3 of 13 things that annoy your staff: Not knowing what's going on.

Regular team meetings keep everyone on purpose. Amazingly, many practices don't reserve time to nurture each other and celebrate their successes. Instead, news is shared during chance hallway meetings.

"What would we talk about?"

Postmortem. A review of the breakthroughs and breakdowns of the previous week.

Case review. Choose a case and remind the entire team the role they play in making patient care possible.

Goals setting. Are you on track to hit the statistical goals you've set?

Role playing. Refine scripting, practice answering patient questions and review sections of your procedure manual.

Short-term planning. Looking ahead, what does the next week look like? What progress exams are scheduled?

Long-term planning. What seminars or conventions will you be attending? What practice events are scheduled?

Keep your team in the dark and you may end up with mushrooms.

Bill Esteb has been a chiropractic patient and advocate since 1981. He is the creative director of Patient Media and the co-founder of Perfect Patients. He’s been a regular speaker at chiropractic gatherings since 1985. His 12 books explore the doctor/patient relationship from a patient's point of view. His chiropractic blog, coaching program, patient focus groups and consulting calls have helped hundreds of chiropractors around the world. Since 1999 Monday Morning Motivation has been emailed to over 10,000 subscribers each week.