Before I begin I'd like to note that the comments presented here are on the state of Opticianry in general. The people in this room are exceptional in that you are actively involved in improving your profession and increasing your skills. The same goes for the people on OptiBoard who contributed some of the views you'll hear.

Several weeks ago Pam Oquist invited me to speak to you on the topic - The Future of Opticianry. As an experienced manager and leader I decided to tackle this project the way I know best - I delegated. And since I'm no longer employed and thus have no employees to whom I can delegate, I chose the next best thing - I asked my OptiBoard community to do the actual work in helping me prepare for this talk. With my now plan firmly in place, I then put together several questions on this topic, posted them on OptiBoard and asked for feedback. To date, I'm happy to say that this one topic has generated 92 responses and has become one of the most popular message threads on OptiBoard.

The questions I posed were these:

1. What are the biggest obstacles facing Opticians today?
2. Will Opticianry become less or more of a profession in the coming years?
3. In your view are Optician's Associations effective, and if not, how can they become so?
4. What affect do you see refractive surgery having on the future of Opticianry?
5. Are there effective and meaningful educational opportunities in this field?
6. What effect, if any, do you see the large chains having on the profession?
7. What would you do to strengthen this profession?

Let me summarize the responses to each question, then add my own viewpoint - which I like to refer to as: "The only true and correct view of the world and our place in it."

1. What are the biggest obstacles facing Opticians today?
   
   OptiBoard Responses:
   
   On the whole, OptiBoarders believe that Opticians are their own worst enemy. As quoted by Homer, "We have met the enemy and he is us!"
   
   The question is why do they believe this? They cited many reasons, including:
   
   - the 'constant bickering' among the professional organizations
   - Opticians who 'sell-out' to make the big bucks
   - an unwillingness to change to meet the needs of the marketplace
   - low professional self-esteem
   - and the tendency to place blame on the chains and employers rather than accepting responsibility for their own careers, profession and training.
   
   The second major obstacle according to OptiBoarders is what one referred to as the 'Wal-Mart' mentality - the public wants everything quicker and cheaper. In order to provide this, the large retailers have organized their business in such a way that Opticianry is devalued as a skill and profession, resulting in a fragmented profession with high-end opticals on one hand, and discounters on the other.
   
   My view:
   
   Fortunately the OptiBoard community agreed with me on this, otherwise it would have been very embarrassing for them. The truth is that the biggest obstacle to Opticians are Opticians themselves.
   
   As a group, Opticians are too fragmented and disorganized to have significant influence over the factors affecting them. Because of this, they do not have the power to protect and promote Opticianry as a viable and distinct profession. For the profession to thrive, this needs to change.
   
   The second biggest obstacle is the reality of the marketplace itself; that is, large retail companies with enormous influence and power. Unless and until Opticians understand this business reality, they'll never have a chance of changing the public’s perception of them as ‘sales people’ rather than skilled professionals. Ideally Opticians will work with the retail chains to elevate the profession. But lets' be honest. They can’t do this unless the chains perceive a value in it. The challenge is to convince the chains that hiring professional and highly skilled Opticians is in their own financial interests.




2. Will Opticianry become less or more of a 'profession' in the coming years?
   
   OptiBoard Responses:
   
   There was unanimous agreement that Opticianry is declining as a profession. The reasons for this view are similar to the answers to the first question:
   
   - Optician's are not respected as a profession
   - the chains have 'diluted the profession' by hiring less qualified individuals
   - and Opticians are not adjusting to changes in the marketplace
   
   My view:
   
   Unfortunately I agree that there's a high degree of probability that Opticianry as a profession will continue to decline in the coming years. The factors that have led to its present state are still in place and growing. And without a significant change in the dynamics of the profession, there is little hope for a turn-around.
   
   
3. In your view are Optician's Associations effective and, if not, how can they become so?
   
   OptiBoard Responses:
   
   There's undoubtedly a sense among OptiBoarders that the Associations are not effective in promoting or protecting the profession. Why?
   
   - lack of effective leadership
   - lack of unity (too many factions working against each other)
   - conflicts of interest (i.e., Opticians who work for MDs have different priorities than those who work for themselves)
   - the organizations hire lobbyists instead of educating the public on the value Opticians provide
   - the Associations are valuable in promoting their agendas, if it agrees with yours than fine, if not, then they aren't being effective
   - and finally, they insist on preserving old standards rather than adapting to the real world
   
   Judy Canty, president of the Optician's Association of Virginia and member of the OAA Board of Directors offered an effective rebuttal to these views. She pointedly (and correctly I might add) stated that the Associations are only as good as their members. As she put it, "You don’t like your state organization, then join and run for office. You're unhappy with your state board, do what you need to do to be appointed when there's a vacancy. You're dissatisfied with the quality of Optician's in your area, then don't hire anyone who doesn't meet your standards." In short Opticians need to become active and work to improve their organizations - not trash them.
   
   My view:
   
   Since I'm not dispensing Optician, my comments are as an outsider looking in. However one clue to this issue is the fact that the OptiBoard ‘National and State Organizations' Forum is by far the least used forum on the Board, accounting for less than 1% of all the messages. There is clearly little interest in this topic. The question is - "Why is there so little interest?"
   
   Obviously there's a high degree of disillusionment with the Associations among Optician's. And for the most part the concerns expressed by OptiBoarders reflect this cynicism. In fact, this is really a reflection on our society as a whole and is not unique to Opticians. For instance almost half of all Americans don’t even bother to vote. Why? Because many feel that their vote doesn't count and it won’t really make a difference anyway.
   
   However there's a flip-side to this cynicism and that is: those of us who do vote have more power than those that don't. The same is especially true on the smaller scale of Optician's Associations. One individual can exert a great deal of influence and power. As Judy said, if you don’t like the way things are being done, then get involved and do it yourself! The opportunity is there.
   
   
   
4. What affect do you see refractive surgery having on the future of Opticianry?
   
   OptiBoard Responses:
   
   For the most part, OptiBoarders do not view LASIK and other surgical procedures as much of a threat. They believe many people will still need glasses even after surgery, and that none of this helps correct presbyopia. One Member disagreed and felt that this is a big threat, particularly since prices keep dropping and more people can afford the procedure.
   
   My view:
   
   I believe there will be some effect, but not nearly as significant as some people believe. Even after surgery, many patients still need vision correction. I believe the biggest effect will be in high index, single vision lenses which will see a decline in growth due to a reduction in the number of high minus Rxs. Furthermore there are, as yet, no practical surgical procedures to correct presbyopia. While there is an experimental procedure undergoing trial in Mexico, this is many years away from being viable.
   
   
5. Are there effective and meaningful educational opportunities in this field?
   
   OptiBoard Responses:
   
   Most agreed that there are opportunities available to increase the level of skill and knowledge. However as noted by Al and PAkev respectively, education is entirely dependent on motivation and attitude. If one has the desire to learn, then they'll find a way to do so.
   
   My view:
   
   Of course there are meaningful opportunities. These include what I call the new three Os; (1) Opticianry Schools, (2) Online CE Courses, and most importantly (3) On-the-job training. The problem is that too many people aren’t sufficiently motivated to take advantage of the opportunities available to them. One of the primary challenges to Opticianry is ensuring that those in this field see the value of education and take advantage of the opportunities they already have.
   
   
6. What affect, if any, do you see the large chains having on the profession?
   
   OptiBoard Responses:
   
   There was more disagreement in this area than in any other question. But interestingly enough many Members did not see this as a purely black-and-white issue and credited chains with good as well as bad influences. Some of the points made were:
   
   - large chains have 'degraded' the profession by actively seeking to eliminate educational standards and licensing
   - however the chains have also brought a lot more business to the market
   - chains refuse to train their employees for fear of having to pay them more
   - however as some pointed out, chains are good place to gain a lot of experience in a short time and many excellent Opticians got their start there
   - "The industry wants the untrained and/or untrainable so they can pay them nothing" (Darris Chambless)
   - however the chains have created many job opportunities that would not have existed otherwise
   
   An interesting example of the influence chains have on the profession came from Jo who posted this testimonial that appeared on the Vision Monday 'Expo East' site:
   
   "Sterling Optical
   Vision Expo Testimonial
   Spiro Berdebes,
   "Becoming a Sterling Optical franchisee has greatly improved my life. With Sterling’s support tools, training, and outstanding staff I have been able to open two successful locations in just two years, despite the fact that I didn’t have any optical experience. I am now opening a third location."
   
   Some viewed this as typical of the negative influence of chains. However some saw this as a positive business model that helps bring in more customers.
   
   My view:
   
   There's no doubt that the chains have had both a good and bad influence on the profession.
   
   On the plus side:
   
   + Massive spending on consumer advertising by large chains has grown the overall optical market. This has created more opportunities for everyone.
   
   + Some chains have done a fair job of providing basic optical training. This is especially important to Opticians who don’t have an Opticianry school nearby. The fact is that many excellent Opticians have gotten their start working for a large chain. Furthermore anyone who wants to learn more about optics is not prohibited from doing so just because they work for a chain.
   
   On the minus side:
   
   - Chains have been, and still are, among the primary forces behind removing state licensing requirements and lowering overall standards for Opticians. The motivation for this is purely financial - less skilled employees command lower wages. (In this respect, it's important to note that the chains are no different than many other businesses. Lowering costs is simply a fact of business life.)
   
   - In addition, there is little doubt that chains are greatly preoccupied with sales dollars. As a retail business, they design and implement programs that are intended to reward high dollar sales, often at the expense of the best vision correction for the patient. In all fairness, the chains are not alone in this focus on dollars vs. vision. However because of their sheer size, their influence dominates the marketplace.
   
   
7. What would you do to strengthen this profession?
   
   OptiBoard Responses:
   
   There were a number of good suggestions from OptiBoarders on this question, including:
   
   - the establishment of better educational standards, including mandatory education
   - supporting the Optician's Associations
   - uniting behind one national organization
   - better public awareness of the value that Opticians provide
   - creating Board Certified Optical Specialists (Alan Waxman)
   - support licensing requirements in all states
   - prove your value by providing professional service to your clients
   - stop 'pointing the finger' at everyone else (particularly one certain finger!)
   - engage in networking and roundtable discussions among your peers
   - and my favorite comment from Judy Canty, "Stop the weenie-wagging!" (Which, I might add, is good advice under most circumstances!)
   
   My view:
   
   My view can be summed up in two important words – organize and educate!
   
   Organize: As long as Opticians remain fragmented, they will never be able to counteract the forces that are driving the profession down. Opticians must learn to work together and stop the political infighting that seems to dominate the profession. Until they do this, they have no hope in advancing their cause.
   
   Educate: It goes without saying that education is the key to developing the skills necessary to drag Opticianry out of the ‘mud’ of pure salesmanship. We need to develop new opportunities for educating Opticians and, more importantly, ensure that Opticians take advantage of them. And we do this by adding value to the experience. As stated by PAkev, once the public understands there is a difference "between the level of care offered by an Optician and a frame stylist, they will seek qualified services and put pressure on lawmakers for the consideration of licensing." Opticians needs to focus on educating not only themselves, but also the public they serve.

So in summary, what is the Future of Opticianry? Let me quote Jo who states, "Shut up and put up, or get off your butt and make like you are a professional. It is that simple."

In the end, the future of Opticianry depends a lot on you and your colleagues.

Thank you.