I recently had to have some routine medical work done, and again marvelled at how joyless the whole experience was. From the get-go, you become a number and is called a ‘patient’. That word alone sums it all up for me. It means that you will just have to be patient, your time is not important at all. You have to wait for the person with the knowledge to come and rescue you. At best you will be asked to describe symptoms.
The treatment is also totally reactionary. They do not want to see you if you are not already sick. Symptoms are used to make a diagnosis and you are whisked out of there without much regard of anything you can bring to contribute.
And then there is the waiting! For this particular routine check-up, I ended up waiting 30 minutes for the doctor. Then, a few days later, two hours in line at the lab for the blood tests (which took only three minutes!) Then another 30 minutes at the doctor. Then three hours in line at the lab for additional tests (which this time took four minutes.) A total of six hours. Six unproductive hours!
I always marvel at the amount of people sitting in waiting rooms. I wonder how much that costs the economy in lost productivity, every hour of every day.
In business we follow a quite different approach.
My clients never have to wait for me, not if I can help it! I am always curious and caring. I want to partner to grow together and find solutions together. I learn from them, as much as I may bring knowledge and experience to them. This way we soon are able to build trust and have fun together. It is a place of growth. It is a place of joy!
How do you think you make your clients—the people you serve—feel? Have you asked them? If they feel like mere numbers, being treated like patients, it will be very difficult to reach that place of trust and joy. Instead, treat them like the potential partners on your life journey that they truly can be. Involve them to find solutions. Tap their brains, use their skills, be curious about what is possible together, celebrate their successes!
Soon the fun and joy will follow . . .
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