Plan for success

[caption id="attachment_6824" align="alignnone" width="750"] Ed Toland and Kris Morrill[/caption] If you want to reach your professional, personal and business goals, developing a plan is critical, Ed Toland BSc, MBA told the XXXIV Congress of the ESCRS in Copenhagen, Denmark. “It is a vital discipline for charting progress of your business,” he said. Just as important is including objective performance indicators for measuring progress in the short-, medium- and long-term, added Toland, who is general manager at Wellington Eye Clinic in Dublin, Ireland. “If you aren’t measuring it you can’t manage it.” Toland and marketing consultant Kris Morrill offered questions to answer in developing a simple business plan. They advised sitting down with your partners, associates and managers and asking each about their practice and personal goals over the next year, the next three-to-five years and after five years. Think about practice specialisation, size, revenue, skills development, retirement – whatever you want to achieve. Toland said these form the basis of your mission, which can be as simple as Wellington’s: “Improving the quality of life by improving the quality of vision.” More specifically, Wellington focuses on refractive surgery and is committed to continuous performance improvement in clinical outcomes, patient satisfaction, service, human resource management and marketing, he added. Who are your key partners? These may include referral sources, consumable suppliers, consultants, and capital equipment suppliers. Ask what you buy or receive from them and why. For capital suppliers, long-term return on investment and how it fits with your long-term goals is critical, Toland said. For referring colleagues, consider their motive, such as monetary gain or referrals back from you, and how these fit with your goals. VALUE PROPOSITION What is your value proposition? The products and services you deliver to patients and the problems they solve for them are included. Specify refractive or cataract, and target patient populations. What key activities support your value proposition? This may include marketing, and its performance should be monitored. This can be as simple as asking patients where they heard about your practice, Toland noted. What kind of relationships do you need with your patients? This varies by patient need and is different for Millennials than for Baby Boomers. Think about the relationships you have and how well it matches you target populations. How are you getting your patients? Consider referral sources and what you are doing, or need to do, to bring value to them. What is your cost structure? Ask what functions cost the most to provide and whether they produce enough income to sustain themselves. As medical practice is a service industry, pay attention to employee training and development as they are your public face, Toland said. What are your revenue streams? Which services your patients are willing to pay for, and how much they are willing to pay, are key questions. What other income sources you rely on and how these match your goals is also critical, he also noted. For each question, think about how you can measure performance. This might include revenue and cost targets for finances or staff turnover for human resources. These should be compared with goals laid out in your business plan at least every three to six months, Toland said. With the answers, sketch out a simple business plan. It won’t be perfect, and it will need frequent updates. However, it will help to keep your efforts focused on achieving your goals. Ed Toland: ed.toland@wellingtoneyeclinic.com