- Thou Shalt Not Manage Other People’s Money
Your clients decide what they can afford. If they can’t afford your treatment plan, then there may be other options, but stop deciding on their behalf what’s affordable. - Thou Shalt Not Trash Talk Thyself
Yes you can be realistic about where you need to learn and grow. No you may not dwell on stupid sh*t. - The Shalt Not Ignore the Phone
Seriously. “They’ll leave a message” is costing you appointments because they’re not always leaving a message. Get a service. Forward your calls. Hire someone. Use online booking. Often one extra booked appointment is enough to pay an admin assistant for a day. - Thou Shalt Not Give in to Ultimatums
Don’t be held hostage to patients, staff, associates and partners who give you ultimatums. There’s no future there, and they poison your daily work. Deal with them like this. - Thou Shalt Not Spend Dumb Time at the Office
Working more doesn’t mean earning more or helping more. Sometimes work expands to fit the time you give it, and working less has great benefits.
- Thou Shalt Not Ignore That You’re In Business
You are. It’s not going to go away. But instead of seeing that as scary, wrong, or distasteful, what if you could see things a different way? For a paradigm shift, try our free ebook, The Gift. We wrote it for students, but it’s really for everyone. 🙂 - Thou Shalt Not Try to Be Perfect
First of all, you’re not going to get there. Second, “perfect” is the enemy of “done” – trying to get everything right is a “perfect” recipe for staying frozen in one spot. And lastly, a little failure is actually how we learn and move forward. Maybe failing more, not less, is what you need. - Thou Shalt Not Play it So Safe All The Time
The consequences of failure are often not that big (See #7). To grow more, sometimes you need to risk more. - Thou Shalt Not Overload People With Information
Patients need insight. Interpretation. Support. Caring. Wisdom. But they don’t need a pile of information–that’s what Google is for. Be wary of giving more information. - Though Shalt Not Obsess About Your Competition
Accept that a little competition has some benefits. Partner with them. Refer to them. But don’t lose sleep over them. Just get on with being awesome.
Why stop at ten? Got a rule that helps you find your way in practice? Share it with everyone by leaving a comment!
