by Dr. Frank Sovinsky

“Whether we like it or not, our lives will leave a mark on the universe. Each person’s birth makes ripples that expand in our social environments: parents, siblings, relatives and friends are affected by us and as we grow up our actions leave a myriad of consequences, some intended most not”.
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Read that quote again. It is deep (pun intended). Now imagine just for a moment that you are standing on the shore of Lake Tahoe with me. It’s perfectly clear today and the water is cobalt blue. I hand you a smooth, perfectly weighted stone and you throw it as far as you can. Can you see the ripples? Can you see them grow in the distance? I think that is what Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is talking about in the above quote. You are the stone thrower, you have power and all of your actions have impact. Some intended, others not.

I was looking at some of my “notes to self” the other day and I came across this quote from Michael Gerber.

“Every business is a family business.”

Do you get how profound this perspective is? Your passion, your career aspirations and your reaction to the wins and challenges you face in business have a ripple effect on those in your circle and beyond it. You’ve probably noticed that many Chiropractors use the phrase, “Family Wellness” in the name of their business. As a coach it makes me ask the question, “Whose family?”
Did you know that as a business owner you have stakeholders who have a vested financial, emotional and, on some level, a spiritual connection to your success? It’s easy to see that your spouse and children are inextricably tethered to your results but what about your staff and their families and your patients? Your staff is interested in how your business fulfills them as human beings. The people who work alongside you want to grow and thrive and they want economic certainty. They want to know if your business will be around five years from today even if you are not. Your patients want to know if your practice will be there, ready to respond when they need you, not just when you are in the mood or it’s convenient for you. They want security that their experience will be remarkable and consistent. There are other family stakeholders. What about the banker who loaned you the money to start your practice and the vendors you buy from and yes even the coaches you hire?

You see, what you do has meaning to others. It affects them. This practice is not about you. Do you get that? Good. Now go to work.

Do you want to know why? It’s simple. A mildly competent doctor is not engaged in their life or its true purpose. They are complacent. They seek comfort instead of growth and security instead of possibilities.
They sit on a whale and fish for minnows.
The truth is none of us became chiropractors or chiropractic technicians (assistants) to just get a paycheck. We got into it because we want to transform the world. So it comes down to a matter of scale. Do you want to impact your community or just be a mild aftershock? Are you willing to get you’re your “WHY” on get out of your mummy wrap and become “wildly competent?”
What if you learned that the way you managed your practice and your patients was actually limiting your ability to help more people and is keeping you from enjoying the rewards of an affluent lifestyle? What if you learned that a lack of new patients IS NOT a marketing problem or that patient non-compliance IS NOT a patient education problem and that insurance reimbursement hassles IS NOT a paperwork problem? How soon would you want to know and more importantly, would you be willing to fix it?
Being a good doctor isn’t enough. Your business must be as competent as you are. Learning another technique, buying the next gadget or spending money on practice software will not close the gap between where your practice is now and where you want it to be.
If you intend to take your practice to the next, a more secure level, then you and your team will need training in soft skills and an upgrade in your business systems. You must go from mildly competent to being wildly competent.
Imagine a practice with a steady stream of new patients, patients who want to be there. Imagine what it could be like with less stress, more freedom, and more time to enjoy your life while you are building it.
We are here to help you bridge the gap between what science knows and chiropractors do. We exist to help you close the gap between where your practice is now and where you need it to be.
Are you ready to get your wild on?
Call me at 800-570-5272 (+1 530 584 1900) and together we will make it happen.

Clearly the fast track to explosive growth in your practice is right in front of you. It’s not out there on a billboard, in a spinal screening or in a “not-working” meeting (aka networking). It is bringing your “A game” to the adjustment. You have the power to take a stalled practice and kick it into a higher gear or take a growing practice and make it legendary.
Nowhere else in patient care does the mirror of reality show up so patently. The adjusting experience highlights your systems, staff training and your soft skill prowess.
While it is true that health and healing are processes that require time, planning and effort, the truth for the patient is that the moment on the adjusting table is all that matters. The patient is looking for a distinctive marker that will reinforce his belief that his decision to proceed with care was the right one. This marker can be a physical release, an emotional connection or an intellectual shift in perspective. Simple, focused attention produces these distinctive markers.
You have, through personal experience and study, arrived at some very profound conclusions concerning the nature of health, healing and dis-ease, yet most of your patients have reached other conclusions. So you will need to be patient with them and provide tangible platforms to help them reach new, more useful conclusions.
You did not come to these conclusions in a vacuum of self study and reflection. Someone or some event influenced you and shifted your perspective. Look with a “beginners mind” and get back in touch with your “A-HA” moments. Strive to find new ways to demonstrate and explain to other beginners the logical reasons and experiences that helped you arrive at your conclusion.
Instead of doing paperwork, do people work:
1. Go through the files of your active patients. Research their physical history and get a clear understanding and appreciation of their motivations.
2. Look at the person in the patient file.
3. Who are they?
4. Why are they in your care?
5. What is your promise to that particular patient?
6. What are the chances you can help them?
Remember, hard work doesn’t pay off. It’s working hard on the right things that pay off.

So here we are once again in the mass consciousness called the holidays. A few years ago Tom Grisham wrote a delightful book entitled “Skipping Christmas” and it was made into a fun comedy starring Tim Allen. In the movie Tim Allen talks his wife into leaving the cold weather and the holiday hassle and head for the islands. Skipping Christmas meant leaving the holi-daze brought to you by parties, presents, decorations and the rest. Read the book or see the movie I won’t spoil the fun for you.
My point is this, regardless your personal beliefs about the season, you will be swept into it because you touch the lives of so many people and they leave a mark on you. As the leader in your family and your business you need a personal and professional plan to thrive this year and to set the tone for an affluent next year. I know your plate is filling up with family fun and social events. And your personal memories of this season flood your brain with good and sad.
So,‘tis the season for you to b VERY focused, VERY serving, VERY energetic!
Start with good sELF care. Get your rest, eat well (cheat a little too), make sure you exercise (you can cut back 40% and still be good).
Then take care of your staff. Remember, they have families and their plates are really full, so no practice building rants or office meetings! A party outside of the office is always a good idea.
Take special care of your patients. They will show up with a seasonal syndrome that was coined by Dr. Douglas Sea as the “ING Syndrome”. Too much wrappING, partyING, spendING, shoppING, eatING and visitING!
And remember to take care of the college kids who are back in town, they need it!
How about opening your door and allowing the visitors who are in your community to get in for an adjustment. Make your new patient process hassle free and only do the essentials. I’ll bet you can refine and define the new patient exam and report to accommodate them.
And finally enjoy yourself! End on a high note and you will begin the next year on a high-ER note!

A collision comes out of nowhere. There you are having a great conversation during an adjustment or with friends and bang, “it” happens. The “it” is a collision of world views. And when world views on health care collide your role is to turn the collision into a coalition.

Let’s put this in context. I’ll bet you are getting more than a few comments and questions about H1N1. Patients may even ask you whether or not you and your family are going to get your vaccination.

Comments are words in passing and do not warrant rebuttal. Yet questions are an important gateway to understanding and need to be addressed. As a leader one of your responsibilities is to discern when and how to influence the other person and when to simply shut up. When you hear a comment or get asked a question your first step is to check your attitude. Do you want confrontation or cooperation? Remember, this is not about H1N1, it’s about different world views.

Here’s an example of what I am talking about.
A week ago I had a friend tell me that our golden retriever, Midas, would make a great candidate for visiting terminal patients in a local hospice. I asked her to send information on registering him. I imagined how remarkable it would be to watch Midas connect with a suffering patient. I could imagine the deep emotional impact and how the patient would be so caught up in the moment that they would forget about the fate they faced. I must admit a tear formed.

My trance was rudely interrupted when I read the application. The first requirement was, as you might have guessed, current vaccination records. Midas has never had a shot and at ten years of age he has never been ill and had only one visit to a vet for a scratched cornea. By the way this vet was sympathetic to our no vaccination stance. I forget sometimes just how out of sync I am with the world. I bet you do as well.

The next time I saw my friend I thanked her for sending the application and told her Midas was not eligible because he was not vaccinated. Her face turned from friend to foe in a flash (the collision). She tried to hide her disgust but, surprise, it came through the mask. She defaulted to her programming and a dogmatic discharge erupted, “Well, my dog has a good vet and he is vaccinated. Don’t you believe in rabies?” I bet you can just hear the condescending tone can’t you? I knew where this was headed and logic would not move this confrontation towards a meaningful dialogue. I simply said, “We will agree to disagree on this point.” I continued and answered her question, “Of course a small population of animals at Tahoe have rabies it’s just I don’t accept the science behind vaccination as a valid protection for my dog.” I then shut up (coalition).

If my friend had taken a different tack I might have shared my view more fully and pointed her to other sources of information. But I have learned the philosophy, art and science of influence. I choose who, when, where and how I will influence. I have learned that dogmatic polarization only leads to entrenched emotional belief systems on both sides of the disagreement. My inside voice simply says, “Next. Move on.”

You are asked for your opinion everyday about the H1-N1vaccination and flu shots in general. You are asked what medications and pain relievers are best. You are asked what other than chiropractic might be able to help. You have the opportunity to influence a generation, not a society. It is imperative you learn the art of influence. It is the skill that will close the gap between where you are and where you want to be.

Learn, live and prosper!