Tag Archive for: SIDECAR

You will never achieve your business goals if you can’t finish what you start. 

You have been hearing these phrases since you were a kid: “Finish your meal, finish your homework, finish the race, and so on…”

Why is there all this focus on finishing?

Average vs. Abundance

The difference between an average life and an abundant life deals with the discipline of finishing. Finishing allows you to receive a reward for your work. If you finish your meal you are no longer hungry. If you finish your homework you can receive a grade. You see, the ability to finish is the key to success, significance and fulfillment. Anyone can start, but it takes a special person to finish.

Why then, don’t we finish? Often times, the task seems too big. How do you eat an elephant? By taking small bites! Success in any endeavor can be found in the little steps and small details. We get stuck thinking we need to complete the entire thing in one sitting. Instead, make the routine your reward!

You can’t just do it once, either. At SIDECAR we refer to this phenomenon as “One-in-a-row”. You need to make the commitment and have the discipline to do it over and over and over again until it is finished. Then you find something new to finish!

Three D’s

We recommending living by the 3 D’s:

  1. Do it
  2. Delegate it
  3. Dump it.

Make your decision and commit right then and there. If you commit to doing it, set a timeline and time allotment to finish it.

Dr. Nathan UnruhDr. Nathan Unruh, CXO SIDECAR

The Master of anything was once a beginner. What role do the basics play in the everyday lives of the elite? 

Before you are able to become proficient at anything in life you must first master the fundamental concepts. If you’re trying to learn something new you start at the beginning. Babies crawl before they walk. It’s easy to grasp the concept that to build anything great, you must start with the foundation. However, we all tend to forget about or “move on” from the fundamentals as we advance.

Fundamentals

What role do fundamentals play after you’ve achieved a level of success? Do those at the top still focus on and practice the fundamentals? When is it okay to stop focusing on the fundamentals and “move on” to bigger and better things?

Fundamentals are the building blocks of success and there is never a time when the fundamentals stop becoming important.

I can give multiple examples of different leaders at the top of their respective fields that continuously practice, drill, and teach the fundamentals. In fact, you would be hard-pressed to find somebody that has strayed from mastering the fundamentals and achieved any level of success.

Steph Curry

I’m a basketball guy and I like to write about what I know.

Steph Curry is one of the best basketball players in the sport right now. He’s known for several aspects of his game. During the game it’s his shooting accuracy and soft touch that gets the most attention. Before the game, his warm-up routine has started to turn heads as well (If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s worth three minutes of your time https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90dLrbZVy20)

One aspect of his game that gets overlooked is his free throw shooting. Currently, Steph Curry ranks third all-time in free throw shooting percentage at 90.1%. Over his eight year career he has made nearly 2,000 free throw shots!

A 90.1% average over eight years is remarkable. It’s so good that he has probably stopped practicing free throws altogether and allocated that time to improving other, more advanced parts of his game. Anyone that can perform that well over a long period of time must be spending time doing things that are far beyond the fundamentals, right?

Mastering the Basics

What do you think would happen if Steph Curry stopped practicing his free throw shooting? For awhile, he would probably continue his success at the current rate. However, I can assure you that if he never practiced his free throw routine ever again he wouldn’t be able to maintain the 90% accuracy he has established. I’m sure if you asked him, he would agree with me!

Steph Curry is historically one of the best shooters to ever play the game of basketball and he still practices one of the most fundamentals aspects of the game, free throws! You watched his warm-up routine, this guy is dedicated to doing the little things better than anybody else.

The true greats never advance beyond the fundamentals. Instead, they perfect them and then find ways to scale them to never before seen levels! Sustaining perfect execution of the fundamentals is the key to growing, advancing, and achieving the levels of success you desire.

Let’s Ride!

Dr. Nathan UnruhDr. Nathan Unruh, CXO SIDECAR

Does your office have it’s share of good patients and bad patients?

At SIDECAR one of the things you will routinely hear is we believe that the words we choose to use are powerful. We believe that the words we use have a creative nature in them. If I say something’s ugly, it turns ugly.

The Iconic Moment

I was giving a talk at a seminar a while back to a group of doctors and their staff. I asked the audience to define to me what constitutes a “good” patient. Many of the responses that were given included: good patients keep their schedule, they pay their bill, they get better, they follow through with care… there was a long list!

I followed that question up by then asking the audience to define a bad patient. This time the answers included: they whine a lot, they are never on time, they are always complaining, they don’t pay their bill, they never refer, they don’t get better… and so on.

Then something truly iconic happened. A staff member in attendance sheepishly raised her hand. She said, “You know, the reality is that a bad patient really becomes a dead patient because after being labelled they can never come back in https://salud-hombres.com/.”

You could have heard a pin drop.

The Truth

Then everyone came to realize the truth – there is no such thing as a good patient or a bad patient. That’s the point of the message today, stop referring and regarding patients as being “good” or “bad”.

Patients are people, they are human beings. They are not perfect just like you and I are not perfect. As doctors, we don’t fully understand what every patient is going through and classifying a patient in terms of how we see them is truly an act of prejudice.

Monitor the gossip in your office that goes on between techs regarding patients. Watch the language used when talking about patients; you will be amazed at how many times you use the phrase “good” or “bad” patient. This terminology is embedded into our chiropractic lexicon.

Again, be careful on judging patients. Open your heart, meet them where they are, and be amazed at what transpires.

Dr. SeaDr. Douglas Sea

False Summits exist in the business world. Do you know what to do when you encounter one?

What is a False Summit?

In the world of mountaineering there is a concept known as a “false summit”. This occurs when a climber arrives at a peak that appears to be the pinnacle of the mountain, but upon reaching it realizes the summit is higher than expected. This effect has been shown to have significant psychological effects on climbers – dashing their hopes and even resulting in failure.

Your False Summits

Have you ever reached a false summit? Maybe you thought you had reached the top only to realize you still had a long way to go https://australianpharmall.com/cialis-australia/. You might have achieved a goal that was set a little too low to result in any tangible reward, only to realize it once you got there. False summits exist everywhere in the entrepreneurial world as well as our personal lives! The only real way to combat this and eliminate the detrimental effects of false summits is to change your perspective!

If the climber’s sole purpose and only goal when climbing the mountain is to reach the top, he or she is going to experience grave disappointment when encountering a false summit. The climb will be physically demanding and mentally taxing. If the climber puts all their hope into the peak they are climbing being the final destination; they are going to struggle with the reality that it’s not. Also, they won’t have any memories or good experiences to fall back on because they were solely focused on reaching what turned out to be a false goal.

Enjoying The Climb

However, if the climber is approaching the mountain with the goal of reaching the top while enjoying the climb the conundrum of the false summit disappears! If a climber is determined to reach the top while also enjoying the climb, cherishing every experience and the progress made along the way, the entire perspective changes once they encounter a false summit. Instead of becoming disheartened he or she will be elated that there is more to climb!

None of us will ever reach the ultimate, final peak on our journey to success. If you have one ultimate goal in your mind that you think is going to mark the end of your journey once you achieve it, you’re wrong! If your vision is aligned with what you truly desire in life then you’re going to fall in love with the climb. Success is found in the climb, not the destination. When you are in love with the climb you’re going to start to desire every peak to BE a false summit! That means there’s more fun to be had on the journey!

Keep Climbing!

Dr. Nathan UnruhDr. Nathan Unruh, SIDECAR CXO

Have you ever experienced walking into a new place and the design, layout, and feel of the environment just blew you away? Do you have that feeling every day when you walk into your office?

Back in the day, the badge of honor for success was the corner office. Once you were in that corner office on the top floor of the building, you had arrived! In today’s corporate society, our space still has that type of impact, albeit in a different fashion. Your space defines who you are and what your culture is.

Collaborate or Inhibit

Your office space can either create collaboration amongst your team or inhibit it. It can isolate your team members from one another, or increase their contactability.  If your work space has multiple isolation spots, your team is forced to work in silos. This decreases the amount of contact each team member has with each other, the doctor, and your patients.

Your office space should increase your team’s ability to respond and communicate with one another. The lines of sight between the doctor and staff need to be open. Make your space work for you, don’t adapt how you operate to accommodate your space.

Front Desk Barrier

An easy example of how to do this is the “front desk barrier.” When a patient walks into your entrance are they greeted by a bright and friendly face? Or are they greeted by a large stationary desk that belongs in a back office? I have seen, firsthand, the impact that opening up the entrance by removing the over-sized desk for an efficient front kiosk can have.

Take a walk around your space. What impressions does it give off? Are you blown away?

Dr. SeaDr. Douglas Sea

Becoming a better leader isn’t an overnight process. Following the Hierarchy of Leadership has helped me to enhance my leadership capabilities.

Leadership is a hot topic in the world of entrepreneurship and personal development. Many people have the desire to become a better leader, but do not have a plan in place to turn their thoughts and dreams into reality.

The Hierarchy of Leadership can be utilized as a ladder to becoming a better overall leader. The hierarchy of leadership is as follows: lead yourself, lead your family, lead your team, and lead your community. This model is a progression, you will struggle to lead others if you first cannot lead yourself.

Lead Yourself

If you desire to improve yourself as a leader, first examine your ability to lead yourself. Can you walk the walk? Are you able to execute on your own personal desires? Do you find yourself making excuses and justifying them with your actions?

This is the foundation and most important component of leadership. Effective leaders are extremely self-disciplined, intentional with their actions, and self-aware of who they truly are.

If what you want to achieve requires getting out of bed at 5 AM; you have to get yourself out of bed at 5 AM.

Lead your Family

After you’ve harnessed the ability to lead yourself, focus on leading your family. Those that surround you day in and day out! Whether this be your spouse, children, or other loved ones – develop the ability to lead them.

Your family will expose more about you and your leadership abilities than any other demographic. Your ability to communicate properly, make tough decisions, and lead day-in and day-out will be manifested in a family setting.

Lead your Team

Your team is similar to your family; in fact, you probably spend more time with them than you do your true relatives! The people you interact with everyday when you step foot in the office comprises your team.

Leading your team requires developing and implementing a vision, mission, values, code of honor, and “We Believe” statements. Your ability to lead will be directly determined by your ability to get your team to buy-in and commit to honoring these values.

Your ability to lead your team will determine your capability to serve those around you.

Lead your Community

The last step in the Hierarchy of Leadership is the ability to lead your community. By the time you’ve reached this point you should be confident and comfortable with your ability to lead. Leading in your community is simply an opportunity to extend your leadership skills elsewhere and serve.

To an extent, if you’ve reached this level of leadership ability it is your duty to go out and lead the community you live in. Possessing this level of leadership is rare and doesn’t come by chance. Reaching out at this level will allow you to leave an impact greater than you may have imagined.

Final Thoughts

Leadership isn’t easy and it isn’t for everyone. If you truly desire to become a better leader, examine where your leadership ability falls along the Leadership Hierarchy model.

The best advice I can give? Start by learning to lead yourself.

Let’s Ride!

Dr. SeaDr. Douglas Sea, CTO SIDECAR

To learn more about Dr. Douglas Sea click here. 

Speed bumps aren’t really a big deal, are they? If you’re in a parking lot and the speed bumps are painted bright yellow; then no, they really aren’t a big deal. You understand the need to back off the gas and ease your car over them with no damage done.

What if that speed bump is just over the hill on a highway?

Speed bumps exist in all aspects of our lives. They slow us down and can make us lose our momentum or even throw us off track completely.

In your practice, a speed bump is anything that disrupts the flow of your daily operations. It’s anything that doesn’t allow you to run at peak efficiency and effectiveness. If you are seeing a lower volume of patients in a day these speed bumps may be foreseeable and easier to manage. However, keeping these speed bumps in place and trying to work around them will prohibit you from going faster. Sure, they aren’t a big deal now; but, what happens as your patient volume grows and you become busier? This is comparable to going over a speed bump in the parking lot vs. the highway.

There’s no way to completely remove speed bumps. It’s part of life. They are going to pop up and you must prepare be able to handle them. Deal with them as they appear to ensure they don’t grow to become an unbearable void in your practice.

Dr. SeaDr. Douglas Sea

A concept that has been preached to children since the beginning of time: decision making. You probably remember your parents teaching you the importance of making good decisions when you were young. When you became a teenager, you started to make your own decisions. Now, you’re all grown up. Do you still think about the decisions you make?

Over my years of studying human behavior, I’ve noticed that people mainly make decisions in one of two ways, either by intention or by default. Intentional decision makers devote time and effort into inspecting the choices and making the best decision based on the knowledge they have. Default decision makers simply base their decision on whatever is left for them to choose.

An intentional decision maker understands that every decision affects his/her quality of life. Every time a decision is made in favor of one thing, every other choice is intentionally declined. If you make the decision to live in one specific location, you are also deciding to NOT live in every other available place on Earth. Living with intention allows for better control of the life we choose to live. Become more intentional with every decision you are faced with. Don’t let others decide how you will chart the course of your life.

Be in charge of your own destiny. Intentionally align each decision you make with achieving higher goals.

I was attending a college in the beautiful Smokey Mountains. I enrolled in a general psychology course that involved a lab experiment where we would have to train a rat. Instead of being out in the beautiful mountains enjoying myself with friends, I was relocated to a small room with a rat in a box. The course required me to train this rat to hit a lever at random times and intervals to receive a pellet of food as its reward. The experiment would progress by rewarding the rat at random intervals. For example, the rat may have to depress the lever 5 times, or ten times, or only when a small light was on in the box. I would have to log my progress and could not move on to the next level of the experiment until the rat and I had completed each step. I spent endless hours pleading with the rat, screaming at this rat, and at times wanted to end this rat’s life.

At the time, I did not understand the importance of this experiment, but I have developed an appreciation of that time in the lab. I learned that “random reinforcement” would excite the brain of the rat and the more random the reinforcement, the more exciting the activity became even if you removed the reward.

I contend that we are no different than that rat in the box. Let’s spend just a minute thinking about how we are wired as human beings. We like the feeling of accomplishment and progress. We have fallen to the misconception that if we check off 20 emails that we have accomplished something, but have we? Did deleting, forwarding, or moving that email to a folder really do anything productive? Did it move the dial toward your vision? Did it produce any substantial step toward progress, or was it merely the feeling of accomplishment because something happened?

I caution you to be careful when you disguise busyness with productivity! We have become conditioned by “random reinforcement” in our own lives by the countless distractions that limit our focus and diminish our productivity. The “box” that sits on our desk or in our laps contains a multitude of seemingly “potential rewards” that cause us to become consumed with having to constantly be checking our inbox, what others are doing on Facebook, Twitter, and the list goes on.

Our time is our most precious asset, and we have allowed “time creep” to permeate every hour, minute, and second of our lives. We have filled our time with “random reinforcements” that have robbed us from creativity and productivity that allows the manifestation of abundance, affluence, success, significance, and impact.

So what is the solution?

  1. Acknowledge your most valuable asset, Time! How we use our time is up to us. The reality is that when we say yes to something we are saying no to something else. Learning to manage time is a skill to be acquired, and I contend it is paramount to our success, significance, and impact.
  2. I AM in the am. Our most creative and productive time is in the morning. Many of us have routines that include checking email and social media outlets first thing in the morning, and for that matter, throughout the day and into the evening. We suggest you use the time in the morning to do your creative work. Write, read, think, create, journal, meditate, and review your vision, mission, and goals. Mornings are magical! Use your mornings wisely, and don’t be tempted by all the distractions in our world that are nothing more than drugs that enter our brains through our eyeballs!
  3. Set the edges. Be intentional about every hour of your day. A calendar that provides an intentional focus and allocation of time creates productivity toward your stated vision. Schedule time to create, to think, to play, to be with family, to work, and to do whatever you want. All of us have 24 hours a day, 168 hours a week, 8,736 hours a year and how we spend that time is 100% up to us!