As the co-founder and chairman of the mammoth Microsoft Corporation, Bill Gates is the moving force behind a company that has been regarded as "The Most Innovative Company Operating in the U.S." (1993, Forbes magazines). Microsoft introduced several revolutionary technological advancements in the computer industry that made the company the first truly dominant player among home computer operating systems. Microsoft also created the most widely used operating system in the world, Microsoft Windows.
Gates is widely regarded as the brains behind the Microsoft Corporation, primarily responsible for product strategy from the time the company was founded in 1975 until 2006. Among his key contributions are extensively broadening the company's product lines and vigorously defending Microsoft's dominant position in its key areas of operation. And while some of his decisions have led to antitrust litigation over Microsoft's business practices, his reputation as one of the most popular and respected entrepreneurs of the personal computer revolution remains intact. His fame actually surpasses the realm of computers and business and extends into mainstream society. For instance, in a 2006 list compiled by New Statesman magazine, Gates was voted eighth in the "Heroes of Our Time" category.
In June 2006, Gates announced that he will be handing the reins of Microsoft's day-to-day operations to someone else by July 2008 to concentrate on the philanthropic work of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, although he will continue to serve as the company's chairman and as an advisor on special projects. Plans are already afoot to transfer Gates' role as Chief Software Architect of Microsoft to Ray Ozzie, the former head honcho of the Groove company which Microsoft purchased in 2005.
Gates has donated several millions of dollars to various charitable groups and scientific research studies. By some estimates, Gates has contributed over half his fortune to charity. Even if such were the case, he can easily afford it. Recently, the prestigious Forbes magazine named Gates as the world's richest person for the 12th straight year, with a 2006 net worth of $50 billion. Incidentally, he actually became the world's first "centibillionaire" in 1999 when his net worth surpassed the 100 billion mark briefly.
Autobiography Of Bill Gates
Ouch. Not a good thing to think about if you were one of those
competitors, that's for sure.
But, you certainly don't need to be a competitor of Microsoft to
feel the sting of business competition.
With the quantity of chiropractors in practice today, and the
quantity of new doctors coming into the profession every year,
I'm sure you'd agree, it's a pretty darn crowded and competitive
chiropractic marketplace out there.
The number of shrinking incomes and struggling doctors, certainly
confirms that.
So, how do you go about being on the winning side... the success
side... of chiropractic business competition, instead of on the
losing, struggling side?
2 ways...
1. DIFFERENTIATION.
2. USING YOUR PRACTICE METRICS PROPERLY.
Let's talk about differentiation first.
In order to excel in a crowded profession, you must be able to
show prospective patients and active patients what makes you and
chiropractic care in your office different from what every other
doctor or chiropractic office is offering.
Mainly, you must offer patients benefits and unique value they
can't get from one of the other local doctors competing with
you.
And, if you really want to protect your practice and income from
current competition and any future competition, you must learn
how to position your chiropractic practice uniquely in the mind
of consumers.
In other words, you've got to learn how, through your marketing,
to have prospective chiropractic patients view your chiropractic
practice compared to others, as if comparing apples to oranges.
This only happens when you take proactive action to create that
differentiated, unique positioning through your patient
acquisition and retention methods.
And, here's where your practice metrics come in...
Plain and simple, the only way to rapidly grow a chiropractic
practice (and sustain it) is to understand and manage your key
practice metrics (measurements/numbers).
Just like acquiring wealth and becoming financially free is all
about properly managing and measuring certain numbers (i.e. your
bank balance, your income, your expenses, etc.). The same applies
to your chiropractic success.
Sadly, most chiropractic schools never teach this concept to
graduating docs.
New chiropractors then go into an insanely competitive
marketplace, with tons of practicing chiropractors, struggle to
build their practices, and end up tremendously frustrated.
Both Jonathon Hardcastle & Todd Brown are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
