The Wisdom of Planning For Your Plan

Written by Tom Georges.

In 1845, a British expedition commanded by Sir John Franklin boldly set out in search of the Northwest Passage, a fabled sea route around the top of North America. The expedition was plagued by logistical problems from the very start.

Though the ships carried three years worth of tinned food, the order for the tins was filled at the last minute. The company responsible cut corners, producing tins with faulty lead soldering.

The crew had little experience with the arctic. Other than Franklin, few among the officers were arctic veterans. Disregarding the advice of the native Inuit, crewmen were outfitted in uniforms far better suited to winters in Southern England.

In May, the expedition set sail from England never to return. Studies over the years have concluded that hypothermia, starvation and lead poisoning, along with inadequate clothing and supplies, lead to its demise.

HIring CA's

Written by Tom Georges.

5 Tips to Help You Find Your Forever CA

By Drs. Tom Georges & Steve Levine

So, you want to hire a new CA? You're not alone – and we can tell you, this is one of the most common things we hear amongst our colleagues. How do you find the right person? How do you find your forever CA? Here are a few hiring tips to help you along your search for the perfect team member:

1) Personality over experience! So many doctors are looking for the trained CA – someone who is already experienced in running a front desk, billing insurance or savvy with specific software you just implemented. The fact of the matter is, you can train on skills, but you can't change someone's personality! As much as we hate to admit this sometimes, we are in the personality business – where our personalities (and our staff's) make or break a patient's decision to continue care with us. Do yourself a favor: hire for personality. The rest can unfold as you train them on the skills required to run a successful practice.

5 R's of Coaching and Staff Improvement

Written by David Hilton.

How to Have Tough Conversations with Your Employees

The number one job of a manager is to drive performance from the team to achieve the organizations goals.  It sounds simple, and yet can be so difficult.

One of the hardest things a manager has to do is have a conversation with an employee who is not performing to expectations. If the manager is not comfortable addressing performance, the topic is avoided and the situation will become worse. However, done well, these conversations can turn a difficult situation into a positive experience that moves everyone forward.
How to have a tough conversation is a basic supervisory skill that can be learned. With practice will come mastery, which will benefit both the employees and the company overall as performance improves.  Here is how you do it:

Prep for the meeting:
Gather facts/opinions when appropriate, before meeting.
Follow a written agenda. Agendas keep you focused on the issues that must be addressed. List the specific behaviors under review and the consequences to the company.  Consider the steps you would like to see as part of the solution. Keep your meeting notes on this agenda.
Prepare your meeting space. Choose a quiet private space, outfitted with Kleenex and water in case emotions run high.
Make time in your schedule to allowing for enough uninterrupted time. Allow for at least two or three times the amount of time you think the conversation will take.
Allow the employee time to prepare for the meeting without giving too much notice. Surprise meetings often put an employee immediately on the defensive. Ask early in the day for an afternoon meeting on a stated topic.
Now that you are ready, follow the five R’s of employee coaching (performance improvement):

1. Rapport. Start on a friendly note, showing respect for the individual and their situation. 
Remember, you may be hearing their side of the story for the first time and only active listening will allow you to understand the whole picture.

Start by asking for a meeting to performance feedback “May I give you some feedback” or “Can I share something with you?”

If they decline, then take the firmer approach to control the conversation:
“I need to talk with you to provide you some feedback.  Let’s schedule some time over the next few days to do that.”

2. Relate the specific behavior to the consequences.

Describe the behavior. Be specific as possible, focusing on facts. “Last week you returned late from lunch three days”
Then explain the impact of the behavior on the organization and others “The impact was that your co worker could not take her lunch until two and while you were away the office was not properly manned and the incoming calls were not properly answered”

3. Resolve by finding what the next steps should be to move forward without a repeat of the past.

The manager must state what the expected behaviors are but the solution to achieving the expectation in the future must come from the individual.

“You were late from your lunch, the consequence is that the next team member could not eat until 2PM and this is not fair to the team.  Lunch breaks are only 1 hour.  What can be done differently going forward?”
The manager must go silent to allow the employee to talk and become engaged in the solution. Active listening in a calm, non-threatening manner will encourage the employee to engage in finding a solution.

4. Reassure that progress is being made by following up with the employee and the other team members who expressed the initial concerns.

5. Remove (when necessary) Finally, if performance does not improve, you must ultimately reassign or remove the employee to ultimately benefit the company, other team members and the customers.

“My main job was developing talent.  I was a gardener providing water and other nourishment to our top 750 people.  Of course, I had to pull out some weeds too. “ - Jack Welch

Time Management

Written by David Hilton.

Time is money, no question about it.  As business owners, we know this better than just about anybody.  Simply getting the most critical tasks done each day can be a challenge for many business owners.  That’s why time management is such a critical skill to possess.  While most of us are familiar with the basics of time management, at least in theory, today I am going to share some specific tips that will enable you to use your time more efficiently and ultimately allow you to get more done each day.