Thank you to all of the optometrists and optometric staff who attended my four presentations in Red Deer, Alberta on Friday. It was such a joy to get to share my recalling and staff engagement knowledge with you, and to hear all of the questions, ideas and feedback you shared. A special thank you too […]

The two staff management questions I hear consistently from optometrists are how to reduce staff turnover, and how to keep employees engaged. These are staff management challenges that face every business, big and small. Research shows us that the key to the former is the latter. When your team is motivated, encouraged and supported, they […]

Change is hard. Optometrists who make the leap from associate to business owner grapple with the challenges of a brand new venture. For optometry students, graduation marks the end of years of education and the start of an exciting but unfamiliar chapter. I’ve worked with optometric staff who have felt disempowered or “stuck” in their […]

Did you know your body language can bolster our confidence? In this TED Talk, Amy Cuddy walks through some of the science behind how poses can mood. (You can watch a condensed three-minute version here.) Power poses may seem or even look silly, but the truth is confidence is key to getting the most out of […]

Optometry Today recently ran an article about raising children’s eye care awareness. As many as one in five school-aged children has an undiagnosed vision problem. This would affect any of us. But unlike adults, our kids may not know how clear the world is supposed to look. This is particularly concerning. Not only can an […]

What makes for great management? Is it sharing experience? Directly mentoring employees? Positive feedback? I’ve written before about ways optometrists can make their mark as a manager. New research builds on that. An impressive study from Gartner surveyed 7,300 employees and managers to find out which kind of management is most effective. The research identified […]

Need some inspiration for the week ahead? I have written extensively about the importance of setting goals, especially if you want to grow and expand your practice. Coming up with the ideas is the easy part – it’s fun to think about adding a zero or two to your monthly revenue (or your paycheque). It’s […]

If you don’t have one, now is the time to start creating it. Having a business plan – even at an optometry practice – is the key to maximizing your business’s potential. Even though ODs focus on health, the fundamentals of how their practices operate are similar to those of businesses in other sectors. The […]

Happy New Year! With a new year comes new opportunities, and hopefully some time to reflect on what you want to achieve in the year ahead. For some, that takes the form of a new year’s resolution. For businesses – goals, and hopefully targets and strategies to accompany them. Whatever the end goal, it is […]