February 2005

Change in 2005

by Dr. Robert Schiffman

Mark Twain said, "A round man cannot be expected to fit into a square hole right away, he must have time to modify his shape."

What is change? The idea seems simple enough. To some, change is a "thing." It's often thought of as something like a commodity. For example, if people desire more prosperity in their lives, the evidence of their success is money. Then, change in this instance is money, right? Well, no. Money is just the outer symbol that is representative of change.

As chiropractors to the world, we must be willing to change, since we meet and work with so many different types of people. Change has many stages. It's a process, and we have to work at it.

At least one element in our life strategy alters before change takes place. When we talk about change the first sensation or emotion we experience is fear. Whenever we give something up, we have to confront the unknown, and sometimes this can make us feel uncomfortable, fearful and uncertain.

We might feel uncomfortable because we don't know how our feelings or responses might be once we decide to change. This fear of the unknown is an obstacle to change, and we need to overcome all the obstacles that stand in the way of change and progress.

The obstacles we face produce resistance, and this is the process of avoiding change. This is normal, because true change is never effortless. If we want to see results in our homes and practices, we must have commitment for change to occur.

I'm going to give you my formula for the stages of change. Think of it as climbing a ladder. We must take each step one at a time, starting at the bottom and working our way up.

***  Step One ‑‑ Become aware of change. "Change, what is that?" We must search ourselves and make sure we understand the need for change before we implement it.

***  Step Two ‑‑ Gather information. "Sounds interesting, tell me more!" We have to gather all the information we can about the particular change we want to implement in our lives and offices.

***  Step Three ‑‑ Make it personal. "Who me, do that?" There are times where taking things personally is a good thing. When we become aware that we need to make a change, then gather all the information about that change and apply it to ourselves, it becomes personal.

***  Step Four ‑‑ Be a good manager of change. "Give me time to work it through." Since change is a process, we should allot time for the steps to be followed correctly and to see the results.

***  Step Five ‑‑ Consequence. "Hey, look at my results!" The consequences of change may be great or small, but we'll always see results.

***  Step Six ‑‑ Collaboration. "Let's talk about this some more." This is the planning stage where we have made changes in our lives or offices and managed it, seen the consequences, and now want to plan out how to deal with the results.

***  Step Seven ‑‑ Refocus. "Let's modify, so we can make this work better for us." Once this is done, we'll have the understanding and be able to make valuable changes for our lives and offices.

Now we understand what the process of change is, we need to know what will be required of us once we start change. During change we'll learn the meaning of the words "acceptance," "sacrifice," "motivation," "interest," "practice planning," "support," "attainability" and last, but not least, "reflection."

In summary, we need to remember that in order for any change to be successful, we have to make a personal commitment and stay motivated to the changes. There should be careful planning, and we should understand the change and the results we want, and the results we might have.

We can't forget implementation. We need to set up a learning environment specifically for this purpose, and establish a daily routine. And, the last thing we need to keep in mind is that we should evaluate the change process with regular observation and assessment and understand how this change will affect others.

Change can be difficult, so here are a few suggestions to help you decide whether you need to change.

Look in the mirror. Be honest, totally objective, and analyze yourself. Then, talk to the people close to you ‑‑ your spouse, children, CAs ‑‑ and ask them, what changes you need to make at the office and/or in your life. Get an outsider's opinion, because they can see us from the outside in, and let them help analyze the changes you need to make.

During your staff team meeting, ask each person what changes can be accomplished in 2005 that will cause greater practice growth, greater patient orientations, better organization, and more skillful management.

Without taking these action steps, change cannot occur.

(Studying under CS Gonstead ignited Dr. Robert Schiffman's passion for chiropractic. The Life University graduate's career accomplishments have won him much recognition, and he is one of the most sought‑after speakers in chiropractic. Dr. Schiffman ‑‑ founder of the Get the Big Idea Seminars and Schiffman Solution Coaching Program ‑‑ maintains one of the world's largest volume practices. Contact him by calling 877‑251‑0181, or visit online at www.getthebigidea.com.)