PRACTICE STRATEGIES

Can Change Be Your Friend?

Your stance on change may just be more critical than you think

these are times of change. We are in a “perfect storm” of new distribution patterns, vertical integration, consumer behavior modification, consolidation, and new technology. The big are getting bigger.

Are you scared? Or thrilled?

When I entered the eyecare industry back in 1972, the first plastic spectacle lenses and the first soft contact lenses were just being widely introduced. To say that these products revolutionized our industry would be an understatement. Today, these technologies are the standard and have evolved through multiple generations of product development.

Just 20 years ago, the vast majority of optometrists could not treat disease; they were refractionists who referred pathologies to OMDs. Today, optometrists are fully qualified medical practitioners who generally refer only surgery.

Yesterday, the technology investment of most optometrists was a single refraction lane, a tonometer, slit lamp, and keratometer. An entire optometry practice could be equipped for around $25,000. Today, the investment levels have increased exponentially; high-performing optometrists are working out of four lanes, and technology is one of their single-largest investments.

Just five years ago, a patient with a complaint or compliment might have told a few friends. Today, such communications are often in the hands of thousands before the patient leaves your office.

Tomorrow, we may see a medical cure for presbyopia, electronic eyewear, artificial eyes, Internet-delivered refraction, telemedicine, and business models that are seemingly impossible to compete against. Are you ready?

Seeing Change as Your Friend

It doesn’t take much insight to realize that the world is changing at warp speed. As a leader, you have to decide where you will stand on the subject of change.

Are you going to be the proverbial “early adopter,” leading the charge by always having the latest in technology, the most up-to-date systems, the best-trained staff, the most beautiful and efficient building? Are you proactive?

Or are you in fear mode? Are you holding back, waiting to see how others handle the changes in front of us? Are you going to acquire only the proven or operate only with yesterday’s technology?

How you address change will determine, in large part, how your brand is perceived in the market.

Change is inevitable. Change represents opportunity for those who can see it coming. But change is rarely revolutionary; it evolves.

Successful leaders always have their eyes open to trends, their ears open to the members of their team doing the actual work, and their hearts open to their customers who communicate their needs. But successful leaders rarely react—they set their sights on a goal and then do what’s necessary to achieve it—often in spite of competitive moves by others.

Measuring your practice’s performance and monitoring the impact of change is critical to your success. As a leader, being comfortable with change and “seeing change as your friend” should be a substantial part of your success equation.

Hiring people comfortable with and willing to lead change results in a strategic advantage to you and your practice.

The bottom line is that the world is changing around us. You can either harness this as opportunity or suffer the consequences—waking up one day to find yourself outflanked by your competition.

The owners of Blockbuster, Circuit City, Kodak, Smith Corona, and millions of other businesses large and small are still wondering, “What happened?” Will that be you?

—Alan Cleinman

Alan Cleinman is the founder and CEO of Cleinman Performance Partners (cleinman.com), a business consultancy specializing in the development of high-performance optometry practices. This article has been adapted from Cleinman’s new book, “A Different Perspective: An Entrepreneur’s Observations on Optometry, Business, and Life,” available from Amazon. Proceeds from the sale of the book are donated to your state’s optometry PAC.

Disclaimer, copyright notice: The information contained in this column is derived from the database of Cleinman Performance Network, the members of which are generally very large optometry practices. The information is not intended to represent national averages. The opinions contained herein are those of the author and do not represent the opinion of Eyecare Business or its publisher. ©2016 Cleinman Performance Partners, Inc.