In the pursuit of clinical excellence in today's competitive medical market place, practice managers - clinical or non-clinical?can loose sight of standard management and business principles that are key to success. Also, at times individuals are hesitant to identify a physician practice as a "business" preferring to see it as a social good. Still, it is a business  - perhaps dealing with a product that is a social good, but still, a business. And, as such, benefits can be derived from a review of business management theory.