Goals: Telos
The Greeks believed that everything had its own innate goal – or Telos. Telos means ultimate aim or purpose of something. The Telos of an acorn is a tree – the purpose of a pencil is to write.

Steven Covey lists Beginning with the End in Mind as an essential habit in leadership and effectiveness.

Now is a good time to review the Telos of your office. What is its innate purpose? There may be a few of them.

Take it a step further – what are the values and standards in which the office must aspire to in order to achieve this mission? For example, “Deliver WOW through service?” (A core value of Zappos).

Reviewing these often and keeping them in mind will assist you and your team to manifest the tangible outcomes of these goals – more people helped and more income collected.

Your Patient’s Goals: Health Never Takes a Holiday
Your patients have made a goal for better health. Don’t’ let them down – help to keep them on their path to a pain free, functionally improved, and healthier life. Here is a desk poster for you to remind patients to keep their appointments over the Holidays. Link

Two Marketing Engines that Help You Reach Your Goals
One aspect of your clinic’s goals should be marketing. Marketing takes many forms, but ultimately it results in more people receiving benefits from your services.

Marketing gimmicks come and go. They work for a while, and then, soon enough, you find that that “hole” is “fished out.” Special promotions and direct marketing avenues need to be pursued. They work and are especially useful for new offices. But they need to be changed often – marketing channels get clogged quickly and the public tires of spam offers.

There are two forms of marketing, however, that will never wear out: extraordinary customer service and outcomes, and your network.

• Extraordinary Service. Superior service will be THE distinguishing factor that differentiates your business from others. People want to go to the best provider – 5 Star reviews work – for now. But as Internet review systems get hacked – people will look for the best and rely more on word of mouth and endorsements. Simply – be the best at delivering the best.
• Your Network. Those people who like you form relationships with you and others. Most offices have a network of supporters but are rarely nurtured. These supporters can and should be developed so that you create a network of alliances – people and business who all share your goals for better health are willing to send customers to each other because of their familiarity and trust.

Before the year is out, or just as the New Year begins, consider personally meeting with anyone in and out of your office who has sent you a patient, or supported you in any way. From patients to allied providers to the autobody repair shop down the street, send them a nice and unique gift, or a personal card, or make a phone call thanking them. Tell them you look forward to working with them and seeing them in the New Year. They are part of your network.

Lastly, on a personal note, we want you to know how much we appreciate all the great work you and your team do in helping people improve their lives. If you can, imagine all of us – you, and other offices like you, all of us working diligently as a positive force to make the world a better place.

This is a noble goal – and one we share with you in the New Year. We’ll see you then!

With admiration and respect,

Ed, David, and all of us, at Petty Michel & Associates