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Failure and Success as a Leader

Thursday, November 4th, 2010 by Dr. Dean Severidt

We have been talking about being untouchable as a leader. Always be above reproach; employees will never lack respect for someone who is above reproach. Now I want to talk about failures and successes. This applies to the business as well as to you, as a leader on the personal side.

What if you have failed along the way in actions that you took or behavior that you allowed for yourself? Chances are that you probably have unless you happen to be perfect, but I believe only Jesus ever got credit for being perfect. All of us fail in our actions at some time or another. Sometimes it is minor and can quickly be repaired, but sometimes it may be a major event that is going to take time to repair. All that you can do at this point is be honest and admit your failure, take full responsibility for it, say that you are sorry and truly mean it, and then start to repair matters and change yourself so that you do not commit the same bad behavior again. Why are people right now so against politicians? I believe that our Congress, which has the lowest approval rating ever of only 11%, is because they refuse to take responsibility for their actions and refuse to be honest. When people see these statistics, they don’t trust them. Most people are very forgiving; however, they expect you to admit your wrongdoing, sincerely apologize, and then take actions to not repeat your bad behavior. We as leaders of our veterinary clinics need to do the same. If we have done something wrong, then take responsibility for it and admit that you were wrong. Just be honest. If you lie and try to blame others, you will lose all of the credibility that you have.

The good news is that when you do this, (and it can be very tough), but when you do, the results can be absolutely incredible. Most failures, when approached honestly, will lead to great things to come. Once we are able to admit our weaknesses and correct them, we become stronger and earn more respect as a leader. Ask anyone who went through a terrible time in their life and got through it and see if it wasn’t the best thing that ever happened to them. We can be stubborn and sometimes we refuse to change until we have a major incident occur that makes us change, and then our lives accelerate because of it. Next time we will talk about failures and success in the business realm.

Tags: Leadership, veterinary management, veterinary practice growth
Posted in Culture, Growing Your Practice, Leadership, Management | 2 Comments »

The Untouchable Leader

Friday, October 29th, 2010 by Dr. Dean Severidt

We have been talking about how important communication is to having a successful veterinary practice. People need to understand what we are offering and feel comfortable about what services we want to provide for their pet. Unless we communicate this message in terms that they will understand and unless everyone communicates the same message, we will not perform as many services as we possibly could. Now I want to talk about being untouchable as a leader.

Something that most of us do not think about is the question are you untouchable as a leader? Are we consistent in our message and are we of the character that people respect and makes us above board with our employees? All of us make mistakes; there isn’t anyone on this earth that hasn’t ever made a mistake. I believe there was only one perfect man, Jesus, and since Him, we have all had failures. What we are talking about here is your message and your character. Does your message change from one employee to another, do you have favorites that can get by with more than others, and does one employee always get their way and the others you never pay attention to their input? Many of us have these tendencies but we all need to be consistent across the board. If we aren’t then we become touchable because now employees can put each other against us as leaders and other staff. Always treat everyone the same and certainly do not show favorites. Many of us show favorites and don’t even know it. So ask your employees if you are fair to everyone; they will be honest.

How about your character? Is it above reproach? Do the things that you would want your leader or boss to do. Maybe it isn’t the best thing to go out and party with employees. It is hard to be “buddy-buddy” one minute and boss the next. I have never socialized with my staff. If we have a party or get together, I always go with my wife. We simply make an appearance and then leave. I also do not drink with or in front of my staff. Never meet with an employee, especially one of the opposite sex, without someone to witness the meeting. This way nothing can be interpreted wrong. If you have done things you wish you hadn’t and lost some credibility, change what you are doing. People are naturally very forgiving, but do not continue your behavior and expect things to change. Just always do things that people can never come back at you with an action against you. Always do what cannot be misinterpreted. Thus, if you have the best intentions at heart, people won’t misinterpret you.

Tags: communication, Leadership, owning veterinary clinic, veterinary management
Posted in Culture, Growing Your Practice, Leadership, Management | No Comments »

Growing Your Veterinary Practice in Any Economy

Thursday, February 11th, 2010 by Dr. Dean Severidt

Justin Severidt is the Co-Founder of Optimized Digital Media . Optimized Digital Media specializes in web-based video and social media marketing solutions for businesses of all sizes. Justin is a successful entrepreneur who has used proven Web-based marketing strategies to grow multiple businesses. Justin also co-founded Pet Doctors of America , which was recently named Inc. Magazine’s 500|5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies in America.

Business growth can be a daunting task in any environment, but in an environment such as the current economic turmoil we find ourselves in, business growth seems more like an impossibility. However, this does not have to be the case. In fact, economic downturns can be catalysts to more growth than would have been possible given normal conditions. This may seem a bit odd, but nevertheless it is always the case. The reason being is that whenever the economy turns south there is a cleansing process that occurs that weeds out those that were only in business because of the high flying economy. Anyone can run a business during an upswing in the economy, however, when the tide turns many that were getting by in the bull market begin to shut their doors, giving your business market share and then some.

This is a natural byproduct of a downturn in the economy. Accordingly, if you had a solid business model before the downturn, staying the course will likely lead to growth in the end. However, if you really want to catapult to new heights the downturn can provide the recipe for tremendous growth. Much of the recession is based on a certain fear that pervades our society. This fear cripples most business creativity and ingenuity, when creativity is exactly what is needed to raise to new heights.

All systems go through similar contraction and expansion cycles. In order for real growth to occur, the system must break down before reorganizing at a higher level. Business works in the same way. The difference is most systems are completely out of our direct control so we let the process happen naturally, without any resistance to the process. But when it comes to our business, it is ours, we have built it up to this point and we like what we have done. As such, we refuse to allow the process to happen and miss the signs that are right in front of us, telling us our business model is outdated and in need of an update.

I believe this is largely the reason for the seemingly dismal conditions present in the current economy. Our culture is in the midst of a major shift from manufacturing into the information, service and connection age. Many individuals and businesses are resisting this process with all their might. Why? Because this threatens the business as usual model and big corporations dominating the market and buying up any real competition that exists. With the advent of the information and connectivity available anyone can start a business and dominate the slow moving bureaucracies of large corporations rather quickly. This provides a huge opportunity for any business, large or small, to grow very quickly in a short period of time. The key is allowing the process to happen and staying open to the many new opportunities that are springing up in every industry every day.

Tags: Leadership, veterinary practice growth
Posted in Growing Your Practice, Leadership | No Comments »

Small Business Management – Skills You Need to Run a Veterinary Clinic

Thursday, February 11th, 2010 by Dr. Dean Severidt

For any pursuit you make in life, you need the necessary skills and drives to be successful in your endeavors. If you are hoping to be a manager of a veterinary clinic, you must obviously possess at least basic veterinary small business management skills. If you are not sure what it takes to be a manager or whether or not you have any natural talent at it, you can always learn exactly what good management entails and hone your skills accordingly. Why is it so important to develop the right talents and habits as a manager? Because if you want to engage your employees , have satisfaction in your business and encourage success, you must have the vision and desire and proceed with necessary action.

Some basic veterinary small business management skills include attributes like being an organized planner, a problem solver and a strong leader. A manager must be able to direct, measure and report on a daily basis. If you have the right vision for your business, you will proceed with your business relations as if you were the manager of a huge corporation. If that is where you hope your business to someday take you, you must be prepared to face it with that frame of mind.

Obviously a high level of responsibility and motivation fit into the category of having the drive to succeed as a small business manager. If you lose your desire, everything else will fail. The vision you have will not be enough alone without a deep and driving desire to succeed. This is where veterinary small business management can fail, and it happens quite frequently. The vast majority of small businesses and veterinary clinics fail within the first year they are established and many more within the following five years. This is largely due to the fact that managing a business is hard, and when the going gets tough, unmotivated people give up. Do not let that be you!

The last thing you must do when working in veterinary small business management is take action. Certainly things will not always go as smoothly as you would like, and when you hit bumps, do not ignore them! Sometimes you must take a step back, get out of your comfort zone and see what problems need to be solved . A business cannot run itself when it is first created, but with the right vision, desire and action, you can reach your business goals!

Tags: Leadership, veterinary management
Posted in Growing Your Practice, Leadership, Management | No Comments »

The Ten Core Values of Leadership

Monday, February 8th, 2010 by Dr. Dean Severidt

Formation of Leadership XIII

As we lead and learn to lead, we need to always be leading with an attitude of love and humility . Treat others the way that you would want to be treated, and you will be amazed at how easy it is to get people to respect you and follow you. People will always follow a leader that is respectful to them and treats them as an equal.

Your first task as a leader is to define your core values and then always lead by them. I have chosen ten values that I try to lead by at all times. I have based these values on the core values of Jesus Christ, whom I consider to be the greatest leader of all time. Whether you are a Christian or not, the principles of Jesus are well worth living by. The first is to do the right things for the right reasons. You should always think before you act or before you make any sort of decision. You need to make sure that the decision you are making is for the right reasons and not solely for personal gain. You should be making decisions that will be for the betterment of the company and everyone involved. The second one is always taking action for the company’s agenda and not your own. Your own benefit should never be a part of the decisions that you make for your company. I always try and look at a decision and decide whether I am making that decision because God is truly guiding me that way or because I am trying to benefit my ego and my own selfish desires. Always remember that ego stands for “Edging God Out”. The third core value is that relationships will make or break you and your organization. You should always establish relationships in business that do business with the same values as you do. If you are guided by Christian principles and the business you are in contact with is not, there is no sense in having conflict with them when there are other businesses out there with the same values as you. Always try and find other people to work with that have the same values as you. This will make everything much smoother and easier to work with.

The fourth value is prioritizing your long term decisions over your short term, if you are given a choice. Many leaders take short cuts because it is easier than waiting and drawing a long term decision out. However, it is always better to make decisions for the long term of the company, instead of just trying to get ahead in the short term. The fifth value is to not sweat the small stuff. Every problem is equal; the only reason that they seem different is due to the attention that we give them. When looking at problems, my brother once said, “Well it ain’t cancer”. If you look at every problem in that way from a much larger perspective, how big are they really? You should simply deal with the problem, and do not make a small issue into a large one. The sixth is just as we should always seek God’s Kingdom first, we should also seek what is best for the company at all times. Many times we may have to make uncomfortable decisions, but if they are best for the company, then we have to put ourselves aside and do them anyways. The seventh value is judging yourself before you judge others. You should always take a look at yourself before you criticize another individual. How many times have you criticized someone else’s actions only to realize that you do the exact same thing? When we see faults in people , it is usually because we have the same faults in ourselves. Do not allow judgment of others to impede your progress. The eighth value is if you need something, ask for it, and if you have something, give it. You should not be afraid to ask the opinions of your employees. They are in the trenches everyday and probably have more insight on some things than you do. Whenever you have answers and solutions to problems, you should give your employees the answers. As a leader, you should have wisdom and choose to use it wisely.

The ninth value is stay true to your convictions and do not wander from the narrow path. We all have morals and convictions that have made us successful. Do not wander from these morals as you get bigger and become a leader to more people. Stay true to who you are. Too many leaders have changed their values and been totally destroyed because they chose to not stay true to their convictions.

The final value that I have chosen to live by is that true obedience to God is the only sure foundation for a good life of leadership. As leaders, if we choose our decisions on what God is always make good decisions. Let God direct your decisions and only then will you truly lead by love and humility and gain the respect of your followers through the good and the bad times. Next time, we will discuss the next attribute of leadership which is being teachable .

Tags: Core Values, Leadership, veterinary practice management
Posted in Culture, Growing Your Practice, Leadership | No Comments »