Movies provide great entertainment, but sometimes they can also convey strong messages that change our approach to life and how we conduct business.
All practice owners and entrepreneurs can use a little inspiration from time to time. Motivation can occasionally come from the most unexpected places, like the movies. So, what can we learn from films, and how can movie quotes get us through each day in the eye care industry? Here are some examples.
1. “The key to this business is personal relationships.” — Jerry Maguire (1996)
Building relationships with patients is crucial because you want them to view you and your practice as the place to go for all things eyecare. It would help if you established yourself and the practice as a resource for all their eye care needs, examinations, spectacles, contact lenses, medical treatment, and most importantly, education. If you can establish yourself as the expert in these areas, they are less likely to go elsewhere, even if the price is a concern. Critically, you must have a good relationship with your staff. A patient’s first encounter with the practice is usually with a staff member, and patients typically spend more time with the team than with you. It would help if you had great people in place to build a great practice. If the staff is subpar, you will have more difficulty building and maintaining an exceptional practice. Hire right, train right and keep training.
2. “Smile, it enhances your face value” — Steel Magnolias (1989)
A smile is very welcoming to those you encounter, whether it be patients or staff members. It’s not always easy to do, especially on a day when you have three patients in a row wanting their prescriptions rechecked. Yet smiles can put patients and staff at ease, so smile away!
3. “Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. What do we do? We swim” — Finding Nemo (2003)
You are going to have good days and bad days in your practice. On the good days, it’s easy – you had a record collection day, a patient tells you your practice is the best they’ve ever been to, and all the staff show up and are on time. It’s the other days – a patient’s glasses order was lost, that patient is coming in again for the third recheck of their contact lenses, two staff members call in sick – it’s those days when you need to keep swimming. Persevere! The ability to push through the frustrations and fears we face on the bad days eventually enables you to move the practices forward and create an environment patients and employees want to come to.
4. “Two little mice fell into a bucket of cream. The first mouse quickly gave up and drowned. The second mouse wouldn’t quit, and he struggled so hard that eventually he churned that cream into butter and crawled out. Gentlemen, as of this moment, I am that second mouse.” — Catch Me if You Can (2002)
This quote mirrors the previous one, and the visual it evokes hits home. There are those days when it seems like I’m spinning my wheels, yet Frank knew that if he quit, he would get nowhere, which motivated him to be that second mouse. Doing enough churning eventually leads to solid footing, and success will soon follow.
5. “Well, if you’ll excuse me, I must leave now. Mr. Corleone insists on hearing bad news as soon as possible.” — The Godfather (1972)
One of the things that are instrumental in building a successful practice is getting regular feedback, both good and bad. Any good business wants to know what it did well and what could have been better to improve its customer service. Paramount in the above quote is the timing of the feedback. To Tom Hagen’s point, we want to act on something immediately. Don’t let problems linger.
6. “It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great.” – A League of their Own (1992)
This final quote is a great way to describe practice owners and what they go through every day. Building a successful sustainable business in the eyecare industry takes work, it takes time, and it takes grit. However, in the end, it is all worth it. I think that’s not a bad thing – it’s what makes it great. That’s why not every person is cut out to be an optometrist.
