EYE CARE BY THE NUMBERS

On Thinking…and Being…Different

A rallying cry for the David vs. Goliath era

estimates are that the Internet is now gleaning over $1 billion per year in eyewear sales. Almost daily, we hear announcements of new technologies that purport to reduce the need for the services of the professions, such as DIY apps. There are now more than 130 companies pursuing a variety of “wearable” technologies. Vision Plans now control over 50% of the eyecare market.

Do you think it’s time to innovate? Do you think you can do the same old thing and thrive in tomorrow’s more competitive marketplace? Isn’t it time to think, and act, differently?

But how does an ECP promulgate the concept of being and acting “different?”

Our experience is that, for most, this is a very difficult challenge. First, the majority of your time is spent simply doing the work of the practice, delivering the services sought by your patients, and handling all the tasks associated therewith. Plus, being in healthcare requires a certain exactness that doesn’t necessarily lend itself to creativity.

Or does it?

Can’t imagination be fostered in every enterprise and at every level? Can’t one approach even the most mundane task with an eye toward improvement and being creative?

The answer is “yes!” But it takes strong leadership and a certain willingness which may be antithetical to your very sense of what’s right.

BRING IT

IMAGINATION. To bring imagination to an organization requires vision, desire, and ability. First, it starts with the people with whom you surround yourself. Are you hiring smart, independent thinkers? Are you fostering confidence…the foundation of creativity? Are you really willing to think outside the box?

Yes, in business, imagination must be channeled so as not to tax resources. And actions must support a specific strategy or goal. But an imaginative organization is one that looks at things from a variety of directions—continuously.

INNOVATION. An innovative team starts with a vision, seeks counsel, pushes through setbacks, ignores “nay-sayers” and the ubiquitous “we tried that once and it didn’t work” mentality, and debates through the issues that arise.

CREATIVITY. A creative team says, “let’s try this” and does so. A creative organization keeps moving because such an organization is one that is constantly learning. In a creative organization, ideas must be shared and nurtured. That said, and this sometimes makes for tough and/or unpopular decisions, even a good idea may not be the right idea or the right timing for a specific business or situation.

BE TOLERANT

However, in my opinion, under any circumstance, regardless of intent, imagination (thinking differently) cannot successfully thrive without that certain willingness that I mentioned above. That something is tolerance.

I recall an experience that I had in the 1980s on a visit with Jim McNerney, then COO of the 3M Company (and now chairman of Boeing). In the lobby of this most inventive organization was the firm’s mission statement, a significant part of which read:

“25% of our annual business will result from products that were not in existence five years ago.”

In order for your practice to thrive in the current tumultuous environment, you must become more imaginative; you must think “different.” That requires a combination of creativity, collaboration, initiative, hard work, and, especially, tolerance up and down the organization (see sidebar).

Effective business development requires the willingness to take risks and make mistakes. To learn. To be entrepreneurial. Organizations and individuals must be willing to fall down, and we must have the drive and fortitude to pick ourselves up and keep moving.

Tolerance is foundational to creativity. Ideas must be vetted without hard criticism. Team members must become comfortable thinking about tomorrow’s desired improvement without feeling that such is criticism over yesterday’s work.

DAVID vs. GOLIATH

In this seemingly “David vs. Goliath” environment—a period one can only describe as a perfect storm of new distribution channels, ubiquitous vision plans, hedge fund investments, pricing transparency, BOGOs and other insults to marketing, audits, EMR, eroding margins, wearable technology, and cell phone apps that threaten the very service your profession has provided for eons…now is the time to think “different.”

But looking at your world differently will likely take improved leadership and intestinal fortitude. To be successful in this new era, you’ll have to entertain different ideas about what it means to practice your profession. And this will extend to supporting the creativity of your team (and your team will exist inside and outside your practice), because you can’t do what you’re going to need to do alone.

You’ll have to improve delegation and personal leverage by turning over every rock—by reviewing every aspect of your practice—with an eye towards tomorrow.

No one likes mistakes. But to move your ball forward will require getting more comfortable making them, and allowing your team to do so, and doing it all faster. In today’s world, we simply have neither the time nor the resources to perfect every action before execution. In some instances you’re going to have to take leaps of faith. And you’re going to have to become more tolerant.

It’s time to think different…really different. And that’s going to take a willingness to fail—and to learn—faster.

— Alan Cleinman

Alan Cleinman is founder and CEO of Cleinman Performance Partners, a full-service business consultancy specializing in the development of high-performance practices. ©2015 Cleinman Performance Partners, Inc.

This article includes excerpts from his recently released book, “A Different Perspective; Observations on Optometry, Business and Life.”