Dear Doctor:
If you’re at all like me, you’re probably proud of some of your accomplishments this year, and look back over other missed opportunities wondering what might have been. This is only normal, as perfect years are few and far between, but how can we look forward to 2007 with a concrete method of improving our batting average and getting more done?
My esteemed partner, Dr. Bob Hoffman, supports contemporary success research in stating that 80% of our results come from 20% of our efforts, that 80% of our profitability comes from 20% of our work. Learning to increase your “dollar productivity” depends on identifying those “maximum outcome activities,” those behaviors that are the most fruitful and yield the greatest return, and find ways to make the most of those behaviors in your practice and your life.
As someone who has found himself matching up the Tupperware lids and bottoms on the night before a big exam, I relate to this coaching personally – it’s so easy to find ourselves wrapped up in the insignificant, majoring in minors, distracted by the appeal of the little things that capture our eye along the way, that it’s amazing that we get anything done at all.
So how do we stay focused on what’s important, and increase our dollar productive behavior?
Outcome clarity is the first step – clearly define your objective, so you can tell if what you’re doing is moving you toward or away from that, and at what rate.
Once your outcome is clear, look at causes, and be sure you are showing up as the kind of you who would follow through on the execution necessary to reach that particular goal. There’s no point in aiming a gun with no bullets – bring the right ammunition to the shooting match.
Next, formulate a specific action plan, with time frames and required resources outlined in detail, so your course is apparent, and your plan is complete and ready to implement – then take swift, massive action on the plan, and go until.
It sounds easy enough, but then, why don’t more people do it? For some, it’s a matter of not being sufficiently committed to make it happen, but for many, to a large extent, it has to do with attention span – keeping your mind on the business before you is a hallmark of the big winner, a dogged determination to perform the appropriate functions until the job is done. That kind of perseverance, especially when applied to highly productive tasks, pays off the biggest dividends.
If you have selected your maximum outcome activities properly, and if you discipline yourself to shape your day around dollar productive behaviors, you will be more efficient, more prolific, more profitable, and ironically, have more time to relax and re-invest in leisure time, too.
So, for 2007, select your goals and desires with an appreciation for dollar productive behaviors – your plans will make more sense, you’ll squander less of your valuable resources, and at this time next year, you’ll have more to show for a year well worked and well lived.
Dennis Perman DC, for The Masters Circle
PS “The Master Plan” is coming to Dallas in January, and you won’t want to miss this “soup to nuts” presentation that covers not only new patient acquisition and patient compliance, but also features top speakers Guy Riekeman, Donald Epstein, Dave Jackson and David Koch. For info, please go to www.themasterscircle.com or call 800-451-4514.
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