astray. But a script will never take the place of a person. There first has to be a connection. The connection must exist before the words.

your intention and attitude towards your patient have a direct effect on how well they improve. There are studies that demonstrate this, and I have provided a few citations at the link below. People respond directly to the intention, thought, and compassion of a provider. (And their teams!) In fact, some chiropractic techniques incorporate the doctor's intention as an essential part of their protocol.

Then, he told the patient: “Mrs. Jones, it will take 3 things to get better: Time. Repetition. Effort.”

A practice is a network of relationships that's created and sustained through service and communication. If you aren’t communicating with your patients – active and inactive - you won’t have much of a practice.

A practice manager helps put in the systems – the standard operating procedures -- in place that allow all your internal and external marketing procedures to be effective. And not just marketing. Patient retention, patient services, patient reimbursement and so on. They take the load off of you, so you are not the bottleneck!

Regular business growth is an arithmetic progression. Scaling is a type of growth that progresses geometrically over a specific period. It's not step-by-step growth.

THIS is how you scale a chiropractic and healthcare business.

We are free and independent -- and have been given the opportunity to grow our business and serve our communities. And this is what you and your team are doing. To all of us here at Petty Michel & Associates, you, and your team, represent the American Spirit of 1776.

A smooth and consistent patient pathway improves your patients' experience. One of the tasks we have as management consultants is to help you find and fix the biggest bottlenecks, or constraints, in your patient flow.

From a marketing standpoint, you must distinguish your health services as unique from comparable alternatives. If you just go along to get along, you run the risk of becoming a mishmash, an alloy, a blend that gets lost in the crowd

I have often noticed a correlation between doctors who lift weights also have successful practices. I also know that “correlation is not causation.” Weight training takes effort. It can be exhausting. It can cause discomfort. You must do it with consistency and sacrifice other activities to spend time with your weights. But it leads to better health and is good for you. I think successful people are willing to put themselves through discomfort for a worthy goal. It's all disc

Discipline tent poster . a culture of discipline is not a principle of business; it is a principle of greatness. Collins,J.C. Good to Great

Community events are a direct method to create and often strengthen relationships with people in your community. It is a form of relationship marketing and is done by meeting people and building genuine connections. This is networking. A fantastic book on networking and relationship marketing is the World's Best Known Marketing Secret,by Ivan Misner (Founded Business Networking International).

Think Big tent poster . The size of your success is determined by the size of your belief.

You will find that honest interest in people is one of your best “tools” for retention. People respond positively to authentic curiosity about them. “Betty, where did you find those blue shoes?” “So Frank, I have always wondered, why do you guys call yourselves the Kiwanis?

Here is a quote from President John F. Kennedy that suggests how we should express our gratitude.

A few years ago, I participated in a community outreach project that provided education and other services to underprivileged children in Milwaukee. My particular service was an athletic program for kids from 7 to 15 years old. Our class lasted an hour from 7 pm to 8 pm. At the beginning of each class, I would bring up a word or a subject that we would discuss. For example, I might bring up the word "compassion," "courage," or even "study." There was one evening that remai

Helen Keller Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.    ...