by Dr. Ryan Neinstein
1. Optimistic Kindness
My favorite passage from Meditations by Marcus Aurelius is, “The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”
Marcus was writing to remind himself, and what he is prescribing is essentially this: in any and every situation—no matter how bad or seemingly undesirable it is—we have the opportunity to practice a virtue.
So how does this loop back into traits that are essential to working in a medical office? We want to know that people who work with us see the world as a place where good things can happen and no matter what happens to us there is an opportunity to make the world a better place through kindness.
2. Curiosity
Thomas Edison’s laboratory in West Orange, New Jersey, suffered a major fire in 1914, destroying many prototypes and causing significant damage. This would have broke most people, for his life’s work was in that pile of rubble. Instead, Thomas Edison said, “Thank goodness all our mistakes were burned up. Now we can start fresh again.”
Thomas Edison had a childlike curiosity about the world and that is a trait we espouse to have roaming the halls at Neinstein Plastic Surgery. People woven with curiosity read books far and wide and expand the mind bringing new insight to issues and problems that we could have never adapted going through the banality of daily life.
3. Work Ethic
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill
These are people with what we call an “excellence reflex”. They don’t walk by a full garbage or an empty toilet paper roll. They see something small or large and recognize it as part of a bigger entity and care to make the change to excellence. This trait from the cleaning team to the surgical team is like a warm blanket over the entire practice. Knowing that each and every person is always improving and seeking to improve their unique part of the process ensures that the bar will continue to rise in perpetuity for the practice.
4. Empathy
The old saying, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” is a golden rule but in the world of hospitality we believe it’s really, “Do unto others as they would want to be done to them”. The slight but important difference lies within the skill of empathy. If you actually try and “walk in someone else’s shoes” or try and see the world through their lens you will have a better sense how to make them happy in the moment.
5. Self Awareness
In 1750 statesman Benjamin Franklin included a fascinating sentence in “Poor Richard’s Almanack”. He wrote, “there are three things extremely hard—steel, diamonds, and to know one’s self”. Life is hard but it’s a lot easier when you know your own chemistry. That’s why at Neinstein Plastic Surgery we don’t try to make square pegs fit in round holes. We want people to tell us about their lives (their commute, parental responsibilities, hours they desire) and we have found that a schedule being a collage of people best suited to their own chemistry, and not just a bureaucratic 9-5, allows people to flourish and be the best version of themselves.
This is what makes us-us.