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Being Above Reproach

Friday, August 13th, 2010 by Dr. Dean Severidt

Formation of Leadership XXXIV

We are talking about being untouchable as a leader. Being above reproach is so important for leaders to maintain a leadership role. Being untouchable means having self-control. Self-control is essential for discipline, both for yourself and also for others, and it is also essential when it comes to controlling your emotions. Do not allow yourself to become emotional and then make decisions based on your emotions. If you allow people to get you up and make you feel great, then unfortunately, you will also allow people to get you down. Be the same with your emotions at all times; this takes extreme self-control. John Wooden, the great basketball coach at UCLA, never gave a pep talk before a game. He always said that he built everything up to game time and that no pep talk was needed. Disciplining an employee is not punishment. It is a correction for something that can be done a better way. You discipline to help, to improve, and to correct; not to punish, humiliate, or retaliate. Self-control keeps you in the present; anytime that you are whining or complaining, you are living in the past. You cannot change the past so instead, stay in the present with self-control.

Intentness is another characteristic that is necessary to being untouchable. Intentness doesn’t involve wanting something, but instead, it involves doing something. Intentness is the ability to avoid temptation. This involves personal temptation as well as the ability to stay the course and not be tempted to change things. As I said last time, do not let yourself be tempted to actions with your employees that can be misconstrued as something inappropriate. Do not party and hang out with employees or drink in front of them. Be above reproach when around employees in a social setting. Always stay the course and do not change because someone tells you something. Stay the course and wait and be patient for your outcome. Rome wasn’t built in a day and in the same sense, your success in your practice will not be built in a day either.

Always keep yourself untouchable as a leader. As a leader you are different, whether you want to be or not. That doesn’t make you better, just different. If you stay untouchable and have self-control and intentness, you will always have the respect of your employees. No employee has ever disrespected a leader for being above reproach. They may make comments to cover up their inadequacies, but they will always deep down respect you.

Tags: business leadership, owning veterinary clinic, veterinary management
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Being A “People” Person

Wednesday, April 28th, 2010 by Dr. Dean Severidt

Have you ever wondered why some veterinarians are very successful as far as keeping clients happy and having profitable average transactions and others either make everyone mad or have horrible average transactions? There could be many reasons for this, but over my thirty years of experience, I have seen a lot of young veterinarians come and go, some with a lot of success and some with very little. Last week I talked about the different attitude of professionalism that we see from our veterinarians today and how it does not have the same meaning as it did years ago.

I believe from experience that the number one common denominator that most veterinarians lack is their people skills. This is their ability to relate to and communicate with clients. I have overheard veterinarians talking to clients in rooms and can pretty much guarantee that the client has no idea what they were just told. So why would they approve a procedure that they do not really understand? I have learned from firsthand experience as well as watching other veterinarians, that going into a room and talking on a level that the client understands will pretty much always result in the client opting to perform the procedure. Although the old school veterinarians may have not been the smartest people in the world, many of them are extremely down to earth people who are dedicated to their profession and do not feel superior to anyone; this allows them to relate to people at their level. Today I think that schools put so much emphasis on grade point averages that many of the young veterinarians that come out of school are very intelligent. However, although, they are way smarter than I ever dreamed of being, they cannot always relate to people. They can diagnose just about anything and everything, but they cannot explain it or simply will not explain it in simple terms to a client; therefore, leaving the client frustrated and unhappy with the services. I believe that many do this because they feel so superior to their clients that they have to talk in this way in order to build themselves up. I hear them complain about how dumb clients are, yet they can be so self absorbed that when it is 6:00 and time for them to go home, they will leave whether someone is standing in the waiting room or not.

I have never put any significance on grade point averages when hiring someone. My philosophy is that anyone that can get into and get through veterinary school is given the opportunity to be a good veterinarian. I look for people that can talk simply and do not present themselves as someone special, but just are who they are. They should carry themselves with confidence but not be condescending. They will stay for people that are late because they understand that they are doing this job for the client and the pet, and not just for themselves. Do not get me wrong; there are a lot of good veterinarians coming out of school today, but some lack so much professionalism which carries over and they cannot do the job that someone else can. Indeed, some knowledge is important to be a veterinarian; however, listening to people, understanding their needs, and truly caring for them and their pet will be much more successful than the smartest person in the world that cannot relate to clients.

Tags: owning veterinary clinic, veterinary consultants, veterinary management
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Selling Your Services as a Veterinarian

Thursday, January 14th, 2010 by Dr. Dean Severidt

What Separates Veterinary Practices VII

I have always wondered why veterinarians are so afraid of the word. I have asked so many veterinarians if they believe they are in sales and their answer always seems to be a firm no. Most professionals believe that they do not have to sell. They seem to have the illusion that people will just come to them because they have a need. However, the reality is that this has never been true, especially not today.

People are shopping around for everything these days, including medical services and specifically veterinary services. Just because we have our door open does not guarantee that we will obtain customers. People are looking for a friendly clinic, where they can trust the staff and doctors, and where they will be provided with good service for a reasonable amount of money. We have to sell ourselves to our clients every day, both as the doctors and also the staff, in order to keep clients coming back . In reality, we have to convince our clients to spend their hard earned cash on a service for their pet. Our job, as a clinic, is to show them the importance of this service and then let them place value on it. If clinics cannot do this for their clients, they will simply go to someone who can. It is very easy to talk people into or out of services, depending on your belief in that service. This is why selling is so easy. If we truly have a passion for animals (and I believe most veterinarians do), then we will want what is best for the pet, and our belief will sell that service. If we just practice what we believe everyday then it will be easy to provide our clients with more services. Our belief in what we do will ultimately sell the service. Furthermore, if we truly love what we do, selling will happen more simply then we think. Our attitudes and how we handle our clients will determine the services that the client wants to leave with at the end of their visit.

So the next time you go into an exam room think of selling and see what happens to your average transaction. As a result, it will increase dramatically and when it does, what happens? You will make more money, and the client and pet will be better taken care of because you offered them everything possible; you did not pick and choose on what you perceived they could afford. In conclusion, selling is providing your client with the best services possible.

Tags: dr dean severidt, Leadership, veterinary management
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Using Delegation to Increase Volume

Friday, January 8th, 2010 by Dr. Dean Severidt

What Separates Veterinary Practices

Delegation is the key to being able to become successful and generate average transactions that are profitable, yet still providing the client with the time and service that they want and expect. How good are you as a veterinarian at delegating during the day? Or do you choose to do tasks that others can do and not let your technicians do what they are trained to do? The question remains: why do some veterinarians generate a million dollars a year in revenues and others can only produce $500,000? Given the same number of potential clients, the answer lies in one’s ability to delegate tasks.

As veterinarians, we seem to have an inherent belief that we can do things better than anyone else . With this attitude, I have seen veterinarians that I have hired insist on doing unnecessary tasks from wanting to draw blood from animals to starting intravenous fluid lines. They are spending their time doing the work of a technician, while another veterinarian is seeing 3-4 clients in the same amount of time simply because they are utilizing their techs properly. Veterinarians have to finally get the attitude that they are paid to diagnose and recommend treatments, not necessarily to do the treatments themselves. Until veterinarians start utilizing their resources, we will remain a profession of low producing professionals that are busy doing unnecessary tasks.

When I am working, I picture myself as the quarterback of a football team, and I am directing my offense. I may have three exam rooms filled with patients to be seen all at once, and I use my technicians to do everything from getting blood, taking x-rays, to starting IV fluids. I am just going into the rooms, doing a physical exam, ordering tests for my techs to perform, and then reading the results and working up treatment plans. I am getting paid for what only can do. Using this method, I did over $1 million in revenues last year; therefore, I know it can be done. To me, it is a lot more fun because I get to just be the doctor, which is what I want to be. Working this way as a veterinarian does require having good technicians, not necessarily certified ones, but very well trained with lots of experience. Try delegating and you will be surprised at how much more volume you will do and also how much better you will feel at the end of the day. Furthermore, watch and see what happens to your technicians as you empower them . We can keep the great service that we have always offered as veterinarians, yet see more people if we stop doing tasks that are not needed to be done by veterinarians.

Tags: dr dean severidt, Leadership, veterinary practice management
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What Seperates Veterinary Practices III

Thursday, December 17th, 2009 by Dr. Dean Severidt

Showing Love and Humility to your Employees

Why do some practices have a group of people that get along so well, while other clinics have a staff where everyone seems to be fighting and no one seems to get along? I do not think that this overall attitude is from the employees , but I do believe it is from the management and the owner. The way that the leadership treats the employees will determine how the employees will respond. Leadership’s attitudes and actions will always determine other people’s reactions.

If the leadership of a clinic respects and treats people with love and humility, then love and humility will become the action your employees will show to clients and to others. Furthermore, I believe that all good and successful leaders lead by showing love and humility toward their employees. It is nothing more than following the golden rule, “do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. Treat people the way you would want to be treated, and see what kind of results you get. We read all the time about developing teamwork and everyone working together. This is a great idea, but the question remains: how do you do this? Many managers and owners have tried and only failed because their employees did not respond properly. This just causes frustration which leaders to anger, and then trying to force your employees to act a certain way which only leads to everything falling apart. The great news is that there is a much easier and less stressful way to lead! Instead, try treating people with love and compassion, and then see what kind of results you get. Tell everyone in your clinic once a day what a great person they are and how valuable they are to your clinic. You will be surprised at how much of a better response people will give you from this as opposed to giving them a raise. All in all, it is simple: people want to be recognized and feel needed. You should never act like you are any better than anyone that is working for you, because in reality, you are not. You just happen to have a degree that allows you to be a veterinarian. Degrees say absolutely nothing about your character. Make people feel important and needed, because without them it would be nearly impossible to function. These little, very important moves will do more for your business and success than anything else you can do.

I do not believe that you have to be friends or “buddies” with your staff; however, you should still treat them this way. Personally, I have made a decision not to socialize with my staff. I work with them every day, but they are never a part of my family or social life outside of the clinic. Socializing outside of work with staff members can be a way for trouble and many unnecessary issues to develop. My staff knows that I care for them and hold a lot of respect for them. I am very humble around them but also a little unapproachable, which keeps me at a distance. You do have to separate yourself a little from the employees in order to have the respect you need from them. However, you must do it out of kindness and humility and not be demanding about it. If you act humble, confident, and treat your employees with respect and the way you want to be treated, they will do just about anything for you. People who are treated this way will go to any degree to make sure things are done correctly and efficiently, because they will take pride in the business the same way that the leader does. If you ever see a staff or have one that is always fighting, watch the leaders and see what they do. Followers are followers because they like to follow. Leaders are leaders because they like to lead. Walk around with a heart of love and humility, and watch your practice grow.

Tags: Employees, veterinary practice management
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