Alignment – Part 1

Poor alignment cost me $65,000

I had just made the difficult decision to close an office that still had another 13 months on a $5,000-per-month lease. I felt like an imposter and a fraud. My Clinic Director and staff PT had just quit. My wife and I reluctantly stepped into the role of clinic manager – at an office that was 50 miles from our home. We were both exhausted and made the difficult decision to close the office.  

What happened?  I had failed to provide clarity about where we are going as a company and the strategy we all needed to be following to get there. I had opened an office and staffed it with team members who were expected to run the clinic without benefit of leadership. As a result, they did not have the tools, the strategy, the know-how and the support to be successful. It ended in hurt feelings for all that were involved. The staff had a closing party on the last day they were open, complete with a custom-decorated cake that said, “Screw him.” 

To grow and scale your hybrid cash/insurance practice, you must understand and implement the proper interplay of  Mission, Vision, Strategy and Values. In this three-part series, we are exploring the three keys to creating alignment in your practice:

1. Create Clarity
2. Feedback and Candor
3. Communication Ritual Builder 

In an effort to create clarity with your team and give them confidence that they are contributing to the overall vision of your business, I found that the following three regularly scheduled meetings are essential. Not only will these meetings allow them to prioritize their tasks, they will help them assign meaning to their day-to-day work.   

• Annual Leadership Summit: Present the Three-Year Vision
• Quarterly Strategic Meeting: This meeting outlines the strategic steps we are focusing on for the quarter. These steps are specific and one person is responsible for each goal. 
• Weekly Stand Up: 30 minutes every Wednesday morning. These meetings are used to review the interplay of mission, vision, values and strategy, provide 10-minute training sessions, celebrate progress, and to update each other on goals and assignments.

These meetings are not designed for feedback, they are meant for leaders to present information with clarity.  There are other, more effective avenues for feedback, as we will learn about in Part 2 next week.

Grateful to be on this journey with you,

Dr. Matthew Harkness