At Rosen Coaching, we speak with chiropractors around the world, day in and day out, about how to improve their communication so that people ‘get’ the chiropractic message.  Initially this concept arose out of a conversation with one of my doctors who was working on the ‘Whole Story‘, one of the most powerful parts of our visit 1 and visit 2. But it’s become a theme as of late and I’ve distilled three important pillars of communication that I’d like to share with you.  They are, what I have been calling, the 3 C’s of communication:

1. Clear

2. Concise

3. Concrete

None of this is going to appear like rocket science, but it’s important to look at each one closely and realize the bigness of small things.

If we are going to convey or transmit communication, it is essential that it is clear. We need to be 100% clear on what we are trying to accomplish, what we want to say, and be sure we articulate it with clarity. No fair having a communication subluxation when you’re trying to transmit your message!

Next we need to be sure it is concise.  If a Ph.D in biochemistry was trying to explain a concept to you, it is important that he doesn’t go into a 30 minute monologue about many different aspects of biochem. It is essential that he  keep it not only clear (so that you can follow), but also concise (so that your brain does not go into overwhelm).  Many chiropractors, when I ask them to tell me what they can offer, they give me a 30 minute lay lecture, sidetracking with research, vaccinations, health care stats etc.  We need to keep it concise, especially if we are going to ask them to repeat back to you what they understand so far!  Set them up to succeed, not to fail.

Lastly, but not least importantly, is making our communication concrete.  This means making it real for people! It is not to your benefit to use big latin words and appear ’smart’ to the patient, at the expense of  not being able to articulate or understand what you are talking about.  It is to your benefit to use concrete examples and real world analogies, so that they can understand and share their new understanding with others. Chiropractic itself is an abstract concept, so let’s help them understand a paradigm shift by integrating new concepts within their current framework of how the world works.  For example, a great analogy to describe a subluxation is ’static on a cell phone’.  Everyone has experienced this, or could at least imagine it.  So I challenge you to use real, concrete analogies at every step of your communications.

If you have any questions about the 3 C’s of communication, please comment below or join our global community on Facebook where we are happy to answer any and all of your questions!

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Tags: Chiropractic Coach, Chiropractic Coaching, Chiropractic Consultant, Chiropractic Practice Success, communication, Leadership, Rosen Chiropractic Coaching, rosen coaching

Do you remember the Chiropractic Safety Pin Cycle from philosophy class 101? You know, Brain Cell (B.C.) has efferent transmission to Tissue Cell (T.C) and it has afferent transmission back to brain cell?  If not, I’ve included a diagram from The Chiropractic Textbook by R.W. Stephenson from 1927.  (If you don’t own it, I highly recommend it)!

However, when it comes to most chiropractor’s communication, they usually have a monologue or just the ‘efferent’ part of transmission, telling people their chiropractic story and wonder why they don’t stay, pay and refer?  Why don’t people ‘GET IT’?

With our Rosen Coaching clients and group coaching programs, we look at our communication from both the efferent and afferent sides.  As a profession, what if we could communicate in a way that was more congruent (inside-out) by asking questions and getting their input, as opposed to outside-in education?

How most of us communicate is merely the ‘efferent’ part, we never check in with the person and say, “Just to make sure we’re on the same page, what do you get so far?”  We never ask them questions, we just tell people what we think and leave it at that.   Our profession doesn’t, as a rule, close the safety pin cycle of our communication. No wonder we’re not shifting consciousness yet… It’s time we closed the safety pin on every communication we have! It’s time people really understood what we have to offer them and it’s time for chiropractors to start leading the wellness revolution, becoming the recognized leaders of true health care!

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Tags: Chiropractic Coach, Chiropractic Coaching, Chiropractic Practice Management, Chiropractic Practice Success, communication, Leadership, rosen coaching, Safety Pin Cycle

Both Dr. Rosen and I have both run highly successful vitalistic family wellness practices and sat in the coach’s box helping others to do the same.  At Rosen Coaching, we are so thrilled to be helping other chiropractors around the world looking to THRIVE in a Care vs. Scare True Wellness Model!

Speaking with chiropractors day in and out, whether for one-on-one coaching, group coaching or consults with those looking for guidance, I wanted to share a perspective from the Chiropractic Coach’s Box that may help you with the challenges you face in your personal life or your practice.

Sometimes our job is to help our clients see a Wide Angle perspective.  Perhaps they are stuck on a detail or issue and can’t see the big picture. So we ask questions to help them pull back and see the ‘forest for the trees’.  For example, if a chiropractor is having trouble with their Chiropractic Assistant doing recalls, there could be an underlying cause that we can’t see until we use the Wide Angle lens.  It could be that we’re not setting clear expectations with the patient on the Report of Findings about keeping appointments, leading them to miss and the recalls are just the symptom of this fact. But without the pulling back to get a wide angle view, we could never see this as a possible solution.

And sometimes we need to zoom in, using a telephoto lens, to really clarify what is going on, and what we are trying to accomplish.  Often times we will hear someone breeze over something that is very important and could be the major piece that is holding them back.  From the coaches box we zoom in and look at the underlying cause or details of the situation.  For example, a chiropractor may have a low sign up rate or see poor follow through with their care recommendations, and we need to zoom in on a need to be liked that is holding them back from speaking their truth.

Your ability to adapt as a chiropractor to different challenges, situations, questions and conversations with your staff or your patients is part of what will make you a masterful communicator.  You adaptability is based on sitting in a ‘coaches box’ as well, and listening for whether you need to help someone gain perspective or whether you need to help someone zoom in on the details and underlying cause. Each perspective is very different and often looks entirely different than the one we were in.

We want to help you be a wellness coach to your practice!  We want you to lead your team so they truly become a Dream Team!  We want to help you communicate in a congruent Care vs. Scare model to have the practice success you desire.

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Tags: Chiropractic Coach, Chiropractic Consultant, Chiropractic Practice Management, perspective, rosen coaching, telephoto, wide angle, zoom

Can a famous rock star perform the best show to his fans without the support of his road crew and managers?  Imagine if a rock star had to lug and set up his own equipment, do all the sound checks and then expected to perform at a high level and give his fans 100% of his creativity, music and performance.  Seems unrealistic, doesn’t it?

Well, that’s what most chiropractors do!  As a chiropractic coach I see it day in and day out.  They do all the details of running the office, cleaning it, micromanaging their team and then wonder why their practice isn’t at the level they’d like it to be! Like it or not, as a chiropractor you have to have a strong team to support you, ones you can rely on to do everything that isn’t what only you can do: serve people through the chiropractic adjustment.  We need roadies (our team) to have all the details handled, AND we need to trust that they will!

Many chiropractors I speak with don’t have any structured team training or team management, past the initial hiring.  We need to be creating an environment, AND leading by example, of always refining and striving to be better at every interaction with a patient.  Ongoing training and continuous learning is the key to having a Dream Team you can rely on.  Next is outlining performance expectations and creating weekly action plans to take performance to the next level and reviewed at a weekly staff meeting.

Lastly, ask yourself, “Do I really want a Dream Team”?  If so, we need to understand our team’s behavioral style and values and motivate them in an appropriate way!  Bonuses and rewards are key to having a team be on board to growing a practice.  Why?  Well, let me ask you…”Would you want to work twice as hard for the same pay”?

It’s time to get the right people in place, to get them well trained, to get them motivated to serve more people in your community.  We want your team to help you grow your practice so that you can really have a Dream Team and serve the masses. You are the rock star, they are the roadies.  I would argue that the roadies are more important than the rock star in the grand scheme of things, and it’s important that they know this!

At Rosen Coaching we are dedicated to chiropractors leading true health care and the wellness revolution.  If you want to THRIVE in a TRUE Wellness Practice, we’d love to see if we can help!

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Tags: Chiropractic Coach, Chiropractic Consultant, Dream Team, Health Care, Rock Stars, Rosen Chiropractic Coaching, Success, Team Management, Training, True Wellness Practice

As Valentine’s Day has just passed, many of our clients did Valentine’s internal referral promotions where they ask their clients, “What Do You LOVE About Chiropractic”? and gave them an opportunity to refer family and friends.

Coaching chiropractors and interviewing many who are struggling, I have seen that there is a huge portion of our profession who are burnt out, unmotivated and off purpose.

So I am asking you to contemplate what you LOVE about being a chiropractor? Please post it as a comment to this blog and let’s help clarify our purpose of why we do what we do.  Without this purpose, it is easy to be drained and burnt out with the ins and outs of running a practice and hard to stay motivated to do so.

At Rosen Coaching we want you to LOVE what you do! If you find yourself a little off purpose, a little unmotivated or a little out of love with being a chiropractor, we’d love to offer you a FREE 30 minute consult to see if we can help!

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Tags: Chiropractic Coach, Chiropractic Coaching, Chiropractic Consultant, Chiropractic Practice Management, chiropractor, Leadership, Love, Passion, Purpose, Rosen Chiropractic Coaching, Success, Valentine's Day

Is there a difference between wellness and maintenance care in today’s chiropractic practice?

As a chiropractic coach, I speak to chiropractors around the world day in and day out about their practice and life challenges, wins and how to create the life of their dreams.  And I get a good idea of the head space of what is going on in our chiropractic profession. This is a discussion that arises frequently and feel the distinction between Wellness Care vs. Maintenance Care is an important one to clarify.  From the standpoint of practice management, as well as from a person’s experience with care.

We have a Wellness Revolution that has fallen onto our laps.  The public truly wants what chiropractic can deliver, they just don’t know we do that.  They instead view us as pain relievers and back pain specialists, because that’s what we’ve educated them on in the past 90 years.

And the truth is, our chiropractic profession is still stuck in the antiquated 3:2:1 communication model of, “We’ll get you out of pain: then do corrective care: then onto maintenance”.  The only difference is now, we substitute the word “wellness” for “maintenance”.

So are they the same thing?  I think not!  From a definition perspective, maintaining something at the same level is much different than increasingly enhancing and moving towards new levels of health and wellness.  From a care frequency perspective, you might be able to “maintain” someone’s level of symptoms at a once a month frequency but you certainly won’t be helping them move forward towards greater levels of health and well-being.

Wellness care would have to be much more frequent to evolve someone’s nerve system and optimal health, depending on their lifestyle of course.  And from a person’s perception: if we are providing maintenance care at a maintenance frequency, is it possible that they have settled for their lower level of symptoms as ‘normal’? That they finally feel that chiropractic “didn’t work” because they still have x,y,z?  Or that they feel chiropractic care is only for symptom-relief care?

The big question is, how often do you and your family get checked? Isn’t it time that we told the people we care for the truth and offered them the chance to live the lifestyle and levels of health and wellness that our families do?  What’s the worst thing that can happen if they come in more often to get checked? That’s right, they don’t need to be adjusted!  We need to celebrate and educate them that this is EXACTLY what we hope for - to be functioning at 100% for that period of time.

I challenge you to look at what you are recommending for ongoing care.  Is it congruent with your understanding of chiropractic, our vitalistic philosophy and the goals of what you are trying to accomplish with people?  If you are still focused on pain relief, it might be time to recognize that people want TRUE wellness, not just an expensive aspirin.  A profession will step up to lead the wellness revolution, the question is, “Will it be chiropractors”?

If you want support and coaching, how-to’s on communicating this message, please contact us and see how we can help. Our mission is to have chiropractors be the leaders of TRUE health care and the wellness revolution!

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Tags: Chiropractic Coach, Chiropractic Practice Success, maintenance care, Rosen Chiropractic Coaching, Wellness Care, wellness chiropractic practice management, wellness revolution

What are you going to do to ensure that 2010 is your best year yet, for your practice and your life?

As 2010 is in full swing, Dr. Rosen and I have been working with our coaching clients to clarify goals for the year and put together a powerful action plan to achieve them.

First things first, a goal is something you WANT.  If it comes from a place of lack, or is to avoid something you DON’T WANT then you need to do some KST, NET, EFT and get coaching to set a clean goal.

Secondly, ask yourself WHY you want it? What’s in it for you? What will be the driving force and motivation to doing what it takes to achieve it?  What’s in it for your community?

Next you need to ask yourself is it possible to achieve the goal?  Do you buy it? Is everyone on board?  If not, spend some time reorganizing your capacity blockages and working on your head space issues and level of certainty.

Then ask yourself what you will continue doing, that is working well, to achieve your goal?

Then ask yourself what you are willing to do differently to make the goal a reality? This usually means you either have to make space, or fill it!  Using our Rosen Coaching Systems, we will help you with your LAASR Communication, Marketing, Dream Team or personal life balance. If you need some help, use this worksheet to put together your action plan of how to accomplish your goal!

Fourthly, you need to take consistent action on the ONE thing that will have the biggest impact this week of moving you towards your goal.  Get accountability from your team, your coach, a friend or colleague.  Report to them each week on your progress, wins, challenges, and what you’ve learned and accomplished.

Lastly, need help creating balance in your life to manage yourself at the office and at home to get it all done? Find out how to create the perfect life and how to achieve your goals!

We at Rosen Chiropractic Coaching would love to help you make 2010 your best year yet! If you want to THRIVE in a Care vs. Scare TRUE Wellness Model, give us a call for a Free Consultation to see if we can help. No pressure, no obligations.

As a gift to you, please keep an eye out for a 35 minute audio file on this topic coming soon!  Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter to get the FREE gift, click here to subscribe!

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Tags: 2010, Chiropractic Coach, Chiropractic Consultant, Chiropractic Practice Management, Goals, New Year

So the New Year is upon us!  We have a reflective perspective of last year and what we accomplished or didn’t. And we have a vision, hope and goals of what we want 2010 to be like.

Have you taken the time to do an inventory of your life? Where in your life are you incongruent or not performing and leading how you’d like to? Paraphrasing Dr. Patrick Gentempo, the level of incongruency leads to a proportionate level of destruction. As chiropractic coaches, we at Rosen Coaching help chiropractors reach new levels of success in all areas of their lives, including how to thrive in a true wellness model.

I speak to chiropractors day in and day out. And I truly feel it is time that our profession stand up and lead by example.  Are you the epitome of health, energy and vitality?  Is your diet full of rich, whole foods? Do you exercise daily? Do you live a healthy, vitalistic chiropractic lifestyle?  If you don’t, it’s time. And don’t try and hide it - take a stand to share with your office the lifestyle changes you are making. The time is now to create excellence in YOUR health. And ask them to join you.  If you do, good for you! Set some new goals and ways you can push your healthy lifestyle to the next level.

Excellence, leadership and health are not created by chance, but by choice: Every day and in every moment.  Choose to be a true leader in your community who leads by example. Actions are so much more powerful than words covering incongruence.  Be the change you want to see.  This is your year to lead your community to health and wellness!

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Tags: Certainty, Chiropractic Coach, Chiropractic Coaching, Chiropractic Consultant, Chiropractic Practice Management, chiropractic profession, Congruency, Goals, Health, Leadership, rosen coaching, Success, Wellness Chiropractic

Here is a post from one of my heros, Seth Godin, an author, marketer and thought-leader, on the lifetime value of a customer.  Too often when we’re coaching chiropractors or when chiropractors are considering coaching, marketing or any other ‘cost’ to growing a practice it is seen as just that - a cost vs. an investment.

At year end, have a look at your retention (Patient Visit Average) for the year of 2009.  We consider 60 PVA a bare minimum for a wellness practice.  Then calculate how much a new person is worth to you.  Not because we see people as dollar signs, but so that you can make good decisions on investments to grow your practice.  If a new person is worth on average $2000, don’t you think it’s important to have your systems and communications wired so you don’t blow it when they come in?  How about ROI and marketing decisions?  Without this knowledge, as Seth Godin states below, $50 investment can seem expensive.

Enjoy the read!

Embracing lifetime value

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Tags: chiropractic, Chiropractic Coach, chiropractic communication, Chiropractic Consultant, Chiropractic Practice Management, Chiropractic Practice Success, chiropractic systems, Chiropractic Wellness Model, Lifetime Value, PVA, Retention, Rosen Chiropractic Coaching, rosen coaching, Seth Godin

Are you living the life of your dreams, as a chiropractor and personally?  If not, why not? Many people I speak with, as a chiropractic coach, who are not having the success they desire in their practice or personal life and I want to help you live the life of your dreams:

1. Know what the life of your dreams looks like. Imagine it, visualize it.  If we don’t know what the end is, how will we ever know we got there? Without knowing our vision, we are always unsatisfied.

2. What is your life about? As a human being and as a chiropractor? Write a mission statement that is clear and concise. Your mission outlines how will you achieve your vision. When we coach chiropractors to build a Dream Team with their CA’s, we ask that they read the mission together before each day.  We must keep the big perspective and the ‘why’ we do what we do in the forefront of our minds to not get caught in the mundane details of life and practice.

3. What do you stand for? What are your core values?  For yourself personally and for your chiropractic practice.  These are the foundations that you measure every decision against. If it’s aligned with your values, consider it. If it’s not, move on, even if it’s a good deal.

4. What is success to you?  What are the categories of success for you personally and your practice?  Discover these categories (hint: it’s not just financial wealth) and then grade yourself where you are today on a scale of 1-10. Then decide what ONE thing you need to do to move you more towards a 10 in each category.  Categories could include: Personal Fulfillment, Health, Finances, Practice, Lifestyle, and Family, for example.

5. Get organized and focused on what’s important!  Many people have great ideas and no organization to execute. Be diligent about managing yourself (notice I didn’t say your time) and each day work on what is most important or what will have the greatest impact on your life.  Move away from distractions and ADHD tendencies of a high-tech, high-noise world.

6. Take consistent action. Knowing what you want is one thing. The next is to actually create movement and action towards it. Craziness comes from doing the same thing and expecting different results. So do something different and take action!

There is a month and a half until the end of 2009. Have you achieved your goals? Maybe you didn’t set any.  Let’s see if you can generate some momentum and self-discipline to move towards the successful life of your dreams between now and New Year’s Eve. If you want support and coaching to have the life and practice of your dreams, at Rosen Coaching we’re here to help. It’s our specialty and expertise. Contact us for a Free Consult to get the ball rolling. Life is short, it’s time to make the most of it!

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Tags: action, Chiropractic Coach, chiropractic practice, chiropractor, focus, life of dreams, mission, organization, Rosen Chiropractic Coaching, rosen coaching, Success, values, vision