Issue 3 - February 2003

Psst! Want to be successful?
Here are 10 secrets that will get you there

FT. LAUDERDALE, FL – Success isn’t something that just happens. It’s the result of hard work, good habits and determination. Keith Maule, president of Kats Management, advised participants at the Florida Chiropractic Association’s winter meeting how to achieve success in their practices:

1. Perfect your procedures. Successful practitioners rehearse procedures until they are perfect, and they do them consistently. Procedures include things such as AMS, cluster booking, written reports, progress reports, recalls and reactiviations. These chiropractors make sure they do procedures correctly all the time. They also insist that their staff know and use them, too.

2. Fine-tune your vision of success. Don’t just think success, said Maule. Fine tune your vision and think positively about your practice and how it affects your success. For example: When one new patient walks in the door, “see” 10 potential patients. Seeing the potential will affect your relationship with the new patient.

3. Put balance into your life and into your practice. Avoid extremes. Don’t think in terms of “all or nothing,” such as all cash or all reimbursement. Balance applies to all facets of your practice: Avoid extreme hours such as early mornings and late evenings; hiring too many CAs or associates or too few to achieve your goals; or not taking the right amount of vacation time for you and your family.

4. Be proactive. A shark stays alive only if it keeps moving, said Maule. If you want your practice to grow, you have to work toward that goal every day.

5. Become goal-oriented. When you have staff meetings, have them centered on achieving your goals. Everyone in the office should know those goals and their roles in helping achieve them.

6. Stay focused. “Mediocre ideas executed with passion will outperform brilliant ideas executed with mediocrity,” said Maule.

7. Become a student of success. People who are successful prepare, never stop learning and watch for opportunities.

8. Learn to communicate. Communication skills affect every aspect of your practice. For example: Good communication is necessary for consultation, phone procedures, reports, patient education, asking for referrals and requesting payment.

9. Maintain positive morale. A positive staff keep each other going in the right direction. And a good staff can see the dream even when it is dark, said Maule.

10. Take reasonable risks. Taking risks is okay. Risk doesn’t mean breaking rules. Reasonable risk includes being willing to lose a game but not the entire season.

Source: Keith Maule, president of Kats Management, was a speaker at the winter meetings of the Florida Chiropractic Association.