Category Archives: COVID-19

Why What You Stand For is Important

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Ed Petty, at Goal Driven, talks about masks for kids.Why What You Stand for Is so Important

I want to tell you about my experience on TV talking about masks for kids, but first, here is a related short story…

A few years back, an office asked me to meet with them for lunch. They wanted to discuss how their office was doing and if I could help them.

I liked the doctors and had known them for some time.  They had a group practice and had been in business for several years.  We met over sandwiches, and they said they had been working with a consultant who emphasized “evidenced-based” chiropractic.

My response could have been better as I look back on it now.

Barely concealing my disdain, I asked them whose approval they were seeking. Wasn’t there enough “evidence” from the results that they had with their patients over the years? Sure, double-blind studies are good for validation – but didn’t they already have enough evidence from their happy patients and their remarkable outcomes?

Had I been trying to “sell” them on our services, I would not have acted so irreverently to their seemingly serious question. But, instead, I tried to re-convince them that they did have enough proof, and the problem with their office (one of many problems) was that they were not promoting the successes they routinely achieved with their patients.

The doctors seemed equivocal about their services, so I asked them if they were committed to their profession and helping their patients reach their health goals. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a straight answer.

It seemed that they were seeking approval from some authority –  rather than from their neighbors who struggle daily with pain and poor health.

Now, years later, I recently had a friend see one of the chiropractors I met for lunch years ago. The doctor currently works as an employee for a local hospital and the office that he once co-owned no longer exists.

All this is a true story, and the lesson is that you have to have faith, confidence, and belief in your services, and mostly, in yourself.

You must stand up for what you know and use your voice to help others – find theirs.

You shouldn’t be too outrageous as this can completely alienate you from others, not unless you want to! But find your level of certainty, independence, and rebelliousness and help others to do the same.

Masks for Kids: I am on local television

I was reminded of all this recently when a local TV station asked what I thought about masks for school children. I was on our main street, and a local reporter started asking me questions. You can watch my response and that of others here. Ed’s on T.V.!

Standing up for natural health care,

Ed

Buy my book, the Goal Driven Business. It is a distillation of my 35 years of in-the-field lessons about building a profitable practice and business. It will help you help more people. Go here to learn about the Goal Driven Business –A New Business Building Methodology for Professional Practices

Take the Middle Road and Educate.

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“In other words, people may be dying for the need of Chiropractic, and yet they will refuse, unless they have been educated to its character and their need of it.”
B.J. Palmer (The Story of Selling Yourself)

I try to visit Facebook at least once a week. When I do, I sometimes see posts by others labeling the behavior of the public as “sheeple.” The term, I guess, refers to people acting obediently like sheep. The context usually includes those who believe that COVID-19 is a scam and view people who wear facemasks and observe CDC rules for quarantining as weak and stupid, and easily manipulated.

There certainly are indications, as well as precedents, that can support this view. The promotion of potential threats to generate fear has often been used to motivate people. Think of all the weapons of mass destruction that we were told Iraq had – which they didn’t have — that justified a 3 trillion-dollar war (estimated, Wikipedia) to the U.S. alone—not counting up to 400,000 killed. Someone made money off that scam.

There are over 100 cataloged types of biases, and we all have our own odd fears and weird ideas. Included with this is our basic “I-am-right” mechanism that makes others wrong and emboldens our ego.

Recently, I was talking to someone on their speakerphone while they drove in their car. They were wearing a mask and their voice was slightly muffled. I thought to myself that it was odd to talk to someone who was wearing a mask while in their car. Then, I was reminded that the person I was talking with has unselfishly devoted his entire life to taking care of his severely health-compromised daughter.

We all have our own stories and fight our own battles – with the best knowledge we have.

Another method to control people is to dissuade them from education and from learning to think critically and question authority.

So, I invite you to consider this as your #1 duty as a doctor – and as support staff — to educate your patients and community. Doctor, after all, means teacher.

People do not know what you know.

Perhaps they don’t want to know, are too tired, or seem too lazy to make an effort to learn. Maybe they have already made up their mind, and their view reinforces their own identity. But don’t give up on people — they are part of your family. They are your brothers and sisters.

Use newsletters, social media (even Facebook!), webinars, and especially Table Talk.

Educate because you care for people. Market your services from an attitude of compassion.

We are not sheep. We just don’t know. And regardless of what we say, privately, we look to you and your integrity — for your wisdom, your help, and your friendship.

Ed

The Story of Selling Yourself by B.J. Palmer

Keep putting your business THERE

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A tree withstands storms but continues with its systems.

Just a note here about procedures:

Keep the structure of your business – its policies and procedures — in place. As much as you can, stick to your usual routines.

Certainly, you want to integrate needed changes to prevent the spreading of the virus. And obviously, for many of you, patient volume has changed, so you may have to adjust your work hours and staff hours.

You do need to be flexible. Improvise — where needed, adapt, and overcome! (Paraphrase of Marine slogan!)

But do not let the virus be the tail that wags the dog!

Keep the recalls going. Keep the billing going. Hold staff meetings, if only by Zoom. Rally the team! Review numbers and SET GOALS. Give staff study assignments. If anything, increase your patient communication 5 times – or more.

Strengthen your network.

I bring this up as I have seen a few offices start to slack off on their procedures, and while this is understandable in many situations, it can be a slippery slope. This can set a precedent for neglecting other procedures. This is what leads to office anarchy and what I call “Procedural Atrophy.”

Procedural Atrophy is the gradual dropping out of procedures. For example, you used to call every new patient after their first adjustment and send out birthday cards. Then, you became so busy that you “didn’t have time” to do the calls or to makes sure the staff sent out birthday cards. Two years later, you wonder what happened to all your patients.

We are NOT victims. We will respond positively and use this opportunity to strengthen our resolve and our health network.

Hold true to time tested procedures during unusual conditions.

Stability breeds confidence. Your patients are looking to you to be the rock that they can count on.

Management’s job is to hold the structure of the organization in place. (And then improve upon it.) It may have to be abbreviated, economy of time, effort and money come into play, but … do the usual. Set your goals and stick to your successful procedures to reach them.

Do this, and after this storm passes — your business will be busier than ever.

Working now for the future,

Ed

Thank You, Essentials

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Petty Michel and Associates Thank the Essentials

(image from the movie Troy, with Brad Pitt playing Achilles, a Greek warrior. Reddit)

You and your team may not recognize this, and the word hero is overused, but in our book, this is what you are. Heroes.

Caught up with dealing with the urgencies of the times, you and your team may overlook the crucial and significant role you all play in raising the level of physical and emotional health of your community.

Without you, people in acute pain might tax critical and urgent care resources. Without you, patients on corrective or maintenance care might fall back into acute care.

You help alleviate our pain and improve our health – including our immune system.  You calm our concerns with your well-informed insight and give us action steps to improve our health.

Health, as we know, is dependent upon mechanical, chemical, and emotional factors. Besides your adjustments and therapy, you provide education – and reassurance that this pandemic will pass.

I hear about it every day. You risk your health to help others, both physically and mentally.

Let your team know the vital role that they are playing.

Years from now, when asked what they did during 2020 Pandemic, they will be able to say that they were Essential Health Care Workers — and didn’t flinch.

And we just wanted to tell you – very sincerely – THANKS!

From all of us at Petty Michel and Associates.

Heros

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Heros and Teamwork is what it takes to win this battle against COVID-19.

These are dedicated and brave support professionals and doctors – and there are thousands of you who work hard each day in spite of personal risk — to help others.
And there are also quite a few of us mask sewers! 🙂

Together, we’ll beat this virus.