Al Cleinman's Blog

The Great Al Gallodoro...Revisited

On June 20th, the man whom Jimmy Dorsey called "the greatest sax player who ever lived" would have been 96.  Al Gallodoro passed away in October, 2008 at age 95, less than 10 days from his last gig.  He was a professional musician for over 80 years and an inspiration to anyone who ever crossed his path.  He played with the best of the best; under the best of the best conductors, at the best venues in the world...including Carnegie Hall.  I was lucky enough to have known him; he called my restaurant "home" and we hosted his 94th and 95th birthday bashes. 

I just came across a copy of his music video, which debuted back in 2006. I thought you might enjoy this piece of history.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rr6ynMTuHn4&NR=1

I encourage you to acquire some of Al's work, which can be found on his website at www.algallodoro.com.  If you like the sax or clarinet, you'll love Al Gallodoro.  If you'll take the time to learn a little about Al (there are a number of videos featuring Al on YouTube), you can't help but to be inspired. 

Al was truly an inspired musician and an amazing man.  He had more heart and more energy than people half his age.  I rest assured knowing that he continues to entertain audiences and practices daily.  RIP, my friend.

Declaration of Independence

On this, the anniversary of our country's birth, I took a few moments to actually read the Declaration of Independence.  It's a fascinating document and well worth taking 10 minutes to study.  I share it with you here.

Download Declaration of Independence

233 years ago, our forefathers took an action that changed our world.  It was a monumental task, one that cost about 25,000 lives (interesting to note that only about 8000 were from battle wounds while the rest died from disease) and a struggle that lasted 8 years. 

Perhaps, after reading this amazing manifesto, you'll think about the threats that currently exist to your own independence?  What exists in your world that needs to be changed?  What actions are you willing to take? 

What's your "declaration?"

The Sixth Sense...Operating with Total Transparency

I recently wrote about doctor rating sites and their potential impact on your practice and our industry (see post of June 25).  Well, the following amazing presentation by MIT professor Patti Maes takes the potential for doctor rating to an entirely new level.  Imagine a patient having immediate access to ratings on both you and your entire staff while you're talking to them.  Imagine the patient's ability to be able to identify the COST of everything that you present to them.  Imagine the patient's ability to comparison shop any product while they're in your practice...just by looking at the product. 

We are fast entering a world where information and the tools necessary for decision-making are, literally, at our fingertips...even wired directly to our brain. Way beyond Google, what is coming is that the entire universe of knowledge will be available to all.  There will be no secrets...everyone can know everything.   

Think it impossible?  Take a look at this presentation about the future of information and your access to it.  When you're finished, please enter a comment about how you see this technology impacting our world. 

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/pattie_maes_demos_the_sixth_sense.html

A Case For Managing Doctor Rating Sites and the Patient Experience

Angie's List, RateMDs.com, Aetna Navigator and scores of other sites now rate doctors or, as is the case of Aetna, actually publish doctor's fee schedules.  What impact will these sites have on your practice?  Can you hope to have any control over what's said about you and your brand?

It is clear that these sites will flourish, over time.  Angies List alone has 750,000 paid subscribers.  Key to their success will be the utilization rates and the quality of the entries.  A quick search of one site revealed that most of the OD's listed had only 1 or 2 patient comments, generally positive. One practice, however, stood out with over twenty entries.  A review of these entries clearly indicated, given the words used and the style of writing, that the comments were provided by the practice itself.  They were "stacking the deck."  In my opinion, consumers can smell this kind of fraud.

There's a more effective way to ensure that these sites contain positive information about your practice while sniffing out potential problems before they end up in cyberspace (see my entry of 10/30/08). Perhaps you might go on the offensive and actually encourage your patients to participate? 

Here's an example of a tool you can use.

About Doctor Rating Websites

Our practice supports the transparency afforded by the internet and the power of various doctor-rating sites with assisting patients in making their provider choices.  Our research indicates that the sites listed below appear to have the best systems and the most activity in our area. 

 

We'd appreciate it if you would visit either of these sites and make a comment about your experience with our practice.  To the extent that we've provided you with a positive experience, we thank you for your comments. 

 

Should your experience with our practice have been less than what you expected or desired, please allow us to make things right for you immediately.

 

Thank you for your support.

 

Dr. Johnson’s Family Eyecare

www.rateyourdoc.com

www.doctorratings.com

Economic Stimuli in the Real World!

For the past couple of weeks, I spent some time at the beach near Rockport, Massachusetts, one of my favorite places on earth.  I rented a cute little beach house, within a stones throw of the surf.  While the weather didn't much cooperate, the mostly continual rain provided me with a great opportunity for some much needed solitude and work on a new book which I've been hatching.  Little did I know what excitement would unfold on my last day.

11:00am:  It had been raining all night and the wind was pretty active.  The surf was angry.  Through the rain pelting down, I notice a man in a bright orange raincoat standing on the beach, about 200' from my front door.  No big deal.  There are plenty of people who enjoy a walk on the beach in any weather, although the place is pretty much deserted now, what with the howling wind and driving rain. 

But, about 30 minutes later, with the rain subsiding, I notice him again.  He's still standing in the same place.  Hmmm. What's going on?  I grab my binoculars and notice that he's appears to be guarding a small canister that's apparantly washed up on the beach.  Ah hah!  With the headline "Cleinman wins Pulitzer Prize for Breaking Story" in mind, I unpack my Nikon with the 400mm zoom lens and start photographing what's unfolding before me.   

Noon: The original chap has disappeared but I observe that now there are three "officials" standing around and eyeballing this cylinder.  They're talking both among themselves as well as by radio.  There's obviously something BIG going down, here.

 

 

 

1:00pm:  By now, the suspense ever-increasing, there are five "officials" on the beach, some looking  at the strange canister, others off to the side.  They're likely discussing when they expect the bomb to go off or what to do if the nerve gas escapes.  This is serious stuff!  Binoculars and Nikon in hand, I'm watching all this unfold from my upstairs window.

  

3:00pm:  After watching no less than seven "officials" and two pick-up trucks arrive and depart over a period of about four hours,I'm anxiously awaiting the bomb squad with their sniffing dogs.  Not a single hand has touched this strange device.

Instead an orange dump truck arrives, carrying a 55 gallon open drum. Why aren't they breaking out the HAZMAT suits and the remote control bomb detonating device? 

 

No sooner had the dump truck arrived, I mean almost immediately, one of the "officials" leans over, nonchalantly picks up the canaster with one hand and deposits it, bare-handed, in the barrel with the flip of his left arm.  Without a single moment of hesitation, without even a glove, the mystery cannister was been relegated to the trash. 

Again, virtually instantaneously, the dump truck drives off (probably to the landfill) and the seven men scatter to their respective destinations.  Poof...they're gone.

Yep...this is your stimulus package at work in the real world.  Add up the impact to our economy.  Seven men at $30 an hour and three vehicles; benefits, pensions, time off with pay, etc.  Four hours start to finish.  That's likely well over $2000 of economic stimuli...all to accomplish what one guy did in less than 30 seconds. 

Perhaps Abe Lincoln summarized this situation best with "if I have a one hour job, I'll spend the first 45 minutes planning it."

Now, as for your and my tax dollars, I feel compelled to report that we can feel secure knowing that so many people and assets are deployed to ensure our safety. 

As they say, "Only in America."

VSP Moves to Mail Order Eyewear - Providers are Out, Out, Out!

Dateline:  Sometime in the not too distant future:   In an effort to continue it's growth against competition from the likes of Highmark and EyeMed, and to further reduce employer costs for eyecare/eyewear plans, VSP announced that it was going "direct to consumer" with the sale and delivery of eyewear. 

"We now control over 50 million patients (that's 1 in every 6 Americans) and have the purchasing and technology clout to deliver unprecidented savings to our employer groups and individual subscribers," said a VSP spokesperson.  "We have the resources and technology to eliminate the middleman and, in the case of eyewear, the Optometrist Provider is simply not necessary," he said. 

The announcement above is bogus and is this author's creative endeavor. 

Ask yourself an important question.  Can the above happen?  What's to prevent it?    Eyewear is now sold daily through a host of internet providers and estimates indicate that the delivery system currently controls as much as 10% of all eyewear/sunwear volume.  What's to stop VSP from harnessing the technology that they know so well?   Further, VSP has your patient list and controls a significant portion of many Provider's business now.  Unless en masse, Providers simply won't be able to drop VSP in a defensive move, since, for many, VSP represents the lion's share of their business.  Providers will be left with just the medical/refractive side. 

VSP has all the assets it needs to take the Provider out of the loop on eyewear; as well as, perhaps, a compelling competitive reason (and advantage) to do so.  With Marchon (frames), VSP Labs (lenses) and Eyefinity/Officemate (internet and computing technology), direct delivery to consumers appears a logical next step.  Why not?  VSP is already selling consumers directly (see June 15th post).  VSP certainly demonstrates little care for the economic health of its Providers.  There's little to prevent them from eliminating the Provider entirely from the eyewear delivery system. 

Sorry, Providers, you're just not needed!  Will you join the ranks of stock brokers and travel agents?  Will the internet do you in?  What can you do, now, to prevent this eventuality (think "patient experience")?

Think losing your eyewear business isn't logical or possible? Take a look at what's going on in the pharmacy world.

http://money.cnn.com/2009/06/16/smallbusiness/small_pharmacies_fight_for_suivival.smb/index.htm

Creating Demand

This great article was passed to me by a colleague.  It contains an important message for all entrepreneurs and business owners.  Enjoy! 

_____________________________________________

Last week I did something I hadn’t tried since college.

Now while that may sound like a particularly dangerous statement, it only proves that you don’t know what I did either last week or in college. What I did was nothing illegal, immoral or questionable in most ways.

I took an inter-city bus for the first time since Jimmy Carter was in the White House. Obviously, it’s been a long time.

It wasn’t the traditional Greyhound or Trailways. Rather it was something called Vamoose, one of a number of bus services running passengers between Washington, DC, and New York. Again that might not sound like much to you, except there is probably no better-serviced route in the US than New York to DC. There are countless airline flights, trains on Amtrak and, of course, major highways. In short, there wasn’t a real crying need for a new link between the two cities.

Yet, Vamoose is making it work so well it has loads of competitors.

The basics of these new bus routes are simple. Passengers board in various places in the DC area (DC, Maryland or Virginia) and for $25 ride to the heart of Manhattan or vice versa. The buses offer amenities including a free trip every fifth ride or WIFi access throughout the trip.

I had heard from friends about the buses, but could never talk myself into using the service. Until I tried it and realized I waited too long.

The trip was a very pleasant surprise. The bus was relatively clean, the ride comfortable and the company of fellow passengers was totally acceptable. (Okay, the woman painting her nails and the guy working on his fantasy baseball team were over the top, but I can deal.) On the positive side, it was easy, convenient, relatively cheap and allowed me to work, read and take a nap. That’s a pretty full day.

The crowd of passengers who rode with me round trip are big fans of the service. Many said they use it regularly to visit New York for shows, family and more. Despite the options, they see the value.

And there’s the puzzle. No one started Vamoose because there was a lack of options or competition. No one asked for such a service. It started because some small entrepreneur detected a need and divined a new way to fulfill it. Many of the bus services between the cities began with service from one poor neighborhood of DC to a corresponding neighborhood in New York. That alone was an excellent idea. It took a leap to bring it to affluent neighborhoods where the options were so plentiful.

Such leaps are nothing new provided an entrepreneur sees opportunity where none exists. Ted Zittell of McMillan/Doolittle closes his excellent speeches with a quote from Henry Ford about the birth of the automotive industry. As Ford said, “If I asked people what they wanted, they would have asked for a faster horse.”

Sometimes you have to give people what they didn’t know they wanted. That thinking launched many great business ventures. And last week, it got me back on the bus.

By Michael Sansolo - morningnewsbeat.com .

Providers - Send a Thank You to VSP

In a recent press release, VSP proudly announced that the "individual vision plan" they launched two years ago has now gained more than 25,000 members; that's about one patient for every VSP provider.

 The release went on to say that, according a recent survey, 16 percent of respondents "invested in individual vision care benefits due to unemployment or forced reduced hours, causing them to lose access to vision care." (author's emphasis)

Further, VSP informed us that "of the individual-plan members who are employed, more than 50 percent said they do not have vision coverage at work." (author's emphasis)

Gary Brooks, president of VSP Vision Care, went on to note in the release that VSP’s individual plan has seen “a large uptick in 2009.” Brooks said VSP attributes that increase to the plan’s personalized service and  affordability (author's emphasis).

Hm-mm.  I wasn't aware that VSP provided personalized service and affordability.  If I understand correctly, VSP provides NOTHING but administrative and marketing services.  Is it not VSP's providers who deliver these attributes which VSP so proudly calls their own?  Is it not these providers who are taking it in the shorts while VSP is walking away with profit adequate to fund tens of millions in excessive management benefits and perks annually; near $billion acquisitions and global expansion efforts? 

And with 25,000 providers within minutes of virtually everyone; with the likes of WalMart, Shopko, Lenscrafters, Pearle, etc; since when do consumers lack access to vision care? 

VSP Providers should send a letter of thanks to VSP.

*    Thank you for reaching into our patient files and re-selling our services at deep discount to individuals who would otherwise likely have been willing to pay U&C. 

*    Thank you for recognizing that we have no individual marketing capability; that we're lost without you. 

*    Thank you because, as just lowly optometrists, we know that we can only survive by selling all of our services at a deep discount. 

*    Thank you, for showing us that the only way to develop a successful brand is to position ourselves as the proverbial "Monty Hall"...let's make a deal with everyone. 

*    And while we're at it, Thank You VSP for unilaterally cutting our contact lens and second-pair reimbursements/allowances so that our margins continue to erode, further reducing our ability to invest in the services that you describe to YOUR customers as "personalized." 

When will Providers rise up and finally say "we're sick and tired of someone else controlling our destiny and we're not going to take this anymore?"

Trumping Low Prices

I recently came across this interesting article by Michael Bergdahl, former Director of People for Walmart.  While written about competition in the grocery industry, there is much applicable to eyecare. 

Download Great_Service_Trumps_Low_Prices

Enjoy his insights.

Al Cleinman

Who are Your "Individuals of Impact"?

From time to time, we all come into contact with individuals who really change our world.  I don’t mean something small, I mean BIG TIME!   We may not be aware of it at the time, but if you think about where you are now, and you’re honest with yourself, you’ll invoke memories of individuals whose impact on you has been nothing less than profound.   I encourage you to do so. 

 

One of my “Individuals of Impact” is Tom Schinkel.   This genius of a Dutchman with an amazing view of the world and a wicked sense of humor is directly, and indirectly, responsible for many of the opportunities that have come my way; including my being in the consulting business today.  The germination occured at our initial meeting way back in 1977 when I was a twenty-one year young Marketing Manager for an eyewear importer.    Tom, the former Associate Director of the Dutch Wholesalers Association, was then consulting for a Swedish frame manufacturer.  As he is today, Tom was then an international business consultant with an emphasis on distribution and cross-border business development (see www.thomasschinkel.com).

 

Tom came to visit our firm in upstate New York and made a presentation to our small management team.  I don’t recall whether it was his Dutch accent or the fact that he used such ten dollar words as “technology transfer”, “captives” and “cross-border opportunity,” but I distinctly remember that I was a mesmerized young man.   He was one smart guy with a very cool job.

 

In 1979, I struck out on my own; though not yet in the consulting world.  I was going to do what I knew best, open up a frame distribution business.  The timing seemed perfect as we were heading into a recession (often the best time to start a new business).  So I read “How to Borrow your Way to a Fortune” and found myself with a $10,000 loan and no income.  At the ripe age of 23, I quit my job having just purchased my first home and with my wife pregnant with our first child.  I recalled Tom’s discussion from our 1977 meeting about the use of “captives” in distribution.  I hatched the hair-brained idea to start a frame importing company which would give away a share of stock for each frame purchased.   After all, it seemed logical that customers would continue to buy from a company that they owned.   Reality was that I was suffering from CDS…Clue Deficiency Syndrome…but that’s another story.

 

My first phone call was to the consultant, Tom Schinkel.  I took a portion of my borrowed funds and initially retained him to help guide me in my new endeavor.  It was Tom who drafted the business plan for the company that would become Co-Optics of America; the first national buying group for optometrists; the company on whose shoulders all of today's buying groups stand.  Tom and I became partners and worked together for 5 years.  We’ve been colleagues ever since.   

 

When I sold out and retired from Co-Optics of America in 1989, it was destiny that I would follow in Tom’s footsteps and become a consultant.   Cleinman Performance Partners was born.

Tom and I share many wonderful memories and amazing experiences.  We continue our association to this day and, as we did last evening, periodically get together to reminisce.  I owe Tom a significant debt of gratitude for even talking to me; then an uneducated, inexperienced kid with a head full of ideas.   It was through Tom’s guidance and friendship that I matured in business.

 

It is only fitting that I share this story on the 20^th anniversary of Cleinman Performance Partners.  You see, without that meeting some 32 years ago, several firms might not even exist; an entire industry segment might not have evolved; hundreds of clients might not perform as they now do; this entrepreneur might not have had the opportunities that have been placed before me; and many, many wonderful memories would not have been born.  

 

One meeting and a life is changed.   

 

Tom Schinkel...“Individual of Impact!”  Thank you, Tom!