In today’s blog post we define the three cornerstones of any successful business and give tools to build an authentic medical practice!
Do you know what one word separates survival and success from despair and failure? That word is HOPE. In the context of business success, hope must translate into an organization’s mission, vision and values.
Is Your Medical Practice Missing a Mission?
The problem we want to address here is that most businesses confuse these 3 cornerstone elements (mission, vision, and values). That confusion hinders success.
Far from being a slogan on a placard, defining your mission is what allows customers to understand your raison d’etre. Or, to put simply, the reason your business exists in the first place.
Your Mission = Your “Why”
A vision is different. It’s the long-term goal or destination of the business. It allows your key stakeholders (employees, customers, owners) to understand the direction you’re headed. This could be viewed as your “where.”
Every medical practice should work to develop their mission and vision. The work to do this is worth the effort as it helps clarify both what you are about as well as what you are not about. When your stated mission and vision match what your patients witness during their experience – that’s what it means to be authentic!
What Do You Value as a Provider?
We hear a lot about values these days, and I enjoy highlighting organizations whose values demonstrate a higher purpose beyond simply making money. In the context of mission and vision, an organization’s values represent “how” they conduct business.
The rise in the consumer’s quest for authenticity in their purchase decisions underscores just how important defining — and living by — a set of core values has become. Paying attention to your values makes good sense, especially when they are amplified by customer commentary on social media. Indeed, it’s become increasingly difficult to fake it and be able to hide when a value you profess is seen to have been violated.