In podiatry, there are times when perfection is expected. Surgery would be one of those times, sterilising instruments would be another, and also performing a biomechanical assessment and prescribing orthotics would be times when perfection, or close to perfection, is pretty important…however, there are other times when perfection is totally unnecessary, and good enough is good enough to get started.
Episode Sponsor - Podiatry Clinic Websites
Launch Now and Fine Tune Later
Over the past few years, I've seen some average podiatry websites; but an average LIVE website is much better than having no website.
If you're waiting for your website to be perfect before making it LIVE, please stop waiting for it to be perfect and get something out there now.
Every day you wait, you're losing potential patients to your competitors who have a live website, and there is a big chance their website may be worse than the one you’re holding back.
And, if you're rebuilding your existing website, don't wait until every page is perfect before relaunching; get the new information onto your site as soon as you can and get it out there so your patients can see it.
Podiatry Legends New Website
I must point out that I am talking from experience here.
I have had at least four major podiatry website designs over my career, and more recently, I have just launched a stand-alone website for the Podiatry Legends Podcast, so this is all very fresh in my mind.
Please, take a look and see what you think. Just visit www.podiatrylegends.com
It's far from perfect, and it still needs a few tweaks, but it is LIVE, and that is what counts most. Right now…good enough is good enough.
You have to keep in mind the 80:20 RULE.
If the 80:20 holds true, only 20% of your website pages will be viewed by 80% of the people that visit your website, so if you're waiting for every page to be ready before you launch, you're wasting time because 80% of your pages are not going to be viewed by many people at all.
It’s sad but true.
And even as I say this, it makes me think back to some of the delays I caused on the podiatrylegedns.com website. To make me feel better, you can visit my website and look at every page, but let’s be honest, just like your patients, you’ll stick to the main pages of interest.
Other Marketing
It is important to approach all your marketing with the same attitude: good enough is sometimes good enough.
The patient information brochure you’re working on, the reactivation letter you discussed at last week’s team meeting that still needs some work, and the video you shot last month for YouTube, but you’re holding back because you’re unsure about the lighting or the sound.
In general, most of your marketing activities, as do my own, could probably be tweaked and made better, but 80% and out the door is better than 100% and in the draw.
A brilliant email blast, clinic newsletter or Facebook ad will get zero results until it is released.
The solution is to release it.
I remember when I wrote my first book, It’s No Secret There’s Money in Podiatry. I was part of a writer’s group, and we had a writing mentor. There were four of us in the group, and at a particular point, our mentor said…good enough is good enough; you’ve got to stop editing and send it to the publisher; otherwise, it will never get done.
There were two things I learnt from this after sending it to the publisher.
- I got a mental break. So much work went into writing and editing it felt good to stop and just let it go, and this mental break allowed me time to work on another project.
- When I got it back from the publisher, I had plenty of time to do further edits, but I got the process started by sending it off.
My initial transcript went back and forth two or three times until all editing was complete, and it was then sent off to the printers.
That was a stressful day, and I remember thinking there was no turning back now.
Even to this day, nine years after publishing and with thousands of copies sold, there are a few things I would have liked to have changed. There are even a few errors in the book, but if I didn’t follow the good enough is good enough principle, my book would still be in my head and partially written on my computer.
Here’s something else I’d like to highlight.
In my writers’ group, only two of us out of the four stopped editing and sent it to the publisher as instructed. Both of us since then have also written and published a second book. The other two in the group, who didn’t stop editing and didn’t send it to the publisher, never had their books published.
I think we can all learn from this.
Having a good enough is good enough approach is the first step in getting projects completed, especially marketing projects.
Once completed, you’ll have time afterwards to make slight changes if needed, and with each change, you can test and measure the success of each change.
Testing and measuring are important and relate to understanding the numbers of your business. I did an episode on this, Episode 135 - The Importance of Understanding Your Numbers.
Your Team
To wrap up, I have one more item to discuss in relation to good enough being good enough.
So far, I've only discussed how it applies to marketing aspects of your business; however, this good enough is good enough approach can also be applied to your team.
We all like to think we're good at what we do, and if you've been practising for many years, it’s probably true; however, what happens when you employ someone else and they start treating your patients?
Firstly, this can be a stressful moment in your career, and secondly, it will drive you crazy if your push for perfection on a day-to-day basis, and I know this for a fact because I have done this in the past.
As I said in my opening comments, surgery is one of those times when perfection is required or as close to perfection as possible, as is sterilisation; however, your business will fail to grow at the rate it should if you focus on perfection with your team.
Yes, your team's communication skills may need improvement, and their KPIs may not be as good as yours in certain areas, but then again, they may be better than yours in others.
Would you chew yourself a new one if your team, out did you? No, you wouldn’t, so give your team the same allowances. Taking on a good enough is good enough approach in some aspects of your business will give you a mental rest, and this is a positive.
Last week in Episode 265, I mentioned you get what you tolerate, meaning if you allow poor behaviour or attitudes to continue, you only have yourself to blame.
I think it is important to point out that having a good enough is good enough approach to your business is not about tolerating poor behaviour; it’s about setting suitable and sustainable standards in your business and allowing a little wiggle room for growth and imperfection.
With a good enough is good enough approach, you will have more time with your family and be a better partner or parent, more time to pursue your hobbies, therefore less stress and more fun in your life, and you'll have more time to become a better mentor to your team, and when you become a better mentor to your team, your team will improve as a consequence. The overall standards of your business will increase.
If you have any questions or feedback about the episode, you can send an email to tyson@podiatrylegends.com, or if you would like to work with me one-on-one, please send an email to tf@tysonfranklin.com
New Podiatry Legends Website - www.podiatrylegends.com
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