Tina Wixon explores the need to re-set your goals and the steps you can take to make sure you achieve them…
Alongside all the operational changes practices have had to make in the wake of COVID-19, many have also changed what the ‘bigger picture’ of their business looks like.
Lots of practice owners may well be now looking at the goals for their practice and deciding it is no longer fit for purpose.
For some this may be due to a feeling of necessity, to mitigate and overcome the disruption caused by the pandemic. While for others it may have been borne from being able to take the time to reflect on the direction they really want to take their practice and what they now feel is best for themselves, the business and their patients.
Taking back control with a new goal
Either way, the path your practice was on at the start of 2020 will likely have taken a diversion and re-setting the destination will put you back in control.
One of the ways we saw practices setting new goals post-lockdown was by renewing their focus on their membership plan. For some this was by prioritising growing the numbers on their plan, and for others it was a move to a membership-only operating model.
The reason behind this is doubtless connected to how well practices with a well-populated plan fared during the lockdown months, with the majority seeing very few cancellations meaning they still received a healthy income from plan fees while closed.
Deciding to change your overall business goals and press re-set can feel like a big step, especially if the driver was from external forces beyond your control.
Steps to help you achieve your goals
So how do you go about setting new goals and achieving them? Below are some steps worth considering:
Make sure you have a purpose you believe in
For you and your team to be motivated to work towards the goal, you and they need to have a strong reason why. Everyone involved in achieving the goal needs to know why, so think about how this new goal will benefit the patients, the team and the business. Communicate this with the team, and maybe even have a visual reminder of it somewhere, such as the staff room.
Consistent efforts reap big results
You might be able to set aside a lot of time and really throw yourself into achieving your new goal. However, if you feel time poor and think you just don’t have the capacity to achieve your goal, you might need less time than you think. David Hyner, motivational speaker and facilitator on goalsetting and purpose, says that spending just five to ten minutes a day on something, every day, by the end of the year you will have an increase in productivity of in excess of 112%, because of compounded effectiveness.
Break it down into small steps
Sometimes the big things you want to achieve seem scary, almost impossible to achieve. But if you break things down and keep ticking them off, it’s amazing how far you can get in a short space of time. The key is to not get too hung up by the end goal, but to keep chipping away, and before you know it, the end is in sight
Plan ahead and prepare as much as you can
Whatever objectives you’ve set for your practice, don’t skip the preparation. Thinking ahead means identifying and minimising the potential pitfalls and that leads to a more seamless, more enjoyable and more productive journey.
However your goals may have changed, the above steps can set you on your way to achieving them. After the challenging year that practices have faced, a new or revised goal may well be necessary but it could also be reinvigorating to set a new, positive direction for yourself.