Welcome to Optometry Simplified.
In this weekly newsletter, I've curated the best resources to help you grow personally and professionally.
My mission is to find what's best for my patients and my practice.
Here's what I've found...
Links I Liked
Longevity is a popular topic. How can I live well
More and more of my patients want to talk about longevity, not just how long they live, but how well they live. When those topics come up, I always point people toward Peter Attia, MD. He’s one of the clearest voices out there on the science of longevity. The Drive Podcast: Longevity 101
Sometimes the simplest habit—blinking—is the most powerful treatment.
This short piece from dry eye guru Katherine Mastrota, OD at Optometry Times unpacks the science and purpose behind blinking, reminding us that something as routine as a complete blink can be one of the most powerful therapeutic tools for managing dry eye and maintaining a healthy tear film. Optometry Times
Research I'm Reading
Retinoschisis affects 3.9%-7.1% of our patients.
However, there is a good chance that we are missing or misdiagnosing it. Beyond DFE, what is the most helpful imaging modality for diagnosing and managing retinoschisis?
This article compares imaging modalities for degenerative retinoschisis with lots of examples. Survey of Ophthalmology
Deep Thoughts
I’ve experimented with just about every leadership and personality tool out there—DISC, StrengthsFinder, Kolbe—all helpful in their own way, but none of them actually changed how my team worked together.
I’d come away personally inspired, but the insight never translated into practical teamwork. We could remember our own profiles, but rarely anyone else’s, which meant the lessons stayed individual rather than shared. Nothing brought real clarity to how we functioned together as a team.
Then I found The Working Genius by Patrick Lencioni, and everything shifted.
Unlike most assessments, Working Genius isn’t about who you are—it’s about how you work. It reveals which stages of work give you energy, which ones you can manage but find draining, and which ones consistently frustrate you. It’s the first framework I’ve used that’s both accurate and immediately applicable to the daily rhythm of practice life.
There are six types of Genius:
Wonder: asking big questions and seeing possibilities
Invention: creating original ideas
Discernment: intuitively sensing what will work
Galvanizing: rallying others to take action
Enablement: supporting the work of others
Tenacity: driving things through to completion
For years, I tried to build success by leaning hard into creating new ideas (Invention), compelling others to action (Galvanizing), and finishing projects (Tenacity). Those are good skills, but they’re not what give me life. My own geniuses, as it turns out, are Wonder and Discernment.
I work best by exploring potential, finding problems, and deciding what works and what won't. Not rallying others and tenaciously working on the details of project. Those are competences at best, frustrations at worst.
Once I realized that, I stopped trying to be someone I’m not and started leading from my natural strengths. It changed how I organize my week, how I delegate, and even how I approach growth.
But the real breakthrough wasn’t just understanding myself, it was understanding my team. Suddenly, I could see why some people seemed disengaged or overwhelmed. They weren’t the problem; they were just being asked to live in their frustrations every day.
When we reorganized responsibilities around each person’s genius, productivity improved, meetings got shorter, and morale climbed. The energy in the room changed because everyone finally understood the “why” behind each other’s behavior.
That’s what makes the Working Genius different. It’s intuitive, easy to remember, and deeply practical. You don’t need a manual to explain it, and you can recall everyone’s results after a single conversation. More importantly, it resonates with almost everyone I’ve worked with—from new hires to seasoned doctors.
If you want to see your culture improve faster than any staff meeting or team retreat ever could, start here.
Take the Working Genius assessment for yourself, and then explore it further by having your team complete it together.
And if you want expert guidance, reach out to Sophie Thune, a Certified Working Genius Coach who has helped our team and several other practices discover how to work together more effectively.
She offers both virtual and in-person workshops that bring the concepts to life and provide a plan for immediate implementation.
This tool has done more to transform how my team works than anything else I’ve ever used. It’s simple, practical, and it works. And when your people are working in their genius, culture doesn’t just improve—it thrives.
Practice Performance Partners Pick
Over time, the “diabetic eye exam” has quietly been reduced to taking a picture of the retina once a year.
And while that checks a box, it doesn’t actually care for the person sitting in our chair.
This episode from Christopher Wolfe, OD, is a thoughtful reminder of what comprehensive diabetic care really looks like and why our patients need more from us than merely a fundus photo.
Can you do me a favor? If you found any of these resources helpful, share this newsletter with one of our colleagues!
See you next week!
--Kyle Klute, OD, FAAO