Last week, I swapped out my winter tires for my summer tires. Same car. Same driver. But the difference was immediate.
The grip. The handling. The way it hugged corners again. I’d forgotten how much better and, honestly, how much more fun my car is to drive when it’s running on the right tires for the conditions. I bought this car (used) the day I was declared cancer-free. Literally, I drove to the dealership directly after leaving the surgeon’s office. So, it’s fun to drive for that reason too 🙂
It made me think: tires are something we rarely notice — until they change everything.
Marketing is the same way.
When it’s dialed in, marketing helps your practice feel more productive, more efficient, and quite frankly, more fun to lead. It brings in the right patients. It supports your team. It creates momentum you can actually feel.
But when it’s off — when it’s outdated, misaligned, or neglected — it’s like driving with the wrong tires for the season. Everything feels harder than it should. Even with a great car, a powerful engine, all your regular maintenance, all the “bells and whistles” – without the right tires you will notice a difference. And you feel “stuck”, no matter how much horsepower you’ve got under the hood.
In Formula 1, teams spend millions on engineering and design, but the outcome often comes down to tire strategy. Why? Because tires are the only part of the car that actually touches the road.
In your practice, marketing is what touches your community – both potential patients and existing patients. It’s what turns your expertise into high value patients, raving fans, and sustainable growth.
So if things feel harder than they should right now, ask yourself: Is it time to check your tires?
What I’m Reading:
Michael Bungay Stainer’s book isn’t just for marketing coaches – it’s for almost everyone. Are you a leader in your practice, your department, your community? If so, you can learn something from this one.
Spoiler alert: He teaches that there are seven essential coaching questions we can all use to be better leaders:
The 7 Essential Coaching Questions:
The Kickstart Question: “What’s on your mind?”
The AWE Question: “And what else?”
The Focus Question: “What’s the real challenge here for you?”
The Foundation Question: “What do you want?”
The Lazy Question: “How can I help?”
The Strategic Question: “If you’re saying yes to this, what are you saying no to?”
The Learning Question: “What was most useful for you?”
My favorite one: #6 – The strategic question. In order for all of us to do the good work we want to do, we have to learn to say no to certain things. Saying “yes” to something always requires an investment —time, energy, focus, or other opportunities. And most of us are TERRIBLE at estimating the true cost of our decisions. Taking the time to ask this question can make a big impact on your life.
“It lurks within, emerging in conversations to share ineffective, premature suggestions…it’s your advice monster, and we all have one.”
– Michael Bungay Stanier
Make these ASAP.
Brown Butter Toffee Chocolate Chunk cookies. Trust me.Here’s the recipe.
