Let Me Guess How Your New Year Pharmacy Goal Setting Started…
You came into January with a notebook, a fresh calendar, and a long list of very good ideas for your pharmacy.
And by January 7th…
PBMs were PBM-ing. A tech called out. A wholesaler invoice made your eye twitch.
And those goals? Still sitting there. Untouched.
Here’s the truth no one likes to say out loud: Most pharmacy goals fail because you don’t have time to execute them.
Not because you’re lazy. Not because you lack discipline.
But because your plate is already overflowing.
So instead of adding more goals this year, I want you to try something radically different.
It’s called Kill. Stop. Start.
And yes, it’s as blunt as it sounds.
Why Traditional Pharmacy Goal Setting Fails
Most goal-setting advice assumes you:
- Have extra time
- Have excess staff capacity
- Aren’t constantly putting out fires
Bless their hearts… that is not independent pharmacy.
If your goal requires:
- Extra hours
- You personally doing everything
- “Once things slow down”
It’s already dead.
Which is why the Kill / Stop / Start method works so well for pharmacy owners: it respects reality.
KILL: What Needs to Die (Immediately)
This is the hardest part.
Killing something feels scary because it feels like “giving up.”
It’s not. It’s choosing to stop bleeding.
Ask yourself:
- What project has been “almost launched” for months?
- What service is high effort, low margin?
- What meeting, report, or task exists out of habit—not results?
Examples I see all the time:
- Marketing initiatives with no clear owner
- Services you keep “meaning to optimize”
- Software you pay for and barely use
If it hasn’t produced results in the last 90 days and requires mental energy every week…
Kill it. That alone often frees up 5–10 hours a month.
STOP: What Needs to Pause (Not Forever—Just for Now)
Stopping is different than killing.
Stopping says: “This might matter—but not right now.”
Examples:
- Trying to fix five KPIs at once
- Starting new services while old ones limp along
- Being the bottleneck for every decision
Here’s a tough one for many owners:
If you’re the only person who knows how to do something…
You need to stop doing it.
Not because it’s bad, but because it traps you.
START: The One Thing That Actually Moves the Needle
Now—and only now—do we add something.
And it’s one thing. Not three. Not five.
A good “Start” passes this test:
- Can be done inside existing hours
- Has a clear owner (not just “me”)
- Produces either cash flow, time relief, or patient growth
Examples:
- One controlled referral program
- One high-margin service with a written SOP
- One weekly controlling calendar for your team
Notice what I didn’t say?
“Start working harder.” Absolutely not.
Why This Method Actually Sticks
Because it aligns with how pharmacies actually operate.
- Kill reduces overwhelm.
- Stop prevents distraction.
- Start creates momentum.
And momentum beats motivation every single time.
A Simple Way to Do This This Week
Grab a piece of paper. Three columns.
- Kill – Write down 3 things draining you
- Stop – Write down 2 things that can wait
- Start – Write down 1 thing that must happen
That’s it.
No vision boards. No color-coded planners. No guilt.
Just clarity.
Final Thought
Ideas don’t pay the bills. Implementation does.
And the fastest way to implement more is to do less — on purpose.
If you want help deciding what to kill, stop, or start in your pharmacy? Check out Pharmacy Badass University and consider becoming a member.
I do weekly Q&A sessions with my members where I give practical, personalized advice on how to grow your pharmacy (with less stress and mistakes). One of the ideas I shared inside PBU helped one owner go from $80K in their operating account to over $210K in just a few months.
