One of the many reasons I love Seth Godin
is because so much of his thinking is counter-intuitive. As I was listening to him speak on the World Business Forum, I was reminded of something that I, too, already know. You need to be making mistakes in your business in order to grow a vibrant and innovative practice.
It’s counter-intuitive, right? Seth says the only road map for successful innovation is to fail and I believe him. Think about what you do well clinically in your counseling practice. In the beginning, you failed . . . over and over . . . all the while learning to do therapy differently and better.
The same is true in building your private practice. In the beginning, you fail . . . whether it is in networking or developing your paperwork or asking for an appropriate fee (and getting it paid) or filling your appointment book with clients . . . and the list goes on and on. Failing over and over again is key . . . . It allows you (and me) to see our mistakes and learn from them. And, then, it allows us to build our practices differently . . . and more effectively . . . and, in time, more efficiently.
In fact, some might say that the faster you fail, the faster you succeed! Of course, failure is not for those with fragile egos – the ones who must always do it right. But, for those of us who already know that we aren’t perfect, we sometimes do mess up, and are willing to admit that our messes stink . . . . Those are the ones who really can have a fabulously full, richly responsive, and vibrant private practice.
I’m sharing with you some of the mistakes that I’ve made right here in my blog posts and I’m wondering . . . . Do you have any to share of your own? Learned anything along the way?
Good points. Believe it or not net working is so hard for me because I am not good at small talk but only the “deep” questions. So I read The Fine Art of Small Talk by Debora Fine and it has helped tremendously before we get into the “what I do and how I can help you” part of networking! Vicki
Hi, Victoria! It’s good to hear your voice back here again! And, I can so relate to this – both the “I’m not good at small talk” AND Debora’s book, too! I HATE small talk! It’s really hard for a lot of us in mental health, I think, who spend our days working with life-altering issues to then gear down to chit chat about the weather. It took me a long time to understand that small talk really is like ice breakers and warm-up activities that we often use in groups. By engaging in chit chat we are allowing strangers to check us out.
I had an opportunity to hear Debora Fine speak at a networking event several years ago. She was fabulous and made small talk seem like a bit of an art form. I learned so much from her in a short one hour that I dashed right out and bought her book. For anyone who must engage with others in public settings, it’s a sweet little book of treasures and tips – and such an easy read!
I wonder if anyone else has found a book that is as helpful as this one for networking and making small talk?
Oh, there are so many! It took me at least six months (maybe more) to realize that I had to own the fees and not allow clients to accumulate overwhelming balances. And I have to remind myself periodically to remain on top of that to this day.
Hi, Ann! Welcome back! Of course, I continue to add to my gaffs . . . . Did you catch my use of the wrong word in the title of my post last week? I used the wrong work i.e. “peak” for “pique.” Fortunately for me, some of you wrote in to let me know so that I should correct that little mistake! Ah, the little lessons that keep life interesting!
And, yes, Ann, that money thing really trips a lot of us up . . . over and over again! I’m thinking about hosting a series for therapists dealing with their money issues – you know, addressing the kinds of things that keep us from asking for what we’re worth. What do you think?
Tamara,
I think that we all need guidance in that area–and maybe also permission to value our time and services!
Ann
Hi, Ann! Thanks for dropping back in. Yes! Guidance and permission to make mistakes and value our time and services! Exactly! So when and where do you seek guidance and find permission to make mistakes . . . and value your time and your services?
Tamara, I think it would be a fabulous idea to host a series on therapists and money. Would you consider doing it as a webinar so that those of us on the East coast could take part as well. I think that would be extremely helpful!
Roia! How kind of you to say so that! It’s exactly what I’m working on – either a webinar or teleseminar. And, I’m planning on recording it so that you can access the discussions later if you need to miss a session.
Thanks for the feedback . . . ! Hoping to get this up and rolling in July! Stay tuned!