In the context of business, operating leverage dictates the health and value of a company. As physicians, we can use this concept to evaluate what we get out of our jobs, and make sure it’s giving us more than it takes from us.

If our jobs deplete us so much that we end up running on empty, it’s time to dig into the operating leverage of daily work, and consider some micro-negotiations that can make it better.

How do we calculate our own operating leverage? If our job is taking more than it’s giving us, what changes can we make? In this episode, I talk about how we can get the operating leverage equation to work in our favor.

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode 

• The ideal work environment for physicians
  What factors make a job somewhere we can actually thrive, not just break even in terms of our energy?
  
  
• Signs that our jobs are draining our energy in an unhealthy way
  How can we accurately pinpoint those bane-of-existence tasks that deplete our energy?...

85 - 90% of adults function in emotional childhood. We outsource our happiness to others. We blame, rage, lash out and generally avoid taking full responsibility for how we think and feel. It’s what we’ve been taught our entire lives - but unfortunately what we’ve been taught significantly disempowers us.

The truth is, to have the lives we want, we have to move into emotional adulthood, but how do we change the way we’ve functioned for so long?

In today’s episode, we have a special guest taking over the Simply Worth It podcast. OBGYN and life coach, Krista Olsen shares the power of emotional adulthood and how to achieve it.

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode 

• Emotional childhood vs. emotional adulthood
  Emotional childhood is like putting your emotions on a silver platter and giving them to someone else. How do we stop letting others have so much power over us?
  
  
• The two questions to constantly ask yourself
  Who do you want to be and how do...

Our employers are not past trying to change the rules of our contracts out of nowhere. It can feel like the rug has been pulled out from under us, but there is an opportunity to advocate to keep things the same, and show how that can benefit them.

How do you find a solution that meets their goals but honors your values? If you find out that your employer has a unilateral ability to change things, can you still negotiate on your own terms?

In this episode, we talk about dealing with changes in your contract when they don’t serve you.

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode 

• How to deal with a change the employer is allowed to make
  Sometimes the employer's right to make a change is buried deep in your contract and seemingly innocuous. How do you make sure it doesn’t come back to bite you?
  
  
• Two ways to deal with a proposed change
  If a proposed change to your job is not to your liking, should you try to negotiate to keep things the same or should you just walk?
  
  
• How...

For many physicians, a flexible schedule beats a great salary as the most important piece of a negotiation. Whether you want a four-day work week, a compressed schedule or more flexibility, embracing alternative schedules is a critical cultural shift that needs to be prioritized in clinical medicine.

There’s so much guilt and shame around working a truncated schedule, but working more humane hours and pulling back a little can actually make us better doctors.

What are the benefits of schedule flexibility? How do you actually discuss an alternative schedule with your employer so that they see it as a good thing?

In this episode, I discuss the value of having a schedule that works for you, and how to go about getting it.

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode 

• Why working more leads to less productivity
  In a negotiation, how do you frame an alternative schedule as a benefit to the employer?
  
  
• How to make physician work schedules more humane
  With so many physicians...

A job that aligns with your integrity is just as important as a job that pays you what you’re worth, and makes you feel valued. What happens when you realize that your current job isn’t quite as aligned with you as you’d like?

If participating in the culture of an organization compromises your integrity, that’s a steep price to pay in the name of being employed, and you have every right to make a change.

So if you find yourself feeling a misalignment between you and your job, how do you deal with it so you can start liking where you work again.

In this episode, I talk about how to take action when your job feels out of alignment with who you are.

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode 

• How to identify a misalignment between you and your job
  What are the tell-tale red flags that your job no longer aligns with you?
  
  
• If it’s worth trying to changing your work environment
  What happens if your attempt to change the culture gets met with resistance...

If 2020 taught us anything, it’s that we can’t control what happens in our day jobs.

Our leverage is only as strong as our next best alternative. Building options and creative escape hatches into our lives gives us more confidence, freedom and a cushion in case things go wrong. There are many ways to create alternative sources of income and employment so that we never feel stuck or limited.

What are some of the ways to further monetize our skills or even tap into our non-clinical hobbies? How do we create an escape hatch without seeming flighty or uncommitted?

In this episode, I talk about the power of career escape hatches, and how to use them to feel more empowered.

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode 

• The power of having a financial buffer or career backup
  Why is it so important to have an escape plan, even if you love your job?
  
  
• How to create a non-clinical escape hatch
  Our clinical skill set isn’t the only thing we can monetize. What are some of...

At the negotiating table, we aren’t just physicians - we also have to be entrepreneurs. Even with the most excellent care and clinical skills, we have to be able to articulate the value we provide to the employer.

If you want to show up better, sway people to your opinion, and get paid what you’re worth - thinking like an entrepreneur is critical - in fact, we can’t afford not to in today’s healthcare landscape.

How you’re perceived and how much you can earn is completely up to you, and if you think like the CEO of “You Inc” instead of an employee, you become unstoppable.

How do we milk the most out of every opportunity by changing how we see ourselves? Why is sales an essential part of any negotiation? 

In this episode, I’m joined by an entrepreneur, physician, host of the EntreMD Podcast, and Founder of the EntreMD Business School, Dr. Una. She shares why physicians need to embrace entrepreneurship and how it positions you for...

In a successful negotiation, you need goodwill, relationships and positive bias working in your favor, but you can’t build those things overnight.

They are the fruits of deliberate networking and relationship-building.

We’re more likely to get great opportunities when we foster and strengthen connections with other physicians on a consistent basis.

What makes networking such a powerful negotiation tool?

In this episode, you’ll learn how to improve your negotiating outcomes by deepening your connections in the industry, and where to begin if you’ve been in your own bubble.

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode 

• How to leverage your network
  An important part of preparing for negotiation is gathering information, and understanding what the other side values. Why is this so much easier when you’ve been actively networking?
  
  
• Why networking builds up your reputation
  How do we foster a pre-existing positive connotation through networking?
  
  
• How...

When you’re hunting for a job straight out of training you’re taught to be grateful for whatever opportunity is on the table, and sign on the dotted line, no questions asked. Why ruffle feathers when you’re lucky to be getting hired at all?

It’s a flawed mindset, but one that’s very common in medicine, and holds us back from getting a job that serves us.

The truth is: negotiation is as much a necessity for grads and new attendings as it is for seasoned physicians with years of experience.

Today, I’m joined by a physician who is a shining example of why you don’t have to settle just because you're new to the field. How was she able to shift her mindset and advocate for herself? Why do we need to stop seeing ourselves as less deserving of opportunity because we’re new?  

In this episode, Dr. Janeeka Benoit shares the negotiation wins she has had because of a dramatic change in mindset.

Three Things You’ll Learn In This...

Reciprocity is a social construct that goes back centuries, and it’s so innate in us that it feels like second nature.

It’s also a powerful tool in a negotiation.

When someone gives us something, this built-in need for us to do something for them in return is triggered, and it makes it easier to come to an agreement that satisfies both sides of a negotiation.

Behaviorally, how does reciprocity lay the groundwork for a successful negotiation? How do we prepare for a negotiation with reciprocity in mind?

In this episode, I talk about how one social construct can impact your ability to get a deal that reflects your value.

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode 

• Why reciprocity makes us kinder and more more considerate
  How does reciprocity make human beings more friendly and cooperative?
  
  
• How to use reciprocity to get a deal you’re thrilled with
  The law of reciprocity presents the perfect opportunity to stretch what we’re asking for, but how do we make...