The Road To Remarkable

Become Remarkable

For years Lance Armstrong was hailed as the greatest road cyclist to ever live. Armstrong won the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times from 1999 through 2005. Earlier in his career Armstrong battled and defeated cancer, being declared cancer free in 1997. Shortly thereafter he started the Lance Armstrong Foundation. From the mid-nineties through late two thousand Armstrong became somewhat of an American hero, even while allegations were being made regarding his alleged use of performance enhancing drugs.

Armstrong denied using performance enhancing drugs and most of the world believed him because they loved what he seemingly stood for: bravery, strength, perseverance, valor, and overcoming insurmountable odds. It wasn't until the truth was about to be revealed that he finally admitted to doping in a television interview in January 2013. It was then that those who stood behind him were left with a feeling of betrayal.

Performance Diminishing Behavior

Every leader and team member engages in daily behaviors that either support the continued growth and development of who they are as a person, professional and practice or they engage in behaviors that can lead to what may ultimately become a reckless demise. While certain behaviors don't appear to be all that horrible when viewed in isolation, it is the cumulative effect of those and other behaviors that are what lead to a day of reckoning. Many times, that reckoning can be very public and very humiliating, as was the case for Lance Armstrong and has been the case for many other people and practices.

Just as eating fried and sugary food for lunch each day will not lead to immediate health concerns, the cumulative effect of regularly eating an unhealthy diet will eventually catch up to us and make us wish we would have behaved differently. We all know this, but many of us still choose to behave in unsustainable ways, hoping we never get caught. While we know the behavior will come home to roost one day, we are very good at convincing ourselves that the day of reckoning is a long way off. That is until it arrives dressed as a pink slip or wearing a white coat, black robe, or badge.

The Long and Winding Road

Denial or failure to accept that there will be a consequence for our behaviors will not stop the inevitable from becoming our reality. The quality of the life we lead or the typ of practice we become may be as simple and as complex as the path we choose. If we choose the high road, even though it may be long and winding and seemingly less traveled, we'll end up on top more times than not. Choose otherwise and eventually, maybe not today, but eventually, we will be forced to reckon with those choices. Sometimes the reckoning is mild, other times harsh. The harshness of the reckoning is not our choice to make, only ours to deal with. If we choose well, when it is all said and done we will realize that life has treated us in much the same way.

The Road Less Traveled

Every decision we make will lead us down a road. That road will eventually lead us to arrive at a destination.

When our team members choose to go the extra mile for a client and exceed their service and treatment expectations there is a positive and long-term benefit for our client, the individual, and the practice. When a practice chooses to be a positive force for good, not merely profit, there is a positive and long-term benefit for our practice and the greater good.

We never know the unintended consequences of our decisions. Therefore, choosing well is of utmost importance. When we choose to do what is right because it is right there is a positive and long-term benefit. When we treat our clients and those we lead with dignity and respect there is a positive and long-term benefit. When we choose to not allow a situation to ruin a relationship there is a positive and long-term benefit. There is always more positive from doing good and right than there is short-term benefit from doing otherwise.

The Ultimate Race

Everything we do increases and compounds over time through successive addition. It is those practices that make more good choices than bad that withstand the test of time and enjoy the type of sustainable success that others only wish they had. Some of the seemingly small and meaningless decisions we make can ripple to become some of the biggest. No decision should be taken lightly, especially when it is a behavioral choice.

Be it a person or an organization, those who experience success long-term never forget that success is not determined by the race you win, but by the life you lead and the values you live every day. It is then that those who matter most will look at us and give us the respect, admiration, and business we deserve. Business is not hard; it is we who make it that way by the path we choose to travel.

Being “remarkable” means having others remark in a positive manner about you. It is also the most effective marketing for your practice. Take the road less traveled and you just might find you have laid a path for others to follow, most of which may be clients.

Randy Stepp is a principal with Renaissance Leadership Group. RLG is a full-service medical aesthetics practice development company driven by Purpose, Passion, and Strategy and the goal of helping entrepreneurs realize their vision for their business.

Visit Renaissance Leadership Group at www.renaissanceleadershipgroup.com to learn more.