I arrived in Toronto in the summer of 1995. I am not sure how long it took me to find a family doctor, but I know it couldn’t be very long. The doctor I had was close to retirement. Anyway, I remember one time I wasn’t feeling very well and went to see him. He did a bunch of tests and told me that nothing was wrong with me. I asked him if it was normal to have a sore throat and slight fever for eight months, and he said, “No.”
I wasn’t very pleased with him and wondered why he couldn’t tell me he didn’t know what was wrong with me. Shortly thereafter, he retired and sold his practice to my present doctor, Dr Dacre. Here are some business lessons you can learn from my family doctor, Dr Dacre. He is so different from the other doctor and I am grateful that I have him in my corner.
Business Lessons You Can Learn from My Family Doctor
Listen without judging: Dr Dacre listens to me without judging. I can speak to him openly and know I will be heard. Although he is an excellent doctor, he is willing to try different ways of doing things. But more importantly, by listening, a doctor can better diagnose the patient’s illness. In business, asking the right questions allows you to provide your customers and clients with better products and services that solve their problems. When was the last time you listened closely to your clients, so that they will hire your products and services to solve their problems?
Have you read?
What Problems Do Your Products and Services Solve?
Record information so you can review later: My doctor records everything in my patient record, so he can refer to it. As I have mentioned a few times, I was sick a lot last year, and had bronchitis twice in five weeks, very close to Christmas. Because I was feeling so sick when I had bronchitis the last two times, I went to a walk-in clinic. Since I know that he likes to record everything, I made sure that I gave Dr Dacre all the information, so he has easy access.
When you keep good customer records, you do not have to ask questions that you should know the answers to. And on the other hand, if a customer forgets a conversation, or some important information, you can quickly check the customer file for the answer.
A relationship goes two ways: Relationships are about give and take. When Dr Dacre learned that I wrote a book in 2007, he ordered a copy on Amazon. And he read it. That made me feel special even though I know that he would do the same thing for another client. Others believed that I should give them a copy of the book for free instead of supporting me.
Years ago, when I asked if I could interview him for my blog, he said “Yes.” Support your clients to show that you appreciate their business. Think about little gestures to make to your clients.
Have you read?
The Invisible Mentor Interviews Roger Dacre, Medical Doctor
The Invisible Mentor Interviews Roger Dacre, Medical Doctor Part Two
Automate to serve your clients better: Dr Dacre was using electronic folders to store medical records when most doctors were still using file folders. Records didn’t get lost and if a patient was in his office, he didn’t have to call reception, he could look up things himself. Many people are scared that because of automation, lots of people will lose jobs. And people will lose jobs, but some can transition to better paying roles in the company.
An example of automation is that my doctor would prescribe a medication after he examined me, then I would pick up the prescription at the front desk, then take it to the pharmacy to fill it. Today, he sends the prescription directly to the pharmacy, so all I have to do is go to the pharmacy after the doctor’s visit. How can you automate processes to eliminate errors and to better serve your clients?
Have systems in place to structure the business: When I interviewed Dr Dacre years ago, he mentioned that they decided to have manuals after a critical employee left. The most successful businesses have systems in place to streamline their businesses. What kind of systems do you have in place that make your business run smoothly? A system may or may not involve automation.
Learn continuously: This is critical in the medical field because of scientific discoveries and new ways of doing things. Dr Dacre is abreast of changes in his field. I suspect that if a patient brought him an article about something new that he was unaware of, he would look into it because he is very curious and knows that he doesn’t always have the answers. Remember the lesson about listening to your clients, that applies here. Ongoing learning is important in every field today because of the pace of change.
Upskilling and reskilling can open many doors for you. What new skills will you learn this year? What key skills are critical to your role in the organization? What key skills are important for the smooth operation of your business? If you want to learn the skills that the World Economic Forum says you need, then I invite you to join the Strategic Reading Challenge.
Take time to think: As I am writing this post, I was reminded of this one. I have been so hard on myself because of so many unaccomplished goals because I was sick last year. I need to pause and just be for a time. Dr Dacre’s process is to listen to music while he is thinking. This is one of the ways he generates ideas. In his interview, he mentioned that there are different ways to generate ideas. I have mentioned how to generate ideas several times on this blog.
Have you read?
A Technique for Producing Ideas by James Webb Young
Final Thoughts on Business Lessons You Can Learn from My Family Doctor
I am sure that if you took some time to think about what I have written above, you may be able to come up with more lessons from your doctor or other professionals that you work with. Writing this post is a great reminder to me about things that I need to do consistently in my business practice. There are always ways for me to improve the way I deliver my products and services to my customers.
Action Steps to Take
If you are not applying all seven business lessons you can learn from my doctor, choose one to apply in the next seven days.
After you have read my post, A Technique for Producing Ideas by James Webb Young, if you are looking for more information, you can buy:
- A Technique for Producing Ideas by James Webb Young – Book Summary;
- You can join the Strategic Reading Challenge.
These are the books that Dr Dacre would take on a deserted island.
A Short History of Nearly Everything
Atlas ShruggedThe Fountainhead
This article contains Amazon affiliate links, which means if you click on a link and buy any of the books or other products from Amazon, the company will pay me a small commission.
