Would you like to discover the most effective, yet inexpensive, practice management tip I have ever received? It's just four words: Be nice to people.

How did I come to realize this? Well, we were taught this in kindergarten, but I learned it in a different way.

My colleague, Fred Krieger, and I, when we were 30 years old, attended what we thought was a practice management course.

We walked into the hotel lobby in Westchester, and everyone was around 70 years old. They were bald, they were gray - they looked like a group of people ready to retire. And that's exactly what it was. It wasn't a practice management course; it was a retirement course, due to a misprint in the brochure.

So, Harvey Starner, who was a well-known finance guru at the time, stood up in front of the group and said, "I'm sorry, I think some of you are here for the practice management course, but it's actually a retirement course," he explained.

"But for those of you here for practice management, I'm going to give you the course in four words: Be nice to people. It's the most effective and important thing you can do to build your practice. So, on a daily basis, always look for an opportunity to be nice to people." 

And that's not just to your patients.

It includes the team that works with you, the vendors, and anyone else you encounter. I've found this approach to be really effective, and sometimes, I get caught up in myself and am not always that nice. I have to take a minute, take a deep breath, and remember: What's the most important thing I can do for others?