The following is an answer to an assocaite DC who is frustrated with their pay and 
working relationship with the owner DC. The associiate works in a sattelite office for a DC 
who has been prominent in the state asscoiation and national programs. The associate ses 
practice growth and only complaints from the owner DC:

A:

I appreciate your dilemma and it¼s not the first of a kind .. this is quite common. As the old 
adage says .. „you can¼t tell a book by its cover or it¼s not all what you think it is.¾  In 
other words .. many of our leaders have backgrounds which .. if others knew .. would 
lower their esteem level. This is human nature. As an individual stands before a crowd of 
their peers oozing out great advice and genius .. they themselves may be negative and make 
life miserable in their own court of influence. I imagine .. if you or I get something from 
the bright side of this person and it indirectly helps us help others then this was the purpose 
of the message and worth it .. not the package it came in. Fortunately .. most of us never 
have to deal with the dark side of these folks .. only bask in the glow. You .. unfortunately 
.. have to see both sides and it¼s confusing.

As a business person  .. this DC has many areas where money is made and lost. Each 
office is additional overhead. Each staff member is extreme taxes and double social security 
payments. Patient visit levels fluctuate but bills often don¼t. So in defense .. it is tough to 
see the book by its cover and really review the personal and professional debts and budget 
of your employer from your angle. This doesn¼t excuse poor communications skill or 
perception of distrust .. there is no excuse at all. If you ask this DC to spend more money 
for marketing without proof that it will be productive .. especially if the track record before 
you has been disheartening .. you may be asking too much. On the surface it only makes 
sense that more money begets more money .. but this often is not the case unless there is 
some belief that the end results will justify the means. You can approach this DC with the 
proposal that you get a bonus upon production and you share the marketing expense .. this 
may be a stretch but it places the responsibility on both shoulders. 

The other day a student .. very aggressive with his marketing skills .. asked my advice 
concerning a ergonomic proposal for local corporations. As we went over and fine tuned 
his program we discussed his success rate doing screenings and the like. He thought his 
skills were so great that he offers himself as a screener for local DC¼s with the 
understanding that a new examination from his screening is $100. Think about this. You 
are a DC in Marietta. Your office can use some new patients and this students or new DC 
comes to your office and proposes doing some marketing. The stipulation is $100 per new 
patient. Oh .. a new patient isn¼t recorded as such after a few paying visits .. nope .. if they 
come to your office they are worth $100 to the screener. In one hand .. you need the 
patients and what¼s $100 if you can convert these folks into $1000 cases. On the other 
hand .. $100 is steep if there is no assurance the new patient will stay. Furthermore .. $100 
per person .. even if it will be successful ..can bankrupt the business if cash flow is low 
that month or other professional or personal bills are needed as well.

So what does this all mean? Unless you walk in the same moccasin .. it is hard to 
determine why people act and make decisions as they do. The overall picture may be bleak 
for this DC .. even if you see money being made or patient visits expanding. In our office 
.. with managed care being a large part .. huge numbers of patient visits may not translate 
as a huge windfall of cash. So it¼s all an illusion .. a card trick game called business. 
Business begets distrust easily unless all partners understand their role. Your role is to get 
experience and move on. His role is to help you on your journey .. some helpers help more 
than others. You chose a bad one .. it may be time to move on.