March 2008

Make sure that you reach high

by Dr. Robert Schiffman

As leaders in their communities and the world, chiropractors are accountable for all the things they do, and how much they believe in chiropractic. It's their responsibility and duty to do as much as possible to see the masses, people in desperate need of chiropractic care. An essential factor includes setting the stage for chiropractic in cities and towns everywhere... to the uttermost parts of the earth.

As one of those doctors, what makes you unique? It can be anything from life experiences to your gifts. The answer should be your secret to success.

Try this little exercise and take about five minutes to write down everything special about yourself. Also, ask the people you respect around you for their input.

How does your uniqueness translate into superior service? While many people want to be successful and reach their potential goals, sometimes they have a hard time taking action and staying focused. You must always try to find the right tools, the structure and maintain accountability to accomplish your most important goals.

When you're a professional, doing something uncomfortable can often teach you ways to overcome fear. One of your most important goals should be to market yourself and chiropractic. When you present a good product many people will want what you have. As a leader, you must always present chiropractic to the world to the best of your ability.

There are countless ways to promote chiropractic and yourself. You can create a promotional kit to send to the media and to prospects. There are places where you could speak, for example to business groups and at various functions. Another way to promote yourself is to send monthly postcards, e‑mails and/or faxes. A friendly call or note also aids in promoting your office and helps people remember you.

You can do any of these things. It isn't necessary to struggle. The only thing to remember is that you can do them all, but not all at the same time.

The best way to avoid feeling frustrated or overwhelmed is to create a marketing plan and follow it. Make sure the plan is specific, measurable and attainable with some risk and that it includes goal dates and deadlines. Don't forget that a personal coach can always help you with the support and encouragement you need to continue and maintain your goals and plans.

It takes courage and commitment to climb to the top of your mountain so, make sure that you reach high, for after you've made your plan, it's time to climb up! Focus on what you really want. Take notice of all the fears and concerns that come up for you when you think about promoting yourself and chiropractic. Implementing tools that create leadership readiness will enable you to validate your capabilities and competencies, which can only help you in future leadership positions.

The traditional command and control leadership requires a new approach for leading and supporting diverse skills and capabilities and will be necessary to meet the challenges of global competition.

As leaders, chiropractors should be able to position themselves with the critical skills and behaviors necessary for the competing demands of the day.

You must be able to discover what skills, competencies and behaviors you currently demonstrate. How do you handle problems, challenges and people interactions? Do you handle them the same way that you handle your pace of events and activities? Find out why are you motivated to certain actions.

You need to continually ask yourself what you want and what you see for your future. Success begins with simple questions such as these. They can elicit an array of responses and begin the process of focusing, exploring and assessing and responding. I'm here to help you focus on what you want and this will help you develop clarity and discover possible resistance and potholes on your road to success.

So often people will charge ahead with their own agenda, before they take the time to pause and get input and ideas. Having worked with a number of clients, I realized that some of them had never taken the time to look at what they really wanted for their companies or themselves. As a leader, most of what I do to get people to change is to ask, listen and seek to understand. One of the greatest gifts that you can give is the gift of caring and understanding.

When change is necessary, expect resistance and fear associated with the changes needed to achieve your goals. The good news is that you can turn your fear into a positive energizing force for success. In fact, every fear is an opportunity to grow. Follow your plan, take action, make it fun, be unique ‑‑ and remember to reach high!

(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 today. Dr. Schiffman ‑‑ founder of the Principled Revolution, Get the Big Idea! Seminars and Coaching Programs ‑‑ continues to maintain one of the world's largest volume practices. Contact him by calling 877‑251‑0181, or visit online at www.getthebigidea.com .)