This week’s Daily Focus is similar to last week in that it applies to everything you do. Additionally, because it is similar to being purposeful and being proactive, I am combining these two words together so that you can really go to work and challenge yourselves. Now you can assess the effectiveness of your efforts, both individually and as a collaborative team, for every single part of your practice.
I could talk for days about Productive Priorities because it is about more than just how you ‘manage’ and use your time, energy and effort – but it actually goes far deeper than that. It is why I chose to start this year’s Huddles as “Daily Focuses” because in order to be productive you have to prioritize where you put your focus in the first place. So, I’m doing that for you. I’m giving you bite-size pieces of where you should be focused in order to force you into having more productive prioritization.
Now, here’s the key to success when it comes to being productive… YOU WANT TO BE PRODUCTIVE ON THE RIGHT THINGS.
Here are a few actual examples…
I know this is FAR more common than you would ever admit, but in some practices right now there are actual patient treatment plans waiting to be created and/or presented. Sitting in a pile. That’s a stack of money, not to mention patients who are atrophying away in interest, commitment, memory and health that are not being acted upon.
Is there any greater priority than this? No, of course not. Therefore, any use of time is NOT being used productively if it is not attacking the highest, greatest and most valuable priority.
The same goes for phone calls that go unanswered. These are patients that don’t get followed up related to questions or insurance or scheduling or whatever else.
This is also why I attempt to force the “End of Day Huddle” to make sure there is a stop gap and no one leaves without ensuring that their priorities are tended to.
There are patients in your practice right now that would say yes, have said yes, are ready to pay, schedule and proceed, that have either fallen off or been forgotten or both. Simply because priorities haven’t been focused on and identified. The idea of productivity has not been brought to the highest level of execution. The same goes for labs and cases, same day starts, impressions, scans, whatever.
I even know of a practice that was actually telling patients, “I will call you to go over that,” about treatment that was diagnosed today because they were “too busy” with other things. What ‘other things’ are there that are more of a priority?
Now, these examples might be extreme to you because you are just that good – but there are still obvious inefficiencies of time, energy and effort that are out of alignment because the focus of every single person is NOT on being productive on the highest priorities.
What are yours, in general for the practice, for your team and your individual role and responsibility?
I can tell you this: practices that have the greatest success waste the least amount of opportunity and time, because they are laser focused on this daily discipline of being productive on the right priorities.
This requires discussion, assessment, accountability and being bluntly honest with yourself and each other.
As I discussed here last week, the easiest thing in the world to do is procrastinate. The next easiest thing in the world to do is the easy stuff that doesn’t matter.
The hardest thing (and what separates the winners from the losers), is to go beyond just actions and be focused on the maximization of opportunity by being productive and learning to prioritize with everything.
You can take this conversation to clinical productivity if you want. With setting priorities around ensuring your practice is diagnostically driven with every patient interaction.
The list goes on and these concepts (which are more tactical; more principles than philosophy), must be ingrained and brought to life in your practice until they are deeply embedded into every facet of everything you do.
This ought to lead itself to a very PRODUCTIVE discussion and will result in everyone being more focused on real PRIORITIES that actually matter. And you’ll be amazed at the outcomes and consistency as a result.
