Big Practices Change the World

In Chiropractic we must master 3 domains of learning to truly affect large numbers of patients.  Most Chiropractors barely master the first 1 or 2, leaving them largely ineffective for the last and most important domain.  It is in this last and highest level that we are the most powerful when motivating patients to start and continue through our care.  In our offices we overcome the first 2 levels by mastering scripts.  Scripts are carefully thought out, well researched, precisely articulated slices of communication strung together to provide the exact experience you want to pass on to the patient.  Scripts sometimes get a bad name, as the Doctor fears being a robot; however, done properly just the opposite actually occurs.

Academic Domain

The first level we must master in Chiropractic is the Academic Domain or as we like to call it the Philosophy and Science.  Depending on the school, we mostly get this learning from our academic institutions and by reading the Green Books.  We also get this information by reading Chiropractic Publications, reviewing current research and attending seminars.  Most of us get this on our eight year journey to become a Chiropractor then we continually build on it each year.

Psychomotor Domain

For a lot of us in Chiropractic we call this the art.  This is where we apply what we learned so that we can facilitate healing.  As you know, there many different techniques in Chiropractic, most of which trying to reach the same goal, to remove interference, but we just go about it in a different way.  We learn a great amount of this in school and a great amount of this learning occurs through seminars and conferences for years to come.  This is where we are probably strongest as Chiropractors.  However it leaves us extremely myopic to the rest of what it takes to make a big difference.

Afferent Domain

This is the most important part of the patient experience by far.  This is where huge changes are made and big practices are built.  This level of learning refers to the listening, assessment, decision, and communication we must make in the moment when with the patient.   We also know every moment is different, very few patient interactions are the same.  We get different presentations, different questions, different objections, different reactions, crazy stories and so on.  Often times this domain is referred to as being present, however it is much more than just that.  Don’t get me wrong, not being present is a sure practice killer.  What patients want more than anything is to know that their Doctor cares about them.  We see this when the Doctor goes through a major life stressor, their practice drops, almost always.  Likewise when they are on purpose, their practices grow, often time without doing anything different at all.  However, as we layer judgment, decision and communication on top of this we are then in the zone.  The end patient experience is that they feel incredibly cared for as you swiftly assessed and communicated what was wrong, made the correction and effectively managed their journey back to health. So why do we fail so much in this domain.

Too many Chiropractors don’t own this last Domain.  They are too busy struggling to recall,  research or even make up their communication on the fly.  They are continually thinking about what they are about to say next and how to say it.  Then when they do finally get it out it has little impact as usually not even the sentence structure is correct.  The patient then loses confidence, and it is hard to retain them.

The Power of Scripts

This is where the power of scripts comes in.  Through power of scripts we are able to boil down 8+ years of  the Academic and  Psychomotor domains into precise impactful slices of communication, write it out and practice it over and over to drill this deep into our pre-cambric brains so we can recall it automatically much like riding a bike.  By doing this you leave your pre-frontal cortex uncluttered and most available to the patient visit.

You are not alone

We aren’t the only ones trying to do this.  In media, it is referred to as soundbites.   In public speaking, it is called vignettes.  In presentations, it is called talking points.  In Theater, they are called scripts. For these people it becomes essential as they can easily be distracted by cameras lights, makeup, temperature, crowds, etc.

Start with something easy

We have found that there are only 12 reasons why a patient doesn’t start care.  Gather all of the objection you get.  Boil them down to twelve.  Then when you have time free from distraction begin to think, research and write out the perfect response.  Then this must be practiced aloud over and over.  We do this through role playing patient visits.  Just remember how often you come home after not being able to connect with a patient, then the next morning in the shower you say to yourself “Darn, I wish I had said…..”

Onward and Upward…

D…

When I first jumped into this arena I easily found myself intensely engaged in the learning curve till the wee hours of the morning.   Even with easy step by step directions there is still a lot of tweaking required to get it “live.”  We must keep in perspective what we do best and make sure we are operating from that place.  We need to make sure this opportunity enhances our practices and lives not keeps us up all night.

The Dream Team

You might look at someone like Brandon Harshe, Shawn Dill, Michael Dorausch and other great Bloggers in Chiropractic and wonder how do they do that AND practice?  PlanetC1 does SO much for Chiropractic, and though I don’t know him well, through twitter and the like I “see” he still has a huge practice.  How do they do it?

I wondered the same question as I have been on this journey and below I have compiled my “leverage list.”  I have learned to leverage currency and timezones to get things done while I sleep and for a fraction of the cost.

All of the sites below have a few things in common.

• Low Bids – Most of these sites will generate 30-50+ bids for your project posting allowing you to examine their portfolios and see who is a great match.  Also because there are so many bids they are forced to keep their prices very competitive.

• Currency – Most of the bids do come from India, Pakistan, Russia, Eastern Europe etc., therefore our dollar goes a lot further.  It is not uncommon for someone to do great work for you for less than $5-7 per hour.

• Timezone – Lastly because they are usually  12 + timezones away, they are working in their day while you are sleeping in your night!  Just before bed you write out a project….you awake to find it DONE!

Elance.com

This site allows you to post a job or project.  Pretty much any job or project.  These for me have ranged from helping me customize an excel spreadsheet, cleaning up my Quickbooks, creating websites, creating blogs, fixing glitches and the list goes on.

Odesk.com

This site is great for managing a team of people you hire for ongoing projects.  This is by far my favorite site.  It allows you to post your job, interview candidates, manage their work by seeing their screen shots and activities and most importantly it allows them to communicate between other team members you hire.  This gets addictive because it is so easy to manage a whole team and odesk.com works out sending them a 1099 so you don’t worry about payroll problems.

Crowdspring.com

LOVE this site.  Used it many times for logos.  I have written about it before and they always continue to impress me.  Here you post design projects like logos, landing pages or even entire website then you will receive 40+ designs to choose from.  The CEO @rosskimbarovsky is also a great person to follow on twitter as he tweets the conferences he attends.  You will learn a ton from him.

Asksunday.com

This is a great site for a personal assistant.  They have English speaking project managers that help you leverage economy while still being able to communicate clearly.  I use them mainly for research projects.

I still do most of the work myself as I love it.  This blog post was written from my front yard on a sunny Seattle Sunday morning with a great cup of Earl Gray Tea!  However, to really move fast you must outsource your weaknesses and the things you dislike.

PLEASE comment below if you have any other great resources you would like to share!  Or just comment a thumbs up if you liked this post!

darren…

This year is shaping up to be the best year for Upper Cervical Chiropractors.  There has been great media attention, great research attention and the list of MUST see seminars this year is growing and just simply awesome.

I just got off the phone with Dr. Shawn Dill, founder of “That Something” Coaching Program, who just shared with me that Dr. Joe Dispenza will be the Keynote Speaker at this year’s Synapse.  Amazing.

Dr. Joe Dispenza is a personal hero of mine ever since I first became aware of him in “What the Bleep.”  He will be sure to change the way you perceive your reality.

Joe Dispenza, D.C., studied biochemistry at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J. He has a Bachelor of Science degree with an emphasis in Neuroscience from Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA. Dr. Dispenza also received his Doctor of Chiropractic Degree at Life University in Atlanta, Georgia, graduating magna cum laude.

Over the last 10 years, Dr. Dispenza has lectured in over 17 different countries on six continents educating people about the role and function of the human brain. He has taught thousands of people how to re-program their thinking through scientifically proven neuro-physiologic principles. As a result, this information has taught many individuals to reach their specific goals and visions by eliminating self-destructive habits. His approach, taught in a very simple method, creates a bridge between true human potential and the latest scientific theories of neuroplasticity. He explains how thinking in new ways, as well as changing beliefs, can literally rewire one’s brain. The premise of his work is founded in his total conviction that every person on this planet has within them, the latent potential of greatness and true unlimited abilities.

“That Something” Coaching

Agenda

Saturday, July 11th

9:00 to 9:30 – Welcome – Dr. Shawn Dill
9:30 to 1:00 – “The Neurobiology of Change” – Dr. Joe Dispenza
1:00 to 2:00 – Lunch
2:00 to 6:00 – “The Neurobiology of Change” – Dr. Joe Dispenza

Sunday, July 12th

9:00 – 10:30 – Dr. Darren White – “The Worksite Wellness Revolution”
11:00 – 12:00 – Ms. Sumaya Kazi – “Social Media in Chiropractic Marketing”
12:00 – 1:00 – Lunch
1:00 – 2:30 – Dr. Gerard Clum – “The Future of Upper Cervical Specific Chiropractic”
3:00 – 4:30 – Dr. Shawn Dill – “The Specific Vision”

You will also notice Dr. Gerry Clum and Ms. Sumaya Kazi on the agenda to help round out the perfect weekend.  I’m even in the mix there somewhere with some exciting news on the Worksite Wellness front.

To register for this event contact Dr. Shawn Dill or register on his website

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Don’t forget to also reserve your space for the Upper Cervical Evolution this April in Vegas.  Both Dr. Dill and myself will be there.  I think there might still be FREE student lodging. Check out www.uppercervicalevolution.com

This post was inspired by the book, it’s not the BIG that eat the SMALL.. it’s the FAST that eat the SLOW, by Jason Jennings & Laurence Haughton

We are experiencing a Global Unwinding and though the President passed a massive economic bailout a week ago the market continues to spiral down. We are in the biggest economic crisis we have ever seen in our lifetime and the most powerful person in the world made a huge decision and it will take weeks to even notice and years to recover fully.

As small business owners we have the ability to make a decision in the morning and see the effects in the afternoon. There is no campaigning, politicking, voting or winning anyone over, you just make the decision and it is done!

The trouble is we can suffer from analysis paralysis if we stew over the decision too long. I have stewed over many decisions for months even years then when I finally made the decision the results were immediate and explosive leaving me feeling like, Duh!

It’s not the BIG that eat the SMALL… it’s the FAST that eat the SLOW

In order for us to be able to make these decisions FAST we should all adopt a set of Guiding Principle’s. Then when making a decision only one question needs to be answered, “does it fit our Guiding Principles?” We can then quickly run the decision that needs to be made through these principles and swiftly arrive at the appropriate answer.

Schwab’s Guiding Principles

• Is it fair and responsive to our customers?
• Does it respect our fellow employees and the spirit of teamwork?
• Are we striving relentlessly to improve what we do and how we do it?
• Will it earn, and will we worthy of, our customer’s trust?
• Will it reinvent the business?
• We are willing to risk short term revenue to do the right thing for the customer and ensure long-term success.
• Will we own the technology?
• Does it leverage the brand to build trust?
• Will it create and nurture a spirit of innovation?

When Schwab’s CEO was presented with the idea online trading and saw a demonstration of a online transaction he didn’t have to think too much about it. Quickly running this revolutionary idea through their guiding principles they KNEW they could act FAST. Now, almost all financial institutions offer online trading.

What Are Your Guiding Principles?

One of the most important things you can do as you start out is fashion these principles. Your success is directly a result of what and how fast you make decisions. Below is a list of some of mine:

• Is it in alignment with the concept of Innate Intelligence?
• Does it provide for an exceptional Chiropractic experience?
• Does it distinguish us in the marketplace?
• Can it be explained in one or two sentences?
• Is it consistent with how we would take care of our own family?
• Does it have at least 30% Return on investment?

These are just a few of our company’s Guiding Principles, please add yours below in the comment’s section.

Onward and Upward,
Dr. Darren White

Upper Cervical Evolution 2009 – The Process of Advancement
April 16-18, Las Vegas
Green Valley Ranch Resort, Spa & Casino

With great anticipation, the third annual Upper Cervical Evolution is just around the corner and Upper Cervical Health Centers® cordially inviting you to experience this historical event.

As with previous Evolutions, the focus will be Upper Cervical Unity. The weekend will feature 18 guest speakers all of whom are leaders within the Upper Cervical Community, a Student SPIZ Night and a few surprises. CE credits will also be available on the main stage.

Register NOW and save $50.00 off the registration fee. After November 1st, the Student fee will increase to $195.00 and the Doctor fee will increase to $395.00.

Upper Cervical Health Centers will also provide Free Student Rooms for the first 100 students to register! This is putting 4 students per room. UCHC will group individuals based on school and the rooms will be available for three nights.

Last year’s event in Nashville brought together over 235 doctors and students to pay tribute to the founder of Upper Cervical Chiropractic, Dr. B.J. Palmer. They are looking to double attendance this year!

Visit www.uppercervicalevolution.com for more information about guest speakers and agenda. You can also register, reserve rooms, purchase sponsorships, exhibit booths, program print ads, and event t-shirts. You won’t want to miss this event so register today!

Onward and Upward,
Dr. Darren White

The Dream Practice Community – born Saturday, August 16th, 2008.

This community will serve as the perfect playground to simmer down ideas into ideals. This alliance will specifically bridge the gap between successful Chiropractors in the field with the eager Students in school ready to get a jump start on their dreams. As students, you should think of this as your Dream Team that will help you explode into practice. As a Doctor, think of it as a way to give back to the students and make sure our profession moves forward by making sure our offspring get out into practice successfully.

By Invitation Only

This is a closed network. Only Students and Chiropractors with a strong desire to take things to the top will fit this group. I have sent out an initial invite to those that have been most active so far. Please only invite those you know that would have an elevated desire to participate. If you are reading this Chiropractic Blog and feel like you would be a great fit for the group you may apply by sending me an email at drdarrenwhite@mac.com

Let’s keep the discussion going,
Dr.Darren White

Thanks to a website called Personal MBA, we now can get the same education they are receiving at B-School without all the classroom hours, money and time loss. Check out www.personalmba.com and read the Personal MBA Manifesto, then mosey on over to the highly impressive Personal MBA reading list. Set a goal to read the list before (or soon after) you graduate and BAM! you are armed with the business skills necessary to ensure super success in Chiropractic.

One of the strongest reasons to attend a traditional Business School is the network of people it can put you in front of to ensure a great job upon graduation. The Professors, guest lecturers, recruiters and even the students can certainly get you a leg up in your career start. But for us, we don’t need to leverage these relationships, we just need the skills!

Save your money, leverage your time in school and graduate with your Personal MBA. Then share your insights in this Chiropractic Blog.

Onward and Upward,
Dr. Darren White

Thanks Christiana for making me pull my favorite list together.

Garbage in. Garbage out. You have probably heard that several times, but have you ever asked why? Now more then ever have I realized that you are a small product of your genes but a HUGE product of your thots. To have great thots you need to have the proper stimulation. Proper stimulation involves taking note of EVERY experience you have and making sure it puts the proper impression in your head. A while ago I shared my discipline of a Google Reader over the morning newspaper. This is just another tool that keeps great content flowing through my brain. Below is my reading list. It is not exhaustive, but merely my favorite right now and the ones that have had the most impact on my life. I have ready many books that were considered great but at that time they were irrelevant because I wasn’t faced with that challenge. So this list is relevant to me now.

• 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Steven Covey
• The Art of the Start, Guy Kawasaki
• Think and Grow Rich, Napolean Hill
• The Subluxation Specific, The Adjustment Specific, B.J. Palmer
• Awaken the Giant Within, Anthony Robbins
• Getting Things Done, David Allen
• The Game of Work, Charles Coonradt
• The Greatest Salesman in the World, Og Mandino
• The Richest Man in Babylon, George, Clason
• One Minute Manager, Ken Blanchard
• Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, T.Harv Eker
• The Magic of Thinking Big, David Schwartz
• 4 Hour Workweek, Tim Ferriss
• The E-Myth, Michael Gerber
• The Success Principles, Jack Canfield
• The Game of Life, Florence Scovel Shinn
• The 80/20 Principle, Richard Koch
• Book Yourself Solid, Michael Port
• Rules for Revolutionaries, Guy Kawasaki
• How to Make a Hell of a Profit and Still Get to Heaven, John Demartini
• Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand

The book that by far has had the most impact on my life was Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. This book really set the tone for my life when I was about 18.

Share the books that made the biggest difference in your life below in the comments section.

Darren

About a year ago at a Galaxy Seminar, I was exposed to a new time management system by David Allen called “Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity.” This is the system that really high producers use and once on board you will realize why. I starting implementing this system so that I too, could have a “mind like water” by being able to brain dump everything into a reliable system. The trouble was I had no real way to sync everything I was doing at home, office and on the road.

Syncing Personal Productivity

The iPhone has officially arrived and it arrived in style. It was an amazing couple of days here in Seattle watching everyone scramble to get one. All the AT&T stores were selling out in hours and had lines lasting several hours. The Apple Store was different… they have not run out…yet. People are waiting over 5 hours to get theirs.

What’s the fuss all about?

Being a first generation iPhone owner, I have had a year to play around with it and was pretty savvy with all the tools. NOTHING prepared me for what this version brings. Yes, the phone has 3G high speed internet and has real GPS but the real quantum leap lies in the 2.0 software.

The App Store

The iPhone now has the capability to allow for third party applications. At the time of writing there are over 500 applications ranging from games, news, social, business, finance, lifestyle and my favorite… productivity.

OmniFocus

Ever since my conversion to MAC, I have been using OmniFocus, which is personal productivity software that embraces the GTD culture (Getting Things Done). As per the GTD methodology my life is organized into projects. Projects are any goals that require more then 1 action step. Action steps are the tasks required to complete a project. Simple so far? Next, the action steps each have a context. A context is location / tool specific environment that is need to complete the task. For example the task “send fax to Shawn Dill” needs to happen in the “context” of the “office.” The task “Clean the Garage” can only happen in the “context” of “Home.” The power in this lies in the fact that you can see your tasks arranged in context. So if you are at the office you will see only the action steps you could accomplish there.

Personal Productivity Everywhere

Today OmniFocus released its OmniFocus for the iPhone! We can now “push” or sync the iPhone to your MAC. Also because the new iPhone has real GPS, the “location feature” is enabled. This means that the phone locks into your current location and pulls all the tasks that could be done within the vicinity. It knows when you are at or near the office and shows you only those tasks. If you are near a grocery store it will bring up any action that have that context. To explain it another way, imagine you have some down time waiting for a plane. You hit the location feature and the phone recognizes you are not near any of your usual places of productivity (ie. office, home, etc.) so it pulls all of your tasks that can be comleted on the phone or email. Whoops the location just found a bookstore in the airport and now the task to buy the new “The Better People Leader” book by Charles Coonradt just popped onto your radar! It’s a productive day at the airport!

Knight of Wands

On the run with no time to stop for the all important Tarot reading. Pull out the iPhone and tap the iTarot application to get your cards for the day! Thanks to the App store you will always be “connected.”

How are you using the new iPhone? Is it a sensation or sensational? Comment below!

Darren

Thank you so much for the great feedback on the Dream Practice Blueprint. I have a lot of fantastic suggestions to keep me busy for awhile. One of the most frequent concerns I am hearing is “How the heck to you keep track of all this stuff?” It did not happen overnight! In fact it was just the opposite. Like most “overnight successes,” it was many years in the making. Consider that it is really the small little things you do on a daily basis that ultimately land you at the top.

We have all heard these many times.

1. Let’s get back to basics.
2. It’s a game of inches.
3. Just swim to the next buoy.
4. Success is a habit.

When you have taken on a mission that is bigger than yourself, it is easy to get lost in the big picture and loose sight of what needs to be done today to ensure your success tomorrow. Taking the Chiropractic Story to the masses can be a daunting task when you think about all that needs to be done, especially if you own your own practice. In every moment someone or something in vying for your attention, and it becomes so easy to get off track and lose focus and purpose.

Daily Success Rituals

One tool I have loved to use is a Daily Success Ritual Checklist. This checklist is to be reviewed and checked off every day. Then you can archive the list, peer back on the most unchecked items, and get help in those areas.

What goes on the List?

As we go through life, we pick up advice that we know is common between all successful people. We know athletes practice every day for hours. We know that Sales People make X number of calls per day. One of the biggest ones that turns up over and over is writing 3 thank you notes per day. Make a study of your mentors and heroes. Dig in deep and find out what their day looks like. Collect these gems and put them on your list.

The Dream Practice List

This list is highly unique for each individual. Click here to download mine below so you have a place to start.

In the Comments section below please share 1 or 2 items you think should be on this checklist.

darren