I’m usually urging people to think strategically in order to have bigger plans for their future — for their personal future and their business future.
Part of this is a projection of the way I think. But it’s also based on observation.
Over the years of my career, before I began devoting it exclusively to healthcare clients, healthcare businesses, facilities and physician groups, I did a lot of M&A work outside of healthcare as well as within healthcare.
My work touched on diverse types of businesses, including, for example, entertainment businesses, furniture businesses, import businesses, manufacturing businesses, and trucking businesses.
Many of the entrepreneurs that had founded these businesses were either the sole or majority shareholder. And after they sold, they tended to die soon. They sort of withered away.
I think a big part of that is because they no longer had a bigger future. They had always been driven by achieving a goal, and then, in their minds, their final goal had been achieved.
Many physicians have a final goal: the goal of retirement.
We’ve talked about this before; it’s what I call the “physician expiration date” mentality. To me, when Dr. X says that he “has 5 years left,” it sounds like he’s describing his release date from prison.
But once “retired,” without a goal or something to which to look forward, many people lose their purpose, their reason, for living.
What’s your next goal? What’s your next big goal?
How important is that goal to you, not just for your financial future, or for your business future; how important is that goal for your own existence?
