Right now there’s a lot of conflict in the world. Whether in politics, social views or economic forecasts, there’s also a lot of uncertainty which is causing a rift in our country. The problem with this is that there is not enough understanding of “the other point of view.“ President Abraham Lincoln was noted as intentionally putting people in his cabinet with strong opposing views, believing that this was the only way he could see the full picture and make the best decision. This also a great strategy in your practice, you should hire people who are NOT like you for a well-balanced team
You obviously don’t have to agree with someone who strong differing opinions than yours, but you should always try to understand where they come from. You’ll learn a lot more about your own view and about helping others in your practice or business this way. I majored in economics, and this was THE BEST TAKEAWAY I had from studying it – learning the pros and cons of each micro or macroeconomic policy.
I’m not big on politics. I never have been. I don’t watch much news or follow the headlines every day. I hate office politics so I’ve made it a point to ban them in my practice from day one. I don’t bury my head in the sand, but I do keep up on current issues and events. The problem is that 90% of media is poison for a good mindset and toxic for your own progress. Do you think any local or national politician is ever going to reach out to you personally and see how your practice is doing? Unless you are the largest practice in the country – then probably not!
Watching CNN or Fox News is mostly a waste of your time and unproductive, unless you just absolutely love it and you get your weekend kicks from watching all of this propaganda. The one thing about it that can be beneficial for us, is to understand the thoughts and feelings going through the minds of your patients. But for your own personal progress and moving toward your 2020 goals, it is pointless.
Here at PPG, we use the acronym “G.R.O.W.,” which stands for:
Recently I finished the (audio) book Capital Gaines: Smart Things I learned doing stupid stuff by Chip Gaines. If you aren’t familiar with Chip and Joanna Gaines, they are the real estate home flippers and remodelers featured on the series Fixer Upper that ran for five or so seasons on Cable TV, and they also run their Magnolia businesses which include restaurants, home decor featured in Target stores, and their own store that people travel from around the world to go see in Waco Texas. My wife visited there a few years ago on a girls trip and told me all about it, so I was intrigued to learn more.
Here are a few key points Chip shared in the book that can reallly help practice owners like you and me:
- “Rather than changing how I operate I choose to think better of people sometimes even better than they think of themselves.”
- His love for baseball as a kid, and how only 6% of high school players made it to college and only 8% of college players make it to major leagues.
If you multiply 6% by 8% you’ll get the number of people who really make it that far and are willing to put in that level of work, .48% or .0048. This is about 4 out of 1000 people. The same goes for practice owners, only about 4 of 1000 will really blow it out of the park. Are you willing to put that level of work in to reach your goals? If not that’s OK to, but you have to be honest with yourself on what your realistic expectations really are.
Chip shares a very positive perspective and seems to have a genuine interest in really helping other people. Although I didn’t follow their show much, I was fascinated by their story because not only are they very successful, but they seem to have a deep purpose in life and put their family first. They really care about making a positive impact on others.
Whatever happens in the near future with elections, Covid, or national disatester, both before and after, the most successful practices will not waste time debating on who is right or wrong, but rather they will focus their effort on understanding others and most importantly playing the changes in laws and regulations to their favor to help grow their practices today and in the future.
Have a great week!