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Deb Beaulieu |
Although running a business is not the part of medical practice that many physicians relish, other doctors embrace an entrepreneurial mindset. These are the out-of-the box thinkers who have founded cash-based practices, developed mobile health apps or become sought-after speakers and writers.
Just having big dreams is only part of the battle when it comes to creating a successful new venture, however. Jeffrey M. Gallups, founder of the Atlanta-based Ear, Nose and Throat Institute, is one example of a physician who created a large, thriving business as a "one-stop shop," providing not just ENT specialty care, but also an audiology center, surgery centers, medical labs and allergy centers.
But as a recent story in The New York Times reveals, Gallups suffered plenty of setbacks along the way. Why do doctors like Gallups ultimately succeed when others fail?
According to a recent study from business researcher Target Training International, reported in Harvard Business Review, it could come down to a handful of key personality traits and skills. Consider the following qualities of "serial entrepreneurs" in the context of Gallups' story:
1. Persuasion
The top skill that predicted entrepreneurship among study participants was the ability to convince others to change the way they think, believe or behave. These individuals said they have been recognized for their ability to get others to say yes, HBR noted.
Gallups, however, had a tough time persuading his physician partners to believe in his vision, at least, at first. "I was booted from a large multipractice E.N.T. group because I was way more profitable than others in the group," Gallups told the NYT, "and I think they were threatened."
Years later in a new business, Gallups learned that the best way to make doctors want to work with him was to listen to their desires, which were to avoid dealing with the business side of the practice or managing their retirement plans. In response, Gallups allowed his doctors to see patients 100 percent of the time and offered all team members a customized deferred-compensation retirement plan. As a result, his physician count more than doubled within a year, from eight to 18.
2. Leadership
Entrepreneurs highly ranked prompts such as, "In the past, people have taken risks to support my vision, mission or goals," or "I have been criticized for being too competitive." For Gallups, it seems that even though his competitive nature worked against him at first, his willingness to help physicians overcome their unique challenges helped win them over.
3. Personal accountability
According to HBR, successful people look at obstacles as a part of the process and are energized by them. In the NYT article, Gallups took personal accountability for the failure of a beauty and health spa he opened that strayed too far from his core business. "I was naïve," he said. "It was not a great business fit from the start."
4. Goal orientation
Similarly, Bill J. Bonnstetter, chairman of Tech Target, said, "It's important that entrepreneurs have a strong sense of what their goal is because their product or service depends on it." It's probably fair to say that physicians, by nature, are extremely goal-oriented, but setting business specific business goals is a different skill from their overall drive to care for patients.
5. Interpersonal skills
The study identified entrepreneurs as standouts for effectively communicating, building rapport, and relating well to all people, from all backgrounds and communication styles, HBR noted.
As FiercePracticeManagement has said time and again, these are all invaluable skills for physicians (anyone, really) to hone--with constant room for improvement to benefit a business and patients alike.
In fact, none of these five attributes are necessarily inherent, Bonnstetter noted. "They can be learned and developed, especially early in life," he wrote, "and further honed throughout an entrepreneur's career."
Do you see yourself in these descriptions? If you are a physician with an entrepreneurial spirit, do you think the traits that work in the general business world hold true for healthcare? What would your advice be for other physicians who want to make their mark as entrepreneurs? - Deb (@PracticeMgt)