On today’s edition of PT Reading Corner, we will look at Art of War by Sun Tzu. This book is an ancient text about military strategy, which was written over two thousand years ago. While Sun Tzu was not a businessman, many CEO’s use the Chinese general’s principles to ensure their company's success.
We are going to apply some of Sun Tzu’s teachings to physiotherapy practice.
1. A war’s success relies on understanding geography - Sun Tzu
In order to be successful in war, one must be able to navigate the terrain effectively and understand the details of the conditions that lie ahead.
To gain success as a clinician and a clinic owner, you need to be able to understand the intricate details of the market that you are catering your services to. Prior to opening your own clinic, you need to invest time to address several key factors. These include: the location of your clinic, the type of clientele you are attempting to attract, the services your clinic will provide and the identity of your brand. However, while focusing on the logistics of operating your business, it is important that you emphasize the client experience. Individuals become so obsessed on the details that they tend to miss the forest for the trees. After all, having the most prime clinic location in the world will be irrelevant if you are unable to attract clients and keep them coming back.
2. The clever combatant looks to the effect of combined energy and does not require much from individuals - Sun Tzu
Combined energy relies on using the synergistic nature of individuals, where the results are greater than the sum of their parts.
The success of any clinic does not simply come from the fact that they may have the most talented individuals in certain positions. More important is making sure that you have the right people in the right places. For clinic owners, it is important to identify the character traits of each of their staff members and to understand the value that each individual brings to the table. Owners should feel confident that their employees will develop skills, be re-evaluated as needed and then placed appropriately within the company. By spending time understanding the skill set of each team member and their ability to mesh with others, owners can combine their employees’ efforts to achieve maximal growth for the business.
While Art of War is a military guide, it is useful as the nature of business is competition. Your opposition is your competitors and winning the war is synonymous to attracting the most customers. We, at PT Business Corner, definitely enjoyed reading this famed book and would like to thank Courtney Bean for recommending it!
