Are You in Control of Your Practice or Does it Control You?

One of the most common complaints that business owners have today is that they feel their practice is running them and that they're being pulled in every direction instead of really running the business themselves.

Well, I'd like to tell you, when I was in practice I experienced the same thing. I was working too many hours, not seeing my family as much as I should; my staff always came to me looking for the solutions to day-to-day scenarios and so on. I found I was lacking the amount of time necessary to really do what I loved best which was working with my patients, seeing their results and being able to live life.

After 5 years of burning the wick at both ends, I decided something needed to change quickly because my candle was getting ready to burn out.

I realized that in the midst of running my business with all its stresses and being a husband and father, I needed to get my priorities straight, re-evaluate my purposes and really become the very best administrator possible to make my practice and personal life efficient and enjoyable again.

You're probably thinking what you're going through is normal or that's just the way it's always been or supposed to be. Take a patient who's had headaches all this life and has lived on drugs to handle it. As a physical therapist, I know there is a solution to that and that he doesn't have to live with headaches or be on drugs. Well, I'm telling you the same thing. It's not normal, that's not the way it is and you don't have to live with these administrative difficulties or be controlled by your business.

So, how do you change it and get off the roller-coaster ride? There are a few important factors to look at in order to accomplish this. First, take a look at why you became a business owner in the first place. Are you fulfilling that dream the way you envisioned it in its entirety?

Now, look at everything that is not optimum or that you're experiencing that is not part of your dream. Look at things such as: Are you spending enough quality time with your clients without interruption? Do you spend time with your family? Does your staff know their positions fully? Does your staff put problems or situations on your plate that you need to now solve? Does your staff get along or are you a mediator to their continuous problems? Are you working too many hours and lacking the return? Are you pounding the pavement to generate more referrals with little to no success? Are you behind in your financial plans or goals?

These are to name just a few of the common areas of concerns that business owners face. Take a look at those things that come to the top of your mind that concern you the most. Then prioritize those things which are causing the most difficulty for you in your business or life.

It's easy to list out what may be going downhill, but the ultimate question is how do you turn those things around?

The way you do that is by becoming the very best administrator possible so that you can manage, train and delegate in order to create the most effective and efficient machine possible. What is an administrator exactly? Well, per the Webster's College Dictionary "Administrator: n. 1. a person who manages the direction of a government, business, institution or the like. (Latin- administrare to assist, carry out, manage the affairs of.)

There is no other person in your business that is more responsible for your business than you. And when you assign that responsibility to someone else and detach yourself from it, you get into trouble. Now, I'm not saying you should be handling all the positions in the office, because after all that's what is making the business control you. What I am saying is you should know every aspect of the positions in your office and train those under you to handle certain tasks in their entirety and then manage them from above. This is one of the most basic fundamentals of being a good administrator and when you can successfully master this fundamental you will be on your way to a happier life.

Shaun Kirk is President and Co-Founder of Measurable Solutions Inc., a consulting firm engaged in all areas of business management. Measurable Solutions trains entrepreneurs and executives how to be consultants to their own businesses, so they not only can expand their own business but any business. With his partner, he has built the most rapidly expanding company of its kind in the world. Visit his website at http://www.measurablesolutions.com

---

How to Delegate More Effectively

Do this simple excercise, and transform your life.First, Make a list of recurring "to do's". (Daily To-Do's, Weekly To-Do's, monthly To-Do's, Quarterly To-Do's, Annual To Do's, and... Read More

Important Communication Tips For Managers

The following tips will help you communicate more effectively with your employees:1. Let employees know that having feelings is okay. Feelings are facts and need to be... Read More

Recruitment - Pick People Who Think

Old style management doesn't encourage personal mind control, employees aren't encouraged to think. That was certainly the case when I started work back in the bad old... Read More

Knowledge Management - Leadership Behaviours Which Encourage Knowledge-Sharing

The concept of knowledge management or knowledge sharing makes intellectual sense to the leadership teams in most organisations. Why wouldn't we want to learn from our successes... Read More

Managing Yo-Yo Style

Does being managed by others smack more of "Survivor" than Stephen Covey for you? Could there BE any more management styles out there-have you gotten to experience... Read More

Identifying Candidates for Leadership

A critical task in the succession planning process of any organization is identifying candidates. Traditionally, candidates have been identified based on past performance. While this seems logical,... Read More

The Do?s and Don?ts of Giving Feedback

Being able to give effective feedback is not just a good skill to possess in business, it is a great life skill to have. Because when you... Read More

Blame Culture Blues - How the Language of Blame Manifests Organisational Underperformance

If you have ever worked within a large organisation then you are sure to have heard the term 'we will not have a blame culture' at some... Read More

Rethinking Workplace Security: How the Rules Have Changed

The workplace has traditionally been a dangerous place. Very early in mankind's history perils emanated from the place and type of work they performed. Long before industrialization,... Read More

To Thine Own Self Be True--Its Better for Business: What Arthur Andersen Would Say to His Company

As a child, you probably heard, "to thine own self be true." But what does that really mean? When the newspapers are full of cheating and lying... Read More

Accountability Equals Meeting Success

Leslie was the new manager of the group. She was replacing Tom, a well respected manager who was retiring. Once she arrived, she made it one of... Read More

The Narcissist in the Workplace

To a narcissist-employer, the members of his "staff" are Secondary Sources of Narcissistic Supply. Their role is to accumulate the supply (in human speak, remember events that... Read More

Have You Fixed the Broken Window?

Left alone it doesn't take long for a building with a single broken window to rapidly become a building with many broken windows. Fixing problems when they... Read More

How To Use W Edwards Deming

Human beings and the way they interact are extraordinarily Complex. Deming tried to define that complexity.We have since learned the impossibility of defining natural events in a... Read More

Proven Secrets to Keeping Your People and Increasing Your Profits

Why are people changing jobs so quickly these days?Here are a few reasons why:They have a boring job therefore they feel they are not achieving anything.They have... Read More

Setting Clearer Performance Expectations

The annual performance review.Stating this phrase guarantees some reaction for anyone who has ever had one, or had to give one as a supervisor or manager. In... Read More

Want to Manage Your Time? Get Real!

You know the drill - the ridiculous deadlines, the relentless barrage of email, voicemail, phone calls, all those "got a minute" interruptions, the constant worrying that one... Read More

Its All About The Customers, Baby

If you want to ensure a steady stream of customers in your business, you must always remember why you're in business in the first place.Sure you want... Read More

50 Great Ways to Motivate and Not Break the Bank

Quick, Easy, and Even Fun! 1. Smile, say "Hi! How are you doing today?"2. Regularly invite someone to join you for coffee.3. Send them flowers, chocolate, a... Read More

The ?Better People? Fallacy

It's easy enough to convince your own staff that better people will prevail, even against the odds. It's what they want to hear. And surely in a... Read More

Business Innovation ? Ignoring Content

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this... Read More

Internal Prisons: The Thief of Productivity and Quality in our Workforce

As a professional speaker, one of my biggest challenges is to grab the attention of my audience within the first few minutes of the presentation- grab them... Read More

More Computer Consulting 101 Hiring Tips (Part 2 of 2)

Does your company need to retain the services of a competent computer consulting firm, but you have no idea how to really evaluate "competence"? In the first... Read More

New Job, New Culture: Do You Fit In?

It seemed like a good decision at the time. A 10-percent raise, an easier commute and a chance to move up the corporate ladder.Now, six weeks into... Read More

What to Do When Trust is Low

Trust is essential. You can't run a business without it. Customers leave. Risk taking evaporates. You find yourself surrounded by naysayers ? or worse ? yes men... Read More

Rethinking the CEO-Chairman Split

Traditionally, in American businesses, the same person occupies the role of chairman of the board and chief executive officer, though this is gradually shifting to the European... Read More