July 2007

Stretch until you break

by Dr. CJ Mertz

If you are one of the more than 40,000 chiropractors who regularly train with me through articles, online or personal coaching, expect to feel a seismic shift today. I want you to roll up your sleeves and dive into this like never before.

Up until now, growth in practice has been largely a mystery (including most well‑intentioned consultants). The main reason is that most chiropractors have not been taught how to reach their "breaking points." Pep talks on philosophy, building your self esteem, the latest insurance angle, or the newest gadget won't get you where you want to go.

It's time to step up and truly embrace your potential to serve others. Growth only happens in the state of controlled chaos. It can't and won't happen any other way. When you understand and accept this truth, you can begin to focus your mind and your effort on the exact actions that lead to growth.

There are four action zones: apathy, comfort, stretch and, panic.

In the state of apathy, a practice shrinks and dies. In the comfort zone, a practice will sustain what it has previously grown. In the stretch zone, a practice can achieve controlled chaos. In the panic zone, a practice will retreat to one of the three other zones (most commonly the comfort zone).

Anyone can recommend that you change something, but only the change that leads you into the state of controlled chaos is important ‑‑ nothing else matters. Remember, growth only happens in controlled chaos, which lives in the stretch zone. The right changes will lead you to the breaking points within the stretch zone ‑‑ breakthrough and breakdown. Both of these practice breaking points play a vital role in your future success.

Many chiropractors have confused being on‑purpose with practicing with the right values and beliefs. Don't let this happen to you. All this leads to is becoming a perpetual student of "right things" while still existing inside the comfort zone. Being on‑purpose is growing through right action and thought for the betterment of those you serve.

"Stretch until you break" is all about the passionate quest of reaching your breaking points. A breakthrough point happens when you stretch yourself enough to create a new and better result within your practice. Better referral, conversion, retention, promotion, income, adjustment time, pre‑ and post‑results, and better kept appointments are just a few of the examples of what happens when you stretch to a new breakthrough point. The key is to journal the precise changes you've made and then train your team to accurately repeat those actions. Otherwise, the growth is short‑lived, and so is your stay in the stretch zone.

Although nobody tries to make mistakes, it's absolutely amazing how often growth in practice happens right after some new mistake has been made. This means you've stretched yourself far enough to find a new breakdown point. Once again, the key is to journal the mistake and rally the team to not make that same mistake twice while applying the same intensity of right actions.

Controlled chaos is the dynamic balance between the two opposing forces of "totally going for it" and "crossing every 't' and dotting every 'I'." By themselves, neither produces growth. Yet, in the right amounts, both being done together always causes growth.

Imagine two practices both averaging 200 patient adjustments per week. The first attracts five new patients per month and the second averages thirty new patients per month. How is that possible? The first practice is control dominant and the second practice is chaos dominant. They both must enter the stretch zone to grow, but in two very different ways.

Control people are typically overly cautious when it comes to making new decisions and taking new actions. Chaos people are typically more interested in starting things rather than finishing them. Unfortunately, while both are capable of building legendary practices, the vast majority never will. Control people hire control people, go to control seminars and invest in control gadgets. Chaos people hire chaos people, go to chaos seminars and invest in chaos gadgets.

Perhaps the concept of stretching yourself means something more real, newer and more powerful than ever before. More than half of the chiropractic teams I train wind up seeing more than 300 adjustments per week, whereas less than one in five chiropractors in our profession ever reach this prestigious level of service in practice.

I strongly suggest you put this newspaper down right now and not read another thing today. Take out a sheet of paper, as I ask my new clients to do, and begin an assessment of your practice. Divide the paper in half and record on one side every aspect of your practice that's in the comfort zone. Then, record what's in the stretch zone on the other side. Start to see where control is dominant and where chaos is dominant. It takes faith to move forward, but isn't that what got you into chiropractic in the first place?

(Dr. CJ Mertz is the founder and head coach of the prestigious Waiting List Practice chiropractic training organization. See their 300 patient per week opportunity on the back page of this issue. For more information on WLP coaching service, please call Bob Parker at The Waiting List Practice ‑‑ 877‑TEAM WLP.)