E644 | How To Be a More Effective Communicator
Sep 26, 2023In this episode, Doc Danny and Yves dive into the importance of effective communication for business owners and leaders. The discussion is based on a poll conducted by Yves in the PT Entrepreneurs Facebook group, which revealed that effective communication is the most crucial trait of a good leader. The hosts highlight the potential pitfalls of poor communication, such as damaging relationships and losing trust.
The episode identifies four key aspects of effective communication. First, they emphasize the importance of praising employees in public and criticizing them in private. Publicly calling someone out can lead to embarrassment and hinder their ability to listen and grow. Second, they discuss the significance of constantly reminding staff about the mission and vision of the company. By explaining why the work matters and who it helps, the message remains fresh and meaningful.
The third aspect revolves around admitting mistakes, even minor ones. This act of humility helps to build trust and credibility. Lastly, they stress the need for clear messaging. By explaining the importance of standards in a simple manner, everyone can fully understand their significance.
To illustrate the impact of effective communication, Danny shares a personal experience of being publicly criticized in a disrespectful manner while in the military. Conversely, Yves recounts a situation where he was privately criticized by a bad boss, which also proved ineffective. They both agree that effective praise from a respected person in public greatly enhances credibility.
Throughout the episode, the hosts emphasize that being a leader entails not just completing tasks, but also developing people. They acknowledge that not all employees will stay forever, but the focus should be on continual self-improvement and providing a positive work environment.
In conclusion, effective communication is vital for being a great leader. The key takeaways include praising in public, criticizing in private, admitting mistakes, regularly reminding staff of the mission, and communicating clearly. By consistently working on self-improvement, leaders can create a positive and productive work culture.
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Podcast Transcript
Danny: [00:00:00] Hey, real quick before we get started, head over to Facebook and join the PT entrepreneurs Facebook group. If you haven't done so yet, we have monthly live trainings going on there. There's an opportunity for you to join in the conversation instead of just listening to what I have to say on this podcast, as well as the people that I bring on.
And it's a really cool place to join about 6, 000 other clinicians that are. Honestly, trying to change the landscape of our profession through these cash and hybrid practices. One other thing that's really cool is we have a guide in there. That's a quick start guide. When you join, you can go and check this out.
There's about seven videos that we've curated that are the most common questions we get in the best case studies that we've found to really help you start, grow, and scale your practice up to seven figures. So if you haven't done so yet, head to Facebook request to join the PT entrepreneurs, Facebook group.
You have to be a clinician. We're going to check you out. We don't just let anybody in. But if you are head there, go ahead, get signed up. We'd love to have the conversation with you in that group.
So here's the question. How do physical therapists like us who don't want to see 30 patients a [00:01:00] day, who don't want to work home health and have real student loans, create a career and life for ourselves that we've always dreamed about? This is the question. And this podcast is the answer. My name is Danny Matei and welcome to the PT entrepreneur podcast.
All right. What's going on guys. Dr. Danny here with EGG back in the Facebook group and on the PT entrepreneur podcast. We are talking about communication today. Something that, uh, comes from a poll that Eve actually put in the Facebook group. If you're not a part of the Facebook group, head over to Facebook and look up PT entrepreneurs, you can go ahead and, uh, request to join our team.
We'll check you out and make sure you're a clinician. Uh, and, uh, and if you look good to go, then we will accept you in [00:02:00] the group and you can become part of that community. There's about 6, 500 clinicians that are in that right now. It's just kind of, kind of crazy. That's a lot of us. If we all were at like a basketball game together, that'd be a lot of people.
It'd be a lot of clinicians. Uh, that'd be pretty cool. But, uh, anyway, he put up a post talking about traits of a good leader. And the overwhelming response that most people gave was that effective communication was. Uh, the, the most important trait to be a, a, a good leader or in a good leader that you had, uh, as a, as an employee.
And I completely agree. I think it is a very hard thing to do. Well, it's very easy to screw up and do the wrong thing and ruin our relationship with somebody. And kind of talk about that a little bit. Um, but there's really, there's four things that. Come to mind when we think about it, we're going to dive into today that will help you be a better communicator with, um, you know, really this is under the lens of with your team.
So with [00:03:00] your staff, uh, clinicians, with your administrative, uh, you know, team members, just, just with your business, uh, in general, but this can also apply. In other ways as well. Right. So if you're coaching people, you know, on a sports team, if you are, you know, working together with other entrepreneurs and in, in different ways, um, it applies to pretty much anything, but in this context, you really want to talk about how this applies as a business owner.
So to dive in and just get straight into it. The very first thing that I'll say is probably the biggest mistake that I have seen clinicians make. And I have made myself when it comes to working with staff is to praise. In public and criticize in private. So I'm going to say that again, because this is probably the, the one thing that you can't come back from.
If you do this, you must praise in public and criticize in private, because as soon as you criticize someone in front of their peers, a couple of things happened, number one, they're not listening to you anymore because [00:04:00] a. Their heart is racing. They're so mad probably about you calling them out in front of everybody and embarrassed, and also probably thinking about just why you're wrong potentially and digging their heels.
And even more, there's really no way to win that. And it's very, very hard to come back from. So if you decide to go that route, you're basically ruining that relationship for the, you know, For as long as they stick around, which probably won't be too long. If you're criticizing them in front of everybody, and this is a really bad habit that Who knows?
Maybe you got this from your parents. You got this from coaches that you were with. Um, I used to see people get berated in the military constantly. It was actually one of the more fun parts of being in the military that you could just yell at people. You can't do that in a, uh, in a civilian setting. It doesn't work very well because yeah, people just leave, right?
You just can't, you just can't do that. Uh, it's a really bad habit. And, uh, you know, and if you do that, You really set [00:05:00] yourself up for. Not, not just a bad relationship with that person, but everybody else sees how you treat them. And that is, that starts to deteriorate the trust they have with you. Cause now instead of them feeling, uh, like it's okay to voice their opinion, it's okay to make mistakes and that it's not necessarily something that you want to do all the time, but you're not going to get reamed for it.
They start to actually realize, whoa, uh, What kind of person am I working for? And then start to look for other things. So, I don't know, Eve, what do you think about criticizing in private and praising in public? Yeah, I mean,
Yves: when I hear that, um, what I think of is, you're probably doing that because you're heated.
You're probably doing that because you feel like A part of you probably anyways, like, hey, if I, uh, shame this person, they're going to remember and they're going to change their behavior because it's probably more of a, you know, instance, but we know, especially with these small teams and with [00:06:00] clinicians, um, it's probably different for you in the military, right?
Like. That is not typically long term what's going to happen, right? Like, long term, it's probably going to be all the things that you talked about. It's going to be somebody shutting down. It's going to create, uh, resentment. And, um, you're not just going to get the behavior change. Like, ultimately, that's what we want, right?
We want everyone to feel like a team. We want everyone to be on the same page. We want this person who's an employee to really feel, uh, invested. In our business. And yeah, that's probably just not the right way to go about it ultimately. So I think a really good rule of thumb rule of thumb.
Danny: Has anybody ever criticized you in public?
Yves: Man, I mean, I'm sure right? Like, I mean, I picture like, it's probably almost like getting bullied in school. Like, I'm trying to like, I try to look at it like as an adult. I don't think so. I mean, I had a really bad boss, you know, uh, when I started my insurance space practice, that boss, he was looking back now.
Like pretty terrible in a lot of ways and he definitely [00:07:00] criticized uh, in public. He definitely had a lot of inconsistencies. We probably go through this list and there's probably he's going to check the box on every single one, but there's not like a specific instance where like, oh man, like that's, you know, uh, that happened to me.
And then I just like clammed up and move forward. Like, uh, Maybe it's a, a character flaw, but like, I have a pretty short memory when it comes to those things, like, like, I just, I'll just move on, like, okay, that's great. Cool. Let's move on and keep going. Like, what do I care? So, uh, I can't think of one. Can you think of one that you've like, that stands out to you?
Danny: Yeah. I mean, sure. I think, uh, I, I remember, I remember going to, uh, when, when I got assigned to my brigade, I, I went to go meet what, who I thought, actually, I thought it was the brigade commander who is like the guy that's in charge of the whole brigade. Right. And, um, this was actually the, to get back, this was the second brigade commander.
Cause there was a guy that was there and. He was only there for a few [00:08:00] months when I got there. Um, and for whatever reason, like these guys, they'd like to do like running meetings, so they'll in the morning, they'll just run like six, seven miles and just talk to you the whole time. And it's like, I guess an efficient way for them to run.
And then also like get meetings in or whatever. So I would run with this first guy and we would talk about stuff. And he was pretty much just like, yeah, whatever, dude, whatever you want. Cool. We got it. Uh, you know, just tell us what you need. And it was super easy to work with. Very informal. Let me put it that way.
Um, especially for somebody that's a full bird colonel, right? So I go to meet this second guy who came in and there, there was a new, uh, XO, which is like the second in command, right? And so they're like the, uh, executive officer for the brigade. And normally it's actually not a job that a lot of people want.
I think it's like sort of a, I don't know the, I don't know why people feel this [00:09:00] way, but like, they're second in command. They're, they could be a battalion commander in some cases, meaning they're in charge of like 600 people. So, but instead they're like second in command for the, for the number one guy.
Um, and in my experience, they're not usually the, the best people to deal with. Not, not the worst people deal with. They just, I don't think they really want that job, um, for the most part. So I go to meet the brigade commander for this, the new brigade, uh, the, to meet the new brigade commander, and I get punted to the.
XO for this meeting. And it was a meeting that I didn't know I was actually going to be a part of. And I go in and it's basically all of these company commanders who are captains, I'm a captain. And, uh, and there's a couple of other, like, you know, subject matter, extra people, you know, the finance guy, the ops guy, whatever.
And so I go in and. I didn't have like anything to write stuff down with because I thought I was just coming to a meeting to meet this new guy and just, you know, get to get to get to know him a little bit. And for him to [00:10:00] realize what I did. Most people didn't know what a physical therapist was. So I go in this meeting and the XO from the get go.
It was one of the worst meetings that I've been in because because everybody else is like ready to go. They got a bunch of stuff. I don't have anything. And, and he's like, okay, hang on Captain Matei. Did you prepare anything for this meeting and I go, sir, I did not, I didn't know I was meeting. I didn't know this was a meeting.
I thought I was just going to talk to the brigade commander and, uh, and be a jumping off point for that relationship. And he laughed out loud at me and he was like, you don't meet the brigade commander without going through me first. And I wanted to say, sir, I've been running with a brigade commander, like, at least once a week for the last few months.
This is a new guy. I thought it'd be the same thing, but I didn't say that because I realized that would be a terrible thing to say. So, you know, I was like, I'm sorry about that, sir. It won't let it happen again. Thanks. And he goes to start saying something again, and he stops and he's like, Kevin, I gotta [00:11:00] ask, did you bring anything to write down notes?
And, and I was like, I go, sir, I didn't say that's my, that's on me, sir. I thought I was, you know, and I really probably should have, honestly. And. He, he literally like he made me get back up, walk back in the room, you know, address him differently than how I, how I actually came into this meeting, then sit back down and told me to never come to a meeting again without notes.
And he gave me a bunch of shit to remember as well, I think on purpose, just to prove a point, but he did in front of like 15 people that were all basically, you know, the same rank as me. And I remember leaving that meeting and I was like, this guy's such a dick. Like I, there's nothing about me that wants to do anything positive for this guy.
Cause he basically just assigned me an entire revamp of an injury prevention protocol for an entire group of 4, 000 people in a, uh, 10 minute conversation I had with him and I didn't write any of it down. Right. So I was definitely in the wrong, but. I would have had a lot more respect for him if he would have pulled me [00:12:00] aside and be like, listen, never come to a meeting, never go anywhere without a notebook.
Like, and to be fair, I never went anywhere else without a notebook, a small notebook to like write stuff in after that, which is anybody listening. This is in the military is probably like, yo, dude, you should have a notebook on you anyway. And, uh, but dude, I felt, I was like really mad about it. I wanted nothing to do with this guy.
I definitely didn't want to make him look good in any way possible. And, uh, You know, I've never been like embarrassed by somebody in front of a bunch of other people, uh, in, in that way, in, in a work setting, you know what I'm saying? Like, and, and it, it didn't really matter necessarily what anybody else in the brigade has to say about you in that setting.
It's like really. Yeah. Uh, it's not a good way to handle it, right? And that's definitely not something I have done with anybody that I've worked with, because you just know, you just get hot, dude, you're sitting there and you're just like, Oh my God, I'm so mad right now. And he had some valid points, but the way he did it, it just made me so, um, deterred to anything that he had to say after that, that I basically, you know, I just was so mad I didn't even listen to anything.
Yeah.
Yves: I mean, I feel like a lot of that stuff [00:13:00] would be, what I hear is like ego driven, right? Like it's more of just like who's the biggest gorilla in this room. Right. And so, yeah, I go back and not necessarily to me, but to other people, we've definitely had like staff meetings, you know, I was not the leader of these staff meetings, but like, you know, uh, again, in the insurance based practice and he would just, yeah, he would get onto people like, why don't you do your notes or like you relate today and just like literally kind of break that person right there.
And that's just like, it's uncomfortable for everybody else. Not even know, let alone that person and they feel bad that you feel like, and it's just like, you know, and, and I think you lose not only credibility probably with the person they're braiding, but the entire room at that point, right? Because it's like, it's completely unnecessary.
Danny: Oh, dude, I got, there's one time that I've, you know, kind of lost my cool a little bit with an employee and there was, uh, it was an athlete's potential. And. And we have staff meetings, staff meetings start at, you know, one o'clock we'd, we'd get going. And this person was always like one o'clock roll around and they're heating their lunch up right.
As we're starting. [00:14:00] And I'm like, God dang it, man. This is like, we're always a few minutes late because you hate that. I hate it. I hate it. And instead of me saying, uh, you know, talking to this person afterwards, like, look, man, it's really important. We start these at this time. Just be ready to go. You know, I brought it up.
You know, and I was like, listen, I didn't say directly who it was, but it was pretty obvious who it was like, look, we start meetings on time. So be here on time. Is that, you know, sound good. And, but I could tell as soon as I said that, that this person instantly was like completely different mood after I said that.
And I look back on it and I didn't think it was that big of a deal, but it's not the right way to go about it versus pull that person aside privately. And explain why it's important that we show up on time and that we start the meeting on time. And that it's just like a thing that we do, like punctuality is one of our core values.
And, uh, and, and not handling that the right way really put them in a bad mood. And I ended up having to really have a conversation with [00:15:00] them later to smooth that over because I just went about it the complete wrong way, you know, and I'm sure actually, if I, if, if you were to ask some of the people that have worked for, for me, uh, they probably will come up with multiple things where I.
Did a bad job of this that I probably had forgotten and they haven't because that's how much it's 60. I guarantee you this brigade XO doesn't fucking remember me from anybody else because of probably how many interactions he's had like that. But for me, I remember that very well, you know, and it's different.
So I'm sure there's employees that we have that have, uh, that have been like, nah, Danny, you did that. You did this and this and this, and it's like, yeah, you're right. I probably made a bunch of mistakes, uh, that. Which hopefully you guys can avoid by listening to this. Yeah.
Yves: You're you're hot blooded, man. I feel like we've done a lot of, you know, I'll give you some praise right here.
You know, in a, in a huge group setting, I feel like you've done a lot of good work there because that's the opposite of this, which I think you we've got hit on too. Right? Like praise in a group setting can also have this amazing profound effect. So just like you remember the XO [00:16:00] all of a sudden now you can be remembered as somebody who's like, I really appreciate, you know.
You do this and this extra all the time. That's amazing. You're such a great employee. Like doing that in a group setting can again, have such a profound impact, um, you know, sometimes a lot of ways than a lot of other things you can do, you know, like making more money or getting a, you know, a better job title.
Like a lot of these, you know, uh, things can have a huge impact on employee retention and, and ultimately being good leader, being intentional about this stuff, which some of us. Thank you. And that does not come naturally to me, you know, like I want to get stuff done to me and I'm done. I'm not going to stop and like praise you right there in front of everybody.
I think that's a little too lavish, but at the same time, that's probably amazingly, uh, impactful to that employee as well, again, to the whole group in general. Dude,
Danny: that is, there's, there's, that is so true in terms of, if you can praise people for doing a good job. So there's. If you look at if you look at like, um, training behaviors in [00:17:00] any way, right?
There's negative reinforcement and there's positive reinforcement. Negative reinforcement would be like, you know, me yelling at my kids if they don't do what they what I asked them to do. Positive reinforcement would be me praising them or, you know. Taking them to get ice cream. If they get an a on their whatever report card, something positive and praise in public is so strong.
Like, I, I remember vividly, like, I went when, when I was in Hawaii at, at, uh, Schofield barracks about, like, I guess I had, I'd flown out of San Francisco and I had worked with San Francisco CrossFit with Kelly's group and I spent a week there and I really only spent maybe an hour with him because he was doing the, uh, the edits to supple leopard.
I barely knew this person, right? I spent a whole time with his staff and I learned a ton from all their training coaches. It was great. But when he came out to Hawaii to teach, um, at a couple of CrossFit [00:18:00] gyms, he's, he came to our brigade a day early and he taught for our brigade. So I get all these medics and, uh, people that are leading, you know, physical training.
So we've got about 40 people in this program. He comes out for the first day and he literally starts out by thanking me and, and telling everybody how, Uh, fortunate they were to have a physical therapist like me assigned to their brigade and like for honestly, for like probably 20, 30 seconds, just talk me up to everybody that was in the room.
Most have, someone didn't know who the hell I was and to do that made my life so much better because everybody in that room now I got validated from this person that they actually like had a lot more respect for, and then my job became so much easier from 30 seconds of this guy telling everybody. That, you know, that I was good at what I did and that, you know, they, they're lucky to have me.
And I remember I was like, damn, I, I've never had anybody do that in [00:19:00] that manner and apply their credibility to that person. And after that, I started really thinking about that and doing that more with other people around me and really trying to like. Prop up staff that I had, you know, whoever it was.
And it's such a good habit, such a good thing that I see really good leaders do this all the time. They are so good about expressing gratitude to other people in public. It's, it's one of the best things you can do to really develop a strong, um, you know, bond with your team or people that you're trying to like, you know, really build their confidence.
Um, and in a lot of cases, that's what people are trying to do. Cause we forget when a staff clinician comes in to work at one of these practices and they're the first one. That is a hell of a hard place to be the shoes you have to fill. You're talking about a business that's built off the reputation of the founder, the person that started the business.
And they don't want to, no one wants to see you. They want to see the other person and you're in such a bad position. And like, you got to be able to praise those people to build their confidence up and to highlight them in front of other [00:20:00] people. And it's one of the best ways to really help build their schedule and not necessarily make them feel bad about themselves.
Yves: Yeah, this, uh, it's a little bit of an aside, but I think it's a, it's an interesting point or just, I want to dig into it a little bit. I think this bleeds into how you make introductions to people, um, like even through email or through text. I remember vividly someone one time was like, cause I used to just be like, you know, can you make an email introduction to blah, blah, blah.
Like, sure. Hey, hey, blank. Here's blank end of email. Right. And then I had somebody else do the opposite. One time we're like, Hey, this is Eve. He's an amazing physical therapist. He did this and this for me. I think he's an amazing person. I can't wait y'all to meet here's blah, blah, blah, a trusted friend.
Like, and I was like, how that. Interaction started and how and what happened afterwards was a completely different trajectory than the other way. Right. And like, another [00:21:00] thing I remember when I start workshops, sometimes, and the gym owner would kind of come over and do the same thing like hey this is Eve.
He's an amazing physical therapist. We've known each other forever. Like, you know, I can't wait for y'all to meet him and show you some of the coolest exercises I use them every day. Like that workshop is going to go insanely better, you know? And I would usually reciprocate that too. You know, be like, I love this community.
I've known Jim owner blank for a very long time. Like y'all are so lucky. It's one of the best gyms in town. Right? Like there's just like doing little things intentionally like that in these group settings. And obviously when they're genuine can just have such, again, a profound impact on how that relationship goes or how that event goes, and even just how you're perceived in general, right.
Which is so important. We really know, you know, how much your reputation, you know, matters, especially in business.
Danny: Yeah. And it has to be genuine. I think that's the other thing. Right. Or, or maybe it even, it's even like, uh, it depends on your style. Right. But it could be something that's sort of like, um, a bit, a bit funny.
Right. It's like, Hey, [00:22:00] this is my, this is my buddy Eve. He's a great physical therapist, a world class break dancer. Just kidding. And you know, like something else, like he's, he's awesome. He's going to take care of you. And it's, it's just like. It's just something that helps tee that person up in a really positive way that doesn't take that much time, you know, it's very, it's very meaningful.
And that's, this is where it comes back to your reputation as a. Employer or just as a, as a person, uh, like, I think this is one of the things that we see when people struggle to get, uh, like employees struggle to find employees for their business. Uh, if you are, and this is assuming you already have employees, if you already have employees and you struggle to find employees, that means you're not doing, you're not really doing a very good job.
Of some of the things we're talking about with your employees. Otherwise they would be trying to get all their friends to come and work with them in this amazing culture, this business that they're, that they're a part of. So, you know, really being able to praise people in [00:23:00] public and, and criticize them in private.
Is it really, I mean, it's probably Yeah. It's something that I wish I would have understood at a much earlier state and you're right. I think that a lot of it comes down to your ego, which kind of bleeds into the second thing for me, which is admitting when you're wrong, which is like happening right now.
We're talking about things that we screwed up, you know, with and the ego side of you just, you know. It's like, this is my business. This is the way it's going to go. Like, you know, do it or leave like that kind of a, uh, mentality is not the best. It's not really, it's not really from what I've seen the best way to lead people, unless it's out of fear, which never really goes as well as if they're really just sort of proud to be there.
And they're a part of the mission that you have. So, you know, you gotta be able to admit when you're wrong too. And I think that that's something that. Here's a good example. I literally, I, we, we started this like 15 minute meeting middle of the day, uh, for, [00:24:00] for a daily huddle on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday for PT best, right?
This is the first week of it. And I completely missed the second day. I missed the meeting. Not because I was like, you know, taking a nap or hanging out or something like that. I was, I had gotten sucked into some data that I was trying to sift through to help one of our, uh, um, consultants make, make a decision on.
And before I knew it, it was like one o'clock and I just worked straight through lunch. And I didn't even realize it's like, I forgot where I was at. And I had all my phones on all notifications were off. And I turned it back on and I get two notifications. You're like, are you coming to this meeting? And I felt so bad.
I was like, Oh my God, what, what a dick. I literally am the person that came up with this idea and I missed the second meeting. So yesterday, what do I got to do? I, I have to apologize to my team that I missed the meeting. Otherwise. I'm setting a terrible precedence, you know, it's just like, I'm so sorry, I feel terrible about it.
And, uh, I don't think anybody thought it was that big of a [00:25:00] deal that I missed that, but I thought it was a huge deal. And I had to admit that I was wrong and I admit, you know, I, I screwed up. Um, and I just don't think it would. Even, even if it wasn't that big of a deal, I don't think it's the right thing to not admit that.
And then, you know, move on from there. Cause like, I could just be like, yeah, whatever. I was busy. No big deal. That's kind of like me saying, I value my time over your time. I'll expect all of you to be here, but not me. Right. So just being able to admit when you're wrong, no matter how small it is, uh, or especially if it's big, like you got to do it.
Otherwise you lose a lot of trust with people. And that's, that's just communication in a nutshell. Right. It's just like little things like that. People will remember that whether you like it or not. Yeah, and that's hard to
Yves: do, right? Cause the gut reaction is to do the opposite of that, right? The gut reaction is to not, cause you have to go out of your way.
Put your ego aside. Tell people you're wrong. And then you also have to go apologize. And you can come up with any excuse, right? I'm the owner. I'm the founder. I can do what I want. It wasn't a big deal. I'll make it up the next time. You can come up with a thousand excuses. But just like you said, it's a little thing.[00:26:00]
That little, small, little micro commitment that you did will just be reciprocated down the line, right? And you're just creating all these things that, um, foster you as a good leader, foster you as a great team leader. I think, um, In general, and I mean, I've done the same things, you know, like, uh, what I leaned toward when I was, uh, you know, leading made to move and, and, uh, still some sort of leadership role, very minority is, um, I would usually just not create clarity, you know, I would do a really great job of just like talking about all these things we're going to do.
And then this is going to happen because I'm very gay, very excited. I'm easily excitable. I'm overly optimistic, you know, and like, frankly, sometimes I'll, uh. Over promise and not be able to deliver, you know, and like that can be really frustrating for a staff member, you know, it can be very, very frustrating.
And when those things would happen, you know, I could have faulted. Oh, it's a situation. It was weird. I don't need to explain that to him. It was out of my hands, but [00:27:00] almost always. Pull them aside and be like, Hey, this is on me. Like I should have been more clear, you know, like I put you in a frustrating situation and I'm really sorry about that.
And, uh, you know, here's the steps we're going to do to make sure this doesn't happen again. You know, and I'd always make sure and do that. And I think that, uh, I believe anyway, that had a really profound effect, you know, to just build trust because ultimately, you know, when we're talking about communication, it's really just making sure that we have.
Mutual trust and between us and our employees, you know, and if you lose that, it's, it's almost impossible to come back from.
Danny: Yeah. The first two things we talked about are very hard to come back from, you know, you can basically kiss those employees goodbye. Um, they're gonna, they're gonna, if, if, uh, if they're not on their way out, they're just not going to really try very hard, uh, for you.
Right. Like that's really what it comes down to. I think you're best. Approach is to try to create a relationship in which [00:28:00] people do not want to disappoint you because they respect you. Not that they're doing things because they're fearful of whatever the outcome from that might be. Right. Uh, that's the, that's, and that's a hard thing to do because that takes a lot of consistency.
And, um, it also takes just, you really have to spend time to get to know and care about the people that you are working with. And, and I think the other thing too, is to really. Like the ability to put yourself in their position is a really good exercise. Right? So if it's like, okay, well, why is so and so late for this?
Right. They're, they're probably not trying to, to do this. They're not trying to do it on purpose, but maybe what the problem is, is maybe you've done a bad job of, uh, emphasizing the importance of this and what this has to do with other things. Like. There was, uh, I, I used to, uh, put my [00:29:00] hands in my pockets in my uniform when I was in the military and, you know, that's against the regulation, but there's a lot of gray area with that one rule.
And especially if you're like, here's the thing, if you're an officer and typically no one's going to tell you not to do that, right? Unless it's another officer or someone that's a senior rank to you with your hands in your pockets. It seems like a minimal thing, like a simple thing, right? Well, I had this one, I had this one, uh, staff sergeant that came up to me, didn't know this guy at all, right?
And keep in mind, I'm a captain and I'm in this infantry setting. They don't, he doesn't know me from anybody, right? I could be a company commander for all he knows. And I was standing there waiting outside a building for, uh, somebody I was meeting and he comes up to me. And like salutes me, you know, and it stands next to me on, you know, Saturdays, like, Hey, sir, you know.
I know [00:30:00] this is a minimal thing. Uh, but the regulation that he names regulations and I'm like, Oh shit, like this. Anytime you get somebody names regulations, they're, they're kind of hard sometimes to deal with. Right. But he's like, this is the regulation. And he's like, I gotta be honest with you, like as an officer, like you're a leader here.
And he's like, dude, my soldiers see what you're doing. And I don't want them to think this is okay. And I'd really appreciate it if you'd help me set that precedence by not doing this because. It'll make my job easier and, and from the top down, they'll see that, you know, it's being done correctly. And I remember I'd never put my hands in my pockets after that ever, like when I was in uniform, but the way in which he did it was so effective.
And it was, it wasn't from a, Hey, you're doing the wrong things. The regulation says you need to follow the regulation, whatever. It was literally like, Hey, you're an example for these soldiers. They see you, they see what your rank is. They, you know, it's, it's a big deal to them. And if you're doing this, they're going to think it's okay as well.
So we, we, we can't have that as a standard. Right. And I just, I felt [00:31:00] bad, you know, I remember that and the, but the way you handled it was so correct versus, you know, just saying that and then making somebody feel bad about it. Um, so I think that we have to really do is explain to people why things are important, even if they don't see the significance in it, it's not necessarily their fault, it's our fault because we haven't done a good job of communicating why those values are important.
Yeah, that's
Yves: huge. And. This is a common mistake, I think, especially when you 1st begin leadership, because you're the owner. This is your 1st employee. You, uh. are seeing patients, you're doing thousands of different things. And to go back and take the time and take 10 or 15 minutes to explain why you need to be on time or why, you know, you send an email within 24 hours after the eval every time.
And this is what it looks like, like, you know, are getting notes down on time. Like it's, it's, it's hard to take that extra time. You know, even with kids, it's probably another thing. It's like, you know, Liam, you just can't do that. That's easier to say than Liam, [00:32:00] you can't do that. You know, this is, this is the reason why, this is why we had this standard.
This is, you know, Why we do it for the team and do it for the family. Like that's just a much harder, uh, more emotionally time and mentally intensive thing to do, but again, long term downstream effect, you're building so much more trust. And I think, um, like. I think you said it was like, you want them to be proud to work there, you know?
And like, that's what you're building right there. You're building that kind of vision for your team. And almost always, it's funny, it's like everything we're saying, I'm like, man, that's just like, it just takes a lot of time and energy. And that's usually what I see a lot of times, again, new business owners, new leaders, even a couple of staff members.
It just comes down to a lot of just like not even having to effort to do that. You know, it's just like, they're just exhausted, but these are the things that you've got to do because, you know, what's really frustrating. Is staff turnover way more frustrating and time intensive and take an extra few minutes to kind of explain why this is important and how it can be implemented better.[00:33:00]
Danny: I agree. And I think that one of the, one of the, the bigger or like simple verbiage shifts you can make is going from me and you to we like as simple as that might sound, we talk about this as a family, right? Uh, cause you talk about like kids and you can't do that or. In our family, it's Matei's don't do this, Matei's do this.
Like we have, you know, certain things like Matei's don't quit things, right? Like Matei's don't show up late, Matei's don't whatever. So it's this idea of instead of like, Hey, you can't do this. Or if you have an employee is like, you need to send an email at this point in time or whatever, it's like our standard because of we care about people's, uh, you know, we value people's time is that we do this, like we do this.
Versus you need to do this and, you know, that one little sort of change in terms of how you're phrasing things, you're including people into that community and saying, this is the standard that we hold [00:34:00] versus alienating somebody and saying, you are doing the wrong thing. And, you know, I always appreciate being a part of something that has a high standard, as long as it's upheld correctly, you know, like.
I think we've all probably, if you play any sport, like you've, you've been on some team that had very high standards and more than anything, you wanted to not let other people down around you, like you wanted to work together for that versus. Been on teams where there's a lot of individuals that are talented, but there's not really that cohesion.
And when you build a business, you do not want to build a business of all stars. You want to build a business of people working together. Now, if they're all amazing, talented people, that's even better, but I'll get a lot more done with like what people would consider like a B player, like a solid, it's like a solid.
Yeah. You know, skill level, solid intelligence, solid, you know, factor of how hard they try versus one super talented person that has, you know, all these great [00:35:00] skills, but doesn't want to work together with other people. Like, I don't want that person. I want the other person and I want to, I want that culture to just be so indoctrinated in everybody that they feel like they're a part of something really cool, really special.
Um, you know, and what is they can't. You can't spell culture without Colt, so you got to think about it as like your little, you know, your little Kool Aid you're getting everybody to drink about what this place is. And if they don't want to drink it, then they need to leave. Yeah, I mean,
Yves: that's a, that's a clear one for me, like always making sure we have a clear vision, a clear goal and be able to disseminate that to your staff.
I think, uh, there's a lot of books out there and that was a really hard lesson to learn, right? Like, you know, uh. Getting somebody just to do something out of fear, even out of money will only take you so far. But if somebody does it, cause they really believe in what the vision is for you and your company, that's going to go a much longer way.
Danny: Yeah. And the, I mean, that's a, that's a big one, right? Like, uh, constantly reminding, uh, of the importance of your mission and [00:36:00] why you're doing what you're doing. Right. So, and I think as, as business owners, we get sort of tired of this and we think it's, we we've beaten this, you know, drum too many times, but.
It's so important to remind your staff of what they do and why they're doing it and not necessarily because like it's a, it's a business, right? So it's not a. It's not a for a nonprofit. It's even a nonprofit still got to motivate people, but it's a for profit business, right? Where we obviously are not in the business of losing money.
Otherwise, you know, no money, no mission is what my wife, uh, they're the nonprofit that she used to run. They used to always say that, right? No money, no mission. And it was like motivating people to find donors, right? They needed money to be able to support the nonprofit that they were doing great work with.
And I think the same thing with our own business is just like really being clear on What problem are we solving? Who are the people that we're helping and why is it important? And one of the best things you can do is just highlight, you know, uh, wins that we're having. Like we do this in our [00:37:00] own business with client wins that we have and people that are seeing success in different things.
And we, we have a whole channel just for this, that you can see, you know, we can scroll through and see literally. Hundreds, maybe even a thousand different, uh, screenshots of social, you know, proof images of people that are winning that our team sees. And we can bring that up and highlight those things.
Same thing with people in the staff, uh, clinic environment, you bring up a win like, Oh, so and so ran their 5k and they didn't have any knee pain. They haven't been able to do that in 10 years. It's like something like that. You remind people of why we do what we do, who we do it for and the importance of it.
And I think you cannot. You can't, um, leave that alone. That has to be something that is just constantly reiterated. And otherwise, I think people get a bit complacent. They maybe question if they're in the right place. Especially if you're asking them to really work hard, right. To put effort in effort is exhausting, but effort towards something that is important [00:38:00] is very sustainable in comparison to something that they feel like is just like, Oh, this is just a money grab for you, right.
Or whatever. And, and, uh, and if they, if they feel like they're a part of a mission, which really we have mission driven businesses, this is not hard for us to do, uh, it'd be really hard. Imagine if you just sold donuts and you're like guys. Get it together. We are changing lives with these donuts. You know, like that would be hard to do.
Maybe your donuts are amazing, but it's not like you're, you know, it's not really helping anybody's health and wellness, which we, what we get to do. And, you know, we don't, we don't have that problem. Like we really daily have these mini miracles that we help people with. They're just so excited to, to. You know, rave to their friends and family about how much they've accomplished and how helpful we are and just how much they enjoy being around our people.
So highlight that don't let them forget that because it becomes white noise for them. It's just background noise at a certain point because they're just used to it. And uh, you gotta keep beating that drum. Yeah.
Yves: Um, I don't know about you, but donuts have changed my life multiple times. If I can get a good donut, just [00:39:00] saying, is that
Danny: right?
What's your favorite donut? Like, is there a spot that you've been, you're like, this is the greatest donut I've ever had in my life.
Yves: We have a place called Glazed. It's, uh, we go there. We try to go there every Saturday. It doesn't happen every weekend. I'll take the kids. Amy gets the morning kind of off and they have some amazing donuts there.
Like I like the variety. It's not like I can just pick one. Like I try to kind of diversify and just, you know, sometimes it'll just hit right at the right time. And, uh, my, my day has changed. My life has changed right after that.
Danny: I'm taking a revolution here, right? The one by our old office, listen, these people, they're old, they're, they were patients of ours as well, which made it even cooler.
But, uh, when it's peach season, they have these peach sliders that are just like the greatest, there's just such a simple little donut with peaches inside it, you know, and, and I'm like, this will change. This will change your, uh, your view of a, of a peach donut. But, uh, look, donuts are awesome. I'm not necessarily knocking donuts, but, uh, But, but yeah, you know, like, I just think, I wonder sometimes if I would be able to be [00:40:00] as, uh, you know, energetic and consistently excited to be a part of a business, if it was something that didn't really have such meaningful impacts on people, whether it's through PT biz or one of our clinics, I think it would be hard for me to do.
And, and, uh, You know, maybe not everybody's like that, but, uh, I'm very, you know, fortunate. I think that we do get to help people in a significant way and see it. And actually like, it's such a personally rewarding thing that we also, you know, it pays our bills. Like that's awesome. What a great, what a win win.
Yves: Yeah, I mean, mission driven business, right? I feel like that's something that there's no business. I have maybe the band business. That's, that's, and that's so funny. That's probably the one that I work on the least, right? The fitness band. Uh, that's not necessarily mission driven. I'm not really like, yay, people are going to get these bands that are way better than other bands.
Right. But like, I think. I mean, picture what people can't picture sometimes is that transition from having a job to being an entrepreneur, that your energy level totally [00:41:00] changes. Like I remember that I was like, I'm tired all the time. What am I doing? Like, how am I going to even start a business? And like the second I was working towards something that I believed in, that I loved, that was my kind of vision.
It's like I could work tirelessly and that has not changed. Right. Like honestly. Over a decade in of being an entrepreneur at this point, like hasn't changed at all. Like energy is relatively limitless. Like usually, and we've had a whole different podcast is usually I need to govern myself to be like, you got to stop or your body's going to collapse.
Like, you know what I mean? But the engine could, could still be there. So I think that's so true. Right. But you've got to consistently remind your staff. Right. And so, um, I think I heard this first from Elliot, who is one of the people who, uh, You know, took over made to move. And it was like, you're the chief repeating officer, right?
Like you're just going to constantly be repeating your mission, your vision, your values, and all that stuff. Like that's, that's almost your job on a regular basis as the CEO, as the leader of the team. And no, that's always something I emphasize [00:42:00] because I knew it was hard, like doing a workshop on a weekend, staying late at night.
Like, you know, uh, Seeing a lot of patients in one day, like we always would go back and highlight how this is impacting our community, how we're impacting people's lives every single day, and that this is the mission of made to move. And this is why we're doing this. Like I said, it wasn't necessarily about money.
That is honestly an added bonus. You know, right now we are trying to help as many people as possible, you know, and Ultimately, like we need to make money to make sure we continue to do that and like making sure you're tying that in some of the day to day mundane tasks that people are doing makes it so much easier because they forget.
I mean, they're like, they've got their own problems. They've got their own personal issues. They've got so many things going on and they're trying to not be late. They're trying to help this patient. Maybe their mom isn't doing too well, right? It's like a thousand things. You've just got to do it over and over and over and over again.
I get that question a lot. It's like, I feel like I talk about this all the time. Like good. Keep talking about it. [00:43:00] You know what I mean? Like say it again, every staff meeting, I don't care how you work it in. Like you need to be constantly talking about like, this is the big picture. Here's where we're going.
This is why we do this work. And, um, you know, it just helps with morale, helps with energy level, helps with retention. I mean, it's got a lot of downstream effects.
Danny: Well, I feel like the people are the best and worst part of running a business. Like, you know, No offense to any employees. Uh, and this can be said about if you're an employee and you have a boss, um, it is just like to see your people progress and to see them evolve.
Um, as like, I, I think of it as this idea of like being a citizen, right? Like, are you a good, are you a. Functional like positive part of our country, like, are you actually doing the right thing when nobody's looking, you know, are you having success in your personal life and in your career? Are you trying to become [00:44:00] good at something?
Are you constantly learning? Are you trying to pass what you've learned on to other people in a really positive way as well? Like. I care much more about that with our employees than, than I do maybe success metrics or whatever it might be, because we're really here to help people develop within a culture of a company.
And if they can learn those skills, they're going to be better off no matter where they go from, from your company, anywhere else. And that is really, I think our, it's our obligation to create, uh, better people than when they started with us. And that takes. A lot of time, a lot of energy and a lot of patience, it can feel like you have a bunch of kids.
If you have kids, you know, it's not like these are children and they're not acting like children, but sometimes you think to yourself, like, why is this person doing this? Like, why do I have to remind this person of this? You know, [00:45:00] it's like, I would have to remind my son to put his shoes here versus here every day or to, you know, do X, Y, and Z, you know, it's like little things like that, that.
It's just a part of the job. And I think, but for me, what's really helpful is I really do look at it and cause it can be exhausting and feel draining. If you're listening to this and you're like, oh my God, my staff is so draining. Uh, well, one of two things, maybe you have the wrong people there, or maybe you've set the wrong example for them.
Or, but maybe you're just looking at your role wrong. You're instead of you looking at this, like, well, why are they, why won't they just. Be amazing hands off people say, but that's not ever really the, I mean, that's not really the case. And even still. If you have somebody that's so amazing and hands off and you don't, you don't actually mentor them in any way, they're probably just going to leave because they're going to get frustrated because they don't see any growth.
So you're kind of screwed either way. You have to look at your role for what it is. And that is to be a developer of people while they're there, make them better. [00:46:00] So if they have something that they're struggling with and that's affecting your business, if they move on and let's say you let them go and they don't fix that, the next job they have, it's not like it goes away.
It's going to show itself again. So when you talk to somebody about improving things, you need to bring that up to them. Like, Hey. This isn't going to go away whenever you leave, this is going to follow you anywhere you go. Let's work on it now. This is a perfect opportunity. Here's what we're going to do.
And to be able to be okay and accept the fact that you've got yourself into this knowingly or not, that's just part of it. And it just makes it so much less, uh, of a burden. It doesn't feel like as much of a burden if you view your role for what it actually is. And that is to be like, I think of it as the chief people developers, like you've got to be able to do that.
You've got to be able to improve yourself along the way. And these hard conversations, this direct candor we have to have with people in some cases, and the standards you have to hold yourself to, it should make you better in everything outside of your business, which if we're really looking at what what's the point of a business, [00:47:00] the point of a business.
Most people will say is to make money well on paper. Yes, probably. So I think the point of a business is to force you to become the best person that you can be because all the things you're going to have to do to actually have a successful business. It forces you into this. It's personal development that you may not even known you needed and to confront problems that you didn't even think were a problem, but are actually affecting you significantly in other areas.
So as long as you're able to accept that it's going to be amazing for you. And if you're constantly fighting that. It's going to really suck. And you're probably going to want to shut everything down and go back to whatever it was you're doing before, but it just comes back to how are you viewing this?
Is that a problem or is the greatest opportunity that you could ever have? Yeah,
Yves: there's that. We talk about this all the time, but there's like. There's like no better magnifying glass, at least that I've found, you know, uh, than owning your own business for your own personal self development because it just, it puts it right there in front of you, you know, and if you can take self control of that and you can really say, Hey, this is under my control.
I can improve [00:48:00] these things and my business will grow. If you got that mindset, it can, it can be a perfect vehicle to continue to grow, you know? And I like what you said, like, uh, personal development chief. Personal development officer, right? Like, do that. It's like, that's exactly how I felt. Like, every person that works with me, um, you know, or as an employee or a team member.
Which I really like team member instead of employee, um, is like, I want to see them flourish. Like, and I always, that's always like the, the outlook I take, you know, and it could be with me. It might be somewhere else, but ultimately it's a viewpoint. It's like, I want to get the best out of this person. I want them to enjoy their job.
I want them to love coming here and every day. I want them to feel like they're doing something useful and impact the world. And as soon as you don't have that anymore within your team, like. I almost think something needs to change. Sometimes it's me. Sometimes it is the employee and that person's not a good fit, you know, and it's made a lot of decisions where unfortunately I've had to fire quite a few people, but most of the time it's easy because it's [00:49:00] like, I can tell you don't want to be here.
Like I can just tell that like, you're not excited every day. You're not thriving this job. It's difficult for you. Things are just falling through the cracks. Like I can almost guarantee you're going to find the right thing and everything will be easier. Like, you know, here, it's just like, It seems I don't have too hard to write word, but I can't find better words.
Like it's just, it's just too hard. And like, where can you go where it's going to feel effortless. It's going to feel fine. Like that's where I want you to be. And obviously it's, you know, necessarily in that company and you can usually tell, right, like we're seeing this a lot with a lot of our bigger businesses, you know, like we're having to make these big decisions.
And they're having to let people go. And I'm just, you know, I'm trying to give them that viewpoint. I was like, it's just not clicking for them. Like maybe they're not ready for this performance based cash business. They're going to go thrive, you know, at home health. They're going to go thrive in a regular outpatient setting.
And that's totally okay.
Danny: Yeah. And retention is, you know, it, uh, retention of employees is never a hundred percent and it really shouldn't be because. [00:50:00] I, I remember the 1st, couple staff members that we had to turned over at our practice. I was like, really, um, you know, I took it very personally because I was like, we try really hard to create an environment.
That would be a place where people would want to to work. Right? And I think we did a really good job of it, but. It doesn't necessarily mean that people aren't going to grow and evolve and want to go and see what's next. What's the next chapter of their life? Right? Sometimes that's in the clinical world.
Sometimes that's outside of the clinical world. Sometimes that's going to a different clinic or starting their own or whatever. It doesn't really matter. And it's just such a natural thing. It would be unnatural if somebody just came and they work for you for 20 years. And they never, ever thought about going anywhere else because if you're hiring that kind of a person, I mean, you're basically hiring like a government employee, you know, somebody that just wants to keep their head down, they want to do a minimal amount and, [00:51:00] uh, you know, and they, and they, they don't really want to like push to improve the company or themselves or really, right.
And I've spent a lot of time around these folks and it's not the kind of people that. That I want to hire in my company, you know, it's just, it's a great spot for you. If you want to, you want to just do the minimum and you want to hang out and I have a very stressful job and that's all go for it. That's a great place to do it, but it's not really the place for, for the people that we're looking for.
They're not going to be there. Right. So we, we typically attract people that are more growth minded. And with that, you're going to have to manage that person. Um, but if you keep somebody. Realistically, if you keep someone in your company for five years in this day and age, that's like 20 years, you know, for my parents, uh, it's an extreme amount of time and you just have, you're, you're not just competing with the job, the, the, the, the company that you have and you're competing with social media and what all, and, and what they're seeing all their friends say that they're doing [00:52:00] and all these things that they're seeing that maybe are true or not.
It's hard to tell. Uh, so you're constantly competing with. The grass is greener and the grass has never looked greener than it has. And it does now. Right. It just looks so green to do anything. Um, and it just like, it's just really not, it's just, you know, it's you're competing with that and that's tough.
So if you can get people around for a few years and really do the right things for them while they're there. That's, that's your job, like your job is to try to do that, try to make your company as great of a place to work as possible and, um, you know, and hopefully they leave a better person when they showed up.
Yeah, you're
Yves: right. I mean, uh, truthful or not, uh, the motility and, uh, being able to see the best part of working in other places and other lifestyles has never been more apparent than now. So, and we're seeing it, right? Like, and I had this conversation. You know, we do these, uh, group calls with some of the bigger businesses.
And I was [00:53:00] like, like it or not, you know, these are the people that are graduating. This is their beliefs right now. And you're going to, we're going to have to adjust, like, they're not going to change. You know what I mean? Like, you're not going to change the way that they feel about work or their culture or what they think, you know, a good job is like, we've got to find a way to continue to nurture them, create leadership for them and make and turn them into good employees, you know?
So. Adapter die, but bottom line, you know, that's going to
Danny: change. Well, listen, not everybody wants to be a, um, you know, uh, what do they call it? A digital nomad, right? Like not everybody just wants to work from anywhere on their laptop and, and whatever else, like they're. There's something special about the in person connection that we get with people that I think people undervalue after a period of time.
And it's just, uh, it's just something you're going to see, right? I think it's, it is, uh, [00:54:00] a difference in, uh, demographics, right? The younger people are a little bit less, they're tied down somewhere, which is normal, right? You may not know where you want to live or what you want to do. And, uh, I, it's so much easier to explore those things now than, than it, than it has been.
And I think the other thing you see is a lot of people that are of, you know, sort of younger professional working age, they see their parents, you know, that have really been very stable and, and haven't taken risk. Uh, and they view that as maybe something that they don't want. And, but what you got to realize is those people, their parents.
Didn't know where they're going to find food, right? Like they, they, they instilled in them this idea of like safety and security because they actually grew up in a time where there was true scarcity, which we have not experienced. So for us to say like, Oh yeah, I'll take a risk on myself. What's the worst thing can happen?
I always go back and get another job. Right. But then we're like, Oh, I take a risk and then you die. You know, [00:55:00] like that. Okay. That's a terrible outcome. So that's your, you know, their parents are just like very risk averse because of that. Go figure. I mean, that's where it comes from. So, of course, you're going to see the difference from some people.
And, and, uh, I don't think you should let that frustrate you. You got to be able to embrace that and be okay with it. Uh, because there's some really positives to the way that, uh, you know, younger workforce population views the, their life and the important things that they want to have a part of it. So, you know, it's, it is what it is.
Like, you can't just be an old curmudgeon and be like, well, these young people don't want to do this. And that it's like, no, you're that's not helping anything number 1, but you just got to realize, like, what you're dealing with and how to communicate with that person. And if they're going to move on, awesome.
Like again, it's going to happen. Uh, but the better of a job you can do developing them, the more likely it is that, you know, they look at your business in a, in a really positive light, um, and that comes back on you, whether it's directly or indirectly. I don't really know how this works. All I know is the [00:56:00] better we treat people, the better our business.
Does right. The better, not just our business, but just things, positive things happen in our own life. Uh, when we help other people create positivity in their life, that simple, who knows why? Not sure, but that's just, you know, one plus one equals two. If you're a dick, you're going to have a lot of negative things.
Eventually they're going to come your way. Right. And if you're a really good person and you're helping your people out. You're going to have a lot of really positive things. You're going to come away from that as well. So I think that is the one thing you can really control. You can't control other people and what they're going to do with their employment, their life, whatever.
And if you try, it's going to be very frustrating.
Yves: Yeah, you just got to focus on you and what do you control and, you know, being a better leader, you know, like the more that you continue to refine yourself and the more you continue to be a great leader and you realize that some of these things are out of your control.
Like that was a big mistake I made early on, you know, it was a lot of times I just thought I could just, you know, I could create control over this. And I'm the one that like, uh, I can keep people [00:57:00] forever. And like all these things, that's a really frustrating place to be. And now I realize like, okay, I need to improve upon this, but also there's just some things out of my control.
Like somebody may leave. And like that, that was so useful for me just kind of knowing that not necessarily like, oh, this person's going to leave, so I'm not going to put effort in, right? Like, that's not what I mean. But what I mean is like, I need to focus on me and be the best leader I can be. And then realize if somebody moves on that, that's okay.
Like my business will go on. And do it again. And that's hard. Like you probably need to, I almost feel like this is a rule lately when it comes to leadership, like you're probably going to get punched in the face multiple times before you really figure it out. And I'm still early in this. So probably you're going to get punched in the face consistently no matter what.
It's just like, can you continue just to get up and continue to try, you know, like ultimately. People are really complicated and it's not like we're going to figure it out, you know, you're not, we've talked about this for like leadership, not a thing. Like one day I've reached the summit. Here I am the best leader there ever was in the whole world.
Like that's never going to happen. Right. Like, it's just me doing the best I can with the tools that I [00:58:00] have and continue to try to push forward and do the things that I think are right. You know, like that's what I got.
Danny: Listen, the first pancake is always shit. That's that is. Absolutely true. Right. And if you look at how many people we work with, and some of, some of you might be listening to this and you work with us and you're like, I had staff turnover.
I think your first hire, you can assume they're not going to be there after probably like two, maybe three years. Uh, because. You are making lots of mistakes on that person. And even though we can put together the best leadership training that we can, and you can message us directly about, Hey, in this scenario, what should I do?
There's no way in which you're not going to make mistakes. Along the way you are and you're going to have to learn from those because people are so, uh, multifactorial and every context [00:59:00] is different and there's no checklist for this, right? Like we can talk about these things and communication is obviously a huge part of being a leader, effective communication, but it's just one thing, you know, it's just one part of that and it's, it's not even words.
It's also like the way in which you. Stand it's your body is your nonverbal is just as important. Right. We don't even talk about that. And so like, you're going to make mistakes. It's okay. Every time that we've had somebody leave or had to let somebody go, we've always been in a better spot with our business.
Afterward because we've learned from it. We've found a better fit for that. We've improved the things that maybe we weren't doing well and we've been in a better place and we've always taken a step forward. It's just very hard. It's very challenging, especially if you're in the clinic and you got to take over a patient schedule and you're busy again, and it can feel like it can just feel like you take this huge step backwards and it's so deflating.
But you know, it's very challenging. It's just it's all a part of it. It's all a part of this, this, uh, game that we get to play. [01:00:00] And sometimes it doesn't work out. But, you know, if you look at this in the snap in a small window, we're talking a couple of months, you know, things can suck. Right. But if you look at over the course of a couple of years, for most people that we're working with.
Damn near all of them, there are steady progress up into the right, you know, you have to, you have to zoom out far enough to see that because you might see these undulations that look pretty rocky, but if you zoom out far enough over the course of years, it is up into the right and they're getting better and their businesses are growing and things are improving every single year.
Um, you know, and it doesn't come without significant effort. That's that's it. It's just effort. It's the reason why your beard is so gray. And I have a little bit in mind. You know, it's business, it's children and kids, it's children and businesses. Like that's it, but man, it's worth it. You know, all of that is worth the effort.
In my opinion, at least I think it's, it's the most, one of the more meaningful things that I've been had a chance to, uh, to actually do
Yves: totally great. I think, uh, wouldn't have it any other way. That's for sure. [01:01:00]
Danny: Well, in summary. Effective communication, praise in public, criticize in private, write that shit down and keep it on your desk.
And when you get a little heated with somebody next time, make sure you check that, go home and punch your dog instead. I'm just kidding. My dog's sitting right here. Don't punch your dog, punch a punching bag. His head perked up. He was like, what? I don't punch my dog, but go punch a punching bag. Go yell into a pillow.
Go do whatever you need to do. Go, go on a run, do something productive. Don't, uh, Don't take your emotions out on your staff. Don't yell at them about things, especially not in public. Um, constantly remind your staff of the importance of your mission, right? Why it's important, what you're doing, highlight the positive things that are happening, um, from your bid, from your business, admit when you're wrong.
All right, take it on the chin, admit when you're wrong and admit when you're wrong in public. As well, right? Don't just do it in private and get [01:02:00] away with it. Nope. You'll embarrass yourself. Go go, you know, take it on in front of everybody and let them know that you were wrong. And you're, you know, you won't let it happen again.
Um, and then, you know, be very clear about your message, right? I think that's the other thing is just like understanding that what you're saying needs to be repeated. It needs to be very clear and it needs to be. Phrased in a way that is not complex. I think that's something that we're pretty bad at is just like, you know, making things simple enough for like why people under them to understand why we're doing what we're doing and being able to coordinate that.
So just be able to articulate that in a very simple way. Um, if you can do that, you're, you're on your way to being a pretty effective communicator, which I think. I think we actually do a pretty good job of overall, to be honest with you. I think there's a lot of things that we're not so great at, but I think as far as communication goes with our team, they know what they're getting themselves into.
They know what we're doing, why we're doing it. Um, we definitely don't berate people in [01:03:00] public. Uh, we've never done that, uh, to anybody in PT business that I know of. I don't know. Maybe Jared's just, you know, I don't know what happens in his staff meetings. Sometimes he's yelling at everybody. You can picture it.
I
Yves: doubt it, but I can picture
Danny: it. No, I don't think so, but it would be funny if we're talking about this and he's just, he's just yelling at eight the whole time. Uh, but, but no, uh, you know, just, just, uh, keep those things in mind. And I think you're going to be really in a good spot to be a great leader as far as communication is concerned.
Yves: Yeah. Yeah. Just ultimately put in the effort, put in the extra effort to prepare, put in the extra effort to have those conversations, conversations put in the effort to, um, you know, go apologize in public. Like just requires a whole lot of effort. Make sure you put it in.
Danny: Cool. All right, guys. Well, that's it for the podcast today.
As always, if, uh, if you're not in the PT entrepreneur's Facebook group, like we dropped You know, uh, polls in there, like we did for, for this one. If we see, uh, you know, if we see a lot of, you know, common questions and things like that, we try to get ahead of it and answer it [01:04:00] on in a longer form, uh, piece of content like this, uh, this live stream and this podcast.
So, uh, if you have anything, drop it in there, we're watching like a hawk, we want to help you guys out. And, uh, as always. We'll catch you next week.
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