Exceptional Dental Practice Management

Back To Aristotle

Ok, let's get back to our staff meeting on If Aristotle Ran General Motors.  As I said, there are four dimensions of human experience: Truth, Beauty, Goodness and Unity.  What you and your staff will discover is this: if you don't consciously think about things like what makes us happy,or even what does being happy mean, what motivates us and what brings fulfillment, you'll usually go through most days the same way you went through most every day that preceeded this one.  The only things that get your attention are really great things and really terrible things.  Otherwise, you're most likely on auto-pilot.  That means that most of your life is spent on auto-pilot.  Is that what you want?

Take a moment and ask your staff what life would be like in your practice if you were more aware of happiness, motivation and fulfillment.  By the way, if you don't have a big white board in your staff meeting room, please get one.  Now make three columns and head them happiness, motivation and fulfillment and let the staff start listing what each means for them.  You'll see some pretty expected answers, and some that will surprise you.  Your staff will start out slow and then as they get into it, they'll get excited and start getting into it.  Once they get a good list, and by the way, you list your own thoughts too, you can start talking about what you would all need to do to make the list come true.  What would life be like in your practice if you did?  How would your patients be impacted if you did?  How would everyone's life outside the office be affected if you could all be happier, motivated and more fulfilled at work?

Next time we'll go through the four dimensions and how to discuss them with your staff.

Blessed or Cursed

Let's depart from staff meetings for a day.  I was talking to one of our hygienists today about the ways patients are reacting to the economy.  It seems to be different in every office.  It's not only state to state, one town or another, it's different in the office down the street, too.  We've had our ups and downs, but I think the real difference is in how we choose to respond to the needs and situations of our patients and our staff. 

Let's face it, the economy concerns everyone at this point.  One thing that I always remember is something I read in The Success Principle: E + R = O.  Event + Reaction + Outcome.  We can't always control events, but we can always control our reaction and that will have a lot of impact on the outcome.  There are things we can control like our reactions and things that we are not able to influence like the actions of others.  Sometimes you'll hear someone explain a poor decision they've made or reaction they've had like this, "I couldn't help it" or "I can't stand it."  Well, guess what, yes you can.  If you want to.  You always have a choice and you have to think and understand that each action that you choose will have a corresponding result, pretty much completely controlled by you.  Can't stand it?  Well, sure you can, you're already standing it even while you say that, aren't you?

So, where am I going with this?  So many people react to temporary problems with pretty permanent responses.  Let's look at openings in hygiene.  I've heard of dentists firing their hygienists and doing hygiene themselves.  Unless the situation is dire, and the dentist is sitting around with nothing to do, I wouldn't do this.  Instead, I'd try to figure out why the waiting room is empty and I'd brainstorm with the staff about how to get people coming in the door.  Think outside the box.  It's not easy because we're used to our rules and policies, but they may not work when the world changes.  Make it easier for patients to accept the treatment they need by offering payment plans, phasing treatment and working with them to find treatment options that can get them through the hard times until they can afford something more comprehensive.  Patients remember when people are good and fair.  When they speak of you to others, that is how they will describe you.  They will bless you for it when they remember.

Staff know when the people they work for care about their well-being.  At the same time, employers know when their staff is willing to do whatever it takes to get through tough times.  Don't think your staff isn't worried, they are probably worried sick, even if they don't seem to be.  A lot of times people don't communicate their worry and fear because saying it makes it too real.  The dentist is worried that his practice will fail and he will lose his livlihood.  The staff is worried that the dentist will decide to respond to a decline in patient numbers by reducing staff and they will lose their livlihood.  Rather than hugging your fears to your chest, open the door to communication.  Talking about it will draw you together and together you are more likely to come up with ideas and solutions that will help improve things.

So, will you be blessed or cursed?  When the economy improves, what will you see when you look around your office?  Will you see a diminished, nervous staff and a depleted patient base?  Or, will you see a strong, dedicated staff who will tell everyone how fortunate they are to work for you.  Will your patients say that you are decent and caring and that you you were generous and caring when they needed it?  Blessed or cursed?              E + R = O

 

Might As Well Start With Aristotle

I told you I'd go over some staff meetings that we've done, so I'm going to start at the beginning.  My first really effective staff meeting was based on Tom Morris' book, If Aristotle Ran General Motors.  This was my first major staff meeting after becoming office manager.  My boss had given me the book and I loved it and wanted to share it with our staff so that we could all grow together and build our team to encompass the philosophies that Tom describes as the four basic dimensions of human experience: Truth - the intellectual dimension, Beauty - the aesthetic dimension, Goodness - the moral dimension, and Unity - the spiritual dimension.  Nurturing and respecting these and incorporating them into your practice can bring a new level happiness and fulfillment that you have always hoped for, but didn't think possible to achieve.

As we moved through each section of the book, we realized that even though we were good people doing a better than average job, we could truly become people of increased high character offering exceptional care to our patients.  We also quickly understood that by incorporating these dimensions into our lives we could support and enjoy each other more than we ever thought possible.

We started out slowly, and I realized that I was doing most of the talking.  When I asked what anyone thought, I was met with silence or shrugs.  By the end of the first meeting I realized that I needed to shake things up a little.  I told everyone that at each meeting everyone would be responsible to lead the discussion for a designated group of pages.  They immediately expressed anxiety about talking in front of the group.  I pointed out that they very comfortably talked almost non-stop through every lunch hour.  Finally we got down to what really had them worried, they feared saying something stupid.  They feared ridicule or losing face.  I asked everyone to agree that what's said in meetings is safe and not subject to ridicule.  We would respect each other's thought, but also agree not to be upset if someone expressed a different point of view.  In other words, we'd show consideration for each other.  Seemed like a good first lesson in character.

There was a good bit of hesitation during the first person's summary of their pages.  With a little encouragement and a few probing questions, the conversation took off and everyone relaxed.  Now we were getting somewhere.  As the team became more aware of the way the dimensions were already at play in our day, we were able to discuss new ways to apply them to our work and relationships with our patients and each other. 

I give this book so much credit for helping us build the character of our team and the culture of our practice.  Next time I'll get a little deeper into each dimension and talk about how you can help your staff understand how to apply them to your life and work everyday.