The manager must be able to understand the importance of inventory as an asset. Mishandled assets result in the loss of profits. Losses may come from incorrect mark ups on the drugs or extended shelf life, which will mean they will be disposed of rather than used. Procedures proven to be effective in managing veterinary inventory control include monitoring the supplies and medications used and ordered on a consistent basis. Frequent communications with the distribution companies, meeting with the sales reps and customizing the order schedule help reduce excess overhead and may help in receiving better pricing.

Inventory control management is only part of the big picture. As the practice grows, the manager’s duties expand. Managing the inventory becomes a task for other staff members, taking time away from their other duties. For successful growth without losing control of expenses, it is crucial to have a veterinary inventory control system that will track and manage this asset. Systems that are fully integrated into existing management software are instrumental in improving cash flow and profitability. Strong inventory and costing systems allow the veterinary manager to analyze the trends and manage the business more efficiently.

Protocols for ordering, receiving and stocking the inventory can be tailored to meet the needs of the practice. The results are reduced inventory costs. These systems are developed to encompass all areas of veterinary inventory control. Some have the ability to connect to the distributor for automated ordering. Others allow for bar code scanning of supplies to ensure loss is minimized. Reporting options allow the manager to analyze all aspects of inventory and its overall effect on the business. Efficient inventory control not only helps reduce costs for inventory, it streamlines and automates processes that would normally require dedicated personnel.

Many of us may think that we have a great attitude, but do we ever listen to what we are actually saying on a day-to-day level?  Listen to how you respond to problems and situations and see if you are truly positive or not.  Also listen to what you say to other employees and clients and see if you are positive.  Record yourself for one day and you would be shocked at all of the negative things that you actually say.  Unfortunately, we are all programmed to think negative and all of the subconscious stuff that has been buried over the years will naturally make us very negative.  We all have a lot of dark shadows in our past that are waiting to be released; however, until they actually are, they will manifest themselves by us projecting our anxieties and fears onto others, which we do by being negative or not having the best attitude.  Whenever I want an answer on how to act, I always try and look at Jesus.  Whether or not you are a Christian, we all know about Jesus.  His life here on earth was one of complete servant hood.  He had all of the power of God, but instead chose to be a servant for us.  He did not brag of whom He was or what He could do, he humbled himself even unto death on a cross.  How many of us truly are humble? Or do we let our ego run with us since we are educated and have DVM behind our name? Be positive and have a great attitude about everything and then see how your life unfolds.  Next time, we will talk about these dark shadows and what we can do in order to release them to improve our attitude.

I have been in many clinics where there are so many steps to simply get a patient checked in. Then once the patient finally goes into a room, it takes a lifetime for a simple step to happen.  They have to pull a record, have a doctor review the record, get the client to sign a release, print out a travel sheet, put the client in a room, find a technician to go in the room, and then reverse this entire process to leave. At the end, the only result is a frustrated and unhappy client.  Most people do not mind waiting; however, they do want to see progress. When there are this many steps, there does not seem to be much progress.

Going paperless, as I have talked about earlier, will solve most of these issues.  The person is checked in before arriving, then they sign a pad on entry, and then they are put into a room.  The technician then goes into the room, followed by the doctor, the procedure is performed, and then the client leaves.  All of the steps are shortened and the client is constantly being attended to.  A lot of clinics that I have seen have an attitude that the doctor is this “high and mighty” individual and that everyone should cater to them.  The doctor is an owner or employee and nothing else.  Being a good practitioner has nothing to do with a DVM degree; it is totally dependent on your ability to converse and relate to clients.  Do not make people wait longer then you would want to wait.

If clinics would understand that the client is the only reason that they are open and treat them as such, the flow of the clinic would take care of itself.  Every client that comes through the door should be treated as if they are the last one left and should be given all of our attention.  If clinics and veterinarians would focus on the client and not themselves, there would never be excess waiting time and there would never be unhappy clients.  I have just lately seen an attitude coming out of school that “I am the doctor, people can wait on me, and I will get to them as soon as I can”.  Instead, the attitude should be more like: “I am the doctor and the only reason that I have the privilege of being a doctor is because these people are coming into my clinic, and I will do everything possible to make them happy so that they do come back.”  My bet would be that all of the flow problems and bottlenecks would go away because everyone would be focused on clearing them out so as to make it easier on the clients.

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.

We all know how important it is to set goals, yet many people set goals and then never plan on how to actually achieve those goals.  This is where strategic planning comes into play.  For some reason, it is a scary term and most people, even large corporations, will do anything to avoid strategic planning.  Strategic planning is nothing more than looking at your goals and asking yourself: how I am going to achieve them?  What do I need to do today, tomorrow, next week, next month, next year to accomplish what I want?  Once you have asked yourself these questions, you already have a plan. Then, if you are not achieving your goals, you do not have to stop; you can simply look at your plan and see if it needs some tweaking.  You can come up with a plan on your own, your staff, or you can even purchase software that will walk you through the process (depending on how involved you want to get and how big your organization is).  Sometimes you plan and plan and you do not achieve your goals. In this case, it would be a good idea to reevaluate your goals and see if they are legitimate and truly what you want.  Maybe God has a different plan for you and you need to look elsewhere for your inspiration.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with being on the wrong track as long as we recognize it and get back on the right track.  Many successful people set out on a goal, had to completely change mid-course, and it was the best move that they ever made.  Ronald Reagan, the greatest President of all times in my opinion, started out in acting and decided to change goals; he became one of the greatest leaders that the United States has ever seen.  He did not do anything wrong; he was just smart enough to recognize where his real strength was and then planned for that instead.

Set your goals accordingly so that you can accomplish what you want both in business and in your personal life.  Then sit down with everyone that needs to be involved and plan on how to achieve them.  If the plan is not working, change it; or if needed, set new goals.  There is nothing wrong with changing plans and/or goals. It is only wrong if you quit.  Always move forward because once you quit it is over, and where you are is where you will stay.

A leader must make sacrifices in order to solve problems. Consistently sacrificing means being so focused on your goals that it does not seem like a sacrifice but instead a way of doing business because this is what is necessary to get the job done.  A leader must maintain a high standard of ethics and moral character at all times.  In order to accomplish this, he/she may need to not be associated with fellow co-workers and not socialize with other employees. This prevents being misunderstood or put in any uncomfortable situations.  Never meet with another co-worker, especially someone of the opposite sex, without another person in the room. This way nothing can ever be misunderstood.  A leader must always offer excellent effort and service.  This means that the leader may have to stay late or be the first one to work, but they must always lead in a way that makes sure the work gets done on time and properly. A leader can never be down and show depression or lack of caring; they must always bring their “A” game.  A leader must always commit in order to prioritize relationships.  There are many times when a leader has to choose between what he/she has to do and what he/she wants to do.  Unfortunately, this may involve people they are working with or may involve family time, but they always have to be willing to sacrifice for the company.  Another key point here is that a leader also has to keep his family time in the fore front of his priorities, or it can become easy to lose that time. If you have a well run company with a broken family, the leader has failed.  It is a balancing act, but very important that it is done correctly.  In my case, it meant giving up some of the things that I enjoyed doing by myself because I wanted to spend time with my family when I was not working.  A leader must also be willing to admit when they have done wrong and ask for forgiveness.  People will always respect you for admitting your faults, because as we all know, no one is perfect.

One of the hardest things for a lot of leaders to do is to admit their mistakes to employees and ask for forgiveness. However, if they don’t, someone will harbor bad feelings and it will come back later to haunt the leader or the organization.  Be up front and admit your mistakes; be humble and ask for forgiveness.  A leader also has to desire to maintain communication and momentum.  Sometimes the last thing a leader wants to do when they are busy is stop and talk to someone about something. However, it is extremely important that they do.  They also have to keep the momentum going at all times even when they are tired and may not feel like it.  If the leader lets down, it is a guarantee that everyone else will do the same.

Therefore, being a leader means to sacrifice for the company at all times.  A leader has to do this in order to solve problems and as I said earlier, solving problems is how you make money.  So do not look at it as a sacrifice, look at it as a blessing that you are in a position to be able to sacrifice to make a company and a group of people better and more productive.

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If you are on the fence on whether or not to convert your practice to a paperless practice, then now is the time.  The hardest part is just doing it and once you do, I know you won’t regret your decision.  Has your veterinary practice recently gone paperless?  I would love to hear about it.

Increased information, technological advancements and shifts in focus all affect the success of a veterinary practice. As a result of these changes, many owners are beginning to rethink their business philosophy. The question remains, where to start? If a business plan was created when the practice started, this may be a good time to review it.  Have the goals changed? Consider the original plan and begin noting the changes and updates. A fully functional business plan with a mission statement and goals clearly defined will provide focus and help with decision-making process when updating different aspects of the business.

If the veterinary practice has not yet become computerized , it is time begin planning for the proper implementation strategy. Technology will help increase productivity of staff members and streamline processes. Software packages developed especially for the industry will help with inventory control, billing, medical records and marketing. Profitability is enhanced as more can be done in a shorter time with fewer staff members. The reporting capabilities that are included help owners and managers monitor the increased efficiency and enable them to modify processes to help reach greater levels of profitability. Inventory supply versus demand, overhead costs as it relates to revenue and the per client expense can all be monitored.

Five and ten year plans help keep the focus in line with current business needs and often are created with an exit strategy. Partnerships, satellite offices, and real estate investments are frequently included in long-term plans. A focus on customer service is at the foundation of

veterinary practice success. On-going communication with clients, updated care techniques, and on-site services contribute to superior service levels. Practices that excel in this area retain a larger percentage of clients and are referred more frequently. Building a loyal customer base ensures sustainability. It also maximizes marketing dollars and stimulates practice growth.

Despite specializing in a few areas, it is best to continue offering a full range of services. Many clients prefer to have all of their needs taken care of by a single veterinary practice. This convenience will help retention levels. Ongoing internal communications are also required to maintain superior customer service. Standardized job descriptions that are updated as the practice grows and changes ensure everyone understands their roles and how they contribute to the business. Performance appraisals provide objective feedback to continue to increase productivity levels.

Many people ask me “How do I go paperless?” and I just say "do it".  There is never a good or bad time to do it you just have to make the decision to do it.  The first thing is I would make sure you have a computer system software management package that will allow this.  I have used the old PSI (Cornerstone) dos version, E Friends, and now currently using DVMax .  They all worked for me but I believe DVMax is the best medical record of any of them.  There are a lot of software packages and I am sure that most of them will allow this today.  You then need to decide what to do with all the old records.  You can use both systems till you have your paper files empty and every time someone comes in scan all of the records into a file.  The other possibility is to scan all records from then start.  The problem with this is you may scan a lot of records of clients that may never come back again.  Remember anything you do not scan has to be saved somewhere for 7 years.

Most of the programs today take blood work results from in house or from an outside laboratory and download them into the medical records.  There is never a chance of blood work being lost or misplaced.  When someone has a question for a Doctor about a patient the Doctor can go in the record from any computer and look it up while he/she is talking to the client.  A receptionist doesn’t have to put the client on hold, pull a file, find the Doctor and give him/her the file, and then wait while the Doctor goes through all the paper work.  Most of the programs put charges in as you enter medical records so fewer charges will get missed.

The advantages far outweigh the disadvantages and so I don’t know why everyone doesn’t go paperless.  I assume soon it will be mandatory for clinics to be paperless.  It doesn’t do a patient any good if there are multiple pages of records that no one can read.  Make a decision to change and go paperless and you will agree it will be one of the best decisions you have ever made in your practice.

There is much written on meditation, and I for one am certainly not an expert.  If you read the Bible, it always talks about people meditating and using it as a way to get closer to God.  I believe meditation is nothing more than quieting your mind for a select period of time to clear out all of the junk or “stinkin’ thinkin’” that we all have in our conscious mind.  95% of our thoughts are subconscious, so does it not make sense that we ought to at least try and see what we are really thinking about most of the time?  By getting quiet, it allows thoughts to come up in our mind that are deep down in our subconscious; all that we have to do is recognize the thought and let it go.  If you have some major issue buried, it will surface over and over again and you will know that it is a problem.  You can do this by just being quiet or there are also CD’s available that you can listen to that will help tremendously.  You will want to come up with a mantra or a word you keep saying over and over to keep your mind from wandering.  Most people use a word such as “Amen”, “Thy Will Be Done”, “Shalom”, or any word that has meaning to you.  If you give it a try, you may be amazed at the things that come up that you do not even remember or barely remember at all.  Once you find these, accept them as a part of you and do not try and rebury them.  I always expose my management staff to meditation and enable each of them to learn what it is; however, whether they do it or not is up to them.

Another method of finding what is deep is through the “emotional code”, which is the use of muscle-testing to find out what is buried deep inside of you and which emotions that you need to release.  You can learn to do this yourself or you can have someone do it for you.  The writer of the book “Emotion Code” by Dr. Bradley Nelson is a great source to learn the technique. You can even set up a conference call with him where he will do it for you.  I have done it with him and it is unbelievable what he can come up with. He can tell you when that emotion was affecting you, and then you will be able to come up with what was going on in your life at that time that caused it.

These are just two of the many techniques available to recognize your dark shadows so that you can do something about them before they control you.  If you have ever known anyone that did something completely out of character that made no sense, it was probably related to this.  It does not mean the person was irresponsible; but it is more a reason of why?  On a less serious level, what if you had blocked emotions about being successful and were therefore holding yourself back every day?  It might not be earth shattering if someone finds out, but it may affect your income for your entire career.  All that I can say is to be open-minded and try these methods to see what changes in your life.