Your Group Practice Isn’t a Machine — It’s Alive
We love to call a smooth-running business a “well-oiled machine.”
But here’s the problem: your group practice isn’t a machine.
It’s a living, breathing organism — and leading it that way changes everything.
I learned this the hard way. When I first discovered the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), I was obsessed. It was the structure I’d been searching for, the language I didn’t know I needed. And EOS is still central to how I run things today.
But as I implemented it, I noticed cracks.
Not in EOS itself — it does what it’s designed to do — but in what it doesn’t touch: the emotional heartbeat of the team, the cultural undercurrents, the way human energy flows through a business.
That’s why I created the Living Practice Framework™.
The Five Elements
This framework blends EOS structure with the human elements that keep a practice vibrant. Here’s the quick version:
Leadership – Think of it as the membrane around the organism, filtering what comes in, what goes out, and maintaining the health of the whole.
EOS/Structure – The spine. It’s central and strong, but it’s not the only thing holding the organism together.
Culture – The foundation and ecosystem. It sustains life or suffocates it.
Employees – Not cogs in a wheel. More like energy orbs moving through the organism, interacting with and shaping every part.
Marketing – The energy that radiates out. Too bright, and you risk burnout. Too dull, and you stop attracting the right people.
Two other critical components — financial health and feedback — are baked into other elements but deserve constant attention.
Why It Matters
If you’ve ever had all your EOS boxes checked but still felt flat, this is why.
A healthy practice isn’t just functional. It’s aligned. It has clarity, trust, and energy. People don’t just work in it — they feel part of it.
One Small Shift
You don’t need to overhaul your systems to make your practice feel alive.
Instead:
Identify which element feels weakest.
Choose one small tweak.
Implement it and see how the energy shifts.
Maybe that’s protecting an hour of thinking time each week. Maybe it’s re-opening cross-team communication. Maybe it’s removing one unnecessary meeting.
Small changes early in the process can completely change the trajectory over time — like adjusting a plane’s course by a single degree.
Want to Build Your Own Living Practice?
This is the work we do inside the Inside the Living Practice Membership. Twice a month, we meet for live trainings and Q&As, plus you get access to a library of tools and a community of leaders building businesses that combine structure with humanity.
Join us here → www.taravossenkemper.com/the-membership
Because your practice isn’t a machine. And it’s time to lead it like it’s alive.
About the Author
Dr. Tara Vossenkemper is a gently-candid consultant who’s been in the trenches of group practice ownership since 2017. With a hearty blend of depth, irreverence, and a solid dash of humor (or so she hopes), Tara helps practice owners navigate the can-be-messy process of hiring, culture-building, vision generating, people-y issues, and all the other things that keep you up at night. When she’s not consulting, she’s probably wrangling her animals or homeschooling her kids—because why not add more chaos to the mix?
Ready to dive deeper into practice culture? Join the membership and get access to the tools and insights that make thriving, sustainable practices more than just a pipe dream.
