Improving How We Work: Part 1

EOS: Entrepreneurial Operating System

When I started PSPT back in 2009, my primary goal was to be able to set up a place where I could treat patients one-on-one sessions. I had no business experience, so I bought a book that guided me on the process of how to set up a business plan. I found that plan the other day, and I laughed at how little I knew then. Somehow, it all worked. Fast forward to 11 years later.

About one year ago, I read a book that was called the “E-myth.” The author, Michael Gerber, describes that most business owners are technicians who experience an “entrepreneurial seizure.” That means that suddenly (for many different reasons) someone who is good at something decides that they can do it as good if not better than their current boss, so they hang up a shingle and open their own business. That is not far off from where I was. I was done working for other people and honestly believed I could do it better, so I decided to open my own place. Granted, I did not do it overnight. It was a year from the time I decided to start my own clinic to the day my doors were officially open. However I was essentially the technician who decided to be a business owner.

I have made MANY mistakes along the way. However, I have also seen some amazing things happen as well. Fast forward, and now I want to grow my business. Let me clarify. There is a difference between growth happening organically and growth happening intentionally. For the past 10 years, the growth that my clinic has undergone has been organic. Sure, I made decisions like hiring therapists to meet the demand and expanding the physical footprint of the space. However, these decisions were natural decisions that had to happen along the way. Now I am making a conscious decision to grow. I want to hire more staff, have more infrastructure, and add more clinics. I just do not want to do it fast or irresponsibly. There are so many stories of companies that grew too fast, did not have good systems in place, then had to close or make their business smaller to be able to continue forward.

To take steps forward, I felt it was important to spend time really figuring out who we are as a company. Enter the Entrepreneurial Operating System or EOS. This is a system in which you work with a leadership team (people within the company that you handpick to be leaders) to figure out what’s your company’s culture. We read the book Traction by Gino Wickman and followed what the book outlined in order to figure out who we are. This process was slow and was completed over many months. We are continuing to fine-tune this, but overall, we have a “magna carta” for the company.

Here is the most important information: We have nailed down our core values and our core focus.

Pain Science Physical Therapy Core Values

1. Conscious growth mindset: this is how our brains think about things—always looking to grow.
2. Positivity: our attitude.
3. Committed to excellence: our framework from which we make decisions.
4. Balance: our goal –we want to reach homeostasis. Life/ work/ health etc. We want to live and be in a balanced state.

Pain Science Physical Therapy Core Focus

Purpose: To be the difference that instills hope.
Niche: Personalized physical therapy for the whole life and the whole family.

Our values and focus frame the decisions we make as a company. In the next two articles, I will talk more about some of the systems we have put in place to help us reach our growth goals.