Creating a Vision (Part 3) with Dr. Jon Zeser

Welcome Dr. Jon Zeser to this Friday session of "Creating a Vision." Who better to have on the podcast to talk about vision than an optometrist? Dr. Zeser does a great job taking you on a journey of why it's important to create a vision both in your business and within your personal life. 

Dr. Zeser gives clear examples of what has worked within his practice but admits if something isn't working that he will re-evaluate when needed. The key to creating a vision is getting everyone on the same page through communication, inspiration and a clear path to travel along when trying to fulfill the vision. 

Please tune in and learn from Dr. Zeser. If you have had a desire to understand vision and what it can do for both you and your business, this is the episode for you! 

Thanks and enjoy!

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:23

Welcome back to 10 to win the podcast, the podcast focusing on how to create a winning mindset in 10 minutes. This is part three of our Creating a Vision Series. If you are just tuning in for the first time, this is the interview portion. And today we have a very special guest. Jason, tell the audience who's here with us today.

SPEAKER_01 0:43

Yes, yes, yes, yes. Today, Kevin, we have Dr. John Zeezer, owner of Zezer Family Eye Care, located in Beaver Creek, Ohio. John grew up in Decatur, Indiana, where he was a nine-time varsity letter for basketball, baseball, and soccer. John went on to be an all-state basketball recipient in 2004 and was a runner-up in the state finals for both basketball and baseball during high school years. John attended Bethel College in Mishawaka, Indiana, where he played basketball on a scholarship. He was a NCCAA national champion in 2007, a member of the Thousand Point Club, the recipient of the NAIA Champion of Character Award in 2008, and he was an academic all-American. John graduated from Indiana University School of Optometry in 2012 and began working with Sports Vision and their athletes. Post-college, John moved to Beaver Creek, Ohio, where he initially began working with an optometrist there, but has since purchased 100% of the business, and it is now called Zeezer Family Eye Care. John is the team optometrist for Wright State Athletics. He was voted 2016 top optometrist in the nation, and he has been voted best in Beaver Creek for the last six years running, as he currently resides in Beaver Creek with his wife and four kids. Thanks for coming on the podcast, John. How are you, my friend?

SPEAKER_00 2:07

Hey, I'm good. I'm good, Jason, Kevin. I appreciate the opportunity.

SPEAKER_01 2:10

Glad to have you on, man. And uh I know we say it every week, but we are definitely excited about this topic. We spoke on it heavily on Monday and Wednesday, and here we are with you, John, on this Friday. So let's get started. And honestly, Kevin, who better to talk about how to create a vision and why that's important than an autometrist?

SPEAKER_03 2:31

I mean, it couldn't couldn't be any more fitting. I love it.

SPEAKER_01 2:35

Let's do this. Yes, absolutely. So, John, this week we defined what a vision was and how to create one. As the sole business owner for a company formerly known as Zeezer and Stuart iCare, and is now Zeezer Family Eye Care. Why is it important to have vision within your company?

SPEAKER_00 2:54

Having vision in our company, two main points that we talk about. One helps unify everyone into a team that is organized, focused, and working together. The second main point, it provides a focal point for goal setting and business planning. It gives the staff the staff a sense of purpose and direction for the business. Yeah, that's true.

SPEAKER_03 3:15

John, do you do you think that when you lack vision as a leader, that that it just kind of leads to failure for businesses?

SPEAKER_00 3:26

Somewhat. I believe you can still be successful without having a vision. Um, but my my thought is it can inspire and motivate everyone within your organization, or in my case, my practice. Um it can also create positive energy and enthusiasm, um, especially important if there's, like I said, difficult times or stressful times. Um, having a clear vision will produce uh persistence, reminds us kind of why why we started or or why we do kind of what we what we do. Um as an athlete, we we never wanted to be complacent. I always wanted to get better. I always believed you're either gonna you're gonna get better that day or you're gonna get worse. There was no even day. It was always, hey, let's strive to get better communicating, or um let's say being a better teammate or a better boss or a better staff member um within within our organization, um, trying to continue to kind of surround myself with with good people, good staff, that everyone's on the on the same page.

SPEAKER_01 4:34

Yeah, I mean that makes sense. I mean, everybody, whether you're a part of a team or part of a business, probably wants to know where you're going correct. I mean, what does the future hold? What does my boss think? What does the executive have? Where's the coach thinking that we're gonna be at the end of the year? And then the vision is really just kind of this idea of this is where we're at, and this is where we want to be, and this is the roadmap to take us there. And so we feel that whether you're on a team or you're within a business, communication is incredibly important, John. And I'm sure that you know that as a business owner. You've also been tied to sports your entire life. You have to communicate with your folks on where you want to be. But that in itself may not always be enough. So, what do you believe are the most important aspects of creating a vision? Is there things that you have used in the past with your business or when you've been a part of athletics that have failed or been successful? Is there anything that you've kind of honed in on that says, yeah, this is definitely what I'm using next time around because I feel this is a very, very good aspect for creating a vision?

SPEAKER_00 5:48

Yeah, you you nailed it. So, number one, communication in in whatever you do as a as an owner or as a boss is we always want again everyone on the same page. As an athlete, you have to communicate with your coach, you have to communicate with your teammates, you have to um communicate with the ball. Everybody's on the on the same page. Um, obviously, communication, then that can that can kind of segue into into trust as me as a business owner. I trust my staff. My staff is phenomenal. I use it all the time. I could be the best physician in the world. If I have poor staff or poor people around me, patients aren't going to want to come in and see me because they can't get past the receptionist or they can't get past the technician, they can't get past the optical. And then I try to to delegate. I never want them as my staff to feel like I'm I'm I'm hovering. My opticians are great at what they do. I trust them. Now, if there's issues, okay, then we'll we'll come together and say, hey, let's let's clean up this, or let's um, you know, maybe maybe this this route could have been a better avenue. But um the third, um, determination, again, just classic, you just you're not complacent, you're determined that, hey, I'm gonna outwork somebody, or I put in the work and now it's gonna it's gonna pay dividends, we're not sitting back on our hands. Failing, and I'm and I'm honest with with this one, is I I feel like if you are doing what what you believe and you set out to, you put in 100%, you'll you'll be fine, you're good. If you try to be like like others, like let's say us, if we're trying to be like other offices and we're not being ourselves, for me that can be a recipe for disaster because you're just trying to do what what other other offices are are doing. So I've I've done that when I first started. I just hey bought the practice, we're just gonna kind of keep keep the same thing, which we were successful, um, or some of my colleagues that are doing X, Y, and Z. Um, but then come to find out that that doesn't work with with us, and we have to change some things. Um so failing, trying to be like somebody else or others.

SPEAKER_03 8:12

John, my next question has got two parts to it. So it's basically about you know what if the vision isn't working? And I and so the two parts are here. You were mentioning your team specifically, so the the people who you work with at your office. What if they're not doing the things that you need them to be doing? Or I guess it could go two ways. It could be they don't understand the vision because you're not because that's on you and you're not communicating it clearly enough, or it could be that they just don't agree with with your vision and they're just kind of saying, Well, I don't think we should do it that way, so I'm gonna just keep doing it this other way. What sort of action can you take in either one of those scenarios?

SPEAKER_00 8:58

Yeah, so we we have um we have staff meetings with our our full staff together. So we have 13 staff members, we'll do a lunch meeting, we get everybody on the on the same page. Okay. Sometimes, depending on characteristics with some of the staff members, um, they might not feel like they want to speak up in front of the whole staff if they're having an issue with whoever X, Y, or Z or whatever it is. Um, so I'll have individual meetings with you know the specific individual, or we have them in groups. If I have three technicians, I'll have meetings every day, every other day, and say, hey, are we good? How are you doing? What do you feel like could benefit you guys, right? Because we're all working as a team, even though I'm the boss, I don't want that to feel like, hey, I'm just this is what we're doing, this is what we're doing, this is what we're doing. Because I like I said, I trust my staff and I want them to feel like they're they're in it too. Now, now, unfortunately, um sometimes you know you can have meetings and it just doesn't work out according to plan. And you know, we work too hard with our vision, we work too hard here, and if someone's not buying in, you guys get it, you're only strong as your weakest link, you know, all these owners just here. So if you know we're and I've had to let some staff go because they've negatively kind of brought us brought us down. Um, obviously don't like to do that if we don't have to, but it's it's a it's a necessary, you know, if if they're holding us back. Um and it's not fair to to everybody else that's that's busting their butt, they're doing exactly what they're asked to do, they're going above and beyond. And then if somebody slacks off and it's well, hey, Dr. Zizer, Jenny's 30 minutes late all the time, or Betty's always whatever, five minutes later sitting in the back. Well, then I can I can do that too, then, right? Well, no, we we we don't stand up for that. And then, like I said, we've had to make some tough decisions of of letting them go.

SPEAKER_01 11:06

Um No, I I think that's really good, John. I I really like the idea that you know you have these group settings and you give people an opportunity to speak up, but not everybody is comfortable in those settings talking in front of a group, particularly maybe if they don't agree right with you, okay, or with somebody else. And and the idea that you're giving them an opportunity one-on-one, maybe behind closed doors at another time, I think is is really encouraging for both sides, because if you never had that person speak up, maybe they're actually going to tell you something that could benefit you and your practice, right? And if you never had that one-on-one meeting with them, then you wouldn't know that. From their standpoint, it gives them an opportunity to actually tell you, you know, what their thought is, and they feel like they're part of the organization at that point because you're still giving them a voice and a chance to use their voice and and and speak their thoughts, regardless of whether or not you agree or disagree with it. You know, so I I think that's really cool. I I really want to go back and reverse this thing just real quick, John, and go back to a question we were talking about before, which is um when you were talking about some of the the characteristics and aspects of what creates um a good vision within a company or within a team. And I like how you were talking about measuring or figuring out if you're actually getting better, right? Results matter. And so you put this vision out there, okay, for your company, for your team, whoever it's going to be, to follow. But along the way, you're really gonna have to drive home and look at the data. Is the results happening? Is what my vision, the plan that I put out for this vision, is it actually working? And I think anybody who's in that position who does put together a vision for a company or a team, you've got to figure out if it's actually working. You you can't just say it's going to happen and it's going to happen. You've got to measure these things along the way and figure out if it's actually coming true. So I love that. I just wanted to go back and say that. I thought I thought that was really, really good of you, John. So let's go down this route, John. You've kind of hit on this idea of some athletics. You've talked about your business, and we know vision doesn't just pertain to business. It can also be personal or within your family. Do you believe everyone should have a vision outside of their business life? Do you think individuals should have a clear vision for themselves? I mean, you mentioned some of the things that you've done in the past. Am I getting better at this? If I'm going to practice, am I getting better? I shouldn't be the same. I should be getting better. So, do you feel that everyone should have a vision for themselves or for their family?

SPEAKER_00 13:52

I I do. Now, now my vision in my office, totally different than my vision at home with with my family. When when I get home, I separate family and and business. When I come home, I'm just dad, right? I'm just dad. They could my kids could care less if I saved 25 patients' vision and they could care less. When I come home, they want me, they want me present. Sure. We go out, we we hit balls, we we catch, we you know, read books, we we just do do all this stuff. Now, sometimes it can be difficult, right? I think that's human nature, but my what I've been trying to get better at is leave my work at home, right? Go home and I'm with with my kids. So when when I come home, it's dad, right? Or my my daughter's in dance. We we're just so so busy, and life is so short that we're trying to stay in the moment because you just never know. You know, we have we have four kids. Our daughter's gonna be 11, she's in dance and softball and baseball. And now my eight-year-olds and travel baseball, and he does basketball. And and like I said, they could care less about you know my work. But when I first started, I was all just it was work, work, work, work, work, work, work, work, work. And you know, it Dr. Stewart, who I bought the practice from when I talked to him, it was John. It goes by so fast. Work is always gonna be here. Your kids, it it just goes by so fast. I think it was the the days are short and the years are long, or or the days are long, the years are short. Some you know, the whatever the the kind of the the saying is, and it's uh it's a hundred percent. It's just crazy. We got four kids, and in X amount of years, you know, our daughter's gonna be, she'll be, you know, on her own, and you'll look back and say, What just happened?

SPEAKER_03 15:51

Oh but you know I I just I just saw some statistics on this, and I I have four kids like you do, John, as does Jason. So I saw that like you spend i I forget the exact number, I'm gonna butcher it, but it was like 85% of the time that you spend with your kids for for their entire life is done when they leave the house at 18. Like you will only see them after that, like 15% of your life or their life, right? So like that's crazy. Like yeah, so you're right. You know, it's and I think that's that's important to you know to be successful in what you just described, John, where you're being successful at work, but you're also being a successful dad, it takes vision. You have to create the vision of what you want so that you can then put the steps in place to take to go be successful in the thing that you want to do, whatever it is, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:58

And we always wanted to be we're always wanted to be present. So pretty much anytime my daughter would ask, Hey, will you do father-daughter dance? Of course, right? Of course. Yes, yes. Anytime that there was a coach position that was open, we'll make it work. Yes, I'll be I'll be there, right? Because you'll always be present. You take team photos, the kids are now whatever, 20, and they'll look back, say, hey, dad, dad was always my coach, or he was always there. I always remember dad was was there. Maybe he he didn't want to do like a a dance with with me looking back, but hey, he he was there, right? And he was in it, and we had fun. And that's what I've tried to always do because my dad and my mom, they were always present. My grandparents were always present. My dad was my my coach. I think that vision from them kind of trickled down to to me. And once we start having kids, I already knew, hey, whatever they want to do is fine by me. We're not gonna, you know, force X, Y, or Z down, right? We'll incorporate it, we'll we'll give them an option if they want to go that route, if it's whatever, then yeah, you're you're good. That's that's fine. But we wanted to always be, you know, present because you just it goes by so fast, like we talked about.

SPEAKER_03 18:22

John, let me ask you this when you create these visions, or you're you think that you have a plan to to follow, and it it doesn't go to plan. How how quickly do you decide that maybe what you thought you wanted or the steps you were taking weren't working? Like now this was a bad vision, this is a bad plan, or try to adapt it. I mean, what's the what's the steps there when when you've decided, you know, this isn't going the way that I wanted it to, and so it's time for me to to make a new one.

SPEAKER_00 19:06

Yeah, I I try to if if I'm if my vision and I'm and I'm all in, I'm all in, and I I know it's just not gonna kind of pan out as how how I feel like it it should. I'll still push it, but not too too much. I don't want to push it so much that it just pushes everybody right away, like, oh this was I was I was in it, but it just it wasn't gonna work out. Um but now if if for for me if if I have like a rushed vision, like, oh hey, I this one failed, I'm just gonna get one real quick. I'm just gonna get one real quick, well then that can lead down another path, and that's not where where we want to go. But the majority of the time, if you have a true, honest, clear vision statement, um, and and when difficult times arise, like we talked about, it can remind us why we why we are doing what we're doing, um, and we can push through because sometimes all visions aren't gonna be roses 100% of the time, right?

SPEAKER_01 20:14

Um, I think that's yeah, that's I think that's good, John, because I think part of it when you're looking at these things is to say, and we'll go back to something that you already answered, was how much buy-in do I have? So if I got one person who's not bought into this, I don't need I don't think that I'm really gonna need to take a swift left turn here and change everything, right? Because 99% of everyone else is on board with this. But on the opposite end, if I've got 90% of my staff or 90% of my ball club, who's like, that don't make sense, coach. You know, I don't really understand where we're going with this boss. Okay, that may be the time where you have to swiftly come in and be like, okay, I'm not sure that this is really working. Maybe I didn't think out this thing correctly. Maybe I need to make some adjustments because I don't have the buy-in. If I don't have the buy-in, people aren't going to follow me, and we're not gonna get to where we need to go as a company.

SPEAKER_00 21:15

Yeah, and I think it's it's I think it's important to to admit, hey guys, that that's that's my fault. That's my fault. It's not any that I'll take ownage of it, right? I think now it's hard for some people to admit, hey. Gosh, John, that is amazing.

SPEAKER_01 21:34

I I would say this most executives sometimes believe that they don't make a lot of mistakes. Yeah, and and so what you just said there, I think, is as important as anything else because as a leader of an organization, as a leader of a ball club, you're not always going to be right, and you have to admit your faults sometimes and say, Yeah, this one's on me. That was a bad. Vision, okay. Yeah, you guys are good. What you're thinking is correct here. I was wrong. And that's hard for people to do. So, congratulations to you, man, for being able to say stuff like that. That's really, really good. Let's kind of wrap this thing up, John. We've had some incredible content so far. This has really been awesome. Is there anything else you would like to add for our listeners in order for them to understand the importance of creating a vision or what steps they need to take in order to do it?

SPEAKER_00 22:32

Yeah. So be positive. Don't be afraid to fail. Those are those are two two main ones. What we talked, if it's if it's something that you truly believe in, like you truly believe in it, and you put the work in, be confident in that. And more often than not, you will succeed. But but again, if it's if it is going south, then then don't be afraid to admit, hey, we'll we'll trash that one. Let's let's get on the on the right step and make a better a better vision going forward.

SPEAKER_01 23:04

It's great, man. It's really, really good. So glad you had the ability to come on and join us today. Um, Kevin, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 23:13

Thanks a lot, John.

SPEAKER_01 23:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 23:14

That's gonna do it for creating a vision part three. We want to thank Dr. John Zer for coming on and giving us his insight on why it's important to create a vision. Speaking of vision, if you are in need of eye care, where can everyone find Zeezer Family Eye Care, John?

SPEAKER_00 23:31

Yeah, we are in um Beaver Creek, Ohio, um 3351 Dayton Zenia Road. Um you can also, we have uh Facebook. Um we're we're since we just bought the practice, we're still flipping over our new website. But you can just Google iDoctor Beaver Creek and we'll be we'll be right up at the top. You'll see our link.

SPEAKER_01 23:52

Go see him. Perfect. He's good. Go see him.

SPEAKER_03 23:55

Go check him out. And also uh make sure you subscribe to the podcast, rate and review. This helps it get to more people who want to create a winning mindset, and we will be back and better than ever on Monday for a brand new episode. And as always, if you are impacting or influencing one person a day, it is worth it. Everyone has 10 minutes to learn a winning mindset. Thanks again, John.

SPEAKER_02 24:17

I appreciate it. Thanks for taking the time to create a winning mindset. Remember, we'll release a new episode every Monday. So be sure to start your week off right by listening to 10 to win. Please subscribe, like, comment, and share our podcast. And remember, if you're impacting or influencing one person a day, it's worth it. Everyone has 10 minutes to create a winning mindset.