Thanks

Richard - thanks for your comments to my recent "Compete" post.

Yes, differentiation is important for branding, reputation, competition, and growth particularly in crowded markets. It is even more critical if one's practice is not a "leading" competitor.

Yes too, a lot of the juice has been squeezed out of price competition with third party reimbursement and related matters. And there remains little transparency in pricing. Having said that, there remain some spectacular opportunities to Zag by price differentiation on both the high end and low end but few practices see or understand those opportunities.

Yes, superior competency, outcomes, and service are always in demand and most practices "claim" to have that as a priority. Unfortunately too many are satisfied with their own definition of "superior". Too few are objective in assessing or allowing themselves to be assessed relative to their true ranking... a common condition in most professions it seems.

The first responsibility of a professional is competency, outcomes, and service; but I would suggest that is often not sufficient for private practices that do not have the economic backing and resources of a large health care system or its clout in steering patient referrals. Their competitive advantage is often found at the intersection of innovation and entrepreneurism - thus Zagging.

In identifying opportunity, competitiveness and reward through innovation (Zagging) I am not suggesting that practices abdicate their first responsibility and opportunity as professionals. Rather, I'm suggesting that there is unlimited potential that lies outside of the box of currently perceived constraints of traditional practice models.

For those interested in Zagging, the book Innovators Dilemma by Christensen is a worthwhile read.

Richard, I think we are more on the same page than not, and that our differences are more likely a matter of emphasis, markets, and resources. Thank you for your relevent comments.

Bob

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