Exceptional Dental Practice Management

Stop Talking Recession

   

If you want your patients to accept treatment, stop scaring them.  Do not use the word recession anymore in your practice.  Don't let your staff do it either.  I've said it before, reacting to the recession negatively, will only make it more likely that your practice will be affected negatively. 
    When recommending treatment, don't say, "Mrs. Jones, you need a crown.  I know it's tough with the recession so we'll give you six months to pay with no interest."  You don't know how Mrs. Jones is faring so why bring it up.  Pretty presumptuous, actually.  Instead, tell her what treatment she needs and let the ball land in her court.  Now, if she says, "Oh, with this economy money's tight."  then you can offer the six months to pay, but you still shouldn't mention the word recession.  Just say, "You're a wonderful patient and I want you to have the treatment you need.  I'm happy to have Mary set you up with a payment plan that fits your budget."  All positive from you, no negative.  Sounds different, doesn't it?
    I encourage payment plans rather than third party financing right now because patients are more wary than ever of anything resembling credit.  They don't see a payment plan as credit and are more likely to accept it.  In addition, it's seen as goodwill by patients.  It's relationship building and keeps a steady cash flow coming into the office in a tough economy.  Will some fail their plan?  Possibly, but I think patients are being very realistic about what they can afford right now.  They don't seem to be agreeing to amounts they can't meet, at least not in our practice. 
    What about the patient who is in dire straits?  They've lost their job and may be looking at selling their home?  Believe me, you are way down on their list of priorities.  So, you have choices.  Do you badger them for money they don't have and send them to collection?  Since you can't get blood from a turnip I prefer to react with compassion and patience.  We're not going to get paid right now anyway, so why be a jerk about it?  At the very least, it may lead to goodwill.  At best, when things get better, you will probably get paid.  Either way, you'll have been a decent human being. 
    Try not to fire staff if you can help it.  When a hygienist is let go, it is going to impact the amount of treatment that can be treatment planned, there's no doubt about it.  Doing your own hygiene might sound like a good idea, but unless you are sitting with hours open on your schedule, you may just be getting caught in a vicious cycle and limiting your ability to rebound.  Try putting the hygienist on commission or reducing a day rather than firing her altogether.  Then, when things are better, increase her hours again. Do the same with other staff if you must.  In the meantime, have your staff brainstorm ways to increase productivity.  When someone has downtime, they should work on reactivation.  If you are short staffed you can only survive, not thrive. 
    I'm not saying to try to fool yourself that the economy isn't hurting, it is.  I'm saying, be part of the recovery.  Don't lay at the bottom of the financial pool and wait for the life to ebb out of your practice.  Pull it up and breathe life back into it.  By doing that, you not only help yourself, you help the economy overall, as well. 

Wishes and Peace

To Wish:  To long for, yearn for, want or desire
Peace: Freedom of the mind from annoyance, disturbance, anxiety or obsession

    Which sounds worse - to be left wishing you did, or wishing you didn't?  Both sound stressful and disappointing to me, yet so often I find myself in that state.  When I think about how I got to be in that condition, I come up with one basic answer...I didn't think something through and I didn't consider the outcome of an action or lack of action.  Maybe that's two basic answers, but who's counting. 
    Let's look at wishing you did something.  Often we won't even raise our hand in a group to ask a question for fear of looking foolish.  Why?  Who is to decide we are foolish anyway?  If your mind wonders about something, or thinks it has the answer, then at least you know something is moving and shaking up there.  It is not foolish to express an idea.  I was at a continuing education course recently and the speaker asked a question.  His question prompted a thought in my brain and I raised my hand and gave him my answer.  For the next five minutes he grilled me, but he didn't examine my answer for validity, he just kept expanding his question into areas that had nothing to do with the original question or answer.  He got into a situation in which he was bombarding me with questions I couldn't answer.  When I said that, he kept hammering until the room was silent and the atmosphere awkward.  Once he finally gave it up, not a hand went up nor a voice was raised to answer many of his following questions.  So, who was the fool?  He put a damper on his own presentation. It was a full day presentation and this happened in the first 30 minutes.  Ouch...for him.  Did I have any other thoughts during the day?  Of course I did, you know me by now.  Did I express them? You bet I did, his problem isn't my problem.  I'm rarely left wishing I'd said more.  I do look back and wish I'd said less every now and then.  It makes me realize that I need to consider the impact of what I say.  When I hurt someone I care about it hurts me, too.  Long after they may say they're over it, I still suffer.  I suffer because I know that it made an imprint on their mind about me.  Just a little wariness that wasn't there before, but a protective little memory of my ability to hurt them.  So I wish I was less sure I was right when I'm wrong.  Even when I'm right, I wish I had a better insight into how to express it in a way that allows someone to discover it for themself rather than feeling beat over the head with it.  I wish I had the grace to accept that they might not agree and just live with it.
    
    How about wishing you didn't do or say something?  It makes me squirm just thinking about it.  Oh, if I could only take back all the misguided statements and actions that I've put out there during my life.  Which ones would I take back?  The ones that caused pain or embarrassment.  The ones that made anyone feel less good about themselves than they did before I opened my mouth.  The ones that caused unnecessary stress, or made someone go home and take it out on anyone else around them.  The things that made me wonder when I'd ever learn from my mistakes or made me feel ashamed.   Most of all, the ones that made people I admire think less of me.
    I often wish I'd helped more or been more patient.  I wish I could sweep aside what's wrong about someone faster and get to what's right about them more quickly. I think that is the key to happiness. 
    I have two great role models that I spend most of my time with, basically if I'm not with one, I'm probably with the other.  They are my boss and my husband.  Both of them accept people as they are and meet them as they are right now.  If they can help them improve they do, but they don't judge.  That's not to say they accept poor performance, but they don't assassinate someone's worth based on their opinions of what's right or wrong with them.  They both have happy hearts and people love them.  I think it's because they make everyone feel accepted and ok,  just as they are.  They don't obsess, they live and let live.  That's why they are peaceful and not left wishing or regretting. 
    So, how can I, and you if you're in the same boat, change from wishing to be peaceful about where we are?  Be positive and determined to look for the good.  Don't wait for it to happen, make it happen over and over again.  It will become part of who we are. 
    We only get one shot at this life (this time at least depending on what you believe).  The end probably gets here faster than we think it does.  When it does, I want my last thoughts to be peaceful memories, not yearning for what I wish I'd been.

You: Ethics Czar

   

Why not?  If not you, who?  Bruce Weinstein, Phd., emailed me about an article he had written for Business Week titled We Need An Ethics Czar.  You can, and I hope you will, read it here.  I'll paraphrase and build off of it, but go check out the entire article yourself.
    Why should you be an ethics czar?  First, if you have accepted a leadership role you are in a position to set standards.  Make them high quality and live them.  Everyone should see themselves as leaders in what they are doing.  If you are in a management position, you should inspire that in those you lead.  There is no honor in riding reign over a group of people who need you to dictate their every move.  A good leader gives others confidence and as you read the article you will see that's true.  So here are Dr. Weinstein's code of conduct for ethics czars.

1. Lead by example - always be honest, even if it's a hard truth.  React to stressful situations with compassion rather than hostility.  Own your mistakes, don't blame others.  I think we often act like things are ok when they are not and then feel angry at staff for not seeing what we need them to do or change.  Pent up frustration leads to hostility and before we know it blame.  Better to sit down with a staff member and be honest, listen and find solutions and build a better relationship.  On the flip side, if you are the person who is hearing a hard truth, be big enough to understand that someone is trying to help you succeed and listen and try to find a better way.
2. Praise generously - we forget sometimes that people need to hear they are doing a good job.  I once worked for someone who could not give praise, or wouldn't.  I give a lot in my job and I like to hear that I'm doing good.  A consultant told me that it was needy of me to want that.  If that's true than human beings are a needy lot.  People will work harder and better when they get verbal feedback.  Sometimes the opportunity is missed or the need is not noticed.  I recently had a staff member email me about a mistake I didn't know they'd made yet.  She said it kept her awake all night.  My response was never to lose a night's sleep over something like that.  We will fix it.  It did give me the opportunity to tell her that I admired her dedication and hard work though.  We don't always know the heart's of our employees and I think that often, care more than we think they do.
3. Criticize to build up, not break down - this is a biggie.  No one comes to work hoping to do a bad job.  Some might come just to get through the day and collect a paycheck, but that's where your ability to inspire can make the difference.  Shaming generates resentment, teaching inspires gratitude and respect.  So, you choose, do you want to walk away from someone who is fantasizing a horrible, slow death for you, or would you rather they are filled with a nice warm feeling about what a great person you are? 
   
4. Be Kind, Unwind - often we find ourselves trying to pull more and more effort out of our employees.  We need to remember to spend time building celebrations and lighter moments into the days and weeks.  Pay attention to birthdays and special days and celebrate them.  Take the staff to lunch  or make lunch and bring it in, just to say thanks.  Now, here's the tough one for many of us.  Take time to relax, youself.  I know that I will become tense if I don't find time for outside interests.  There comes a point when you have to turn out the light and believe that you will have another shot at it all tomorrow.  Now, go home a live the other parts of your life. 
   
5. Punish fairly - make sure that you take any emotion out of it when discussing a mistake or problem with an employee.  One thing that my boss is good at considering is intention.  Many times errors are not a matter of intention.  Sometimes people just don't have as good an ability to think on their feet or prioritize as we'd like them to have.  They aren't bad, insolent or insubordinate, they're just different than you.  Teach them and work with them and try to show them how to do what you want them to do.  Be objective.  Now, if there is a matter of poor behavior, deal with it in a way that reflects the punishment that fits the behavior and be consistent - 'this is what happens when anyone does this' and make it the same for everyone.
6. If it's to be, it's up to thee - step up to problems and deal with them.  Don't avoid awkward or uncomfortable situations.  Set standards and stand up for them.  Often, others are counting on you to do that and are relieved that you will. 

    If you want an ethical workplace, build one.  If you want an ethical world, work for it.  It starts with you.  And me. And her, and him and them.  Spread the word, that's a start in itself.

If Aristotle Ran General Motors - Beauty

Here is the second section of a staff meeting based on If Aristotle Ran General Motors by Tom Morris.

IF ARISTOTLE RAN GENERAL MOTORS – BEAUTY

THE AESTHETIC DIMENSION AT WORK

Beauty on the job

·         How people feel about their workplace affects their morale and in turn, their productivity.  If we think of offices as large, dull strictly utilitarian structures, we fail to provide for the human spirit.  Brightening the human experience and enhancing the environment is appropriate.   The workplace should express a certain joy and embody enthusiasm.

·         Does our office encourage openness and contact with other people?  Is it a warm, friendly atmosphere, but a place where there is performance, where work gets done in a warm and friendly way?

·         It has been found that the best work gets done in a place where attention is paid to people’s needs for light, beauty and comfort.  When people love their working environment, it inspires their enthusiasm and even a measure of joy.  What can we do to enhance our environment?

·         Little things make a big difference.  What little things can you do that will enhance the office environment?

Aesthetic Surprise

·         Tom Morris taught philosophy at Notre Dame.  He talks about playing the song, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” over the auditorium speakers before the first exam of the year.  A student told him that it changed the atmosphere into something almost festive.  The students would take the test with smiles on their faces and feet tapping in time to the music.

“Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without.”  ~Confucius~

·         After finding that the song did not result in good grades one semester Tom realized he’d have to try something different after some of his students found themselves confronted with the worst scores they had ever encountered.  When the next test day came Tom started out playing “Caught in the Crossfire” by Stevie Ray Vaughn.  Then he waited with the test papers in hand.  Five seconds passed, and then ten and the students began to wonder what was happening.  Then the doors at the back of the auditorium burst open and the Notre Dame marching band came in playing the Victory March.  The class was ecstatic and he believes as a result of the aesthetic surprise scored higher than on the first test.  His reason for doing it- Why should the band just play the victory march for the football team, why not in the classroom where it really matters?  The point is, it made them feel special and appreciated.  It made their workplace a place of enjoyment.

·         How can we bring a sense of festivity to our workplace from time to time?

The Art of Work

·         The previous examples are of passive aesthetic experience.  Aesthetic experience can be active as well as passive, in other words, performance art.  There is beauty in solving a problem elegantly, in providing acknowledged excellence of quality in service or product.  Is your work a dance?  Is it a play?  Do you see your co-workers as fellow cast members?  Every day you’re sculpting, sketching, and quilting a pattern of interactions, of relationships, of solutions to problems.  A concern for beauty should continually play an important role, along with a concern for truth, in how we think about our jobs and in the many ways we interact with each other in our work.

·         Think of all the roles each of us play in the practice.  Where can you see beauty in what each person does?   When does your job feel great? 

The Most Basic Question

·         What is the meaning of life?

·         The meaning of life is creative love.  Loving creativity.  This is the proper meeting point of philosophy, religion and business.  Not love as an inner feeling, as a private sentimental emotion, but love as a dynamic power moving out into the world and doing something original.  It means the creative building of new structures, new relationships, new solutions, and new possibilities for our world that are rooted in love, a concern for the dignity and integrity and values of others in this life.  This is the foundation on which any meaningful life must be built.

·         What are you building?  Where is your art?  What are you creating day to day?  Is your life guided by creative love?  In doing your work, are you somehow involved in acts of loving creativity?

·         How do your co-workers envision their work?  How can you help them experience their work as having fundamental meaning in their lives?

 

The Beauty of Business

 

·         What is business? 

·         All employees should be thought of as in partnership with management, and all the people within a business should be thought of as partners with both suppliers and customers, partners ultimately for the common goal of living well.  Ideally those within a business should prosper and live better because of the business, but so should others affected by its activities.  What does that mean to you?

·         We should always be asking ourselves whether what we contemplate doing will enhance or diminish this crucial function of the business within our domain of influence.  Are we building partnerships for living well?  Give examples of things that can enhance or diminish the function of our dental practice.

·         So what then, is business?  Business is the art of growth.  Growth is the essence of life.  Business is the art of life.

·         How have you grown in our dental practice?  How do you help others grow?

 

The New Neighborhood At Work

 

·         The people we see at work each day, the people around us whose thoughts and activities will be largely responsible for whether we all experience business success together, are all people who come from families and are all people who need friendship in their lives.

·         Discipline, comfort, a sense of belonging, a feeling of connectedness…every human being needs these things.

·         Most people do not live near extended family anymore and neighborhoods don’t hold the same sense of community that they used to.

·         Contemporary businesses now have the opportunity to create a new kind of workplace fulfillment and workplace loyalty by meeting many of the deep human needs for love and appreciation, needs for respect and forgiveness and nurture and support.  Teamwork, for example must be rooted in genuine respect and understanding.  Leadership must be grounded in love and appreciation.  These are the genuinely human issues. And as long as human beings do the work, make the deals, use the products, buy the services, and chart the future, these should be the most important issues.  Are they the most important issues in our practice?  How?

·         People will not feel fulfilled in what they do, and will not be experiencing that measure of personal happiness they are capable of attaining on the job unless they are feeling that the aesthetic dimension of their experience is being respected and nurtured by the people around them and by the conditions of their work.

·         We should never forget that a concern for the aesthetic is everybody’s business.   The beauty and artistry of the workplace is everybody’s business.  Everyone should be a partner for living well.  Reinventing corporate spirit and reestablishing a new foundation for sustainable excellence in modern practice is everybody’s job.

A Happy Heart

    So, if you could choose,wouldn't you just love to spend your day around someone with a happy heart?  Don't you think the day would be a whole lot better if you did?  Well then, why aren't there more happy hearted people around?

     I think people become addicted to their sad story.  They identify with problems until they create that as a reality day in and day out. No one wants to create sadness.  Circumstances and the things you get used to and accept as inevitable cause that type of drama.   I've been there before myself, I'm sorry to say.  It's a mindlessness that can sap the life out of you and the people around you, and it becomes a habitual way of thinking and responding.  I've spent more time than I want to remember working for employers who, were critical, impossible to satisfy, stingy with appreciation and praise, and basically  confidence busters.  Why did I stay?  Maybe I'm one of those people who sees a situation like this as a mountain to climb and just won't give up despite the fact that there's someone at the top rolling boulders down into my path.  Maybe it seemed like praise from that person would be so much more meaningful because it would be so hard-earned. I know I often felt like if I could only do something great, everything would be ok.  At any rate, I developed a cynical and suspicious mind-set that made me identify everything any other boss did with what that boss would have done.  It was totally unfair to a good boss and it completely prevented me from finding happiness in my workday.  Obviously, something had to change. 

    I sure didn't have a happy heart, so that's where I decided to start.  It's all about mastering your thoughts and reactions.  It's easy to let your thoughts follow a lazy path of their own design.  That's because unconscious thought is effortless.  It's not going to take the time to question itself, it's going to go on the path of least resistance, the path it's worn a track in because of so much similar thinking in the past.  If you like how you've felt along, go right ahead, but be warned, you might be missing out on something even better.  If you have had some hard times, develop the determination to blaze new trails to happier thoughts and experiences.  You have to do the work, and then, just like the negative rut, a new positive, happy rut will get worked into your brain for your thoughts to travel along.

    The other element to negativity and cynicism is the drama that goes along with it.  When people are caught up in drama, they think it makes them interesting.  Now they have something that they think is big and shocking to talk about.  Think about soap operas.  They really aren't that interesting, they're petty and basically out of touch with real life.  But, people keep tuning in day after day for more of the same.  They never get tired of it.  Real life doesn't work that way.  The soap opera of what is happening to you that's so terrible is only interesting to you.  No one wants to tune in every time they talk to you.  You will become a bore if you persist in your " As the Drill Turns" monologue.  Develop a better way to think and you'll become more appealing to be around.

    I have a boss with a very happy heart.  He makes coming to work every day a happy event.  I usually find myself driving to and from work with an idiotic grin on my face everyday because of something funny that happened in the office, often instigated by my boss.  His happiness is contagious.  The whole office has a happy vibe.  The patients love it and comment on it.  I doubt an hour goes by without honest laughter bellowing down the hall.  I say honest because if you think about it, we often tell staff to act happy even if they aren't.  That type of laughter has an edge to it.  Honest laughter flows into every nook and cranny.  It grabs everyone who hears it and makes them smile, too.  People who work like this develop a pleasant rapport with each other and that puts them in a positive frame of mind.  These are the kind of people that other people want to be around, and that includes patients.  Our patients remark on it and I think they have developed a fondness for us.  They often comment to us on my boss and the other staff members and say they just love our attitude.

    I'll be posting the second installment of my If Aristotle Ran General Motors staff meeting this weekend.  It's on Beauty.  Honest laughter brings beauty into the dental experience.  Make sure you develop the culture that supports honest laughter in your office.

Lemonade, Anyone?

     So, what will you do?  How will you respond as the economy continues to decline?  Will you react as many seem poised to do and start downsizing your staff, or will you respond with positive steps that will not only position you to be better than ever, but will also help stem the downward wave of the economy.
    I hear a lot of dentists worrying and wondering whether they should start cutting hygienist hours and doing their own prophies, cut other staff, shorten hours, etc.  Some are even closing their doors, some are working in other practices to make ends meet. 
    With patients facing the loss of their jobs and, along with it the loss of their ability to afford treatment, it is wise to find positive solutions and responses.  As much as possible have the responses developed before the problems arise.
    Here's how I see it.  Cutting hygienist hours cuts your opportunity to diagnose conditions and offer treatment.  I know, you're thinking that your hygienist is only booked at about 70% capacity, how can you justify having her in the office full time?  Well, you can look at her in a new way and see her in a new, expanded capacity.  Ask your assistant to teach her how to pour models and do other lab work, how to assist with cementing crowns and with operative procedures.  Have everyone doing chart audits and patient reactivations.
    Reconsider the payment options that you offer your patients.  It's a new world so don't think you can do what you always did.  Offer 12 month payment plans and listen to your patients not only accept treatment, but express appreciation for your kindness. 
    When things turn around and the economy recovers your patients and staff will remember how you made them feel.  In the meantime, you will be able to move through this time knowing that you are helping the economy recover by keeping people working, and helping your patients afford the treatment they need.  To top it off, you'll end up with a staff that will be better trained and more well-rounded than ever before.  Now, that's going to be some really good lemonade you'll be making with the lemons the economy may be tossing your way.

Culture Of Trust

    

If you've ever dealt with a competitive or pushy staff member, this post is for you.  People like this frustrate everyone else and can quickly damage the culture of a practice.  The first thing to do is to try to understand them.  What is driving their behavior?  Are they trying to prove themselves, are they insecure, are they control freaks who only feel comfortable when they are guiding the action, do they need to be the center of attention, be the best, do they have very little consideration for the desires and sensibilities of others, and most of all, can they change? 
    An aggressive staff member will drive healthily assertive staff members nuts and will intimidate less assertive staff members. They are generally showboats who are constantly showing the boss and patients how wonderful they are.  What the boss and patients aren't seeing is the fact that they are pushing everyone else to the side to show just how great they are.  They become a distraction and a source of constant irritation for everyone. 
    A major effect of people like this is that they discourage and anger good staff and eventually cause them to become disengaged if they see that no one is going to stop the aggressive person.  The longer you wait to react, the harder it will be.  These people are masters of deception and spin and can make it very difficult to stop them.  They will defend every offensive action as an attempt to help.  They will tell you they just want to help the "team" when what they are doing is damaging team morale.  The best way to deal with a pushy team member is to push back immediately and firmly.  Let them know that it's not ok.  Then help them find ways to redirect their efforts so that they can integrate better with the flow of the team.
I read an essay that quoted the following excerpt from an article.  I think it could be a good thing to incorporate into daily practice life.

We live in a competitive culture. Most of the time it takes the form of harmless fun—we enjoy sporting events, board games, and other contests that pit one against another. But when a competitive spirit invades our daily lives and our relationships with others, it can lead to feelings of jealousy, resentment, and self-doubt.

Those who have found true peace have learned to step off the merry-go-round of competition. It’s not easy—quick fixes seldom work. But there are a few things we can do, a few truths we can remember, that can make a difference in our life and in our heart.

Not long ago, a learned professor needed to have some plumbing work done in his home. He was amazed at how much the plumber knew about pipes—and how little he, with all his academic training, knew about the subject. No one knows everything about every topic; it’s not possible—or even necessary, if we’re willing to work with instead of against each other. We each have areas of strength and expertise. Search for yours, and then build on them.

Be committed to lifelong learning. Instead of competing with others, learn from them, appreciate them. You can always expand your knowledge, develop a skill, and share a talent. This can open your heart to others and create a sense of humility, as you learn that everyone you meet can teach you something you didn’t know.

When we’re tempted to compare ourselves to others, it helps to remember that we never know the whole story of anyone’s life. All we can do is love, be patient, and be kind. We’re all in this together, and we need each other.

In sports, there can be only one winner, and in order for one to win, everyone else has to lose. But life doesn’t have to be that way. Truly, we can all win when we open our hearts in abundance to others.

Finding the way to bring this non-competitive spirit into your practice will take patience and work.  I think it is worth it to work in a practice culture of unity and peace.  When all see that the greatest impact is ofter made in a spirit of cooperation, collaboration and trust, that's when you have the right culture in your practice.

Office Managers Need Love, Too

   

Office managers often have it tougher than you think they do.  I can only speak for myself, but I 'd like to spend most of my time thinking about ways to improve service to our patients.  The rest of the time I'd like to be paying attention to how everything is functioning.  That includes paying attention to staff matters.  When a staff member or members cause me to spend most of my time focusing on them, that's when problems seem to arise.  The reason for that is; as adults I would like to be able to count on them to reinforce my efforts toward patient care and practice success, not to divert my attention to petty issues or insubordination. 
    Doctors, if you have a good office manager, you might not realize just how much she is dealing with.  She needs your support.  I consider myself very lucky because my boss supports me completely.  Let's start there, because it's a two-way street.  Managers, you have to prove yourself worthy of that kind of trust.  You have to think and act in ways that make you step outside of the box and really see what is going on with everyone.  Then you must respond in a way that offers a win-win solution.  Doctor, when you see that happening you must also realize that there are so many intricate little dramas at work beyond what you actually see, that your manager is dealing with, dissecting and evaluating.  It is mentally exhausting at times.  If you have a good manager, I guarantee that many times when you think she is being too quiet, or even moody, she is actually in her own head trying out solutions to whatever problem she is currently solving.  Give her time, understanding and support her and she will repay you with even more dedication and loyalty.
    Finally, managers often spend most of their time supporting and encouraging everyone else.  They promote the practice and the dentist and take on a lot of the awkward, difficult and unpleasant tasks.  They are often the bad cop and the one to deliver difficult messages.  Remember that every now and then, they need you to sit them down and list a few of the attributes that make them outstanding and make you thankful that they work for you.  For a really good manager, a few minutes of praise and thanks is all the fuel they need to get them through months of trials, tribulations, triumphs and successes.  It will inspire and encourage and you will find that a small investment of time and self on your part will be paid back many times over in effort and renewed energy.

If Aristotle Ran General Motors - Truth

   

I became the office manager of our practice about 5 years ago.  At that time our staff was in turmoil, we had just let two long term staff members go and there were a lot of bad feelings lingering and a lack of direction that made every day feel like swimming upstream.  My boss at the time had given me Tom Morris' book, If Aristotle Ran General Motors.  This book changed the way I think, the way I live and the way I try to lead our staff.  I based a few months of staff meetings around it and it changed the way we relate to each other and our patients and it gave us a practice culture that we value and protect. 
    We've been through a practice transition with a new dentist, we've lost two staff members due to retirement and illness, and we've had basically a parade of new people through the office in the last few months.  Since we place such a high premium on patient care and the culture in our practice, we will not keep staff members who detract from that purpose.  The reason for the parade?  People know what is right and desirable in an employee and they pretend to possess those traits at the interview and may even be able to continue to fake it for a few weeks or days.  It is not sustainable beyond that if it is not true.  It's that simple. 
    I decided that this would be a good time to revisit If Aristotle Ran General Motors.  I am breaking it down into four sections based on what Tom calls the Four Dimensions of Human Experience - Truth, Beauty, Goodness and Unity.  Think about it, what would your daily life be like if those four dimensions were valued and displayed in your practice every day.  I want you to have the chance to find out so I am going to share these staff meetings with you here.  These posts will be long, but I think you'll find them worth it.  Each section should be enough for a one hour staff meeting, but if your staff uses more time for discussion, let them and continue at another meeting.  Don't rush it because getting staff to talk about these ideas can have a major impact on how you work together.  The first section includes a short introduction and then begins with the section on truth.  Let me know if you have any questions and certainly let me know your experience with this.  And by the way, this is just a brief synopsis of the book.  I would suggest you purchase If Aristotle Ran General Motors, and read it, there are so many great thoughts in the book that I don't have the time to share here.  Also, visit Tom's website, The Morris Institute for Human Values.  There are many wonderful essays there written by Tom and his fellow institute writers. Finally, here's a link to an article I wrote for Dental Economics, Aristotle DDS, which I based on Tom's book.  Here's your first installment of the staff meeting:

IF ARISTOTLE RAN GENERAL MOTORS REVIEW

·         Most of us tend to blame our problems on external circumstances.  Many businesses are now blaming the economy for falling production.   We must have the ability to look within and examine the inner foundations of our own business practices and business relationships.  Four foundations of human excellence should govern all we do.

·         All human beings pursue different things.  Some chase wealth, some fame, some love, some power, but the one thing that everyone is really after is the same thing: happiness.  If we want to succeed we must do what it takes to be happy.  Our patients will see that we are happy in our work, with ourselves and with each other.  That will make our office feel good to them and they will be happy to be here.  That will make them keep coming back and sending others to us.

·         Happiness at work means enjoying what we do.  Recognition should be given for a job well done.  Another view of happiness is personal peace.  Tranquility, equanimity, calm.  Anxiety kills the spirit and the body so we all need to do what it takes to eliminate it.  What causes anxiety in the office for Dr. ________, for the staff, for the patients?  How can we eliminate it, reduce it, or deal with it better?

·         Happiness can also result from participating in something fulfilling, to find joy in what we are doing.  We are at our best and feel our best when we are engaged in a worthy task.  What do you do at work that makes you feel the most fulfilled?

“All men seek happiness.  This is without exception.  Whatever different means they employ, they all tend toward this end.  The cause of some going to war, and some avoiding it, is the same desire in both, attended with different views.  The will never takes the least step but to this objective.  This is the motive of ever action of every man, even of those who hang themselves.”

                                                                                                                ~Blaise Pascal~

 

THE FOUR DIMENSIONS OF HUMAN EXPERIENCE

 

1.       The Intellectual dimension, which aims at Truth

2.       The Aesthetic dimension, which aims at Beauty

3.       The Moral dimension, which aims at Goodness

4.       The Spiritual dimension, which aims at Unity

TRUTH

·         One of the most ennobling gestures any of us can make toward another human being is to ask her, sincerely, what she thinks about what we are doing together.  What is her take on the truth?  When we ask, wanting to hear, we treat the other person with a fundamental respect, and this behavior is then much more likely to be mirrored back to us.

·         People who tell the truth, no matter how difficult that may be, obviously have a high regard for its importance.  But, even people who lie to you indicate, in a backward sort of way, their partial and deeply flawed, recognition of at least some of the power of truth: they think of it as too powerful to be entrusted to you.  Is truth important in our work together?  What is the result of telling the truth?  What is the result of being deceptive?

·         Have we created an atmosphere in which people are not afraid to tell us the truth?  Can you tell a co-worker when she is doing something that is either incorrect or bothersome?  Can you tell her about it in a way that lets her know you are trying to help her be her best and to increase the harmony between you?

·         Martin Buber, in his book I and Thou, writes that there are two fundamental relationships that can exist between people.  First, there is the I-It relationship in which you relate to something as an object, who’s only value is instrumental.   He says we should never view other people as having value only for what they can do for you.   Do we ever treat co-workers or patients as instruments, who are only there to serve our purpose?

·         The second relationship is the I-Thou relationship.  The I-Thou stance is one of respect and dignity.  The only way to have an I-Thou relationship with those around us is to seek from them and give to them, the truth about what we are doing together.  Given and received properly, a concern with sharing truth inevitably helps to generate a spirit of cooperation crucial to good working relations over the long run.  How do we demonstrate an I-Thou relationship with each other and our patients?

·         Truth is the foundation for trust, and nothing is more important in any business endeavor than trust.  Trust is an absolute necessity for truly effective interpersonal activity.  Without all the facts relevant to their jobs, people feel lost and sense a lack of control over their lives and their destinies.  When you confront a problem, you confront the need for truth.  Truth, even hard truth, if passed on with as much understanding, kindness and sensitivity as possible, is always the foundation for solving any problem in a sustainable way.  Do we provide the people who work with us with all the information they might benefit from having? 

·         To the extent that something has the power for good, it has corresponding power for ill.  Most of the time, it’s up to us how we use that power.  In other words, telling the truth has the power to cause improvement and strengthen relationships, or it has the power to hurt feelings and destroy relationships.  It’s all about your intention in telling the truth and the way you tell it.  Can you tell a difficult truth with sensitivity?  Do you have the courage to tell someone the truth about how they are affecting you?  Do you always have a good intention in telling the truth?  What are some examples of telling the truth with a bad intention?

·         We should strive to develop collaborative relationships with each other.  The key characteristic is partnering.  The key attitude is synergistic interaction.  When you collaborate with others you partner up, bringing the best of who you are and what you know to the table, as does your partner, and together you think and act in ways that might not have been available to either of you alone.  The differences in your experiences and respective slants on the world will enrich the thinking that results.  At their best, collaborators don’t think exactly alike but are sufficiently in harmony with one another that their differences create new insight, and each is taught by the other.