From Dr. Margolies .. 1-24-02 www.chirosmart.net E-mail message this week .. Enron How does the Enron stock debacle fit my message this week. We¼ll .. should I start with integrity .. trust .. dishonesty .. impropriety. Enron .. or what is left .. was a major stock holding within many retirement mutual funds as well as employee pension plans. Without spending any of their hard earned money .. savings of the investors just vaporized. People placed trust in the safety of this once strong company and accepted with full faith the integrity of their board of directors and accounting/consulting firm. Ah .. their accounting/consulting firm. There is a lesson here. On one level we too are a pillar of trust within our community. Patients take with full faith and confidence that our service will increase their Health and Wellness and that our business ethics and decisions are above reproach. The article I wrote for Chiropractic Products concerned risk management. Trust and integrity is the shield that protects you from malpractice. Avoiding risk .. as with any investment .. takes skill. Investing in stocks is always a risk .. just as investing in your future with your most valuable professional asset .. your practice. No matter the size of your practice .. the number of your employees ..the pedigree degrees hanging from walls .. the diversity of your services and how many seminars you attend each year .. it can be lost and vaporized if you lose the trust of your patients .. staff .. community. On a second level .. various technical and philosophical decisions can also be as profound. We are often on the front line of the battle between Sickness and Disease ‚vs- Health and Wellness. Our patients and our community rely on our skill and nurturing to lead them through the maze of dysfunction and misinformation. Once we have them within our wings they must be introduced to new concepts .. a new approach to what they considered safe and trusted. Our clinics are the base camps of these ideas and a safe haven to receive the adjustments of the their Life. Integrity .. trust .. honesty .. propriety. On a third level we are businessmen and women. The health of our psyche and financial security depends on sound business decisions. Greg Stanley of Whitehall Management has repeated time and again that an indicator of a successful practice is how much the doctor accumulates and profits from their hard work. Never forget that we are a business .. an honorable business and one that affects so many. As a business we must expand and grow and have a following of satisfied patients who have every willing desire to see you grow and offer your services to their friends and family. Our investments may lead us to seminars and consultants .. accept no less of them than you want your patients to have of you. Integrity .. trust .. honesty .. propriety. Enron finds their executives and their accounting/consulting firm Arthur Anderson running and shredding. They leave behind a legacy of misdeed and mistrust. They leave behind hurt and shame. The lesson .. be accountable to yourself and seek reputable consultants if you desire help but insist on integrity and trust. What else do you have besides your skill. Use and guard it wisely. Have a Great Day Dr. M