blavigne, Author at Eye Care Business Canada

New, Optometrist-led Steering Groups Drive Clinical Direction at Specsavers

Human Resources, Leadership, NextGenOD, Sponsors

In order to develop the clinical strategies to support better patient care, Specsavers draws upon the clinical expertise and experience of their network of independent optometrists. That’s where their Optometry Steering Groups (OSG) comes in – committees in each province made up of a clinically-diverse mix of optometry partners who collaborate to trial, refine, and implement initiatives.

When optometrists within the Specsavers network raised an interest in making myopia management available to their patients, Specsavers engaged the OSG to develop a training program for interested independent optometrists in the network to introduce it to their practice.

The program was designed alongside industry leaders to provide optometrists, opticians and their teams with comprehensive training in myopia management care and products.

We interviewed Dr. Ramandeep Toor about her involvement on the OSG and the implementation of myopia management.

Why was introducing myopia management into your clinic important?

After the pandemic, with work-from-home and more screen time, I was noticing that there was a significant increase in myopia. I grew up very myopic and I don’t want my patients to have that struggle. That’s why it was very important for me to have myopia management care. I want my patients to be able to experience the little things with clearer vision and I want parents to be able to have options for their children. By implementing these kinds of strategies early on, you can make a big difference for your patients.

Can you describe the purpose of the Optometry Steering Group?

We’re a group of optometrists who specialize in constantly evolving the scope of practice. The group shares best practices and discusses developments, how we can make further advances in our clinics, and the trajectory of optometry. This group allows me to have a voice and be part of the advancement we can create in our practice collectively for our patients.

What have the Optometry Steering Group doctors done so far?

Since we’ve started, we’ve been able to discuss and implement clinical care strategies, pilot new programs and explore new technologies. Specsavers has been very supportive of our vision – listening and hearing ideas that we bring to the table, so we can create a more positive and comprehensive clinical practice for our patients. There’s a lot more to come.

Learn more about the Specsavers optometrist-led steering groups at join.specsavers.com/ca/inside-specsavers/meet-the-specsavers-osg/

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The Landemic™ (Trademark Pending)

Buying-Selling A Practice, Finance|Wealth, Practice, Real Estate, Tax & Legal Matters

I have some terribly unwelcome news for many business owners in Canada.

There has been a steady and strategic squeeze on commercial leases over the last number of years, which has left many exceptional practices in a less-than-exceptional tenant security scenario. It feels like I have been screaming into a void these last few years; but again;

PLEASE LISTEN – Holding such a lease will severely undermine an otherwise highly saleable asset!

Operationally, if you have a lease, it may contain severe impairment and derogatory clauses which could prevent continued operation on short notice. The demolition clause is typically the one to watch for, but there are many other stipulations in premise leases that could impair your ability to operate, and severely impact the value of your business. A relocation clause is a comparable situation that could cause crippling business disruption.

The clients who are unfortunate enough to be in this situation are best served to address this issue head-on, and not bury their heads in the sand. Unfortunately, many do not, and they eliminate their best options in an end-of-career sale situation.

At ROI Corporation, we specialize in healthcare practice valuations. We are professionals. Come talk to us. The clients that engage us long before a sale have the best outcomes.

New policies are being initiated by banks, accounting firms and appraisers (like our firm) and it is not good news. The market has shifted.

This Shift will Impact Your Retirement

Impairment charges are immediately affecting the value of practices. Classification of leases into satisfactory, poor, and absolute derogatory will severely impact values for leasehold improvements and general operational values, such as goodwill.

This will impact retirement plans. Banks never liked distressed leases, but now, I have it on good authority that they will no longer offer long-term financing, even with mitigating terms on distressed leases. They are likely to start restricting the financing term to the remaining unfettered term of the premise lease.

Purchasers will be asked to put up substantial down payments or cross-collateralize their own assets to the tune of many hundreds of thousands of dollars. Most of the purchasers in the market do not have the stomach for that, nor do they have that kind of liquidity available.

The result? The dissolution of the demand side of the equation, which has currently been persistent for well over a decade.

The fundamental law of supply and demand has kept values high all along.

Low interest rates helped, but they are not what caused values to skyrocket in the last decade. That was demand. Demand to own an asset where one could build equity and make an extraordinary living.

Interest rates are higher lately, but that is all part of the business cycle. Current interest rates is merely one input into a larger equation. The purposely hyperbolic title of this piece is a descriptor for a fundamental shift in capital access to the single largest buying group. It has the potential to hollow out the market and have a radical impact on the practice values of those who do not plan. Inversely and furthermore, it could increase the value of the practices that own their building or have secure tenure.

When the volume of purchasers is severely reduced due to a lack of access to capital caused by a fundamental shift in lender policy, a portion of the market will suffer from deflated valuations. It could be very substantial for many on the sell side. I am not involved in policy, but I am aware of a broad tightening of our Schedule A lenders and a desire to see buyers share the risk in practice purchases that are deemed a little less safe. These are great practices and there are strategies to deploy that can rectify any situation.

I strongly encourage any practice owner to immediately obtain a full and complete assessment of their premise lease. Our firm can help. If you’d like a private conversation about this very pressing and urgent matter, I can be reached by text at 416.520.7420.

Timothy A. Brown

Timothy A. Brown is the CEO and Broker of Record for ROI Corporation and has served the professions since 1979. He can be reached at timothy@roicorp.com or 416.520.7420.

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Optometry to Optometry: An Untapped Resource for Better Health Care Delivery

Career Options, Differentiation | Business Strategy, NextGenOD, Practice

Intraprofessional collaboration is not new to health care. Although only making up a minority of referrals¹, referrals within a profession address commonly faced pain points: wait-times, access to specialized care, and communication.² There are tremendous advantages for our patients when optometrists embrace this type of referral practice.

A referral is defined by the World Health Organization as “a dynamic process in which a health professional at one level of the health system (…) seeks the help of another facility at the same or higher level to assist in the care pathway.”³

Other Profession’s Experience

In dentistry, general practitioners with advanced training (ie. in oral pain or sleep apnea) accept referrals from their colleagues while maintaining streamlined referral patterns.⁴

In physiotherapy, intraprofessional referrals look like a patient seeing their primary physiotherapist for running optimization, another physiotherapist for biking-related injuries, and another specialist for glute and lower leg health.⁵

We are no strangers to intraprofessional referral pathways in medicine. Specializations have been traditionally well delineated within medicine, allowing traditional intraprofessional referral pathways to exist.

In optometry, intraprofessional referrals are increasing, though there is room to be more supportive of each other’s areas of expertise. For some, intradisciplinary referrals might be conceptually challenging because historical referral pathways positioned optometry as primary care and ophthalmology as secondary care. However, we must recognize that access to appropriate care is improved when everyone practices to their highest ability.

Optometry Referral Opportunities

Optometric specializations include specialty contact lenses, myopia management, vision therapy, and many advanced ocular disease subspecialties. As subspecialties grow, the goal is not to multiply professional silos but rather, to improve collaboration and integration in the context of knowledge-sharing; a principal borrowed from operations management.⁶ As a profession, we must stop fighting this because all we accomplish is an attack on ourselves and a disservice to our patients. Intraprofessional referrals done properly lessen the volume burden on tertiary care and enhances patient care overall.

Dr. Debbie Luk, a Canadian leader in Sports Vision and Vision Therapy, describes optometry-to-optometry referrals being key in increasing awareness for optometry’s scope. Patients better understand their options and have better accessibility that can ultimately improve their quality of life.⁷

To adopt intraprofessional referral pathways as a referrer, one must be self-aware. Being humble to know where one’s competency starts and ends is a sign of a prudent practitioner. It is not a weakness to not know everything. In fact, it is a strength to recognize it. Learn what you do not know. Talk to those who specialize in areas that you do not and learn the referral protocol that you can adopt.

To adopt this as a referee, one must have training and one must be willing to add value to the referring community; to be trusted with referred patients. This is a commitment to communicating well with referring doctors and an openness to respecting the level of referral they prefer. For example, some may be referring to you for co-management whereas others may be referring for a complete transfer of care. And of course, the patient must be clearly communicated with regarding the referral arrangement as they have complete choice in their care.

Dr. Natalie Chai, who has a thriving referral practice for Dry Eye Disease and Myopia Management, intentionally empowers her patients and provides education to referring doctors to demonstrate that they may one day be able to offer the service themselves.⁸

The Power of Together

For myself, one of the most exciting things about building an optometry-led ocular disease triage model is brainstorming with referring doctors to find solutions for their patients. Every correspondence is an opportunity to collaborate and to provide more efficient access to secondary or tertiary medical management and surgical access.

However, a pearl of wisdom: it is vital that anyone receiving referrals be self-aware too. It is just as crucial to a patient’s care to accept a referral within one’s area of expertise versus denying a referral when that patient is best served elsewhere.

There is power in learning collectively and there is power in working together. Regarding hesitations because of unfamiliarity, know that you are not alone and trust that the hesitation can be overcome by having a dialogue about it. On concerns about knowledge or competency gaps, know that you are not alone in that either. You can learn anything if you really want to.

Finally, if there is a fear in getting started, a quick chat with your colleagues who are a few steps ahead of you will show you that we have all been there too. Remind yourself that you have started big things before and have come out on the other side better for it.

Optometry, let us believe in ourselves and in each other – for the sake of our patients, and for the sake of health care of which we play a crucial part.

References:

Binczyk NM, Nazarali SA, Damji KF, Solarte C. Epidemiology of ocular emergencies in a large Canadian eye centre. Can J Ophthalmol. June 2023. doi:10.1016/j.jcjo.2023.05.008
Seyed-Nezhad M, Ahmadi B, Akbari-Sari A. Factors affecting the successful implementation of the referral system: A scoping review. J Fam Med Prim Care. 2021;10(12):4364. doi:10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_514_21
World Health Organization. High-Value Referrals – Concept Paper.; 2023.
Wong C. Interview with Dr. Cameron Wong (Calgary, Alberta) – 07-10-2023. 2023.
Wildeman A. Interview with Alyssa Wildeman (Calgary, Alberta) – 06-28-2023. 2023.
Gifford R, van der Vaart T, Molleman E, van der Linden MC. Working together in emergency care? How professional boundaries influence integration efforts and operational performance. Int J Oper Prod Manag. 2022;42(13):54-78. doi:10.1108/IJOPM-10-2021-0644
Luk D. Interview with Dr. Debbie Luk (Calgary, Alberta) – 06-28-2023. 2023.
Chai N. Interview with Dr. Natalie Chai (Edmonton, Alberta) – 07-10-2023. 2023.

Dr. Sophia Leung, OD, FAAO, FCCSO, Dipl ABO, Dipl Ant Seg

Dr. Sophia Leung is a residency-trained and fellowship-trained optometrist with a clinical emphasis in cornea, advanced glaucoma, and anterior segment disease. She is currently practicing at a surgical referral center in Calgary, Alberta performing surgical triage, secondary and tertiary medical management, and surgical co-management alongside ophthalmology. Dr. Leung is also the current President-Elect of the Alberta Association of Optometrists.

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Lessons From a Superfield Lens

NextGenOD, PathFinders, Perspectives

An initiative proudly sponsored by NextGenOD and Eye Care Business Canada, The Canadian Association of Optometry Students (CAOS) has revealed the winners of the APERTURE 2022-23 Writing Contest. Selection was conducted via an anonymous voting system by the CAOS communications directors and approval from the CAOS executive team at the University of Waterloo. We’re delighted to highlight the first-place essay, “Lessons from a Superfield Lens,” penned by then 4th-year student Jenny Lee. Her engaging piece features an imaginative dialogue with optometric instruments, exploring the symbiotic relationship between technology and human skill in the field of optometry.

If you had told me a few years ago I would be replaced by what they call an “auto-phoropter”, I would have derisively slotted some headache-inducing Risley prisms in front of your eyes.

I mean, how ridiculous does that sound? An auto-phoropter? I’ve stood the test of time and I get the job done. When people think optometry, they think of me. The classic, satisfying feeling of each click as the doctor asks “one, or two?” is nowhere nearly as rewarding as the lack of tactile feedback from an adjustment on a screen.

Here I am, watching as my prized spot in the clinic is overtaken by that new, glossy, shiny… thing.

I tried not to sulk, I really did. I kept quiet, stopped myself from unlocking my grip on the stand so I could swing angrily into students’ heads as they tried to grab the stand light beside me. To be fair, Mr. “high-and-almighty” slit lamp glared daggers at me (without even a diffuse filter on, the nerve!) for me to finally cave in, but I won’t tell them that.

Weren’t the students worried about being replaced by technology? I’d certainly never do that to them. I panicked on weekends, wondering when it would be the last time my covering was removed before being shipped off elsewhere.

It had been an especially rough week when I overheard whispers from the clinic supervisor that I was to be replaced with the school’s new auto-phoropters. It felt like a death sentence, like standing on the edge of the precipice between comfort and complacency versus the melancholy realization of no longer having a purpose.

As luck would have it, though, a third-year had left their fundus lens on the slit lamp table overnight, temporarily forgotten.

“What is it like, knowing that you might be replaced by a new-age OCT or camera someday?” I asked in my desperation for some company.

“Replaced? What do you mean?” it replied.

“Well, sure, you give stereo vision now, but fundus cameras with stereo features already exist in this clinic,” I remarked. “It’s only a matter of time, isn’t it?”

If it were possible for a lens to chuckle, it did. “I’m not getting replaced anytime soon. And even then, when I came out, everyone thought I would replace my predecessor, the 90D. Ultra super wide field views can’t be compared! They said. But really, we each serve our own purpose. I give the wide views, and 90D helps with undilated patients.

They can come out with all the fancy technology they want, but at the end of the day we’re all just different tools in a toolbox, each with our own use and purpose.”

It was at that moment I chose to be vulnerable. “I’m worried about being replaced, though,” I admitted. “Once they roll in those new auto-phoropters, I’m done for.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” the lens replied.

And so here I am, the moment finally here – watching as a new era of change sweeps its way into preclinic, changing the course of education for a new batch of students. I brace myself for the moment I’ve been waiting for this whole time. Except it never comes.

When I’m next uncovered, I recognize the familiar surroundings of the school’s newer preclinic rooms. A furtive tilt to my right reveals a paper taped onto the clinic wall – Binocular Vision Lab – Vergence Testing.

It seems like the Superfield lens was right. In my grievances over the idea of a new phoropter being present, I’d forgotten that things never truly get replaced – just like how the Goldmann tonometer fretted over the new iCare probe and ended up sticking around anyway.

So when I next saw an auto-phoropter getting carted in past me, I didn’t worry. Like me, it has a place.

JENNY LEE, OD

Vision Science Assistant Editor, CRO Journal

Jenny Lee is an onboarding resident with the University of Waterloo School of Optometry and Vision Science.

She is a recent 2023 graduate and is passionate about pediatrics and vision therapy.

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Specsavers Supports Clinic Owners with Implementation of Myopia Management

NextGenOD, Practice, Products | Services | Industry News, Sponsored Posts, Sponsors

“As a practising optometrist, I see what an impact myopia has to my patients’ lives, not just as a refractive error, but more so as a sight-threatening condition that can ultimately impact quality of life.”

Dr. Nieka Sabeti, OD, independent consultant of the clinical support team at Specsavers Canada, discusses how myopia management care was introduced at Specsavers by optometrists, opticians and their store teams.

Why did clinic owners feel it was important to introduce myopia management into their practice?

Myopia currently affects approximately 30% of the world’s population¹. The World Health Organization and other international health bodies have declared it a global public health concern because of its potential to become the most common cause of irreversible visual impairment and blindness worldwide, with approximately half of the global population predicted to have myopia by the year 2050². Addressing the growing prevalence, the Specsavers network of optometrists is working together to make a greater impact on community eye health.

Given that myopia progresses mainly during childhood, there is a key window to intervene with preventative strategies, when the eye is more susceptible to growth and subsequent vision changes. This can reduce the risk of a patient developing sight-threatening conditions later in life due to the structural changes of the eye.

How did Specsavers support the development of a myopia management program for optometrists?

The optometrists within the Specsavers network raised an interest in introducing myopia management into their practice. Specsavers recognizes its importance as a standard of care in Canada and other regions, so we engaged and consulted our Optometry Steering Groups, a committee of independent optometrists in each province, on developing a training program and the option to introduce it to their practice.

My role was to work alongside an incredibly talented group, spearheaded by the clinical team, at the support office that were dedicated to this mission and bringing this program to life. After trials in several locations within BC, we were able to take learnings and successes to develop our official launch plan.

We also partnered with industry leaders to offer an accreditation course to allow optometrists, opticians and their teams to receive comprehensive training to provide myopia management care and products and to go through case studies to prepare them for various patient scenarios.

What are you hearing from clinic owners since starting the program?

So far, we’ve received very positive feedback on the accreditation, training, support, and overall approach for the program. Many eyecare professionals who may have already been accredited have commented on the extensive training that is provided through our program at Specsavers. So, they appreciate how comprehensive it is as it builds more confidence around this practice area.

When everyone is offered comprehensive training, it results in a more accurate, consistent, and unified approach at all points of the patient journey. Many of the teams have already reported impressive numbers of patients receiving this care.

Being able to provide tools and resources that can help empower eyecare professionals to become active participants in getting ahead of the curve to change the predicted trajectory of myopia brings me so much joy. Together we’re helping to make an impact in changing lives through better sight – not just in the short-term, but also in the future.

Holden BA, Wilson DA, Jong M, Sankaridurg P, Fricke TR, Smith EL III, Resnikoff S. Myopia: a growing global problem with sight-threatening complications. Community Eye Health. 2015;28(90):35. PMID: 26692649; PMCID: PMC4675264.
Nouraeinejad A. More Than Fifty Percent of the World Population Will Be Myopic by 2050. Beyoglu Eye J. 2021 Dec 17;6(4):255-256. doi: 10.14744/bej.2021.27146. PMID: 35059569; PMCID: PMC8759558.2. Holden BA, et al. Global Prevalence of Myopia and High Myopia and Temporal Trends from 2000 through 2050. Ophthalmology, 2016. 123(5): p. 1036-42.

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Active versus Passive Investing

Building Wealth, Finance|Wealth

There has been a lot of talk in the past couple of years around a movement to passive investing and an explosion of exchange traded funds (ETFs). But what does it all mean?

What is Passive Investing?

Passive investing, also known as index investing, aims to replicate the performance of a specific market index (e.g., S&P 500) rather than attempting to beat the market. The core belief is that markets are generally efficient, and it’s challenging for active investors to consistently outperform them. As a result, a number of ETFs have been created for various companies to get a piece of this action.

What is Active Investing?

Active investing involves actively selecting and managing investments with the goal of outperforming a specific benchmark or the overall market. Active investing can include anyone who picks their own stocks on a self directed platform to professional portfolio managers who are a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and/or Chartered Investment Manager (CIM).

Why Hire a Professional Portfolio Manager?

A professional portfolio manager brings a level of expertise to selecting the investments you will hold for your wealth creation. A great manager will not only understand the cyclical nature of the markets, but will also understand the businesses that they add to the portfolio.

Portfolio Managers are NOT Created Equally

Everyone brings with them a different skill set and outlook. Watching the market price vary is not enough to make someone a great portfolio manager. Having someone who understands you, your goals, and the various parts of your portfolio will help to ensure that you are diversified sufficiently to take advantage of the opportunities that lie before you. A great portfolio manager looks not only at the upside, but also works to ensure you are protected on the downside.

What About Cost?

Generally speaking, passive investing fees will be less costly than active investing. However, there is also a cost with every decision. If you sell at the wrong time – that can be very expensive. If you buy at the wrong price – that can cost substantially over the long run. Market price matters on entry and exit.

Studies show that working with an advisor long term increases your wealth 2.3 to 2.7X. That’s a value add for a very small percentage cost difference.

Price is what you pay, value is what you get. Don’t confuse the two.

Why Do I Like Active Investing?

I’ve had all kinds of investment advisors in the past but until I found portfolio managers that communicated directly with me in plain language, I never really knew what was going on. I was paying a lot of trading fees and trusting they were working on my behalf.

Today, I have portfolio managers that I trust not only with my money, but the money of my clients as well. That says a lot. I trust their process, understand their decisions, and ultimately can sleep well every night.

Time and health are non-renewable commodities – and having a process in place that takes care of my marketable assets by owning the best and leaving the rest does just that.

Advisory
As your Chief Financial Officer, I am here to help guide you through the various areas of wealth creation. Helping you understand your money and assisting you in making smart financial decisions about your debt repayment, insurance protection, tax management and wealth, are just some of the ways that I work as your fiduciary.

Have more questions than answers? Educating you is just one piece of being your personal CFO that we do. Call (780-261-3098) or email (Roxanne@C3wealthadvisors.ca) today to set up your next conversation with us.

Roxanne Arnal is a former Optometrist, Professional Corporation President, and practice owner. Today she is on a mission of Empowering You & Your Wealth with Clarity, Confidence & Control.

These articles are for information purposes only and are not a replacement for personal financial planning. Everyone’s circumstances and needs are different. Errors and Omissions exempt.

ROXANNE ARNAL,

Optometrist and Certified Financial Planner

Roxanne Arnal graduated from UW School of Optometry in 1995 and is a past-president of the Alberta Association of Optometrists (AAO) and the Canadian Association of Optometry Students (CAOS). She subsequently built a thriving optometric practice in rural Alberta.

Roxanne took the decision in 2012 to leave optometry and become a financial planning professional. She now focuses on providing services to Optometrists with a plan to parlay her unique expertise to help optometric practices and their families across the country meet their goals through astute financial planning and decision making.

Roxanne splits EWO podcast hosting duties with Dr. Glen Chiasson.

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Master Emotional Intelligence in Relationship Management

Human Resources, Managing Others

In today’s workplace, building strong and positive relationships with coworkers is crucial for personal and professional success. It not only enhances job satisfaction but also promotes collaboration, productivity, and overall well-being. One of the key skills that can greatly contribute to effective relationship management is emotional intelligence.

Emotional intelligence, often referred to as EQ, is the ability to identify, understand, and manage our own emotions, as well as recognize and empathize with the emotions of others. By using emotional intelligence skills, individuals can navigate workplace relationships with empathy, adaptability, and effective communication. In this article, we will explore the importance of emotional intelligence in relationship management and provide practical strategies to enhance your EQ skills.

Why Emotional Intelligence Matters in the Workplace

Effective relationship management is at the core of a healthy and thriving work environment. When you possess high emotional intelligence, you are better equipped to handle conflicts, manage stress, and foster positive connections with your coworkers. Without EQ your workplace will lack the important skills needing to create strong relationships with coworkers and in turn your patients. It will become an environment that could foster resentment, loneliness, and hostility.

Actively using EQ matters, because if we don’t make the conscious effort to use it we will default to protective behaviours in an environment that doesn’t require them. No one is fighting off lions, tigers, and bears in your workplace (hopefully) so why are we allowing our brains to respond in that way?

It’s vital to work on developing new default behaviours that encompass relationship management to maintain a constructive, happy and inclusive environment. We can only perform to the level we are taught, now let’s learn about relationship management!

Developing Emotional Intelligence for Relationship Management

walking up stairs

Now that you understand the importance of emotional intelligence in relationship management, let’s explore some strategies to develop and enhance our EQ skills. By incorporating these practices into your daily interactions, you can cultivate stronger and more meaningful connections with your coworkers:

Self-Awareness

Self-awareness is the foundation of emotional intelligence. Take the time to reflect on your own emotions, triggers, and communication style. Recognize your strengths and areas for improvement. By understanding yourself better, you can become more mindful of how your emotions affect your actions and in turn, impact others.

Active and Empathetic Listening

Active listening is a crucial skill for effective communication and relationship building. Practice truly listening to others without interrupting or formulating responses in your mind. Pay attention to both verbal and non-verbal cues, and show genuine interest and empathy in what others are saying and feeling.

Empathy and Perspective-Taking

Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. Put yourself in their shoes and try to understand their perspective. It is important you let go of your own perspective on the matter at hand when doing this. It will help you respond with compassion and make others feel valued and understood.

Emotional Regulation

Managing your own emotions is essential for building positive relationships. Take steps to regulate your emotions by practicing stress management techniques, such as body calming and wide perspective taking. By staying calm and composed, you can respond to challenging situations in a more constructive manner.

Conflict Resolution Skills

Conflict is a natural part of relationships, but emotional intelligence can help navigate conflicts effectively. Focus on finding common ground, listening to others’ perspectives, and seeking mutually beneficial solutions. Avoid blame and defensiveness, and instead, approach conflicts with empathy and a willingness to find the win, win.

Building Trust

Trust is the foundation of strong relationships. Be reliable, honest, and transparent in your interactions. Follow through on your commitments and demonstrate integrity in your actions. By building trust with your coworkers, you create a safe and supportive environment where collaboration thrives.

Recognizing and Celebrating Successes

Acknowledge and appreciate the accomplishments of your coworkers. Celebrate their successes and provide positive feedback. By recognizing the contributions of others, you create a culture of support and encouragement, fostering stronger relationships within the team. When you celebrate the successes of your coworkers it’s like you are making a small relationship deposit into their “Relationship Bank Account”. As these add up over time you will see the relationships you have become very strong and secure.

Continuous Learning and Improvement

Emotional intelligence is a skill that can be developed and improved over time. Seek opportunities for growth, such as attending workshops, virtual trainings, listening to podcasts, or reading books on emotional intelligence. Reflect on your interactions and identify areas for improvement. By continuously learning and striving to enhance your EQ skills, you can become a more effective relationship manager.

Take this with you

Emotional intelligence plays a vital role in relationship management in the workplace. By cultivating and honing your EQ skills, you can navigate conflicts, communicate effectively, and build strong and positive connections with your coworkers. Remember, emotional intelligence is a lifelong journey of self-awareness and continuous learning. By incorporating the strategies mentioned in this article, you can enhance your relationship management skills and create a more harmonious and fulfilling work environment for not only others but yourself as well.

It’s never too late to start learning, just take it one step at a time.

Jade Bodzasy

Jade Bodzasy, Founder of Emotional Intelligence Consulting Inc., is a dedicated Coach and Consultant for Optometric Practices. Her extensive background includes over 20,000 hours of expertise focused on customer relations, work structure refinement, training method development, and fostering improved work culture within Optometric practices.

Certified in Rational Emotive Behavior Techniques (REBT), Jade possesses a unique skillset that empowers individuals to gain profound insights into the origins of their behaviors, as well as those of others. Leveraging her certification, she equips optometry practices with invaluable resources and expert guidance to establish and sustain a positive, healthful, and productive work environment.

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Investing Basics: 5 Essentials

Building Wealth, Finance|Wealth

Everyone makes it sound so complicated. From “just start here with XYZ online brokerage” to a myriad of books, articles and opinions. But what are the basics?

Start at Home

Investing in your home — Don’t Over Glam

Start at home can mean two things. The first is about investing in your own home. You need a place to live and you might as well create some equity out of that expense. Keep in mind that real estate isn’t always a great investment. Like everything else, the price you pay matters. You will also need to ensure that you maintain that property for it to hold its value. And you need a buyer. Something is only worth as much as someone else will pay for it. Don’t over glam as you risk pricing yourself out of your market area.

Invest in What You Know

Invest in What you Know — You Know Optometry

This is the second point of starting at home. What do you know about?

Optometry is a given. So invest in your own practice. Here you will have control over the decisions that will directly impact your bottom line. You know it and can control it.

Invest in Profitable Businesses

When it comes to investing in an optometry practice or in owning marketable securities, you always want to own businesses that are profitable. In practice you can turn a fledging private business around and make it profitable. In publicly traded securities you don’t have that kind of control or impact, so it’s vital that the business is profitable and run well.

Profitable businesses have sufficient cash flow to pay their debts (yes, successful businesses know how to use leverage to their advantage), are able to roll profits into expansions and growth, and most importantly, can pay their owners a dividend. It’s vital that you get paid for taking on any risk of business ownership. Seems so basic that most people forget this tenant of investing!

Invest in Sustainable Businesses

Green sustainability aside, a sustainable business is one that is durable and can stand the test of time. These are businesses that, quite simply, are difficult to live without, difficult to compete with, and difficult to replicate.

In Canada, think of CN Rail – it moves, literally, boatloads of goods across a vast distance very efficiently. It would be ridiculous to think that a competitor could easily come in and create a competing railroad today.

Price Matters

As mentioned with real estate, price matters at all times when buying investments. The price you pay for your optometric practice should be manageable and easily recouped by profits over a period of typically 5 to 10 years. The price you pay for marketable securities is also key to seeing growth. No business out there is worth an inflated price.

Think about multiples. You often hear that practices are selling for 3-5X EBITA (earnings before interest, taxes and amortization). This same factor applies to business stocks. It’s common on the stock market to pay over 100X earnings. In fact, at the start of the tech buzz, CISCO was priced at valuations over 200X P/E (price to earnings). CISCO has gone on to be a great business worth owning – but if you bought it at these ridiculous prices, you are still down on your investment. No business is worth an outrageous price.

You can also think of P/E as the number of years it takes to recoup your investment. If something is trading at 200X P/E it will take you 200 years of current earnings to break even. I know I won’t be around long enough to see that happen!

In Summary

Investing shouldn’t be a game you play. It should be done with intention and knowledge. Knowing what you own and why you own it is the basis of all good investments.

Advisory

As your Chief Financial Officer, I am here to help guide you through the various areas of wealth creation. Helping you understand your money and assisting you in making smart financial decisions about your debt repayment, insurance protection, tax management and wealth, are just some of the ways that I work as your fiduciary.

Roxanne Arnal is a former Optometrist, Professional Corporation President, and practice owner. Today she is on a mission of Empowering You & Your Wealth with Clarity, Confidence & Control.

These articles are for information purposes only and are not a replacement for personal financial planning. Everyone’s circumstances and needs are different. Errors and Omissions exempt.

ROXANNE ARNAL,

Optometrist and Certified Financial Planner

Roxanne splits EWO podcast hosting duties with Dr. Glen Chiasson.

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Great Leaders Trust Their Instincts

Leadership, Managing Others

Many practice owners underestimate their abilities as entrepreneurs. Practice stats, financials, HR issues, marketing and other tasks let alone patient care and management, overwhelm some people. Some will tell me they are terrible at business and choose to let someone else handle it.

Practice owners are much better at business than they believe. The reality is that practice owners are business leaders. Therefore, practice owners are faced with important decisions daily. You determine strategic direction, guide hiring, set practice priorities, the list goes on. People make decisions using two different processes; the first is based on logic and facts, and the second is based on intuition. This is where I feel practice owners do not give themselves enough credit.

Obviously, we must look at the facts. But have you thought to yourself when you do see the facts, “I’m not surprised, I felt that was not right at the time…”

We do not want to trust our instincts as much as we should because it means we must pay attention to our emotions. Oftentimes we need to remove the emotion from a difficult situation.

Why Don’t We Trust Ourselves?
Controlling emotions is more important when it comes to reacting to a situation. But what about when making decisions? What if you have the facts, but there might also be competing or incomplete information? In these cases, trusting in intuition becomes a valuable leadership competency. As Bill Gates says, “often you have to rely on intuition.”

Sometimes, people do not want to trust their intuition. It is important to discern between intuition and fear. We have all faced a situation where we were simply afraid to take action. Fear tends to be accompanied by bodily sensations, you may feel tense, panicky, or desperate. Fear has a pushing energy, as if you are trying to force something, or selecting an option because you want to avoid a threat, rejection, or punishment.

Fear also tends to be dominated by self-critical thoughts that urges us to hide, conform, or compromise yourself. Intuition on the other hand has a pulling energy, as if your choice is moving you toward your best interest, even if that means pursuing a risk or moving more slowly than others. This is usually accompanied by feelings of excitement and anticipation or ease and contentment.

Physically, gut feelings tend to cause your body to relax. With intuition, your inner voice is more grounded and wiser, like a good mentor. And remember, using intuition does not mean you have to make a quick decision. An intuitive decision can still take a few days.

Whenever I have important decisions to make, I do trust my instinct or my gut. Try asking yourself:

Do I pay attention to my first reactions about a given issue?
When I am faced with a decision, do I consider my feelings in addition to the facts?
Do I check in with my gut feeling after summarizing the pros and cons?
Do I pay attention when my gut sense is at odds with the available information?

To help use your intuition more, simply slow down. We answer our texts and emails far too quickly. We may feel compelled to make a quick decision despite being extremely tired. It is hard to slow down given the pace we are all running at. But taking a step back is important and necessary to access intuition.

The next time you are faced with an important decision, take some time to get out of your head and away from your office. Go for a walk. Do not feel the need to respond quickly. Just sit with the decision, ponder alternatives, and try brainstorming new solutions. As you do so, tune in to your emotions and evaluate your reactions to understand how intuition might be leading you in this situation.

What about the time your intuition failed? Did it really fail? Or did you let biases get in the way? There will be times when intuition leads you astray because mistakes can be attributed to unconscious biases. Biases are cognitive distortions that manifest in personal preference or misleading assumptions.

Have you noticed when you decided too quickly or were overconfident, that is when things went wrong? Whenever you let your biases interfere with your decisions, they skew your objectivity leading to the wrong decision. Your gut did not let you down but rather you chose to listen to your personal opinions that influenced your judgement.

Anchor Your Intuition with Core Values
The next time you have a decision to make, try and engage your intuition. It is always important to remind yourself about your core values and what is most important to you. Examples include service, stability, family, or calmness. Perhaps you are feeling agitated after a long day at work when nothing went your way. Your core values can help you pinpoint the source of your frustration and understand it more clearly. Using your values, you can check-in to figure out what feels off internally and gain perspective on the situation. Remember, your core values represent what is most important to you so do not be afraid to fall back on them.

I am confident that people who pride themselves on having a strong intuition, honed through years of experience, helps guide their decisions. Others will be ambivalent about relying on their intuition to make important choices because they are concerned that their gut reaction is inherently biased or emotional. This latter group is no doubt responding to the oft-given advice that we should use formal data and analysis to “check” our intuitions.

So, who is right? Should leaders make decisions based on their gut feeling, or should they not?

Please do both. Facts speak loudly and clearly; they cannot be dismissed. But remember to listen to your inner voice. Go to a quiet place, clear your mind, remove fear and biases, and truly listen to your instincts. They will not lead you astray.

A challenge for you after reading this article is to take a moment today or tomorrow to reflect on what your top one to three values may be. The next time you find yourself struggling to make a decision, ask yourself, “which action or decision brings you closer to those core values?” Going within can help dissolve the internal tension that leads to mental loops.

Finally, keep in mind that intuition cannot flourish in busy, stressful environments. Give your mind space to wander and make connections. Remember, while intuition is not perfect, it is also a decision-making tool you are underutilizing, at the moment. Trust yourself a little more and you will be surprised to find that your gut is a more powerful decision-making tool than you may have realized.

You are a practice owner and entrepreneur for a reason. Embrace this role. Sometimes a big challenge is the dislike one may have for leadership. The more you fight it, the harder it can be.

Implement systems that help you manage effectively. Always remember, you are not in this alone. There are resources available if only you choose to reach for them.

JACKIE JOACHIM

Jackie has 30 years of experience in the industry as a former banker and now the Chief Operating Officer of ROI Corporation. Please contact her at Jackie.joachim@roicorp.com or 1-844-764-2020.

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Socrates Triple Filter Test: A Primer for Good Office Culture

Independent SightLines

Ahh the thoughts that go through my head in a day! I am thankful nobody is a mind reader (at least as far as I know!).

Every day there is a battle in our minds to stay on task, to be positive, to be kind and to be grateful and mindful. Some moments of the day our thoughts can flash to frustration, anger, negativity, gossip and resentment. We are human after all and it is difficult to control every thought and make it a positive one, even for those who are consciously being mindful to keep their thoughts focused and positive. The good news is that our inside thoughts do not automatically come out via our outside voice.

We all know team members, including doctors, that have a very low filter from their mind to their mouth. If they think it, they say it! Of course, this isn’t conducive to a great team culture. Being unfiltered brings mean spirited words, negativity, gossip and discomfort for the listeners.

Ultimately a lack of filter can be a catalyst for others to have no filter, leading to general office tension and low morale.

Socrates Triple Filter

Socrates said if what you’re about to say isn’t true, good and/or useful, then don’t say it! It is incredible how much more productivity and positivity results when the triple filter test is utilized to filter one’s thoughts before the words come out; this takes discipline.

Culpability of the Listener

We teach our team members that if they happen to be listening to one staffer complaining about another staffer they are contributing to office dysfunction through the act of listening.

We encourage the listener to ask the speaker to approach the staff member with whom they may have an issue directly rather than through a third party. If necessary, we ask them to approach a manager or leadership team member to discuss the facilitation of face-to-face dialogue.

When an offender of the “triple filter test” is called out by a colleague, then we are more likely to see better office dialogue centered on patient care and process improvement rather than gossip, hearsay and unproductive conversation.

Accountability via Compensation

We ask each of our staff to touch base quarterly with a manager or leadership team member for a coaching session. This is an informal way to check in with each staffer and remind them of the importance of not participating as a listener in counter-culture dialogue. We make it clear that poor verbal control is a barrier to raises and promotions. Linking compensation to more professional conversations is very important to a good office culture.

It’s All in Your Tone

Studies have shown that it mostly matters “how you say it” versus “what you are saying”. Even when the content is muffled to the point of incomprehensibility, people can detect in the tone whether that person is a “good” or “poor” manager.

Tone is absolutely crucial to how well feedback, advice, and training are received. A kind tone of voice communicates respect, appreciation and a willingness to help. Employees enjoy working for an enthusiastic, upbeat manager whose words and body language are congruent.

Avoidance Isn’t a Solution

The “silent treatment” is a very good way of increasing tension and pressure during a negotiation, but it has no place in a culturally strong office environment. We ask our team members to sort out issues directly and quickly.

Harbouring resentments and ill well are almost always felt by other staff members and notably, by the patients. Staff of clinics with low morale and poor culture are more likely to leave their jobs and work elsewhere.

One of the best retention strategies is to have an office that communicates well, works together and filters their thoughts into optimized words to create a culture of respect.

View all of Dr. Miranda’s Independent practice Insights.

DR. TREVOR MIRANDA

Dr. Miranda is a partner in a multi-doctor, five-location practice on Vancouver Island.

He is a strong advocate for true Independent Optometry.

As a serial entrepreneur, Trevor is constantly testing different patient care and business models at his various locations. Many of these have turned out to be quite successful, to the point where many of his colleagues have adopted them into their own practices. His latest project is the Optometry Unleashed podcast.

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