As hard as it is for me to say, it’s been 40 years since I had my summer job at McDonald’s.
Yet after all this time, I remember some of the standards-enforcing mechanisms the franchise used, from written instructions on how each of the food items was to be prepared, to cards bearing sayings such as “When you have time to gripe, you have time to wipe,” and, my perennial favorite, “When you have time to lean, you have time to clean.”
No, I’m not suggesting that your medical group should have “cheat cards” as detailed as this. But your group needs to portray an image, an image of a unified group, and it takes work for you, as a group leader, to accomplish that.
All of this accrues to your benefit or to your detriment when you are contracting with the hospital or contracting with your employed or subcontracted physicians.
On the other hand, if you think these little details are unimportant, then stop to wonder why McDonald’s, which certainly doesn’t make the best hamburger, sells billions of them.
Not convinced? Then I want you to know that your competitors thank you for making it easier for them.
