When we talk about integration in a chiropractic office, your first thought might be about joining different modalities or even complementary services and providers. But true integration is about the fundamental components that allow offices to succeed, scale and exceed expectations.
After being in the chiropractic profession for well over two decades and serving tens of thousands of patients and thousands of doctors, I have identified several patterns and principles all successful individuals possess:
- a burning desire to do what’s right, serve selflessly and remain congruent to a chief aim or purpose
- a pattern of consistently doing what author Napolean Hill calls “Doing more than you’re paid for”
- the ongoing desire to improve, learn more and give more
- a strong commitment to daily accountability and a demand for excellence in all aspects of practice and life. (Notice we didn’t say perfection, but excellence.)
- attention to developing others throughexample and intentional leadership.
Beyond these, one overarching and clear commonality successful individuals and organizations possess is the respect and value they put on every moment, the mindset of never wasting a moment, making each passing second as productive as possible.
Now, this short list isn’t exhaustive and I’m positive we could continue to add to it. But for the sake of efficiency, let’s connect the dots as to what all these various patterns and principles have to do with the power of integration.
First, let’s agree that for any business to be successful it must be profitable. Profitability is something chiropractors commonly seek, how to build, grow and scale to higher levels of profitability. Most of the time we attempt to do this by adding equipment, selling more products or servicing various niches. Now there is absolutely nothing wrong with seeking profitability, and frankly if it helps patients and supports chiropractic it can be great. But if it was the answer we would stop right here and simply recommend purchasing everything advertised in this publication and joining every niche program, and instantly everyone’s profitability would be through the roof. What if there is more to the equation, more to integration than services and products? Is there something else that drives profitability? I’m convinced success always stems back to some fundamental, basic business principles..
Rethink profitability and growth
Instead of focusing on profit as a goal, what if we viewed it as a by-product and expected it to happen naturally and organically? Visualize success as a linear flow from top to bottom, with profitability being at the bottom of the list. You may ask, what then is at the top or in the middle if profitability is what we seek? Lean in. Here is the “secret” formula…
Beginning at the top and working down, success will always boil down to these four principles, in this order: efficiency, proficiency, productivity, profitability.
Hierarchy of business success
The true power of integration is found in organizing these four principles in the proper order. At the top, efficiency is king because no one or no business will ever outgrow a stress point or a breakdown in efficiency of internal systems. Regardless of what other components or profit centers we attempt to implement, if efficiency is an issue, our results will continue to be limited and will prove to be massive points of frustration.
However, when we get efficiency right, all of a sudden proficiency, the quality of work, improves, and when quality improves productivity, the volume of work, improves, naturally creating margin and scalability. If you’re doing the math, the equation leads to what most are seeking: profitability.
Final thoughts: The true power of integration
You won’t find the true power of integration by adding to inefficiencies, but rather by aligning success characteristics. I’m willing to bet if you consistently take action steps to maximize your efficiency you will in short order have the power to integrate and scale far beyond your current practice concept.
Jeremy Brubaker, DC, a graduate of Palmer College of Chiropractic, is vice president and chief financial officer of Aligned Mentoring for Chiropractors (AMC). For more information, visit amcfamily.com.
