Strategic Planning Better Late Than Never

BY BRAD RUDEN, M.B.A.

The fact that your practice may be humming along fine may help you justify not having implemented a strategic plan, like many practitioners or administrators. Or you may have been overwhelmed with personal or professional obligations. In either case, I would urge you to rethink this position.

We have all heard the saying “If you don’t know where you are going, how will you know when you get there?” The better-prepared practices are always aware of their surroundings and of their position in the community, as well as their competition. You cannot cruise along, blind to events taking place just over the horizon. In order to maintain your position in the community, as well as prepare for the unforeseen, you must have a firm grasp of the practice’s capabilities.

There are several business analytical tools available to help ophthalmologists review their practices and plan for the future, with one of the most commonly used being the strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis (see Table). It is a simple tool designed to assist you in analyzing your business internally and externally. In a SWOT analysis you critically examine the internal strengths and weaknesses of your practice and externally identify the threats and opportunities in your market area. The resulting answers will help provide a picture of what the practice is doing right and where it may need to make changes.

I recommend that a SWOT analysis be done at least yearly (aggressive practices in dynamic markets may opt for every 6 months). I also suggest that staff be involved as much as possible — both for their knowledge of the practice, as well as their awareness of what is occurring of the office.

For example, a SWOT analysis can be distributed to each staff member for him or her to fill out over the weekend. I suggest they work on it individually and then compile the results — combining similar answers into one response — and go over the list of answers together to gather input and formulate a plan of action. The key is to be critical. Anyone can be cheerleader and brag about what he or she does right; that isn’t going to help the practice. A critical SWOT analysis will identify what you do right (so you can promote it), as well as ascertain what can be done better, or point you in a direction as to what new services to provide.

Managing a medical practice is challenging and exciting. Diligence is a key component to sustained success. While your practice may be doing well right now, you must always remember that failure or success lurk just around the corner. Do your best to be prepared.

Brad Ruden, M.B.A., is owner of MedPro Consulting & Marketing Services in Scottsdale, Ariz., and is a frequent author and lecturer on ophthalmology practice management topics. You can reach him at (602) 274-1668, by e-mail at bruden@medprocms.com, or via his Web site at www.medprocms.com.