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| Dear Friend,
Partnership. What is it really?
That's the subject of this Monday's blog post, What Does Partnership Really Mean? You can follow the link to read the post online, or just keep reading for the rest of the story.
What does partnership mean in a medical group? What does it mean to you? What does it mean for your group? What does it mean if you are setting up a medical group?
I recently heard from someone (a partner in a law firm) who was recounting a story of another lawyer, who, years ago, has lost a major client. As a result, he realized (and he was right) that the writing was on the wall: he'd soon be tossed out of the partnership.
Also, years ago, when I was a partner in a larger firm, one of the partners made a mistake - not a legal malpractice mistake, not even a mistake in judgment. It was just a simple, human mistake, the kind of mistake that anyone might make. Within days, the majority of the partners had voted to terminate him.
We often strive to become a partner, a shareholder, a member – whatever the arrangement is to attain the golden ring, the equity position.
But, seldom do we ask what it means when we get there.
I once had a partner who quipped that it was going to be cheaper to make “Sally” a partner, because then “Sally” would simply receive a draw and we could determine the rest of her compensation at the end of the year, instead of having her remain a very senior associate, in which case we would be required to make a commitment up front as to her base compensation package and probable bonus.
None of these stories is about what most people would call "partnership."
Instead, they're stories of business entities that, although styled as "partnerships," are in reality just a collection of individuals, with a large dose of the notion of fair-weather friends tossed in for good measure.
Are the ties that bind one way or two, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health . . . or at least until we decide to toss you out on your ass?
Does that type of structure create a business model designed to succeed in the future, or is it simply situational?
The stories, of course, demonstrate the precarious nature of not-too-solid partnership from the partner perspective.
But the issue is the same from the perspective of the partnership itself: What sort of entity have you built, if it's an entity at all? What sort of message does its structure send to the partners and to those who might desire to become partners?
How does all of this bode for the entity's, and your, future?
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| | | Tuesday - Are You Penalizing for the “Wrong” Answer to the Wrong Question? - Success in Motion
Watch the video here, or just keep reading below for a slightly polished transcript:
I recently went to the airport to register for “Clear," the service that gets you through airport security lines even faster because it zips you to the head of the PreCheck line. I like stuff like that!
Wow, I thought as I arrived at the airport, this is going to be great!
But when I went to prove my identity at a Clear station at LAX, besides having to do all the biometric stuff, I was asked a series of identifying questions that someone – who the hell knows, the government, Clear itself, an intermediary that’s hired to assess identity? – posed.
One of the questions showed one of my prior addresses, presented a list of vehicles, and queried which specific one I had registered at that address.
I had never owned any of the listed cars. But "none" was not a choice!
When I told the Clear employee that I had never owned any of those care, she snapped back, “are you sure? Take a look again.”
I didn't need to look again. I told her a second time that I’d never owned any of those cars, so it was impossible that I could have registered one of them at any address.
Her response was, “well, you got one question wrong.”
That made me think. Do we, too, expect people to give us intelligent or valuable answers to the completely wrong question?
The completely wrong question could be in any number of circumstances: It could be on a questionnaire for patients, customers, clients, or whatever you call them. It could be in connection with questions posed during the course of negotiations, questions that not only don’t make sense but are completely inapplicable to the deal.
How often do we really sit down and look at what we’re asking and then question whether those questions are really designed to elicit any truly useful information? |
| | Wednesday - Do You Know What Costco Pharmacy Doesn't About the Lifetime Value of a Customer? - Medical Group Minute
Watch the video here, or just keep reading below for a slightly polished transcript:
I’m writing this as I’m waiting for a flu shot at a Costco pharmacy. And waiting. And waiting.
Like a dry cleaner, healthcare providers have to screw up to lose a customer’s loyalty. Dry cleaners know that once they attract a customer, it’s extremely likely that he or she will continue to patronize the store for years unless the dry cleaner does something to wreck the relationship. Like break the buttons on your shirts two weeks in a row.
It’s all about customer satisfaction.
But the larger the organization is, the lower the overall buy in-to customer satisfaction. The more removed someone is from the bottom line, the less the loss of any single customer is perceived to cost him or her. The employee, or so he thinks, will continue to collect a paycheck and, maybe, just maybe, get measured by his “efficiency,” such as, in the case of a chain store pharmacy, the number of pills the employee pushes out the door each month.
Compare a big box pharmacy with one owned by an independent pharmacist. The independent pharmacist knows that she profits from filling more prescriptions but she also knows that without a customer there are no prescriptions to fill. And, very importantly, even at a $13 profit on the average prescription transaction, if the customer has a family of 4 whose scripts she also fills, the customer is worth at least several thousand dollars in profit over a four or five year period.
So what's this mean for you?
Done right, a customer isn’t a discrete transaction. Instead it's a long term relationship with a lifetime value. And, it’s the same if your “customer" is a patient, a referral source, or a hospital . . . or anyone or anything else. Appreciate the value of that lifetime relationship. It highlights the essential fact that you can invest far more than you thought in money and in interaction to create and nurture it.
It's easier for smaller competitors to compete for business that depends on a relationship than it is for larger ones. And, all business depends on relationships. So if your practice or business is small, take advantage of it. Develop deep and lasting relationships.
If you’re the leader of a larger organization, be afraid of what you don't consider to be your competition. There might be economies of scale in terms of purchasing and administration, but customer service is one at a time. Make sure that your hiring focuses on the skills required for customer satisfaction, train for it, fire for lack of it, and reward those who deliver it, not only for how many pills they push out the door or how many billing units they generate.
I’m still waiting for that flu shot. And I’m about to Google for another pharmacy.
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| | | Listen to the podcast here, or just keep reading for the transcript.
I recently read in a magazine aimed at the hospital administrator market that administrators make the decision to terminate their facility's relationship with a physician group because it makes business sense to do so, and that emotion is not a part of the equation.
Although I have certainly met many hospital administrators who had no personality, or at least no readily ascertainable redeeming characteristics, they were still, to the best of my knowledge, people.
And people can't separate emotions from decision-making. They can lie about it and claim emotions are not a factor, but it's frankly impossible for emotions not to be a major driver of decision-making.
The lesson here is not that physician groups can ignore the quality of their service, including the quality of responsiveness to a hospital administration's issues. That would be foolish.
But it would be equally foolish to believe that strategies based on emotion have little value when in fact behavioral economists and psychologists who study decision-making clearly acknowledge how irrational our emotion laden decision-making it really is.
Knowing how to develop emotion-based strategies and how to implement them are simply among the "combined arms" tools that medical groups must develop in order to thrive.
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| | | Calibrate Your Compass
Read our exclusive RedPaper to guide you through this evolving situation.
The coronavirus crisis caused a short-term economic crisis for many medical groups. Our RedPaper shows you the way out. Plus, many of the concepts discussed are applicable during both good times and bad.
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| | Help Us Help You With Helpful Content
What tailored content would you most like to see during this
time? How can we focus on solutions to your most pressing strategic concerns?
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| | | | We all hear, and most of us say, that the pace of change in healthcare is quickening. That means that the pace of required decision-making is increasing, too. Unless, that is, you want to take the “default” route. That’s the one is which you let someone else make the decisions that impact you; you’re just along for the ride. Of course, playing a bit part in scripting your own future isn’t the smart route to stardom. But despite your own best intentions, perhaps it’s your medical group’s governance structure that’s holding you back.
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| In fact, it’s very likely that the problem is systemic. The Medical Group Governance Matrix introduces a simple four-quadrant diagnostic tool to help you find out. It then shows you how to use that tool to build your better, more profitable future. Get your free copy Free.
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| | | | Whenever you're ready, here are 4 ways I can help you and your business:
1. Download a copy of The Success Prescription. My book, The Success Prescription provides you with a framework for thinking about your success. Download a copy of The Success Prescription here.
2. Be a guest on “Wisdom. Applied. Podcast.” Although most of my podcasts involve me addressing an important point for your success, I’m always looking for guests who’d like to be interviewed about their personal and professional achievements and the lessons learned. Email me if you’re interested in participating.
3. Book me to speak to your group or organization. I’ve spoken at dozens of medical group, healthcare organization, university-sponsored, and private events on many topics such as The Impending Death of Hospitals, the strategic use of OIG Advisory Opinions, medical group governance, and succeeding at negotiations. For more information about a custom presentation for you, drop us a line.
4. If You’re Not Yet a Client, Engage Me to Represent You. If you’re interested in increasing your profit and managing your risk of loss, email me to connect directly. |
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