172
Key Principles in Running a Successful Business in Facial Plastics Edwin F. Williams III, MD, FACS1
1 Williams Plastic Surgery Center, Albany, New York
Facial Plast Surg 2014;30:172–174.
Abstract Keywords
► business ► leadership ► entrepreneur
Address for correspondence Edwin F. Williams III, MD, FACS, Williams Plastic Surgery Center, 1072 Troy Schenectady Road, Albany, NY 12110 (e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]).
The ultimate goal for most facial plastic surgeons is to develop a successful practice. For those currently owning a practice and those planning on developing a practice, the skills and training necessary to establish and manage a facial plastic practice are not taught in medical school, residency, or most fellowships. The goal of this article is to underline the key principles of running a successful business. This article does not replace an MBA, but it allows you to be aware of potential challenges that all businesses encounter.
The ultimate goal for most facial plastic surgeons is to develop a successful practice. For those currently owning a practice and those planning on developing a practice, the skills and training necessary to establish and manage a facial plastic practice are not taught in medical school, residency, or most fellowships. In addition, in many places openly talking about the business aspect of medicine is regarded as taboo. Most surgeons do not possess business degrees and have no practical training on how to effectively run a business. Similarly when preparing for a new procedure, the surgeon often will start with reading, possibly watching the procedure done and even practicing on cadavers and models before embarking on performing an unfamiliar procedure. Why would one take on such a risky proposition as beginning a business without the same detailed preparation; especially when failure can be so personally and financially devastating? Many current business owners report that they are frustrated with their staff and work long hours. These are the signs of a poorly run business. When assembling a team most employer’s focus on skills and talents to choose their potential employees. This approach may lead to having talented individuals but not necessarily having the same goals as you. The correct method of building a successful team focuses on installing a team with a culture of winning and accountability. Winning and accountability implies that all will be held accountable for the assigned tasks and performance, and when the business is profitable all will benefit. This ensures unity and a common goal that all will strive to achieve. Businesses that possess these qualities will have continued growth and success.
Issue Theme 11th International Symposium of Facial Plastic Surgery; Guest Editors, Jonathan M. Sykes, MD, FACS, and Anthony P. Sclafani, MD, FACS.
Planning Before beginning a business one must be honest and ask themselves, “Do I have the passion and motivation to run a business?” At this point, self-honesty and reflection are key and may help avert a potential financial disaster. In his book, E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It, Michael Gerber1 discusses why 90% of all small businesses fail in the first year. Gerber explains that among entrepreneurs, there is a fatal assumption that possessing the skills needed in specific business (i.e., providing surgery and patient care) translates into a comprehensive understanding of the business (running a practice). In addition, surgeons are particularly set up for failure. Through training, surgeons are taught that with hard work and determination they will succeed and often have during their training. They are entrusted and asked to make all the decisions and assume all the responsibilities. However, success in surgery does not translate into business success, and decision making should be made by those who are qualified to do so. For those willing to prepare, the personal and financial reward can be great.
Leadership The common underlying theme to every successful business is strong leadership. Many surgeons when faced with a difficult decision try to resolve the issue themselves. This often leads to taking on more responsibilities and working long days trying to hold everything together. This common trap that many small business owners fall into, leads to the
Copyright © 2014 by Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc., 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA. Tel: +1(212) 584-4662.
DOI http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1055/s-0034-1371898. ISSN 0736-6825.
This document was downloaded for personal use only. Unauthorized distribution is strictly prohibited.
Ahmed S. Sufyan, MD1
owner possessing a job with all the risk, and not functioning as a business owner should. One should not have to be present at all times in order for the business to run smoothly. When an entrepreneur surrounds themselves with great talent that function independently, this frees up the entrepreneur to do things they enjoy and most instances generating revenue. How does one create strong leadership? The first step is the realization that one cannot control everything. As a leader you must be coachable, or willing to adapt to improve. This vital characteristic differentiates those who will grow and become successful. This process of accountability starts with the leaders. The culture of accountability is then infused into the rest of the team and maintained with systems in place, training sessions, and regularly scheduled follow-up. Many failed business owners feel the need to micromanage every aspect of the daily operations. This undermines employees and leads to excessive time constraint on the entrepreneur. The key to a great leader is influence. Being able to influence or possessing the ability to affect the staff in a positive manner that creates an atmosphere for them to strive for growth. Be honest with the staff. Explain where and how profits are generated. This understanding will provide them with the knowledge on the vital aspects of a business (i.e., not answering the phone may lead to loss of a potential client). Most physicians dread meetings as they consider this a distraction and taking time from doing other things they enjoy. As an effective leader, one must meet with their staff to identify concerns or issues that may arise. This may entail a 90-minute session once monthly depending on the scope of a practice. These meetings will help identify issues regularly to prevent building of frustration or problems that may have arisen since the last meeting. In addition, this allows the leader an opportunity to follow-up on issues since previous sessions.
Sufyan, Williams
in some cases letting go those employees who are not coachable or refuse to change. This process takes time and is imperative that the leader regularly follows up. The direct supervision that the resolution is being implemented should be handled by the office manager and not the surgeon entrepreneur. During the monthly meeting issues can be briefly discussed by the office manager with the surgeon entrepreneur. Have you ever wondered why fast food franchises are so successful? Is it because they have the best staff? In fact, a large portion of their employees have no college degrees. The reasons why they are able to run so effectively are because they have systems in place for implementation of every task. The use of regular coaching strategies allows new system implementation and reinforces existing policies. In a medical practice, acquisition of top performers who have excelled during the evaluation process and have the potential to grow and implement your systems will enable you to assemble a high performance team. In his book, Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done, Larry Bossidy4 reinforces the importance of a leader spending a large part of their time in developing their team members by coaching, having systems in place, and most importantly effective communication. The importance of having a great team is echoed in Jim Collins’5 book, Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap ... and Others Don’t. He reinforces the common theme of all successful businesses and summarizes it in one short phrase: “first who, then what.” Collins uses an example of a bus to illustrate this principle. He explains that what great companies do is make sure that they get “the right people on the bus.” Once they have the right people, then they put “the right people in the right seats on the bus.” Finally, once they have the right people in the right seats, they can determine where to drive the bus. Using this approach will enable your business to be flexible and easily adaptable.
Building a High Performance Team An effective leader will surround themselves with talented individuals. How does one build a successful team? In their book, Topgrading (How to Hire, Coach and Keep a Players), Smart and Smart2 discuss the use of Topgrading—a systematic approach to hiring top performers. This rigorous process of interviews truly assesses an individual’s potential when contemplating filling a position. When poor managers encounter a problem in their office such as tasks not being completed, their initial quick fix solution is to hire another employee. However, this is not the approach that should be used as an entrepreneur. As surgeons our training allows us to make quick decisions that are encountered during surgery or clinical care. Surgeons in general are optimists (otherwise, we would not operate) and tend to hope for the best. When hiring a new employee, a detailed screening and selection needs to be implanted. A famous saying by GE’s former CEO Jack Welch3 is: be slow to hire, quick to fire. When a problem is identified then a solution should be determined. This may involve retraining of staff, coaching existing staff that may not be completing assigned tasks, and
Marketing Why does the customer want? So many times we fail to recognize the answer to this simple question. In fact, many times we suggest services that a patient may not be interested in. If a patient is interested in a certain procedure and it is warranted, then why should we sway them or offer alternative procedures? This can lead to patient dissatisfaction, or pursuing services elsewhere. Many surgeons advertise procedures they feel are important. However, the use of systematic approaches with detailed metrics should be the driving force for any marketing strategy. Specific approaches to your practice depend on market forces in your area. The use of online resources and digital media are excellent resources that are inexpensive. The most consistently successful businesses use strategic planning. The first step is identifying why your business exists? Identify goals to be met. Identify strengths, weakness, and threats to the business. Threats can be competition or other forces that may temporarily impact the business. For example, if every year when schools start your business slows Facial Plastic Surgery
Vol. 30
No. 2/2014
173
This document was downloaded for personal use only. Unauthorized distribution is strictly prohibited.
Key Principles in Running a Successful Business in Facial Plastics
Key Principles in Running a Successful Business in Facial Plastics down, then during that time alternative strategies to bring patients in should be employed. This may be as easy as setting up a special event or offering a discount on certain services during that time. These strategies should be shared with all staff members, so that all are aware and working toward the same goal. At the end of these sessions, creation of an action list with itemized tasks and deadlines to be evaluated during the next session.
Sustaining Growth The use of a systematic approach to increase the growth of a business is described by Verne Harnish6 in Mastering the Rockefeller Habits: What You Must Do to Increase the Value of Your Growing Firm. The use of techniques designed to make a good business great. This involves identifying key indicators in your business, setting priorities by analyzing metrics, and generating the right rhythm for the business. The uses of these methods allow you to identify the core of your business and give you the tools to steer it into success.
and goals are ignored, then a lack of cohesion among the staff will ensue and dysfunction will occur. As this occurs, entrepreneurial leaders will attempt to prevent failure of the business by putting in long hours and days. In reality, the entrepreneurial leader now only possesses a miserable job with little benefits and has assumed all of the financial risks. Taking the necessary steps with preparation and coaching to create a dynamic team, along with effective leadership will ensure continue growth and success and enable you to enjoy the personal and financial rewards that accompany a successful business.
References 1 Gerber M. The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses
2 3 4
Conclusion
5
Running a facial plastic business is a challenging yet rewarding proposition. If the necessary steps and due diligence of taking time to acquire and build a team with the same culture
Facial Plastic Surgery
Vol. 30
No. 2/2014
Sufyan, Williams
6
Don’t Work and What to Do About It. New York, NY: Harper Collins; 1995 Smart B, Smart G. Topgrading (How to Hire, Coach and Keep a Players). Dallas, Texas: Pritchett; 2005 Welch J. Winning. New York, NY: Harper Business; 2005 Bossidy L. Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done. New York, NY: Crown; 2002 Collins J. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap ... and Others Don’t. New York, NY: Harper Business; 2001 Harnish V. Mastering the Rockefeller Habits: What You Must Do to Increase the Value of Your Growing Firm. Ashburn, VA: Gazelles; 2002
This document was downloaded for personal use only. Unauthorized distribution is strictly prohibited.
174
Copyright of Facial Plastic Surgery is the property of Thieme Medical Publishing Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
Key Principles in Running a Successful Business in Facial Plastics Edwin F. Williams III, MD, FACS1
1 Williams Plastic Surgery Center, Albany, New York
Facial Plast Surg 2014;30:172–174.
Abstract Keywords
► business ► leadership ► entrepreneur
Address for correspondence Edwin F. Williams III, MD, FACS, Williams Plastic Surgery Center, 1072 Troy Schenectady Road, Albany, NY 12110 (e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]).
The ultimate goal for most facial plastic surgeons is to develop a successful practice. For those currently owning a practice and those planning on developing a practice, the skills and training necessary to establish and manage a facial plastic practice are not taught in medical school, residency, or most fellowships. The goal of this article is to underline the key principles of running a successful business. This article does not replace an MBA, but it allows you to be aware of potential challenges that all businesses encounter.
The ultimate goal for most facial plastic surgeons is to develop a successful practice. For those currently owning a practice and those planning on developing a practice, the skills and training necessary to establish and manage a facial plastic practice are not taught in medical school, residency, or most fellowships. In addition, in many places openly talking about the business aspect of medicine is regarded as taboo. Most surgeons do not possess business degrees and have no practical training on how to effectively run a business. Similarly when preparing for a new procedure, the surgeon often will start with reading, possibly watching the procedure done and even practicing on cadavers and models before embarking on performing an unfamiliar procedure. Why would one take on such a risky proposition as beginning a business without the same detailed preparation; especially when failure can be so personally and financially devastating? Many current business owners report that they are frustrated with their staff and work long hours. These are the signs of a poorly run business. When assembling a team most employer’s focus on skills and talents to choose their potential employees. This approach may lead to having talented individuals but not necessarily having the same goals as you. The correct method of building a successful team focuses on installing a team with a culture of winning and accountability. Winning and accountability implies that all will be held accountable for the assigned tasks and performance, and when the business is profitable all will benefit. This ensures unity and a common goal that all will strive to achieve. Businesses that possess these qualities will have continued growth and success.
Issue Theme 11th International Symposium of Facial Plastic Surgery; Guest Editors, Jonathan M. Sykes, MD, FACS, and Anthony P. Sclafani, MD, FACS.
Planning Before beginning a business one must be honest and ask themselves, “Do I have the passion and motivation to run a business?” At this point, self-honesty and reflection are key and may help avert a potential financial disaster. In his book, E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It, Michael Gerber1 discusses why 90% of all small businesses fail in the first year. Gerber explains that among entrepreneurs, there is a fatal assumption that possessing the skills needed in specific business (i.e., providing surgery and patient care) translates into a comprehensive understanding of the business (running a practice). In addition, surgeons are particularly set up for failure. Through training, surgeons are taught that with hard work and determination they will succeed and often have during their training. They are entrusted and asked to make all the decisions and assume all the responsibilities. However, success in surgery does not translate into business success, and decision making should be made by those who are qualified to do so. For those willing to prepare, the personal and financial reward can be great.
Leadership The common underlying theme to every successful business is strong leadership. Many surgeons when faced with a difficult decision try to resolve the issue themselves. This often leads to taking on more responsibilities and working long days trying to hold everything together. This common trap that many small business owners fall into, leads to the
Copyright © 2014 by Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc., 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA. Tel: +1(212) 584-4662.
DOI http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1055/s-0034-1371898. ISSN 0736-6825.
This document was downloaded for personal use only. Unauthorized distribution is strictly prohibited.
Ahmed S. Sufyan, MD1
owner possessing a job with all the risk, and not functioning as a business owner should. One should not have to be present at all times in order for the business to run smoothly. When an entrepreneur surrounds themselves with great talent that function independently, this frees up the entrepreneur to do things they enjoy and most instances generating revenue. How does one create strong leadership? The first step is the realization that one cannot control everything. As a leader you must be coachable, or willing to adapt to improve. This vital characteristic differentiates those who will grow and become successful. This process of accountability starts with the leaders. The culture of accountability is then infused into the rest of the team and maintained with systems in place, training sessions, and regularly scheduled follow-up. Many failed business owners feel the need to micromanage every aspect of the daily operations. This undermines employees and leads to excessive time constraint on the entrepreneur. The key to a great leader is influence. Being able to influence or possessing the ability to affect the staff in a positive manner that creates an atmosphere for them to strive for growth. Be honest with the staff. Explain where and how profits are generated. This understanding will provide them with the knowledge on the vital aspects of a business (i.e., not answering the phone may lead to loss of a potential client). Most physicians dread meetings as they consider this a distraction and taking time from doing other things they enjoy. As an effective leader, one must meet with their staff to identify concerns or issues that may arise. This may entail a 90-minute session once monthly depending on the scope of a practice. These meetings will help identify issues regularly to prevent building of frustration or problems that may have arisen since the last meeting. In addition, this allows the leader an opportunity to follow-up on issues since previous sessions.
Sufyan, Williams
in some cases letting go those employees who are not coachable or refuse to change. This process takes time and is imperative that the leader regularly follows up. The direct supervision that the resolution is being implemented should be handled by the office manager and not the surgeon entrepreneur. During the monthly meeting issues can be briefly discussed by the office manager with the surgeon entrepreneur. Have you ever wondered why fast food franchises are so successful? Is it because they have the best staff? In fact, a large portion of their employees have no college degrees. The reasons why they are able to run so effectively are because they have systems in place for implementation of every task. The use of regular coaching strategies allows new system implementation and reinforces existing policies. In a medical practice, acquisition of top performers who have excelled during the evaluation process and have the potential to grow and implement your systems will enable you to assemble a high performance team. In his book, Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done, Larry Bossidy4 reinforces the importance of a leader spending a large part of their time in developing their team members by coaching, having systems in place, and most importantly effective communication. The importance of having a great team is echoed in Jim Collins’5 book, Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap ... and Others Don’t. He reinforces the common theme of all successful businesses and summarizes it in one short phrase: “first who, then what.” Collins uses an example of a bus to illustrate this principle. He explains that what great companies do is make sure that they get “the right people on the bus.” Once they have the right people, then they put “the right people in the right seats on the bus.” Finally, once they have the right people in the right seats, they can determine where to drive the bus. Using this approach will enable your business to be flexible and easily adaptable.
Building a High Performance Team An effective leader will surround themselves with talented individuals. How does one build a successful team? In their book, Topgrading (How to Hire, Coach and Keep a Players), Smart and Smart2 discuss the use of Topgrading—a systematic approach to hiring top performers. This rigorous process of interviews truly assesses an individual’s potential when contemplating filling a position. When poor managers encounter a problem in their office such as tasks not being completed, their initial quick fix solution is to hire another employee. However, this is not the approach that should be used as an entrepreneur. As surgeons our training allows us to make quick decisions that are encountered during surgery or clinical care. Surgeons in general are optimists (otherwise, we would not operate) and tend to hope for the best. When hiring a new employee, a detailed screening and selection needs to be implanted. A famous saying by GE’s former CEO Jack Welch3 is: be slow to hire, quick to fire. When a problem is identified then a solution should be determined. This may involve retraining of staff, coaching existing staff that may not be completing assigned tasks, and
Marketing Why does the customer want? So many times we fail to recognize the answer to this simple question. In fact, many times we suggest services that a patient may not be interested in. If a patient is interested in a certain procedure and it is warranted, then why should we sway them or offer alternative procedures? This can lead to patient dissatisfaction, or pursuing services elsewhere. Many surgeons advertise procedures they feel are important. However, the use of systematic approaches with detailed metrics should be the driving force for any marketing strategy. Specific approaches to your practice depend on market forces in your area. The use of online resources and digital media are excellent resources that are inexpensive. The most consistently successful businesses use strategic planning. The first step is identifying why your business exists? Identify goals to be met. Identify strengths, weakness, and threats to the business. Threats can be competition or other forces that may temporarily impact the business. For example, if every year when schools start your business slows Facial Plastic Surgery
Vol. 30
No. 2/2014
173
This document was downloaded for personal use only. Unauthorized distribution is strictly prohibited.
Key Principles in Running a Successful Business in Facial Plastics
Key Principles in Running a Successful Business in Facial Plastics down, then during that time alternative strategies to bring patients in should be employed. This may be as easy as setting up a special event or offering a discount on certain services during that time. These strategies should be shared with all staff members, so that all are aware and working toward the same goal. At the end of these sessions, creation of an action list with itemized tasks and deadlines to be evaluated during the next session.
Sustaining Growth The use of a systematic approach to increase the growth of a business is described by Verne Harnish6 in Mastering the Rockefeller Habits: What You Must Do to Increase the Value of Your Growing Firm. The use of techniques designed to make a good business great. This involves identifying key indicators in your business, setting priorities by analyzing metrics, and generating the right rhythm for the business. The uses of these methods allow you to identify the core of your business and give you the tools to steer it into success.
and goals are ignored, then a lack of cohesion among the staff will ensue and dysfunction will occur. As this occurs, entrepreneurial leaders will attempt to prevent failure of the business by putting in long hours and days. In reality, the entrepreneurial leader now only possesses a miserable job with little benefits and has assumed all of the financial risks. Taking the necessary steps with preparation and coaching to create a dynamic team, along with effective leadership will ensure continue growth and success and enable you to enjoy the personal and financial rewards that accompany a successful business.
References 1 Gerber M. The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses
2 3 4
Conclusion
5
Running a facial plastic business is a challenging yet rewarding proposition. If the necessary steps and due diligence of taking time to acquire and build a team with the same culture
Facial Plastic Surgery
Vol. 30
No. 2/2014
Sufyan, Williams
6
Don’t Work and What to Do About It. New York, NY: Harper Collins; 1995 Smart B, Smart G. Topgrading (How to Hire, Coach and Keep a Players). Dallas, Texas: Pritchett; 2005 Welch J. Winning. New York, NY: Harper Business; 2005 Bossidy L. Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done. New York, NY: Crown; 2002 Collins J. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap ... and Others Don’t. New York, NY: Harper Business; 2001 Harnish V. Mastering the Rockefeller Habits: What You Must Do to Increase the Value of Your Growing Firm. Ashburn, VA: Gazelles; 2002
This document was downloaded for personal use only. Unauthorized distribution is strictly prohibited.
174
Copyright of Facial Plastic Surgery is the property of Thieme Medical Publishing Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
