Ep 66: Dr. Peter Weinstein Flips the Mic & 'Blunt Dissects' Dr. Dave

Blunt Dissection

When I sat down for this episode of Blunt Dissection I thought it would be like any normal interview. Very quickly however I found myself in the Blunt Dissection hot seat! Being interviewed by the returning Dr Peter Weinstein. Peter takes to the mic to ask me some of veterinary medicines' most burning questions and I must say I’m a bit worried he’s trying to take over as the host of Blunt Dissection as a whole!

Peter and I have a fantastic discussion on a range of subjects from avoiding mentoring meltdowns, to the importance of culture, to reimagining the whole veterinary model around new technology. There's a lot to cover in this one so we’ll jump right on in but first a short message from our show sponsor...

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Now back to the show...

Before we get into the interview, a quick reminder of just how much Peter has accomplished in his varied and successful career. He received his veterinary degree from Cornell University and, after graduation, Peter worked as an associate for three years before fully engaging with his entrepreneurial seizure and opening his practice.

Whilst running his practice Peter learned the hard way that it takes way more than just a love of animals to run a successful hospital and so while managing and practising full time, he completed an MBA. This had a massive positive impact on his trajectory and helped his practice ‘take off’.

Following the success of his practice, Dr Peter "segway-ed" out of clinical practice and into the land of vet politics and business consulting serving as the President and Executive Director of the Southern California Veterinary Medical Association, President of the California Veterinary Medical Association and is a Past-President of VetPartners in the US.

He also co-wrote the book the E-myth veterinarian with Michael Gerber, which I highly recommend you read (and I harbour huge author-envy over).

So without further ado let's jump into the interview where the never-conventional Dr Peter Weinstein dissects yours truly.

In a very, very sad and bizarre twist of timing, the day we published this episode about 4 hours before it was announced that Her Majesty The Queen passed away. She was an incredible woman who was one of the most dignified leaders of her time. RIP Queen Elizabeth II. You will be missed.

Outline of this episode

• [9:34] After some light-hearted conversation, Dr. Peter asks Dr. Dave whether there is a common thread about the veterinary profession that gets talked about everywhere irrespective of the audience.
• [19:28] Dr. Dave Nicol talks about “burnout and wellness,” going into detail about his trigger words and how they may not mean what we think they mean.
• [24:14] Dr. Dave and Dr. Peter discuss extrinsic and intrinsic influencers of decision-making and why we need to focus on intrinsic influencers to make better decisions for all stakeholders.
• [27:52] Dr. Dave talks about how he incorporates proactive decision-making in his business and how it leads to a happy team and sustainable business.
• [38:05] Dr. Dave recalls his entrepreneurial phase and how coronavirus forced him to strategically plan things proactively and differently.
• [49:12] How do we, as a global profession, move from reactive decision-making to proactive planning without an easy button?
• [51:03] Dr. Dave Nicol’s advice: “Three jobs every practice owner has to do above all else”.
• [51:45] Dr. Dave and Dr. Peter discuss “firing clients”.
• [61:30] Dr. Dave explains mentorship as a bridge from the past to the future. He also answers how we can get leadership to have a new vision (at every level of the profession) for the future of the veterinary profession.
• [01:15:42] Dr. Dave and Dr. Peter discuss how to reimagine the veterinary business model in the age of technology.
• [01:19:05] Dr. Peter recounts two real-life instances when technology failed
• [01:27:47] The discussion comes to a close, Dr. Peter provides a summary of the conversation and Dr. Dave shares his final words with the listeners.

Resources Mentioned

• The E-Myth Veterinarian by Dr Peter Weinstein & Michael Gerber: https://amzn.to/3AXx2by
• Hell Yeah or No: What’s Worth Doing by Derek Sivers: https://www.amazon.com/Hell-Yeah-No-whats-worth-ebook/dp/B09YY9W9B3
• The Success Principles by Jack Canfield: https://www.amazon.com/Success-Principles-TM-Where-Want/dp/0060594896

Connect with Dr. Peter Weinstein

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pawdr/

Connect with Dr Dave

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