How to think like an entrepreneur in veterinary practice

You can't cure disease without trying new things. You can't get ahead in the workplace by doing exactly what's expected of you. If you want to be one of the few that stand out, you have to do things that make you stand out, according to Michele Colucci, blogger on huffingtonpost.com. How you do that starts with innovative thinking.

Here are three tips on how to think out of the box and inspire creativity:

• Think against the grain. Take what is expected and turn it on its head and see what that looks like. If you expect it to be hard to sign clients up for a new service, just assume they will want to sign up. Then figure out what would make them want to sign up and articulate those values in your pitch.

• Think in analogies. Look at how successful companies in very different areas than your business have handled the same job you have to do: inventory management, marketing, communications, and client or patient service. Then consider doing it that way. There are so many lessons we can learn from other verticals if we expand our mind and create analogies to seemingly diverse areas of business.

• Think by improvement. Instead of doing things the way you have always done them, write down all the steps to do what you need to do and then examine how you can do them in fewer steps. Try to compress. Try to get to where you need to go with reduced time, fewer steps, and less money. Think of this as a necessity, not an option. Your livelihood depends on it. You'd be amazed how creative you can be when you have to.