The Grand Teton & String Lake – 2022

Grand Teton National Park, WY

Plan Now, Prosper Later

The transition from your career is a major life event for which it is critical to prepare well in advance. 

Early on, you will recognize that the magnitude and scope of the challenge is significant. As a result, you will realize that to achieve a successful transition you will need to devote focused effort over a significant period  of time. Inevitable, initial questions will arise, such as:

• What should I do? 
• When should I do it?
• How do I do It? 

The First Step of the Path 

To begin, there are three major concerns for which preparation is essential.

The first of these is to prepare yourself personally, for the next great phase of your life. As you do so, it is important to keep in mind that your spouse and in unique ways, your family, are also going through a transition.

The second concern is to prepare yourself professionally.

The third is to prepare your practice, whether you a...

Bedrock of Serenity – 2022

North Shore, Kauai

Living Purposefully and Fully

To contemplate the passage of time and how you perceive it is a subject of wonder since the beginning of time.

Early humans pondered the coming and going of the sun and moon while keeping warm by a campfire near their cave. In the twenty-first century, we ponder and wonder about the same rhythms of life as we mark time on a digital clock.

The rotation of the earth on its axis that creates day and night is the same now as it was in antiquity.

The rotational march of the earth around the sun that creates the seasons and marks the years, is the same now as it was then.

So it is, that the objective march of time, was and is the same for all of us. 

But there are three things that differentiates you and I as individuals:

• How you choose to use the precious time of your life.
• How those choices reflect how you value your time.
• How you perceive the speed at which time passes. 

These three factors are ...

Flaming Gorge Reservoir – 2020

Utah

A Path to Readiness

The transition from your career is one of those major life events for which it is critical to prepare well in advance. 

Early on you will recognize that the magnitude and scope of the challenge is significant. As a result, you will also realize that to achieve a successful transition you will need to devote focused effort over a significant period  of time. These inevitable, initial questions will arise: 

• How do I begin? 
• What should I do? 
• In what order should I do it?

I know that you learned long ago, as I have, that great achievements require great preparation.

The First Step of the Path 

To begin, there are three major concerns for which preparation is essential.

The first of these is to prepare yourself, personally, to enter the next great phase of your life. As you do so, it is important to keep in mind that your spouse and family, are also going through a transition.

The second concern is to prepare yourself...

This painting by John Trumbull (1756-1843), depicts the moment when the first draft of the Declaration of Independence was presented to the Second Continental Congress on June 28, 1776.

The Seldom Declared History of its Writing

The summer of 1776 was a time of escalating conflict with England.  It was a dangerous time for the American colonies and in particular, its leaders.  Military and political uncertainties abounded.

The conflict between the American colonists and British soldiers that began in April, 1775 had grown into the Revolutionary War during the summer of 1776.

In the meantime, there had developed a significant movement in favor of independence from England.  Delegates to the Continental Congress were faced with the necessity to vote on this critical issue. 

In order to do so, the Continental Congress met in Philadelphia for the purpose of voting on the question of independence. To accomplish that, there was a parliamentary and political need to draft a resolution up...

Rising Above the Rest – 2022

The Grand Teton and Range

Grand Teton National Park, WY

Challenges and Leadership

Great, existential challenges have a remarkable way of evoking different reactions from individuals with diverse personalities. The responses may range from cowering fear to towering bravery. The latter is witnessed in men known for their genuine boldness as well as the man who has been perceived as quietly meek. This seemingly outward meekness is sometimes misunderstood for a quiet, steadfast resolve. 

Who Are These Leaders?

Exemplary leaders may be found at a humble home, businesses small and large, churches, government bodies, medical organizations and in your own medical practice. The list is virtually endless. 

Some have a long record of leadership service; others seem to arise to meet the challenge that confronts them. You may have witnessed, as I have, a range of behavior of individuals in the face of crisis:

The usually, boldly verbose that becomes uncharacteri...

Mt. McKinley – 2011

Denali National Park, AK

Your Lifestyle as Art

Grand art born of great, visionary artists often arises from a spontaneous idea, an image in the mind’s eye.  The evolution of an idea that culminates in a tangible work of art, whether a painting or a photograph of a spectacular landscape, requires a blending of grand vision and the execution of exceptional technique.

Similarly, in order to create a masterpiece that will be your new lifestyle, you must imagine a clear vision of your future before you begin to create it. The path to doing so is to prepare yourself by creating and executing a realistic post career lifestyle plan that will guide you to making your new life an exuberant reality.

There are some things in life like faith, family, country, etc. that require serious respect and appreciation. Then there are others that stimulate a special sort of devotion. For me they are,  among other things, fly-fishing and landscape photography.

In the course of my tra...

Teapot Rock – 2010

Schenebly Hill Vista

Sedona, AZ

 How to Prepare Your Practice

Recent articles have discussed the sequence of proactive preparations that should be undertaken to prepare for a sale of your practice. Beyond personal and professional readiness, the most recent of these, focuses on preparing your practice. This series of preparations apply to a classic succession or a sale to a financial organization such as a family office. 

Once these are concluded, the next item is to prepare the practice for the introduction of the new physician. These preparations are similar for either method of his arrival to your practice.

The benefits of preparing your practice for a new physician in advance of publicly announcing your plans are two-fold. One, is that there are a variety of matters to consider that should be integrated into the preparation and execution of your plan. The second is that it is essential that you be able to convey to a prospective buyer that you have already ...

The Cathedral Group, Teton Range – 2022

Grand Teton National Park, WY

The Path

The  transition from your career involves a multitude of matters that require thoughtful, timely planning in order to experience a smooth and successful outcome. They include personal, professional and practice preparations…in that order. 

This article focuses on the critical first steps you should take prior to seeking a buyer of your practice.

The Big Picture…

The preparation of your practice for a sale is an unfamiliar process that is tedious and lengthy. It is easy to underestimate the time and effort that must be dedicated to this process which occurs simultaneously with the ongoing care of your patients. It is essential to evaluate your responsibilities, your staff’s and the time available to fulfill them. This will help you determine whether changes are needed in order to meet the challenges that lie ahead.

The preparations to present your practice to a prospective buyer presume that you have a...

Madison River and Range – 2009

Montana

Professional Matters 

The transition from our careers is a new challenge we all face. It affects physicians in common and unique ways. This includes major concerns such as personal, professional and medical practice matters.

This article provides an overview of major professional considerations. A previous article discusses the rationale and benefits of undertaking proactive, preparation. More to the point, it includes the question of when and how to begin. I encourage you to review it as it presents the foundation for this and subsequent articles that I’m confident you will find very helpful. 

The Path to Preparedness

There is a very close association between your personal and professional concerns that you must identify and consider as you begin to prepare. There may be some overlap, but when you consider this closely, it will become apparent that there are substantial differences. It is important to resolve questions that will arise so th...

Toward the Light – 2009

Florida

Preparing and Overcoming

The transition from our careers is a process that is an unfamiliar, major undertaking that we all face. It affects us in common and unique ways that include personal, professional and medical practice matters.

You probably have the ability to plan and prepare in a timely, proactive manner. This is the optimal approach that provides you the most flexibility to deal with matters you know about now, as well as those you do not…for the time being. It also creates some room to deal with matters unexpected and unwanted.

This is the essence of a planned transition, one that you can choose when to initiate on your terms.

In contrast, a reactive transition is one that begins when life thrusts upon you a surprising change that is often unwanted.

My Circumstance

A reactive transition was what I had to deal with, despite having made initial, preliminary plans for my own career transition. I can attest that it is an unpleasant, unwant...