Critically evaluate every potential partner

Before promising partnership to a new recruit, define the minimum obligations of being a co-owner and measure new recruits against them. Three features that must be on any group’s list are:

• Setting the quality standard. Although every physician in the group must be clinically reliable, partners practice at the forefront. They should perform a cut above the others, intolerant of less than excellent quality.
• Entrepreneurial contribution. Being a co-owner means accepting ownership’s risks along with its rewards. A doctor simply wanting to practice good medicine for an assured income should remain an employee, not an owner.
• Personal contribution. A partner must clearly add value to your organization by his or her work product. Co-ownership demands more time, energy, and commitment than expected of an employee.