2 February 2022

One month into the new year and we often start hearing jokes about new year’s resolutions being broken within a few minutes of midnight. I find this amusing but also disappointing that as humans we wish to change and improve but often struggle.

A new year’s resolution is a commitment to start doing or stop doing something over the course of the next twelve months. In medical practices and other businesses, managers and principals often get caught up in the day to day and spend maximum effort working “in” the business with no energy left to work “on” the business. To achieve true potential the principals in a practice must increase their focus on the key actions necessary to drive the practice forward.

Resolution #1: Vision and Strategy

In Australia the extended break between December and January gives us all a chance to slow down, recharge our batteries and reflect on goals both personal and business related. As we have had a chance to take a break and reset, the next few months will be critical for practice managers and principals to set the tone for staff as they return from leave full of energy. Reviewing the practice vision and strategy, committing these to paper and communicating this to the team should be resolution number one.

While some practices have a vision and a strategy, in many cases these are not clearly articulated to the team. This makes it incredibly difficult to break down and understand where energy should be directed on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Top performing practices have a clearly defined vision and strategy, and the team is focused and working as one.

Resolution #2: Clear action plan

The use of an action plan off the back of a clear vision and strategy should be resolution number two. An action plan outlines key tasks which help drive the practice forward to achieve its vision and strategy. The key tasks are allocated to team members with completion dates.

Resolution #3: Regular check-ins

Committing to monthly meetings that focus on the action plan should be resolution number three. While many organisations have meetings, this one is a little different as the sole purpose is the setting and tracking of priorities in the action plan. Over time the action plan and the related priorities change as the practice starts tracking and meeting clearly identified goals.

Although there is work to be done to improve and drive your practice forward our team at Findex can support you through the process. Contact our business specialists here.

Let’s make 2023 the year you achieve your personal and business goals.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the thought or position of Findex (Aust) Pty Ltd.