subject: Assumptions Will Stifle Your Practice's Growth [print this page] Assumptions Will Stifle Your Practice's Growth
Challenge three statements that kill progress
I'm amazed by how many practitioners I've heard make one or all of these three statements:
If it ain't broke, don't fix it
If it works, do more of it
If doesn't work, stop doing it
All three of these statements reveal reliance on assumptions or fixed conclusions about the way to manage a practice. But fixed conclusions about your business model and operations actually can stifle the growth and success of your practice.
You can end up with massive inefficiencies or overlook potential innovations that could advance your practice significantly. Perhaps you conclude your customer service methods are all well and good, meanwhile ignoring a repeated customer complaint about ease of service. Maybe your billing system has always worked just fine, but a technology upgrade would improve accounting and save expenditures.
Challenging your fixed conclusions can open the door to greater health and growth in your practice.
I'm reminded of the story of how Benjamin Franklin challenged assumptions about the fastest way for British ships to travel to the American colonies. For some unknown reason, it took the British mail ships two weeks longer to sail from England to New York than it took merchant ships to travel from England to Newport, Rhode Island.
This wasn't a hidden problem; the British government knew that it took mail ships longer to travel the Atlantic but did nothing to fix the issue. Why? Well, technically, the mail service wasn't broken: The mail got where it was going, so, there was nothing to fix. To the British government, it worked, so they kept doing more of it.
Franklin began researching the problem and discovered that mail ships were slowed by sailing directly into a strong easterly current, while merchant ships traveled a course that avoided this current, which Franklin named the Gulf Stream the name is retains to this day. He published a well-researched map of the current in 1770, but it was largely ignored by the British for many years.
I love this example because of its simple elegance. So much inefficiency based upon such a poor and unfounded conclusion. The problem was glaringly obvious. Yet the British captains ignored the evidence. The message here is clear: Don't let fixed conclusions cloud your judgment or your business decisions. Challenge assumptions and search for ways to innovate and breed creativity in your practice.
