Does Your Chiropractic and Healthcare Practice Have Rhythm?

Team Meetings the Right Way

Michael Gerber made the case in The E-Myth: a business runs well on its systems, not on the owner's heroics.

This includes delivery systems, marketing systems, and revenue systems.

But the one system that runs all the others is the management system. And the heart of the management system is simple. It's your meetings.

Meetings? Aren't they a waste of time?

They can be. But done right, they can be the heartbeat of your practice that keeps it on track – and improves it.

CHIROPRACTIC TEAM MEETINGS DONE RIGHT

First, let's get the format down – simply:

• each team member checks in

• the numbers get reviewed

• the plans get adjusted

• and the goals get set.

Your meetings are where you check the other systems. Without them, every other system can slowly drift.

But here is a fact even I haven't fully appreciated: the most essential element to these meetings is just doing them regularly.

A meeting that happens "when we get around to it" has already drifted. The other systems will soon follow. You'll see it in your declining numbers soon.

Verne Harnish discusses this in his 2002 book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. He calls regular meetings "rhythm."

Regular team meetings require structure and discipline. You and your chiropractic and healthcare team will be facing the raw facts of how you are doing individually and as a team – for better or worse.

By maintaining the discipline of routinely scheduled team meetings and following the basic format above:

• You will prevent practice crashes

• You will be constantly working to improve the quality and quantity of your services.

YOUR MANAGEMENT RHYTHM

Each meeting begins with the "End in Mind," as Stephen Covey recommends.

That is…Goals!

Here's a rhythm of basic meetings we've used in many offices as part of the Goal Driven System:

1. Daily - Morning Huddle (10 minutes). Before the first patient, the whole team meets away from patients.

   1. Case management: The manager reviews the day's schedule, ideally with a short printout for everyone. The manager or doctor flags patients who need a re-exam, a financial consultation, or another procedure.

   2. Daily goals: Visits, new patients, and attendance at tonight's health class.

2. Weekly - Team Meeting (30 minutes). Led by the manager or director. Each person gives a quick report on their week, including key numbers for their area. It's a fast "show and tell." The director reports on the whole week, reviews action steps on projects, and sets next week's goals. That's it.

3. Monthly - Team Meeting (40 minutes). Same format as the weekly meeting, plus planning upcoming projects and setting the month's goals. The director also reminds the team of their purpose, their Why, perhaps with a patient success story.

Once these are in place, other types of meetings can occur, including quarterly marketing meetings, meetings with your accountant, investment manager, etc.

And for practice owners who want to do their best, there are regular calls and visits with your practice consultant.

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Stay Goal Driven,

Ed and all of us at PM&A

Read about the Goal Driven System in the book for practice owners, The Goal Driven Business.