viewpoint

Leadership and Planning

Define your practice’s success in 2015 through these two key areas

FROM THE EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
Jim Thomas

I can fill several volumes with what I’ve learned about leadership and planning through the years. I can easily fill several warehouses with the lessons I don’t know. To some, this may appear to be my deficit, but to others (those who see the glass as half full) it’s an advantage, an opportunity to continue learning.

Delegation beyond tasks

In this spirit, there are many lessons in this month’s issue of OM, which is devoted to leadership and planning, that are worth repeating. In this limited space, let me address two. The first, in Dr. Mike Rothschild’s cover article on leadership, which begins on page 14, is delegation. In OM articles alone, the number of times optometrists have been urged to delegate is sizeable, but Dr. Rothschild takes it a step further. Rather than delegating only duties, he recommends delegating leadership. How can leaders give up something they often hold so dear? Because of the simple truth Dr. Rothschild’s point out: You can’t do it all alone.

Each of his practice’s five “zones” — scheduling, clinical, front of house, distribution and financial — has a leader who works with the other leaders. Some might consider the approach delegation on steroids; others will recognize it as part of a smart business plan.

Planning everyday

Speaking of planning, it might be the only business subject we cover more than delegation. There are scores of articles to corroborate the idea that business plans often fail. Reasons include complacency, fear, tackling too much at once, poor communication, not hitting the projections, and the list goes on.

A common thread in several of this month’s articles on planning is the idea of delegating a team member to measure and report the success of the plans on a daily basis. When planning becomes a daily activity, it’s no longer unfamiliar. It becomes part of the organization’s culture. Complaints about the outcome of planning can be identified, addressed and righted on a daily basis. Goals can be updated to reflect great or not-so-great performance. Better still, when daily results are communicated to the team, everyone becomes more aware and responsible for the success of the plans.

Holiday planning

Make sure you take time out to plan for a happy and healthy holiday season. On behalf of the staff at OM, we wish you the best and look forward to serving you in 2015. OM