Orthotics/Prosthetics

Treat your employees the way you would treat a dog. Through continuous job training, positive reinforcement and acknowledgement of the pack hierarchy, dogs … er, employees … receive the tools they need to be both happy and successful.

A career for the dogs

This has been the advice of Russell J. Hornfisher, MS, director of sales and marketing for Becker Orthopedics, for about 15 years. In addition to his presentation at this year’s American Academy of Orthotists & Prosthetists (the Academy) Annual Meeting & Scientific Symposium, titled “Treat Your Employees Like a Dog,” Hornfisher also offers “How to Treat Your Customers Like a Dog,” “Who Moved My Dog Dish?,” “You Can Teach an Old Dog New Tricks,” and “Golden Retrievers and Overhead Projectors.”

	Russell J. Hornfisher

“That one is about marketing,” he said.

Of course it is. But what does business have to do with dogs?

The principles of training a dog and running a business are the same, he said. And he would know, because he has two Master’s degrees in business and also owns a pet store.

Hornfisher’s wife has been training and showing dogs since she was 11 years old; after several years of trying to make a living in the corporate world, she decided it was time for her career to go to the dogs, and the pair opened a start-up pet store. Hornfisher said his wife never looked back, and the business has continued to grow.

	Hornfisher’s dog Morgan, accompanied him to the Academy meeting to help Hornfisher explain the principles of better business management.
	Images: Russell J. Hornfisher

As part of his wife’s “love me, love my dogs” mentality, Hornfisher agreed to take a dog training class, which taught him the same principles he learned in 6 years of graduate school.

“It’s quite fascinating that managing people is about 50 years behind training dogs,” he said.

Positive reinforcement

Hornfisher has gotten pretty good at training dogs over the years, and even better at applying these principles to the lessons he learned in business school.

“It’s all the same,” he said. “Respect gets respect and people tend to follow those who are confident and have leadership capability.”

For example, through the organizational behavior and development research he completed for his thesis, he found that people will not take on more challenging tasks for a greater monetary incentive.

“Most people will stay only in their comfort zone of what they feel comfortable doing,” he said.

Instead, his research showed that specific training — and the ability to successfully complete a project or job — made people far more willing to take on those more challenging tasks. The intrinsic reward of accomplishing something was the strongest motivator. Jobs without a clear end tend to have the highest level of stress.

	Consistent behavior on the part of an organization’s leader and organization itself increases the consistancy of staff output.
	Image: Photographer/Artist/Provider’s Name, Organization’s Name.

You can see similar behavior with dogs, he said. Dogs inherently want to please their owners, and positive reinforcement for a job well done makes them more likely to repeat the behavior. Applying this principle to employees, he encourages business owners to use consistent praise. Even in situations where reprimand is necessary, it is only successful if it is used five times less than positive reinforcement, so stick to praise as often as possible.

Head of the pack

At any given time, three adopted dogs — give or take a fostered stray — take up residence at the Hornfisher home. That particular stray, depending on its personality, can change the dynamic of the entire group, Hornfisher said.

One adopted dog has all of the personality characteristics to become the leader but, because she was a runaway, lacks the self-confidence to assume the role. On the other hand, a three-legged stray lived with the group for a short time, and it became clear from the first day that she was the alpha personality — she just exuded the confidence necessary to claim that position.

“Like dog packs, human organizations change every time a new member is added or extracted. A new person is hired and the relationship among everyone else in the organization changes,” he said. “What position does this new person take, and who will move up or down in the hierarchy? Who will become a mentor or role model, or an understudy? All of these things happen each time an organization hires or loses personnel. Human pack dynamics is an important component of the success or failure of every organization.”

Also, in any group, there are a formal organization and an informal organization, he said. The formal organization is comprised of the people who have the leadership titles, like president and chief executive officer. The informal organization is where the real leaders come from.

“When a crisis happens on a Friday afternoon, who does everyone turn to? Many times it’s the secretary or the foreman,” he said. “Not necessarily the guy who’s got president or vice president on his title. It’s the person who can handle stress and makes the right decisions and people turn to.”

The important thing to remember about this theory is that Hornfisher is not trying to change employers’ behavior; he simply wants to make them more aware of their behavior. It is easy for people to understand the principles of training a dog, he told O&P Business News, and then apply those to their own behaviors in working with their employees.

The more consistent the behavior of the organization’s leader, and the behavior of the organization itself, the more consistent the staff output.

“Most people want routine in their life,” he said. “The majority of the population likes rituals. It’s calming. It makes it comfortable, and they want that consistency.” — by Stephanie Z. Pavlou

Russ highlights the importance of making people feel comfortable in their work environment so that they may achieve their potential on a sustained basis.

The O&P industry is unique in that we have to satisfy patients’ requests pertaining to the appearance, fit and functionality of their device while at the same time complying with federal government regulations, state government laws, insurance company requirements as to the way we provide and bill for the device, and professional standards required by certifying or licensing boards. In addition we have to fill a prescription produced by a physician as well as accommodate therapist’s recommendations for the performance of the device. On top of all this, O&P employees are part of an organization that has to provide a service in the most efficient way possible and be accountable to their managers or owners.

With so many “bosses” to satisfy we can easily lose focus on whom we are to answer to.

However, in dealing with people in general, whether in our work lives or personal lives, the rule that seems to work the most time is to treat people the same way we would want to be treated in the same situation.

— Jon Shreter, CPO
President, Allied Orthotics & Prosthetics and Practitioner Advisory Council member, O&P Business News