Addressing CEO Transition Opportunity In The Current Economy

Given a difficult economy some doctor CEO’s are turning away from plans made over many years to add the next doctor. Others are embracing a good prospect even with the economic turbulence and proceeding to offer a transition opportunity. Specifically, in several instances recently doctors who had planned to add an associate leading to a partner stopped their plans and withdrew their offers. Their instinct told them that with the practices down in production 12-30% it was not the time to continue to add the next doctor. Others in a similar situation are not stopping. Why the difference? In my view it is the doctor CEO’s understanding or not of the context of the practice and the underlying demographics that acts to have one stop and another proceed with a practice transition in this economy. For those practices that have the facility, the staff, and the planning indicating that the practice will benefit, perhaps not immediately but over the intermediate to longer term, they are proceeding to add a good candidate now. For those that have expenditures to make to expand the facility, add the cost of additional staff and in addition marginal demographics indicating the local economy may not recover for a significant period of time, they are the ones not moving forward. Prudent leadership in this economy means basing decisions on facts, including the context of the practice and the underlying demographics.