ecadmin, Author at Eye Care Business Canada

Science and Art: Improving Sports Performance

Differentiation | Business Strategy, Practice, Resources, Specialty Practice

The technology to measure and improve an athlete’s visual perception and on-field performance has never been better. But how you utilize that technology is key. There is an art as well as a science to it.

Performance vision testing on SENAPTEC sensory station

Helping athletes to see and perform better is what you might call our family business. My late father, Bill Harrison, OD, worked with countless professional athletes for over 45 years, in particular major league baseball players. He created “SlowTheGameDown” as a leading resource and training center to help professional, amateur and student-athletes of all sports. For the last 20 years, I joined my father in training elite and amateur athletes. We recently opened an elite training center in Irvine, Ca. My background was as a Division II placekicker, and I have a degree in Exercise Physiology. My sister, Alicia, Harrison, OD, followed in the medical direction as an optometrist and also runs a sports vision practice in Laguna Beach, Ca.

Common in all our work is that we take a multifaceted approach to how the eyes play a role in sports. We examine the visual demands from a medical, skills and tactical approach and come up with treatments and training regimen for elite athletes to perform at a higher level.

Another common thread: Each athlete is different, and a successful training plan must be individualized in its goals and processes. We provide the human element of coaching, involving the entire life of the athlete, and not just machine testing and analyzing two eyes.

Establish a Baseline Evaluation

Let’s take the case of hitting a baseball, sometimes referred to as the hardest task in sports. In working with a hitter, we establish a baseline in four areas:

Clarity and quality of vision
Depth perception, eye tracking and visual processing
Visual Tactics: Are the eyes in the right place at the right time?
Concentration: Is an athlete thinking about other things?

Our baselines may differ from what a sports vision practice might commonly see, but creating an effective program still requires the same process. Always consider the athlete’s needs, challenges, fears, goals and lifestyle routines when developing a comprehensive neurodynamic vision program.

Visual Tactics and Concentration Patterns

The difference comes when we create a dynamic training environment to simulate the stress of an action-packed situation. Then we see differences and begin to identify challenges:

Are the eyes where they’re supposed to be?
Is the athlete sorting out good information from negative information?

Here we often discover an element less quantifiable but vitally important: The ability to notice clues and track patterns. It’s a conundrum of sports: If a catcher calls pitches all game long, why isn’t the catcher the best hitter on the team? It figures that they would know what pitch is coming from the opposing pitcher.

One answer is that a catcher can develop visual laziness. They have seen so many pitches that their visual intent becomes less intent. This can detract from their concentration and ability to recognize and anticipate patterns.

Consider: The first time that you drive an unfamiliar route, you work hard to recognize landmarks. After you drive that route regularly, you tend not to.

Similarly, a catcher has caught pitches so many times in a row, they can lose that same keen emphasis. Fatigue sets in, their focus shifts. The hockey goalie faces a similar challenge to be “in the zone” when the game seems to slow down. Here we may see two goalies with equally outstanding eyesight, but one can handle and process a lot of visual information while another is paralyzed with information. Some are better pattern recognizers than others.

Centering vs. Concentration

Most people talk about the importance of concentration–but concentration is not a good word in this case. Awareness of it doesn’t tell you anything about what to do. Most people try to concentrate by trying harder or by blocking things out.

It’s ironic that when we have our best concentration, we not even aware of concentrating.

Centering is an active effort of directing your energy to a target to process relevant, available information. It isn’t about aiming. It isn’t about blocking things out. Centering is about actively processing the available and relevant information radiating from your task at hand. It’s proactive in that you can direct and control.

Great concentration is relatively effortless and is not exhausting. Concentration appears to be something you’re conscious of only when you don’t have it, because when you’re concentrating, it appears to happen automatically.

Customize an Individual Training Program

It is important to work on developing an athlete’s strengths and negate their weaknesses without prejudging overall performance potential. We believe that data is only part of the evaluation process and must be shared with the athlete to help understand the development process.

It’s important to choose technologies that are validated for accurate measurements and a comprehensive database. These results should be cross-referenced against the trainer’s experience and expertise with the athlete and visual requirements of the sport during a 1:1 baseline evaluation.

The Shortcomings of Predictive Performance Models

One fast-growing area in major league baseball, as well as in other professional sports, is in testing skills and creating predictive models of potential performance on the field. This commonly involves testing individually and in the Combine that precedes drafts.

Testing and modeling is useful, but you need also to spend time with an athlete to fully understand their potential. Some athletes test well in a pre-draft Combine but their on-field performance fails to match up. Some have phenomenal vision but lack visual discipline.

One useful application of testing and modeling comes into play more in the middle of draft picks. When teams select their top draft picks, they expect phenomenal performance from the athlete right from the start. It’s the middle and lower picks, where teams want data and improvement models for players with potential, that they are willing to develop. By first dealing with these issues and addressing others, we may not help your very best players. But we will help your larger potential pool, and that wins games.

In addition to professionals, we work with a large number of college and high school teams. It is important to understand that you will find more fundamental visual problems that need to be addressed before performance vision training can be implemented.

Do athletes have correct Rx and eyewear, including contact lenses?
Are they wearing correct protective eyewear and sports specific tints?
Is there a significant difference between day time and night vision (under floodlights)?
Do athletes have comprehensive concussion baseline results to compare against?

NDV Performance Center
Irvine, Calif.
www.ndvperformance.com

Training Center: Great Park Ice and 5 Point Arena: 280,000-square-foot complex offers a variety of ice sports including youth and adult hockey programs, tournaments, figure skating, curling, broomball, sled hockey, public open skating, The Center will be used as the practice facility for the Anaheim Ducks NHL team.

Specialties: Performance Vision training, athlete and team performance evaluations, concussion baseline assessment and rehab programming

RYAN HARRISON

is the founder of Slow the Game Down and the Director of Training for Neurodynamic Vision. He has a degree in Exercise Physiology from the University of California at Davis. Ryan has worked with his father, Bill Harrison, OD, on improving athletes’ visual performance on the field since 1999. Through the years, he has worked hundreds of baseball stars and organizations. He is currently working with the 2010, 2012 and 2014 World Champions San Francisco Giants. He previously has worked with the Toronto Blue Jays 2011-2015 and Philadelphia Phillies 2009-2012, as well as nine other professional baseball organizations over the last 14 years. At the college level, he has worked with the 2016 NCAA Champions Coastal Carolina, the 2012 NCAA Champions Arizona Wildcats, the 2013 NCAA Champions UCLA Bruins, as well as Oregon State, Wichita State, Kentucky, and Long Beach State. Ryan has worked with many collegiate softball programs, and with individual athletes in various sports such as MMA, Motocross, NHL, NFL, WTA, AVP, and PGA.

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The Science of the Funnel

Marketing, Resources

As former sales professionals, Kelly and I are both familiar with how much energy is required to “close a sale”. In fact, closing the sale is just one piece of a very long process where many sales are not closed. There is an actual name for this process; it is called the Marketing Funnel.

According to a quick search on the Internet, the Marketing Funnel is defined as the way of breaking down the customer journey all the way from the “awareness” stage (when they first learn about your business) to the “purchase” stage (when they’re ready to buy your product or service).

At SIMI, we are always talking about putting energy into the top of this Funnel. That “energy” is everything we do from writing articles to connecting with optometrists on LinkedIn to asking for referrals from current and past clients. Each of those activities, an effort to promote and build awareness about our company, is represented by one of the balls in this picture.

From all of the energy we put into the Funnel, we expect to see about 10% of that flow out of the bottom as sales.

Of course, like any business, we have times when we are really busy – and so we don’t put a lot of energy into our Funnel. We have to remind ourselves that this is short sighted. We will reap the rewards from the energy we invest into our Funnel now further down the road. And investing time and energy into growing our business has to be a consistent endeavour if we want to thrive.

The same holds true for your Optometric Practice business. Most practices will get some passive referrals from patients who are natural connectors. But in an age when information is shared so much more easily, it is even more important to put time and energy into sharing the story of your brand to attract new patients.

How you should spend your time and energy on promoting your business will, of course, depend on your strategy.

If you are offering a more specialized service, you likely need to connect with colleagues who can identify a need and explain the solution you offer to their patients. Promotional activities might include taking colleagues out for lunch, writing articles for industry magazines and speaking at Continuing Education events.

If you are offering Primary Care to your local population, you may look for outreach opportunities to connect with the community. Some practices set up “sunglass” booths at their local markets or sponsor a local event. These practices are more likely to spend on Google Adwords and have active social media accounts to attract new patients. Many practices host annual or biannual sales, which also create a lot of buzz and energy.

The key is consistency. As tempting as it is to lay off the gas pedal when you are busiest, it is these activities that will fill your schedule during the quieter times. So as we look to 2020, start planning how you will fill your Marketing Funnel and keep your business growing and thriving.

CHRISTINA FERRARI

is the co-founder and managing partner of Simple Innovative Management Ideas (SIMI) Inc. and expert Practice Management contributor for Optik magazine. She can be reached at info@simiinc.com

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Is EBITDA the Best Way to Calculate the Value of Your Practice?

Finance|Wealth, Resources

I say no. Essentially, EBITDA on its own makes for a fairly futile statistic. There is, after all, a very good reason why you depreciate and amortize assets. To simply put those charges back in to earnings may give an unrealistic measure of your finances. Many in the financial industry will use this as a rule of thumb to help obtain an estimate of value.

EBITDA seems to be very sexy these days. Everyone is talking about practices selling for a multiple of EBITDA. Although some folks do not really understand the formula and yet they feel it is a reasonable way to value clinics. There are endless variables and measurements that factor into the value of your practice. The best way to start is with an appraisal which will extract the maximum value for your practice and go to the Open Market. One buyer who offers you a price based on EBITDA is not a market. Would you give the opportunity to sell your home to only one buyer? Also, financial due diligence may reveal a lower EBITDA which means the purchase price will be reduced from the original offer.

So what is EBITDA? Simply put, EBITDA is net income (or earnings) with interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization added back. It is a quick way to evaluate a clinic’s performance without having to factor in financing decisions, accounting decisions or tax environments. It also certainly does not factor in intangible items such as location, highly valued staff, premise lease, quality of patients, various services etc. Normalized EBITDA also adds back discretionary expenses such as travel, meals etc, which we also do when completing an appraisal.

It is important to understand that EBITDA has its flaws. You should not put too much emphasis on it when looking at the strength of your practice because EBITDA does not consider risks like the potential for future growth and your mix of patients. It does not consider whether you have an assignment or non assignment practice, offer a variety of treatments, your plan for attracting and retaining new patients, excellent terms in your premise lease, contracts for staff, and other proprietary items in your clinic.

EBITDA is based on actual financial statements. Let’s assume for a moment that your year end is December 31. Your EBITDA is $500K. You are made an offer of 6x resulting in a price of $3 million. Sounds great!! However, you are currently into your new year by 8 months and your net profit will be up because you have made many positive changes (adding more services, bringing on another associate, etc.) These positive changes indicate that your expected EBITDA will be $650K which means you are leaving $900K on the table. What a lovely gift you have given this one buyer!!

We believe the best way to place a value on a practice is to use a combination of the cash earnings method and comparables. While there are certainly many valuation methodologies, we use the cash earnings method because we want to demonstrate how much a practice can produce after all the fixed expenses (staff, supplies, rent) have been paid in order to support the doctor(s). Our appraisals never place a value on a doctor. One doctor may be very comfortable living on a draw of $100k while another must have a minimum of $200k. Same practice, same revenue but different requirements of the person providing the treatment. Being in the appraisal and sale of practices for 45 years means we have the largest data base of sold practices. Having this knowledge is critical and can help set expectations for both the vendor and buyer.

Selling to one buyer may seem like the right decision. You will, after all, save on commission. But I ask you to consider the following: a business broker can help present your practice in the best light to maximize the sale price. We have an understanding of the key values that buyers are looking for and can assist in identifying changes that can lead to a better selling price. Even more important than the final sale price is what your requirements are post sale. If your plan is to continue working, negotiating your working agreement post sale is also critical.

In the end, I always respect and admire practice owners. It is difficult being the provider of treatment as well as employment to so many. Running a business is never easy, therefore, when you come to the point in your career where selling is the option, I encourage (or challenge) you to consider taking your practice to market. Your clinic represents your life’s work. It is likely one of your most valuable assets. As such, you deserve to exit with the maximum price and dignity!!

JACKIE JOACHIM

Jackie has 30 years of experience in the industry as a former banker and now the Chief Operating Officer of ROI Corporation. Please contact her at Jackie.joachim@roicorp.com or 1-844-764-2020.

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Lessons in Leadership

Human Resources, Managing Others

We have the privilege of working with the forward-thinking leaders in this industry. So when the opportunity presented itself, it seemed like a natural fit with our business mandate to host an evening with Lee Cockerell, the former Executive VP of Operations with Disney. Many of the leaders in the room have already adopted most of the principles discussed by Mr. Cockerell. As with any continuing education opportunity, however, there is always something we can take from it to grow and be better for knowing it.

One of the big messages from Mr. Cockerell was: Leaders “be” and managers “do”. The fundamentals of being a good leader are simple. For Lee, some of these fundamentals are:

Ensure that associates are knowledgeable about their roles
Implement effective, structured processes for getting work done
Actively observe and react to the performance of your team and take time for recognition, coaching and counselling
Demonstrate a passionate, professional commitment to your role in the show

Actually doing what you have to do to be a good leader is much more difficult.

Ensuring that your staff understands their role and the responsibilities associated with it requires some dedicated time to writing out all the tasks that need to be completed in the office. Next, you need to assign those tasks to a role in the office. Once you have defined what tasks are associated with each role, you should sit with each team member and review the responsibilities. If there are tasks on the list that the team member is not comfortable performing, you need to figure out how to close the gap. This could come in the form of training through a 3^rd party or it could be training from another team member.

Once all the tasks have been identified and assigned to a team member, you need to document how each task should be performed in your office. A good example is your accounts receivable process. Document step by step how you would like this task completed so that someone can follow along and check off the boxes as they get them completed.

It is easy in the busyness of the day to day to forgot to circle back on a regular basis to give feedback to your employees. For many, a word of recognition of a job well done is as rewarding as a pay raise! For others who are struggling in their roles, you need to spend time evaluating what the barriers are and trying to address them. It could be that more education is required or it could be that this role just isn’t a great fit for their skill set. And as hard as that conversation is to have, it is has to be had. As other employees watch a toxic relationship develop, no matter what the cause, if the leader doesn’t stand up and address it, the rest of the team will lose morale.

Lastly, the importance of being an involved, interested leader cannot be stressed enough. How you engage with patients and staff will set the tone for everyone’s performance in the office. If there is a staff member who is arriving to work late every day, address it and be sure to arrive to the office early yourself! Introduce your patients to your staff in a way that builds confidence in both.

As you look at your week ahead in your practice, consciously think about what will you do and how will you be. Being a great leader takes a lot of energy and time. I hope you will take some time to reflect on what you are doing well in these fundamentals and what steps you can take to do better in others.

KELLY HRYCUSKO

is the co-founder and managing partner of Simple Innovative Management Ideas (SIMI) Inc. and expert Practice Management contributor for Optik magazine. She can be reached at info@simiinc.com.

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What Good Leadership Looks Like in Corporate Optometry

Human Resources

While being a leader comes naturally to some people, for others it’s not that easy. 71% of companies don’t feel like their leaders have the ability to help their organization reach new heights. So what are the traits that distinguish a manager from a leader who has the ability to influence the people around them and engage the ODs?

1. Be Passionate

You can’t fake your interest in your work. Global legends like Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos didn’t amass corporate empires because they liked their work. In order to take your company’s name to the top, you have to be willing to stick with it through the tough times. Leaders are passionate about their jobs that they know different aspects of the business and are willing to continue to learn.

2. Communicate

People in leadership positions tend to talk more but not listen to their team enough. Communication is a two-way road. Listening to your team’s ideas, providing constructive feedback and allowing them to express their creativity is essential. Give the people around you the comfort that you’re always available to help. Good leaders in corporate optometry listen to their ODs. Decisions are based on best interest of the ODs and their patients.

3. Be Ready to Make Decisions

Leaders may display hesitation when making decisions, especially if there are risks involved. But that’s what makes a true leader: the ability to make a decision, no matter how high the stakes are. Corporate Optometry leaders should not be afraid to question the norm or do something different.

Indecisiveness leads to endless discussions and by the time your company implements that decision, your competition may already be ten steps ahead. This can affect Corporate OD subleases.

4. Empower Your ODs

Gone are the days when companies followed a hierarchal structure and employees not at the top followed orders blindly. It’s okay if your team occasionally colors outside the lines. Empowering your ODs will strengthen their sense of loyalty towards the company and help them perform above and beyond what is required of them. ODs should be empowered to explore their strengths and be able to openly discuss issues that need to be addressed.

5. Be Charismatic

Be the leader in corporate optometry that aspire ODs to grow and to become successful over their career. With your words alone you can move mountains and take your organization to the top of the ladder. After hearing you speak, your employees should be motivated to take initiative and think of ways to deliver more than just what will keep the company stable.

6. Be Competent

It’s not enough to know the basic skills of your job. Those technical skills need to be combined with the right people skills to make you an inspiring leader. Be the leader your organization will remember for a lifetime by understanding every aspect of the company. Know how to get the best out of every OD and make the cogs of your company run faster and rust-free. Understanding the optometric side of the business to help sublease and employed ODs is very important, being a leader many ODs look to that person in that role to mentor them and guide them to personal growth and career advancement.

7. Be Accountable

Being a corporate leader won’t always be smooth sailing. In fact, after having spent a few years in the industry, you’ve probably dealt with your fair share of disasters and failed concepts.

Rather than ignoring them, it’s important to learn from them and make sure they don’t happen again.

If you were the one in charge, don’t thwart responsibility. Take the failure head-on and be a role model for your team. Show them how well you handle the failure and how you use it to push even harder towards success. Blaming others and not following up with solutions didn’t make you a leader just because you have a title.

Being a leader doesn’t mean keeping an organization stable. Stability means stagnancy which will eventually make you obsolete. The aim is to constantly aim to reach new heights. Leaders in corporate optometry have the trust of the ODs.

MARIA SAMPALIS

is the founder of Corporate Optometry, a peer-to-peer web resource for ODs interested to learn more about opportunities in corporate optometry. Canadian ODs and optometry students can visit www.corporateoptometry.com to learn more.

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Branding Your Practice

Advertising & Promotion, Digital Marketing, Marketing, Resources

The basic definition of branding is the promotion of a particular product or company by means of advertising and distinctive design. When a consumer interacts with your brand, whether through your website, social media presence or in the office itself, there should be a consistent look and feel.

There is also an intangible piece to branding.

On top of having a clear plan for generating leads from your marketing strategy, your marketing map has to include driving awareness of who you are and what your business or practice offers. Branding isn’t only your logo and colour, it is also how consumers feel when they think about your brand and interact with it.

One of the easiest ways to build brand can be achieved by getting involved in community. Things like participation in charitable events, donations, local sponsorships and the like. Look for events where your community spends their evenings and weekends, and sponsor those activities. My local dentist proudly supports the local baseball team. I look for familiar faces in those pictures every time I go into the office. That office is making team sports more accessible for every child in the community and that has value for me.

A little effort outside of the walls of your practice also provides you with unique content that’s sharable across all your social media platforms. Creating and promoting social media content that connects with people and humanizes you and your practice is at the heart of what defines branding. It works best if you choose an organization or cause that resonates either with you or the optical industry. For instance, I have seen one practice successfully campaign for the local Humane Society, a charity near and dear to the practice owner. In another practice, they run a great campaign fundraising for Optometry Giving Sight that involves every member of the team and every patient who walks through the door.

Branding, or creating awareness of your practice is more than getting a logo designed. It is my to get out there, support and involve yourself in your community and then brag proudly and share it online. The more your community knows about what you care about, the more personality your brand will have.

ERIC HARBOTTLE

With 15+ years of marketing experience, owner of Addison Marketing Solutions and co-founder of MarketingforOptometry.com Canada’s newest marketing agency option for Optometrists, Eric Harbottle knows what it takes to succeed in a robust and confusion digital world.

Coming from a strong background working and consulting with some of Canada’s largest marketing agencies to offering SMB solutions at the ground level with his boutique agency, Eric is able to understand the needs of every level of client with unique optimism and an experienced view as a business owner himself targeting KPI’s and goals to help every client achieve success.

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Warning to Baby Boomer Business Owners: This one is going to hurt!

Buying-Selling A Practice, Practice

Generational transition of eye care businesses is not uncommon and manifests in various ways; Optometrist parent to OD or Optician Child, or Optician parent to OD successor. But even if you have no off-spring upon which to unload your eye care practice, this article by Timothy Brown will resonate.

I met with a business owner last week who completed a very emotional soul-search about selling his business. The decision hurt. It really hurt!

The company was founded over 40 years ago. The original owner and his wife made their first product in their home garage using war-time machinery. The current owner and his wife bought the business from them in the 1990s. Today, they employ over twenty-five equivalent full-time employees and generate millions of dollars a year in a metal/machine-related business. The company also employs family members.

They also bought a building during one of the expansions several years ago and managed to pay off the mortgage in less than 10 years. They have room to expand and the business continues to be fully booked three to six months in advance with orders from all over the world. Total estimated valuation of the operating business, equipment and machinery, inventory and real estate is $10 Million.

The owners are now preparing for a sale. He was talking to me about the top three and most obvious options he has to sell to—family members, the management team and his competitors. This article is about family.

The breaking point with family came after a staff function held at the company. The owner asked a family member to stay and help clean up after a staff pizza and beer party on a Friday afternoon. That’s when it happened: his son went to the punch clock and punched back in to get extra time on his pay sheet. Clean up took less than 20 minutes. Then he punched out and went home.

The owner has taken great strides to treat all staff equally—even his children. And like all other employees they are required to keep a timecard.

The owner told me this story in a private setting and he shook his head and wondered, “How is this next generation ever going to learn to think and act like an owner?” What does it say to an owner when a family member stays a little late to clean up from a staff party and punches in to get an extra 20 minutes on the weekly timesheet?

Family business owners have struggled with the next generation for generations. There is something different this time around. Baby boomer business owners are between the ages of 55 and 75, give or take a few years on each end. We think differently than our parents and grandparents did.

The bottom line is this: We do not want to be partners with our children and we do not want to be their bank. Our parents and grandparents encouraged us to become their partners and in many cases they borrowed against their homes or lent us the money in order to allow us to buy them out over time using a variety of partnership structures.

I am sad to say that my informal research indicates that baby boomers do not want to follow this path. We raised this entitled generation and as baby boomers we blame ourselves for the attitudes of the next generation behind us.

What is also patently obvious is baby boomer business owners are not interested in complicated partnerships or long-term phase-out/transition structures. We want a cash offer and we want out—period. It is the “cut and run” or clean break phenomenon that I have talked about for years. It is not easy to stick around and watch a new owner run your company. It is not easy to be their partner.

As a baby boomer business owner looking toward a timeline for an exit, it is very important to come to some very difficult decisions or come to grips with the fact that you probably do not want to partner with the next generation and that you do not want to be their banker.

Take the money and run.

Read about other family-run optical stores in Optik magazine: Kerr Optical, Summerland Optometry

TIMOTHY BROWN

is Chief Executive Office of ROI Corporation Canada’s national professional practice and brokerage firm.

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Employing the Power of Enhanced Biometrics

Practice, Resources, Specialty Practice

As our worlds become more digital and visually demanding, we are leaving the era when visual acuity is the defining standard of good vision. We are entering an era where performance vision is a new standard of that measurement and where ECPs are well positioned to be the gatekeepers to both visual performance and overall eye health.

Technology provides us with the means to view vision and eye health within the entirety of human physiology. And by taking a holistic approach, we can improve lives by providing personalized and performance-enhancing vision solutions based on access to a multitude of biometric data.

I come to this conclusion based on more than a decade of clinical and research experience. As an ophthalmology-trained neuro-ophthalmologist, I measure visual functions by studying psychometrics, and I also have been involved in developing applications of AI, wearables and human-machine interfaces toward enhancing performance vision.

In my experience, I have observed a gap in how we understand and integrate the human visual system with overall physiology. From a traditional clinical approach, I repeatedly saw cases where a patient was examined and found normal, yet they had unresolved visual issues. A full range of biometric measurements were taken but not applied fully nor effectively to solve a visual problem or enhance visual performance.

As ECPs, we face a series of essential questions: How do we contextualize the biometric data we collect? How do we make this data meaningful and actionable? And how do we set and achieve goals for improvements in visual performance, for a variety of patients?

In our case, our patients include both elite and amateur athletes involved in competition or training to meet a personal best. We also see students immersed in study and professionals who are overworked and visually stressed, as well as patients who are rehabilitating a visual deficit from a concussion or other injury.

The task of addressing these kinds of varied conditions, needs and goals is at the heart of an emerging area we call performance vision. It is based on collecting and applying visual psychometrics, but it also involves the human element that we derive by evaluating the patient in their daily life environment.

We work with patients in a series of steps that begin with establishing a holistic baseline, then we employ intervention devices and measure and adjust at every stage of our process.

basketball

Establish a Baseline

This focuses on visual function, visual physiology and ocular structure, with a mix of new technologies and old-safeguard devices the average ECP is familiar with. For visual function, we democratized visual psychometric measurements typically done in vision science labs, and we apply these measurement techniques in software applications, including games.

Our process includes what we call the Vision Performance Index (VPI), comprised of over 103 psychometric signals, captured in the context of playing games. Current technologies we use also focus on visual function, electrophysiology, and structure.

Assign Intervention Devices

Once we establish a baseline, we prescribe interventions that incorporate devices and processes. These may include well-known devices and systems from Senaptec, Neurotracker, RightEye, Reflexsion, A-Champs, SyncThink, and others. We often employ multiple devices to address a number of conditions.

baseball

Measure Post-Treatment

The same biometrics measured in establishing the baseline are recorded and tracked throughout treatment. Whether we are looking to improve sports performance or rehabilitate visual performance and processing following an injury, detailed measurements allow us to objectively track progress. I always am struck with how individualized results can be. We continually measure the effect of treatment, to determine if it has been effective or if another course is warranted.

We Are All Athletes

We often talk about sports-performance vision as a rarefied field. The fact is, we all are athletes in many ways. We compete in work, sports and social interactions. The visual information we process and how well we process it can make fundamental differences in all aspects of our lives.

I work with elite athletes, including teams of esports athletes—gamers—who are challenged to process an overload of visual information and make good decisions instantaneously, all in a high-stress, artificial digital environment. Micro-increments of improved processing can make a huge difference in this world. But the same is true in our everyday lives.

Improvements in visual intake and processing of visual information are sought after by weekend warriors looking for an edge in their tennis or golf game or by an under performing student looking to reduce the eye strain brought on by sitting in front of a computer monitor. Likewise, enhanced visual performance is critical for a surgeon peering through a scope and conducting robotic surgery. The recovery from a concussion can be accelerated with the care of an ECP. And we can help a beleaguered accountant get through tax season by reducing eye strain.

At the same time, how well we can read and process visual information can mean life or death.

Picture a police officer engaging a suspect in a dimly lit street confrontation, or a fireman skirting flames and calculating the compromised stability of the floor he is walking on. Still further, imagine a combat soldier in a firefight where her vision is obscured but augmented by data displayed on her goggles.

For all of these visual needs, the collection and analysis of clean biometric data–collected in a standardized and consistent manner—is the key to providing improved vision and eye health services. And in that regard, all ECPs can participate. To achieve this, we don’t need to change much of anything, except how we think about eyecare.

We hope that we are helping to equip the next generation of ECPs to help patients to achieve the highest level of visual performance and improve their lives.

Performance Vision Meets Varied Needs

The implications of a holistic process are not limited to elite athletes or even to sports. Virtually everyone can be helped. A treatment to deliver a competitive edge might be as simple as prescribing better, more personalized eyeglass lenses. Or it could include a regimen of performance enhancing exercises. Employed in a holistic way, biometric measurements have applications in meeting a variety of patient needs:

Sports vision performance: Professional, amateur and student-athletes all want to improve competitive skills or achieve a personal best.

Rehabilitative care: Those suffering concussions or injuries need help in relearning how they see and how they process visual information.

Low vision and partially sighted: New technology provides vast opportunities here, and the neurological component is a factor in success.

Military, firemen, police: The inherent dangers of high-risk occupations can be mitigated with biometric baseline measures and exercises to up-regulate and down-regulate select visual information.

KHIZER KHADERI, MD, MPH

is Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor at the Byers Eye Institute and is founder of Stanford’s Performance Vision Center. He also is founder and CEO of Vizzario, a human-centered AI platform where neuroscience is combined with artificial intelligence to deliver the next generation of intuitive AI.

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Ghosting

Human Resources, Talent Acquisition

If you haven’t been “ghosted” yet – brace yourself, it’s only a matter of time. There is a new phenomenon I remember hearing about on the radio for the first time last year. The radio hosts were talking about dating and referring to situation where two people agree to meet and one simply doesn’t show.

To be fair, the concept itself is not completely foreign. Instead, what is remarkable is the frequency that it is happening now. Of course, I have been happily married for a relatively long time. I took in this information, thanked my lucky stars that my dating years were behind me and moved on.

Until Ghosting spread to Job Interviews. The first few times I showed up at a client’s and the candidate failed to show, I felt embarrassed. Did I make a mistake? Send the wrong address, date or time to the candidate? I would frantically try to get a hold of the candidate. But the silence would be complete. My emails and voice mails would go answered. I had been Ghosted.

Once I understood that this was actually a deliberate act and not a misstep on my part, I felt complete outrage. Did they give no thought to the fact that someone drove an hour to attend this interview, not to mention the time out of the doctor’s schedule to accommodate them?

And if they really didn’t give a second thought to the people they were inconveniencing, what about the impact on their own reputation? It’s a digital age. Most Job Sites give the employer the option to give feedback on a scheduled interview – and “Did not show for a scheduled interview” is an option I use far too often. I would think that this could eventually cause a problem for these individuals when they apply to a position they are very keen to get. Employers who are choosing between two great candidates could use a history of unreliability to narrow the selection. Maybe a history of “Ghosting” will prevent the candidate from becoming aware of a position in the first place.

Call it a generational gap, I simply don’t understand how this behaviour serves anyone well. I can only hope that this phase passes quickly. In the meantime, the common courtesy of a quick note to let the prospective employer know when they can’t make it, has become a differentiator, separating the good from the mediocre. Perhaps it didn’t work out this time but if I see their name again for another position, I will certainly offer them an opportunity.

Kindness and respect can take you a long way. I hope future candidates start taking a selfish stance and protect their reputation by showing more of both.

KELLY HRYCUSKO

is the co-founder and managing partner of Simple Innovative Management Ideas (SIMI) Inc. and expert Practice Management contributor for Optik magazine. She can be reached at info@simiinc.com.

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Episode 1: Finding Stars – Avoiding Passengers

Eyes Wide Open, Podcasts

Dr. Glen Chiasson casts a curious eye on topics of relevance and interest to Canadian Eye Care professionals. Our first episode addresses the most challenging issues (arguably) facing Canadian ECPs: Finding and retaining great staff.

Glen is joined by Chief Visionary Officer, of Fit First Technologies, Tim Brennan, who breaks down some of the commonly held myths about the hiring process and particularly how bias enters into the decision process. Much of Tim’s experience is directly in the eye care industry, providing the opportunity to validate candidate selection technology with real-world performance.

Best quote: “If it wasn’t for the people this job would be easy.”

About the Guest

Tim Brennan is the co-founder and Chief Visionary Officer of Fit First Technologies, Inc. Fit First Technology drives the candidate assessment technology provided by Eyeployment.com. Tim has over 25 years of HR experience, helping businesses find employees that are a best fit to specific roles within your practice.

Episode Notes

Tim Brennan shares his motivation for launching a business that helps companies of all sizes and shapes make better hiring decisions. This, he says, developed after years of hiring dozens of new hires, only to realize that he got it right “about 50% of time”.

Tim passionately believes there is a better way to see the real person applying for the job and points out how one can discern the real person from the one doing an “audition” at the interview. He provides an overview of time-tested proven technology used by Fortune 500 companies that is now affordable for Eye Care Professionals.

Check out the references for links to valuable resources to dig deeper into the episode topic.

Resources

Dr. Glen Chiasson

Dr. Glen Chiasson is a 1995 graduate of the University of Waterloo School of Optometry. He owns and manages two practices in Toronto. In 2009, he co-hosted a podcast produced for colleagues in eye care, the “International Optometry Podcast”. He is a moderator of the Canadian Optometry Group, an email forum for Canadian optometrists. As a host of “Eyes Wide Open”, Glenn looks forward to exploring new new technologies and services for eye care professionals.

Dr. Chiasson enjoys tennis, hockey, and reading. He lives in Toronto with his wife and two sons.

Dr. Chiasson splits EWO podcast hosting duties with Roxanne Arnal.

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