I Tried That--But it Doesn't Work

by William D. Esteb

While most chiropractors profess to be "doctors of cause," you can see them scramble for the latest, greatest gimmick to get new patients, make additional income, or reduce paperwork. Like their patients, they want a shortcut, a silver bullet, high-powered solution, a symptom-relieving treatment to their practice problem. Yet, for every idea, approach, technique, script, brochure, video, lecture, screening idea, advertising, protocol, and device that reaches the profession, sides are immediately chosen. Like "counting off by twos," chiropractors choose sides--some say it works and the others say it doesn't. While the most cynical would suggest that the propensity to take sides on virtually any issue is a prerequisite for being a chiropractor, there are probably other issues at work.

Too much work. For those on the lookout for the easiest, simplest shortcut to the effect they want, this is often the first question asked. Does it look like too much work? Does it seem too complicated? Do the promised look easy to obtain? Does it require significant change? Those looking for the easiest path are almost always going to come up empty-handed. Rarely to Olympic champions, successful entrepreneurs, or those who have accomplished great things observe, "It was a cakewalk. I found a shortcut and it was as easy as pie." The unwillingness to commit to a big task and invest significant amounts of energy is why most of us are surrounded by mediocrity.

Didn't match your philosophy. This is often the second filter used to weed out new approaches or fresh ideas. This excuse is most often heard among the most dogmatic individuals who have either given up thinking for themselves, are unwilling to acknowledge a different representation of reality than their own interpretation, or are easily put off by person or group suggesting the idea. On the other side of the coin, attempting to embrace a technique, idea, or approach in which you don't believe, is doomed for failure. When a script is delivered without the reinforcement of an appropriate body language, patients sense the incongruency and reject the message.

Didn't give it time. When a new approach is tried and it fails, it can be the result of not giving it enough time. The effect of virtually every procedure has a natural lag time. Change the location of a wall poster and you're likely to get feedback the same day. Change a financial policy and its measurable affect may take several months. Those who require instant gratification are the most likely to overlook this lag factor, giving up or changing course long before positive feedback could occur. They literally keep pulling up the seed they've planted to see if its growing, disturbing the delicate sprouts.

Too emotionally risky. Virtually every practice suggestion or enhancement exists on an emotional continuum. At one end of the spectrum are the least emotionally challenging action steps, such as modifying admitting paperwork or changing a yellow page ad. At the other end of the continuum might be lay lectures or changing the financial policy. Every action step has an associated emotional risk factor. So while the doctor might intellectually agree that a particular approach, device, or script could have an excellent payoff, if it is too emotionally risky, the idea, protocol, or modification is unlikely to be implemented.

Didn't do it correctly. One reason why some of the best ideas for practice enhancement don't work is because the ideas weren't implemented correctly. In the corporate world this problem is called, "not invented here." Simply put, "we're not going to do it that way because the XYZ company does it that way." So the ABC company ignores the successful way the XYZ company does it. In chiropractic, a profession of iconoclasts, it gets turned around a bit. Here, the doctor discards the tested wisdom behind the suggestion and attempts to "improve" the idea learned at the seminar by dropping key aspects or neglecting the more emotionally risky dimensions of the idea. The results are rarely what was promised, but the original proponent is the one who gets the blame.

Had too high of expectations. Hope springs eternal and many doctors become overly optimistic when they read the ad or attend the seminar. Later, they discover that they didn't find the "fountain-of-youth-holy-grail-philosopher's-stone" of chiropractic practice after all. Apparently, incremental change is not seen as success when the original expectations are so much higher. What many chiropractors overlook is that by and large, they've already done all the easy stuff to grow their practice. There just aren't any revolutionary, double-your-practice overnight ideas out there.

Didn't fully commit. Psychologists often refer to this excuse as a self-handicaping strategy. It's a way many of us will "hedge our bets" when trying something new. A secret part of us holds back, doesn't fully commit to the new idea or approach. That way, when it fails (and it almost always does using this implementation method), it won't be our fault. "I didn't think it would work anyway," we justify to ourselves turning the failed opportunity into a self-fulfilling prophecy. Burn your boats in the harbor if you want 100% commitment, the prerequisite for success.

Have to give someone else credit. Another reason why some doctors are unable to replicate the success of others in their office is that if the idea actually works, they'd have to give someone else the credit. Practice management coaches have to overcome this one all the time. It seems the most "successful" chiropractors I meet as a guest speaker at these gatherings, are the doctors who seem to have been able to set their own egos aside and willingly give credit to the seminar namesake. Pride stands in the way of many doctors seeing their practices grow to their fullest potential.

Lack of discipline. Right this very moment there are dozens of excellent ideas in the pages of notes you've taken at the countless seminars you've attended. But if you don't want the outcome bad enough, it's difficult to muster the amount and consistency of energy needed to make it happen. Finally, doctors recognize that a seminar, video, brochure, or gimmick doesn't come with the discipline needed to implement them. But instead of blaming themselves, they blame the missing ingredient of the product, script, or suggestion: discipline.

Worried what others think. Peer pressure, even among a profession of Lone Rangers, is more powerful than you'd think. When chiropractors discover really creative, innovative approaches to enhance their practice, they often mistrust their own judgment, and call a buddy across town to get their impressions. Whether it's because they can't describe it in a compelling way, or their colleague is just a chronic stick-in-the-mud, invariably, they are talked out of the idea. Just imagine if D.D. Palmer asked around town first, before adjusting Harvey Lilliard!

Out of date concept. Another reason why so many doctors find their latest and greatest idea doesn't work, is because it's an out of date concept. Countless chiropractors are trying to suck out the last drop of insurance money or find the remaining vein of juicy personal injury cases. The office is in suspended animation--attempting to fight off today's health care marketplace realities. The result is an office still on the lookout for ideas and approaches that worked five and 10 years ago.

Staff sabotage. Perhaps the insidious and most difficult to diagnose cause for the failure of new ideas in a chiropractic office is staff sabotage. Whether overt or covert, your staff has the capacity to shut down even the most sure fire-can't-miss idea. Don't blame the staff! It's merely human nature to reject something that is thrust upon you without explanation or understanding the rationale and philosophy behind it. The result are staff members who view the new procedure, script, or policy as simply more work, more confrontation, more hassle, and a change from the comfortable status quo.

I'm sure there are others, but these seem to the most common excuses I've heard doctors use when confronted with new ideas and procedures for their practices. Yet, for as many excuses and rationalizations I've observed chiropractors make, I've also heard as many or more doctors exclaim how well the newest-latest-greatest idea is working for them. Which begs the question, does the fault lie with the idea or the doctor?

Excerpted from
Striking a Nerve
Originally published in 1997
240 Pages
US $24.95

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