I’ve gotten great feedback so far on the “new year” approach of Daily Focuses. These are the things that will really make a difference. Everyone loves the “new” and the “different” because they get bored with the same-old same-old.
Yet, it’s daily focuses that are practiced (though they can’t ever be perfected) that stay on the top of your mind and become so habitual they are part of you. These are the “slight edges” that lead to great leverage and results without added effort, time or stress – in fact less of all three.
If you stack up every Daily Focus outlined so far this year they can’t be separated and they are all important. None the less, even if you do every single one of them religiously and with great conviction but you don’t follow this week’s Daily Focus, you will become incredibly frustrated because the secret to controlling outcomes of patient interactions is found in this one word.
The secret is Preparation
I can’t think of any other real difference maker of successful team members and those that are just average – both want to do well – only one does what is necessary to make it happen consistently and without fail. That is what Preparation provides. Reliability of execution. It’s what responsible people do.
It’s not easy, of course. It is tempting to not take up the extra time to prepare and then just wing it as you go. But is that easier? Really? I think not.
Because preparation leads to more efficiency, moving faster and being more poignant which therefore actually saves time, effort, stress and frustration. That’s easier.
People that see preparing as ‘extra’ work don’t understand the point of the work in the first place. You do. I know. Because you are here.
Every single week, when I do various team trainings, Doctor strategy calls and overall communication with Practices, there is one thing above all others that will make the difference in your daily results and performance. It is when Teams – Doctors and EVERYONE else – learn to focus on Preparation of Success as a unit and as individuals.
Preparation can be looking ahead in the schedule to monitor daily goals.
Preparation can be trays organized and preset for tomorrow’s patients.
Preparation can be monitoring the schedule for all unscheduled treatment opportunities for your patients.
Preparation can be treatment plans prepped, ready and studied.
Preparation can be thinking through your patients of the day to get ready for conversations you know you are going to have.
Preparation can be looking for bigger opportunities ALL THE TIME.
Preparation can be what you do to the patient before the next team member or doctors walks in to take over.
Preparation is ALL of that and so much more.
It’s tactical and it’s strategic. It’s general and it’s specific. It’s a state of mind and it’s also real tangible work.
Preparation is different for each and every position and yet it is an overarching theme for your practice and team as a whole.
I’m curious, what does “preparation” look and feel like to you? And more importantly, what can you do to be better prepared?
Use this week’s Daily Focus to discuss and create a plan to doing what’s necessary to prepare for success every single day with every single patient for all pieces and parts of your practice.
And watch the magic happen.
