The Optical Vision Site

Eye How to Declutter -Spring Cleaning Time

Photo-clutterorganizers.com

Think Neat!

Benefits of reducing clutter

• Increase productivity and profitability.
• Increase Security
• Reduces stress .
• Reduce workplace accidents.
• Save time and improve effectiveness.
• Enhances patient perception of efficiency and cleanliness

Step One

• Make a To-Do list

Step Two

• Devise an information management system from mail, email, text messages, cell phones, land phones, courier services, UPS.
• Eliminate and consoldiate as much as possible.
• Set up files, on the computer or in your paper filing cabinets.

Step Three

• Set up a time weekly to manage and organize information. Put it in your calendar
• Finish everything you start- so it is done and checked off your list!

Step Four

• Organize desk so 80% of the desk shows at the end of each day.
• Eliminate anything on top of your desk that is not used often.
• Limit yourself to only 1 personal photograph or memento

Step Five

• Sort files by importance. Consider color coding in order of importance.

Step Six

• Handle information only once.- make a decision to take action or be tossed.

Disaster Preparation for the Eyecare Professionals

Disaster Prepared!

Sunday, Easter day we had a 7.2 Earthquake, Monday, we had another at 5.2 on the Richter Scale. Crystal Blaker of CB Consulations reported tornedo warnings in St. Louis and of course all the heavy flooding in the Northeast. We in California are waiting for the big one and everyone in Arizona is waiting for their property to become beachfront.

If you are like me, thinking it’s not going to happen to you- it just might. There are an estimated 50 earthquakes every day in the world.  1-3 hurricanes approach the US every year . Wiki Answers says there are 200,000 tornados every year in the US, 5,300 Wildfires, 1,000′s of floods, not counting all the other natural disasters including excessive Winter Storms and Heat, 9 active volcanoes (think Washington and Hawaii) Landslides, Tsunamis (think Hawaii, California, Alaska)

Is your eyecare office and home disaster prepared ? Do you have the proper eyecare products for your patients for their disaster preparation kits?

One of the best site to visit to find out what you need is FEMA- Are you ready- with lots of information on natural disaster, bio hazards and terrorism information. You can either build your own disaster kits or purchase on Amazon  (Disaster Preparedness )

Many of your eyecare suppliers offer disaster products for your and your patient use:

Hilco- Cleaning and sterlization products, dry eye, general medical, contact lens cases, readers, retainers, eyewear repair kits, soaps and cleansers, low vision aids, safety wear

Amcon The Eyecare Supply Center Dry Eye, Contact Lens Cases, pharmaceutical, retainers, readers, low vision aids, safety wear, repair kits

Rons Optical- Contact Lens cases, eyewear repair kits, readers

Resources

72 hours.org

Earthquake Store

More Prepared

Sometimes Bad Days Make Heros- US Airways Flight #1549 Video

Watching the US Airways Flight #1549 land in the Hudson River  really put many things into perspective. I will not freak out when I write my checks to the IRS today, I will remain cool under fire, I will do the very best that I can do under threatening circumstances. When you watch the video, remain calm, it is an amazing story of a Captain Sullenberger, who calmly piloted Flight 1549 into the Hudson River after flying through birds.

Note the video is a deconstruction and pretty amazing

To Watch The Rescue Efforts

YouTube Rescue-

Steve Martin’s Take was on the Flight- he was on the flight – interview with David Letterman

Taking One Little Step-The 212 Video

As the saying goes ‘Talk is Cheap’ you have to act in order to make changes in your life, home and business. This video demonstrates the power of acting rather than talking, one little step at a time. That action could be answering the phone differently, having staff meetings, implementing new systems and trying something different. Anyway, I liked the video and have watched it a few times in order to remind myself to ACT rather than sit around talking about what I should be doing!

8 Things To Learn To Become An Optical Manager

Many years ago, I had a rep come to me and ask how he could get to be a manager. I told him he has to lead by example- no whining, no gossiping, strong work ethic, get organized and he really needed to work on his communication skills- basically he had to grow up and act like an adult and start to learn new skills.

If you are already a manager or aspire to be a manager- here are 8 things you need to learn:

1. Lead by example- if you complain- your staff will complain, if you are unsmiling, your staff will be miserable, if you take long lunches- your staff will take long lunches, if you shirk, your staff will shirk.
2. Money and Finances- Money and the management of finances drives all businesses. How can you be a manager if you have no clue on how money affects everything that is done in business.
3. Negotiation- Negotiation is important to resolving conflicts, staff morale, patients and career development.
4. Communication Skills- Good communication skills will help to grow your team and enhance morale, get and keep patients. As a leader- you have to be aware of every message you send even in casual conversations with co-workers.
5. Presentation- presentation is about communication, organization, knowledge and being positive and in control.
6. Focus- on what you can control- no need to talk about the economy- talk about what you can do, pricing, inventory, sales, training, customer service.
7. Daily Action Plan- Have a plan and the organization skills to accomplish something everyday. Getting things done is crucial to strong leadership skills.
8. Learn not to be hurt or upset about what your team is saying about you. People always talk about their managers whether good or bad- you have to learn to not take it personally, separate the wheat from the chaff and try to better yourself. It’s always wonderful to be liked and respected- respect can bring more results than being liked.

Do You Have A Plan B?

Photo:cheezburger.com

You would think that with 2 laptops, 2 phones and 1 camera, we would have been prepared for any eventuality. Who would have thought that all our technical devices would have ‘broken’ down at the same time- and we had no Plan B. Fortunately it wasn’t a disaster or life threatening- but it made me realize, we must be prepared for Plan B at all times.

Which brings up the question- do you have a Plan B? What are you going to do in worst case scenarios? Back up phone numbers for staff or doctors, generators for power outages, computer glitzes: do you have a spare up-to-date computer, are your staff cross trained, the list goes on and on.

Based upon our weekend at Vision Expo, we now have a Plan B- and will be following the following Tips for Worse Case Scenarios:

1.) Imagine every possible thing that could go wrong and and put in writing what to do. (Employee Manual and Disaster Preparation)

2.) Review all Plan B’s at least 2x per year.

3.) Put specific people in charge of certain areas- make it part of a job description (and write it down in employee manuals)

4.) Cross Train employees to take over responsibilities

5.) Be prepared by practice and or staff discussions.

Time Management in the Optical Workplace

Salvador Dali Watch

I recently read an article about “time suckers” which was about time wasting activities. I was surprised at how I had managed to fall into some of these. I work out of a home office alone rather than a office building or practice with other people but everything below applies for most situations. Time in the optical workplace is constant and irreversible. Nothing can be substituted for time. Worse, once wasted, it can never be regained. Thus, time management in the optical workplace is very important.

The following are example of some the biggest time wasters in the optical workplace:

• Worrying about it and putting it off, which leads to indecision (guilty!)
• Creating inefficiency by implementing first instead of analyzing first
• Unanticipated interruptions that do not pay off (whole other article about this!)
• Procrastinating
• Making unrealistic time estimates
• Unnecessary errors (not enough time to do it right, but enough time to do it over)
• Crisis management
• Poor organization
• Ineffective meetings
• Micro-managing by failing to let others perform and grow
• Doing urgent rather than important tasks (guilty!)
• Poor planning and lack of contingency plans
• Failing to delegate
• Lacking priorities, standards, policies and procedures

The following are examples of time savers in the optical workplace:

• Managing the decision making process, not the decisions
• Concentrating on doing only one task at a time
• Establishing daily, short-term, mid-term, and long-term priorities
• Handling correspondence expeditiously with quick, short letters and memos
• Throwing unneeded things away
• Establishing personal deadlines and ones for the workplace
• Not wasting other people’s time
• Ensuring all meetings have a purpose, time limit, and include only essential people
• Getting rid of busywork
• Maintaining accurate calendars: abide by them
• Knowing when to stop a task, policy, or procedure
• Delegating everything possible and empowering team members
• Keeping things simple
• Ensuring time is set aside to accomplish high priority tasks
• Setting aside time for reflection
• Using checklists and To-do lists
• Adjusting priorities as a result of new tasks

I hope you find these hints helpful. Let us know if you have any good ones to add!

Source: Kathy Weiman – U.S. Vision

Keeping Optical Employees Motivated

We know it’s tough out there, and one of the hardest things you have to do is to keep your employees up and motivated to deliver a positive customer experience. The reality is- if the employee is unhappy- they transmit that unhappiness to the customer- the customer transmits that unhappiness to others- you lose patients and referrals and then everybody becomes unhappy and unmotivated- a never ending cycle. It is important to nip ‘unmotivated’ employees immediately and address their concerns before it effects your eyecare business.