My firm’s business planning philosophy is influenced by Michael Gerber, author of a series of books related to E-Myth, or Entrepreneur Myth. Gerber organizes a medical practice into three levels:
A doctor is a technician, extremely talented at diagnosing a patient’s problem. Without you, the practice cannot do what it’s supposed to do. Technicians simply work for a living. The practice will suffer for the lack of the other two levels.
The doctor must also fill the roles of manager and entrepreneur. Hence adopting a strategic plan for your practice will assist in developing all three levels the doctor needs to become the successful medical practitioner and deal with your true vision for your practice.
How can you put business planning principles in place? According to Gerber,
- Create a story about your practice. Your story should be an idealized version of your medical practice – your vision and goals, step back from your practice for a day, relax, coordinate a meeting with your administrator, staff, and partners and discuss the vision of your practice.
- Organize your practice so that it breathes life into your story
- Identify the key functions of your practice
- Identify the essential processes that link those functions
- Identify the results you have determined your practice will produce
- State in writing how each will work or utilize business planning software
- Engage your people in this process
- Weekly review meeting with staff and partners
- Annual retreat to adopt next years business plan
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. All indices are unmanaged and may not be invested into directly.
