From "kennel kid" to practice owner, Adam Conroy, DVM, shares his journey to practice ownership and tips and tricks to help future owners.
On this week's episode of The Vet Blast Podcast presented by dvm360, our host Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, welcomes Adam Conroy, to discuss his journey that began working in a kennel as a child to becoming a practice owner and mentor to others. Throughout the episode Conroy shares what he thinks is important in veterinary practices, the de novo model of practice ownership, and more.
Below is a partial transcript, edited lightly for clarity
Adam Christman, DVM, MBA: So in your experience, what are some qualities that, when you’re talking to somebody, make you think, "Oh—that definitely sounds like someone who could be, you know, a rock star for this." What does that look like?
Adam Conroy, DVM: Yeah, I think the big thing that comes to mind is they have an open mind-set. I don't have it all figured out. I mean, I've talked to a lot of people. Hey, I'm a high producer. I do it this way. I will do this if I make X amount of money. I think they're coming in with a fixed mind-set as opposed to an open "Hey, I've learned a lot over the years, and I've seen some good, I've seen some bad. I would love some input from you guys that have done this as well, and together, let's create something."
Humility has always been big to me. I think humility, as much as I've done over the years as a leader, I'll be the first to admit I have a long way to go as a leader, so anybody who thinks they have it all figured out again, I think, lacks that humility component. And really it's that fortitude of what your vision is and what your happiness is. If you can't nail that, it's almost a losing battle right out of the gate, because I'm a work-backward person. If you don't know what makes you happy as a partner, in 3 years, if you're unhappy, there's nothing to rest it on, because we didn't have a shared North Star of what we were working toward, so at least an idea of what good looks like, because what we won't do, and I think this speaks to us, providing that unique opportunity is what the vision and identity of the practice is, that's a leadership thing.
So somebody that comes to the table really excited: "Oh my God, I want to practice where it's gossip-free, and I only want people to work there that are really intrinsically motivated, and I want them to be part of the solution. And on Saturdays, I want to do Instagram pictures." I love that, right? That's a creative that's creating a vision that the staff can rally behind, and, quite frankly, get fired up and excited.
So those are my big things, outside of what I'm not looking for. I'm the highest producer. I've been a leader. I think those are all good things. It just boils down to: OK, what kind of leader have you been? How do you define leadership? How do you define successful leadership?