Exceptional Dental Practice Management

What Makes You Unique?

    I was walking my dog Lucy and an airplane flew overhead.  Whenever that happens Lucy stops, looks up and watches until the plane is out of sight.  I think that makes her unique.  I've never seen a dog do that before.  She has a lot of things that make her unique.   She is the shyest dog I've ever owned, she's the only dog I've had that must bury her bones, every one of them.  She is also the sweetest, most gentle dog I've ever had.  She also passes the most wicked gas of any dog I've ever known.  That is something that sets her apart in a way I don't admire very much.  But, all of her good unique qualities make putting up with the gas, worth it.

    That got me thinking about what makes employees unique.  I decided to start with myself and I realized that some of the things that I think make me unique have been admired by some employers and co-workers and disliked by others.  For instance, I really have a need to understand why things happen and why people do what they do and feel how they feel.  That used to drive a former boss up the wall.   He hated it so much that it often made for some tense and hurtful conversations.  My present boss thinks it's an asset.  I tend to be a very hard worker who rarely misses work.  Former co-workers didn't love that about me, but my present co-workers count on it.  I talk a lot and have a wide-ranging sense of humor which causes my boss and I to really have a lot of fun most days.  Other bosses thought I was too much some days.  Frankly, I know I am, but sometimes it seems to just burst forth.  Hopefully, like Lucy's gas, my good assets make that worth putting up with.
    When I look at my co-workers I see the same thing.  They all have a lot of positive unique characteristics and a few that are not so enjoyable.  I also notice that some of the things that irk me, don't bother anyone else and vice versa.  What this tells me is that we have to make our uniqueness work for all concerned.  We have to find the place that our good unique qualities override our "gas." 
    A hygienist sent me an email today about some things she is struggling with in her job.  To be honest, her workplace is dysfunctional for her because her uniquely good qualities aren't appreciated and the uniquely dysfunctional qualities of the office she's in are making her miserable.  She needs to find an office in which her unique goodness works.  Days and weeks turn into years quicker than we realize.  Staying in a situation that never changes for the better will never be good for anyone.  Once those years pass, it is painful to realize that you could have found your uniquely good fit. 

    I feel fortunate to be in a uniquely perfect work position.  It really couldn't be better.  I work with a happy boss, nice co-workers, and for the most part, take care of wonderful patients.  I then go home to a uniquely great family life.  Yes, my kids are grown, but they're wonderful and I know how lucky we are.  Take a look at yourself and your life.  What makes you and your life uniquely wonderful?  Can you improve it?  What would it take?  What would you gain by doing that?  What would you lose by not trying?  Does the good make up for the gas?

Florida National Dental Congress Follow Up

    I'm back from the Florida National Dental Congress and I'm happy to say I think I did just fine.  I had a wonderful time and was lucky to have very good, involved audiences.  Everyone there was so nice and encouraging that it made me feel at ease. 
    I have never had an easy time speaking in front of a group and it's been something I always wanted to face and conquer.  Having good kind people who wanted to see me succeed sure helped.  Thanks to my husband and children, my boss, co-workers and friends and to other speakers and organizers including Tina Calloway and Loyce Jones.  I was set up for success and all I had to do was be prepared and ready.
    We should all help each other face our fears and conquer them.  Helping another person achieve a goal is a caring and generous thing to do.  There are two books that I'd suggest if you find yourself anxious at the thought of getting up and speaking in front of a group.    First, there is great info in Speaking To Win by Brian Tracy.  The other book is Positive Imaging by Norman Vincent Peale. 
    Basically, having support from others and supporting myself by preparing and practicing seemed to be the key for me.  If there's something that challenges you, don't give up.  It took me a lot of tries to overcome this challenge, and you can overcome whatever is difficult for you, too. 

Florida National Dental Congress

    I'm on my way to the Florida National Dental Congress in Orlando.  I'm actually going to be a presenter this time.  Let me tell you something.  I'm the last person who would have ever thought they'd get up in front of an audience and speak for 2 hours.  I used to shake at the thought of talking in front of my class at school.  So, why would I do this to myself, not to mention my audience?
    I want to conquer my fears and not let fear control what I do.  I have found that I have the power to do that by changing and controlling the way I think about any given situation.  You can do it, too.  If there's anything that you'd like to do, think about me. 
    If you're going to be at the conference, stop by and say Hi.  Either way, think good thoughts for me and I'll report back when I'm done. 

What's Wrong With You?

"I define comfort as self-acceptance.  When we finally learn that self-care begins and ends with ourselves, we no longer demand sustenance and happiness from others."       ~Jennifer Loudin~

   

So, what's wrong with you, anyway?  Come on, you know you have a list and you're wondering if anyone else notices it, too.  We all have our lists.  It's what you do about it that matters.
    If you manage other people, you get to study human nature in a different way.  People want us to mirror back what we see in them.  My theory is that they want to compare it to what they think they are and see if it's better or worse than they thought it was.
    There's also a "fix me" element to it all.  If you are the manager, and you observe a weakness, well then, it's your job to figure out how to make it better, isn't it?  Wrong.  We can only fix ourselves.  No matter who you are, whether you're the dentist, the hygienist, the assistant, or the person who cleans the office once the rest have gone home, you are your own responsibility.
    That's not to say that we can't help each other along.  As a manager I try to recognize staff member's strengths and weaknesses.  I try to use their strengths in ways that will help the practice and give them satisfaction and confidence.  But, what about the weaknesses?  I notice that people tend to focus on their weaknesses when they don't plan to do anything to change it.  They will keep bringing it up, and I suspect that they do that hoping that I will acknowledge the weakness and tell them it doesn't matter. 
    Well, if it gets in the way of good performance, then it does matter, but whose responsibility is it to work on or around it?  I can only own that weakness in the fact that I must point out how it affects their performance, and make suggestions for dealing with it.  But, I'm not capable of putting a fix into action for them.  They must accept this weakness as a part of who they are, and find a way to work with it. 
    My weakness is impatience.  I'm so impatient for the next day to get here that I sometimes have trouble getting to sleep.  I finally had to realize that if I could just relax and sleep, the next day would seem to get here faster.  I want employees to learn quickly, I want cement to dry faster, I want crown preps to take 15 minutes.  I could drive myself nuts if I tried a little harder.  Waiting for someone to spit out a detailed answer to a question that only required a yes or no could inspire homicidal tendencies.  When I fought my impatience or berated myself for being that way, it made it worse.  It took every ounce of self-restraint not to lurch across my desk and grab someone by the shirt and hiss, "Spit it out already!  Yes OR no!"
That wouldn't have been very nice, would it?  Especially if the offender had been my boss.  I finally accepted that there would always be a little buzz inside of me when having to wait for events or people to move at a fraction of the speed I wished they would.  I try to focus on their expressions and on the words as they arrive.  I resist the impulse to have a little side conversation inside my own head that goes something like this: "Oh, please, just say it.  Who cares about yadda, yadda, yadda.  I have stuff to do.  Please, please, please, just say it."  Good thing I got that under control, because as you might imagine, when I was having that internal dialogue I wasn't hearing much of what was actually being said and that would lead to another problem.  I'd have to ask them to repeat it.  Talk about shooting yourself in the foot!
    I think that employees like to talk about what is wrong with them with their manager for two reasons.  One, they are trying to see if you accept them, warts and all.  Two, they want to hand the problem over to you to fix.  Your responsibility is to let them know what is required of them and how their weakness affects that, and to give them suggestions and offer support.  But, they have to put in the effort to fix, or find a way to work around their weakness.  They have to acknowledge, own and accept it before they can affect it.  So, don't be afraid of looking at whatever is wrong with you.  It's the first step in making yourself better, stronger and happier.

You Just Don't Know

You just don't know what someone else is going through.  The grumpy patient, the snippy co-worker, the boss who seems to have a chip on his shoulder, the manager who you just can't please today no matter what! What's going on that you just don't know?

I was just watching, or at least in the same room while my husband was watching, ESPN.  Larry Fitzgerald of the Arizona Cardinals was being interviewed.  The interviewer asked him about his long dreadlocks, which I had thought seemed ridiculous streaming from his helmet during the Super Bowl.  He told the interviewer that he began growing his hair when his mother died in 2003.  This dignified young man went on to explain how much his mother meant to him and his family.  He said that he'd been called home when she'd come to the end of her battle with cancer, but that she'd slipped into a coma before he'd gotten there, and he'd never made his peace with her.  He said that he'd gotten annoyed with her for reprimanding him about a month before she died, so he had put off calling her.  He never spoke to her again.  If he had the chance, he said he tell her, "I'm sorry for disrespecting you."  I was in tears by the end of the interview.  Who would have guessed that this seemingly carefree, maybe even arrogant player was actually a poised, sensitive and sincere young man.  Not an arrogant bone in his body, never mind carefree.  That was just the story my eyes were telling me without any justification whatsoever. 

It's a reminder for me to keep my judgments in check.  You can not tell how someone is by what you see.  You can not tell everything about someone by how they are acting at the moment.  You can not expect an explanation for why they are behaving in a way that offends you at this moment.  You can only choose.  You can choose to open your mind, step outside your box and see this as another person with a story all his own.  You can choose to love him without knowing the story.  You can choose to let him act without sucking it all into your own ego and making it about you, it probably isn't. 

You can understand that you don't know what you don't know and try to just let him live his pain today.  Maybe tomorrow someone will realize they don't know what they don't know about you.  Or maybe you'll be lucky and there'll be nothing to wonder about.

What's Your Problem?

   

What's your problem?  C'mon, you know you have one, we all do.  It doesn't matter who you are, what your job title is, you have a problem.  And you know what it is.  It probably drives you crazy sometimes.  You may think you're stuck with it. You may make excuses for it:  my father was that way, I have so much stress, I'm overworked, underpaid, unaapreciated, misunderstood, born under the wrong sign, you name it, but it will be nothing new.  We've heard it all before.  The problems and the excuses aren't new.  You're just one more person with a problem.
    Some people embrace their problem and think it makes them who they are.  Love me or leave me, I y'am who I y'am.  As long as the problem isn't too offensive, that may work for them, as long as they have the gift of charm.  The gift of charm makes them disarming and allows others to just glide past the problem area because the person is just so darn great to be around.  There may be moments of frustration with this person, but soon enough the charming part comes out to save the day.  These people are few and far between and we like them so much, we'll forgive them anything.
    And then there's the rest of us.  The ones with the problems that interfere with success at work or with our relationships.  We get annoyed at the grouchy patient, the lazy co-worker, or the wishy-washy boss and his pushy wife.  (Author note:  I am in no way referring to my wonderful boss or his sweet, not at all pushy wife.  Just want to make that clear).  Maybe you have a quick temper, maybe you push too much even though that little voice in your head is screaming at you to   KNOCK IT OFF!  Your problem might be more subtle, you may walk past that scrap of paper on the floor 10 times without picking it up.  You didn't know that your boss put it there to see if you'd pick it up or walk past.  Yeesh!, you'd have picked it up if you knew that.  Or...you might be a boss who puts a scrap of paper on the floor to see if anyone would pick it up.  Aha!  Just liked you suspected, no one picked it up.  So now you know you have a staff that won't bend over to pick up a scrap of paper.  Now you can begin extrapolating and come up with a whole menu of malignant character traits that would cause someone to behave that way and start assigning those discredits to your staff.  Where will that get you? 
    Ok, so you get my point, we all do things that get in our way at work and in the rest of our lives.  We see ourselves doing those things over and over again.  We wish we weren't that way, sometimes we're our own worst enemy, aren't we? 
    What can we do to change it?  Becoming aware of our problem is the first step.  The next step is watching ourselves in action.  We can feel that problem behavior coming.  We know the things that push the button that activates it.  So we have a few breaths before it is set into motion to say, "Not this time."  Everything inside of you may fight to set it free, but you really are stronger than that urge to react.  Nike may have their slogan, but I want you to memorize mine, "Just don't do it."  That's right.  It sounds easy, but it's not, because you'll be battling with yourself.  But, your reasoning brain can be stronger than your reactive brain.  It all depends on which side you keep your acting brain on.  Acting with reason rather than reaction will get the better outcome.  Do it enough and you will start to react with reason.  Soon that will become your pattern and it will come naturally.  When you begin to act naturally rather than react irrationally, your problem will become one of those things you used to do.  So, what's your problem?

The One Thing

   

What is the one thing you can stop doing that will make your life better, just because you have ceased and desisted?  I bet it flew right into your head when you read that sentence because we are all so aware of the things we do that make us miserable.  So few of us, including myself, actually own it. 
    Ok, I'll own my miserable thing.  I ruminate.  I rarely just get over anything.  I think I do, I say I will, but I really don't.  I take it home and examine it from every angle.  I fertilize it until it achieves magnificent growth.  I cultivate it, encourage it, reshape, rename and reinforce it.  I chew it up, spit it out, poke it around and put it in my pocket just in case I need it later.  Wouldn't want to be caught without a lingering hurt or unfair, inconsiderate, flippant insult would I? 
    Even as my heart says, "Leave it alone, get over it", my head says, "No way, I can spend days, no, even weeks on this."  Even when my head says, "You know this will hurt you more than it will hurt them", my ego pushes back with "Don't be such a sap, you know you have to run with this."  And on and on it can go. 
    Heart, head, ego, it doesn't matter which, I know it doesn't help to ruminate.  It only keeps life in the past and pain ever present.  It's no fun, so it's the one thing I'm determined to stop doing.  It's not smart and it's not a wise use of my time.
    It's important to be aware of these things.  Years go by and life is wasted while we keep doing the one thing that gets in the way.  Only you know what it is and what it gets in the way of.  For me, ruminating blocks out positive considerations.  How can I appreciate how good I have it if I'm dissecting every slight, hurt or insult that comes my way?  What use is there is trying to assign intent to what others do?  There is no way for me to know what they might not even understand themselves.
    What will I replace the one thing with?  Hopefully wisdom.  Hopefully acceptance.  Patience.  Tolerance.  The benefit of the doubt.  The understanding that I just don't know and never will understand what everything means.  The ability to live in peace with that.  That's not such a bad trade off.

Do You Want To Be Special?

   

If you want to be special you have to do something special.  We're getting to the point that coming to work, focusing on your purpose in being there, and working without causing conflict, is beginning to be special.  To me, that's just the foundation of being special.  Now, here's the rub; if you begin to think of yourself as special or somehow better, you begin to stop being special.
    Special employees begin to be recognized as special by others because they do not focus on themselves or on recognition for what they are doing.  So, if you're sitting around thinking about how special you are, sorry, you're climbing a greased pole, destined to keep starting over and getting nowhere. 
    I once worked with an assistant who felt the need to remind us on a regular basis that she was special.  She actually walked into work every day wearing mirrored sunglasses and saying, "My future is so bright, I have to wear shades."  Yeah, not only hard to listen to, it just wasn't true.  She has since gone from practice to practice alienating her co-workers with her spiel and wondering why no one recognizes her worth.  She actually has some pretty good chairside skills, she develops good rapport with patients, she's smart and she presents well.  The problem is that her determination to outshine everyone around her results in a bunch of burned-out, burned-up co-workers and a damaged distorted practice culture.  Whenever the focus, whether good or bad, is forced to center around one staff member, rather than the patients, the culture suffers and nothing can go right for long.
    So, what do you have to do to build on a special foundation?  Focus.  What are you there for?  What did you do or say that made your boss or manager hire you in the first place?  You knew what they wanted and you gave it to them in the interview.  Follow through and bring it to work every day.  What is your purpose?  You are more than your job description.  You are not there to just answer the phone, you are there to answer the phone with warmth, listen with empathy and impart a feeling of concern and welcome to everyone who calls. And you must mean it.   You are not there to clean teeth.  You are there to educate as you improve oral health in a non-judgmental caring manner.  You are dedicated to keeping on top of new trends and treatments and you share what you learn with the rest of the staff.  And you must feel it.  You are not just there to suction.  You are there to be one step ahead, to be ready with whatever may be needed, to anticipate, to help your patient understand their treatment and to calm their anxiety. And you must love it.   And that's just the beginning.  There are so many ways to be special, that focusing on them should leave no time for gossip, jealousy or self-importance, in other words, the things that wipe out any chance to be special. 
    See your co-workers as special, because they are.  They are your job security.  Everyone doing their job well and working together makes a practice succeed and keeps everyone employed.  Recognizing everyone's importance and contribution keeps the entire team refreshed and committed.  Sharing that recognition doesn't make you less special.  Sharing your knowledge and assistance doesn't take away from you.  Knowledge and effort shared is knowledge and effort squared.  Everyone wins and you become part of a special team.  That's a better way to work than by being a special part of a mediocre team, isn't it?  We all have the capacity to be special, we just have to open the door and walk through.  And remember to hold the door open so the rest of the team can follow.

Stuck In The 80's?

I can't tell you how many times I've heard a hygienist, dental assistant or receptionist proudly say, "I've been in dentistry for 20 years."  Sometimes that's a good thing, and sometimes it's not.

It's good if all that time has been spent steadily progressing, learning and keeping up with technology, new procedures and information.  Someone like that has a wealth of knowledge and experience.  Her years in the profession have given her confidence in her skills and a desire to keep up with new trends and developments.  She's seen lots of dentistry and can speak knowledgeably with her patients to help them understand and accept the treatment the dentist recommends.  She can be a patient mentor for newer employees that enter the profession and have an inestimable impact on and value to the practice she is a part of. 

It's not so good when complacency sets in.  Even a dentist can be guilty of this.  Been there done that, "I come to work to clean teeth, prep teeth, suction, answer the phone, whatever."  Do you recognize yourself or one of your employees in that description?  Are new ideas met with eye rolling and heaving sighs?  Do you watch an enthusiastic team member slowly deflate in the face of apathy and disinterest?  Do your "20 years of experience" employees pat your "revved up" employees on the head and tell them they'll get over it?  I remember going to a continuing ed meeting when I first got back into dentistry.  The speaker was talking about having enthusiasm and being upbeat.  She asked the staff members who actually liked going to work to raise their hands.  I was the only one in our group who did and the rest laughed and said, "You can tell she's new.  Wait a year."  Well, 10 years later I'd still raise my hand.  Maybe I'm a freak, but it's better than being stuck in the 80's.  I hope I always feel excited about what I do. 

How do you make sure that your practice doesn't get stuck in the 80's?  Pay attention.  Keep your finger on the pulse of the practice.  Start with yourself.  Do you follow through on things you learn at continuing ed, or do you come back all fired up only to slide back into the way you always were?  Check out your staff, listen to what they talk about and how they talk to patients. If you find yourself yawning or cringing, it's time for a new approach.  Find ways to interest and inspire them.  If they don't respond you may need to get serious and let them know that you're not just hoping for change, you are expecting it.  They need to go there with you and not cling to "the way we were."  Look at your patients.  Do you educate them so that they understand what is available to help them achieve better oral health or are you just patching them up and assuming that's all they want.?  Look at the physical space you occupy.  Be critical.  What impression would you get if you were visiting your office for the first time?  Is everything clean and fresh, or does it smell like a dental office and is the atmosphere drab and dentisty? 

It's easy to get stuck in the 80's, but it's just as easy to add some excitement and fun to your practice life.  The first step is just recognizing what's going on.  Then get moving and make changes.  Get your staff fired up and keep stoking the fire once you've got it going.  Burn baby burn.  That's from the 70's by the way.  Now that was a great decade.

Don't You Thunk!

"Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence."
                                                                                                   ~Abigail Adams~

    The most difficult employee to deal with is one who thinks they know it all.  It's not always the 20 year veteran who feels that way, either.  Sometimes, it's the recent dental assisting grad.  Sometimes, it's even the student rotating through your office.  Regardless of who it is and what their position, if they think they know everything they need to know, they've thunked.  Thunking is settling into a comfortable level of effort and performance and staying there.  It's like a ball falling into a slot on a roulette wheel.  It's not going anywhere until someone gives it a push.
    First let's think about the 20 year veteran.  Experience sounds like a great thing to have and it is, unless it makes you think that there's nothing more to know.  It's easy to become complacent.  If something's working, why mess with it, right?  Mess with it because there are new things to know.  It will make you better at what you do.  It will give you greater satisfaction.  You're patients will benefit.  Those are pretty good reasons.

    Now for the newbie.  I love the enthusiasm of the recent graduate.  What I don't love is a recent graduate who thinks they know it all.  Or the one that thunks once she gets comfortable in the practice.  I think there can be a misconception by new employees who are new to the profession.  They get a lot of positive reinforcement, as they should.  It becomes a problem if they take that to mean they they're done.  What may be praiseworthy in new grad, becomes unsatisfactory in an employee who's been working for a year.  If you don't keep progressing and increasing your skills, and therefore your contribution to the practice, you've thunked.

    As managers, we have to pay attention to all this thunking or, guess what, we'll have thunked ourselves.  We have to commit to finding ways to keep learning on the front burner.  We have to notice and compliment employees who keep improving.  We have to pay attention to those who don't and get them going.  It's exciting to keep learning and improving.  Make sure you do it yourself, too.  Set an example and let them see how satisfying it can be to keep learning.  Have you heard the sound of an employee thunking lately?  That's the one you must set your attention on next. 

Time. How Do You Use It?

"This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it."
                                                                                      ~Ralph Waldo Emerson~

     Do you ever think about how much time we waste at work?  It's amazing really.  We waste time when we worry about what is fair and what is not.  When we are spending time trying to get other's opinions on it when we could just accomplish what needs to be done and get on with it.  When we don't see a need and step up and fill it rather than waiting to be told.
     We waste time when we complain.  We waste time when we blame rather than find solutions.  We waste time harboring grudges when we could get along or forgive.  We waste time staying in situations that don't work rather than finding ones that do.  We waste time when we resist change, rather than realizing that it is inevitable and finding a way to grow.  And gossiping?  Well we all know how much time is wasted with that.
     How do we make the time we spend at work a very good time?  We understand our purpose and do our level best to live up to it.  We see service as as an opportunity to affect someone else's time positively, thereby enhancing our own as a result.  We see our co-workers as the people that they are with all their strengths and weaknesses and we appreciate them.  We make choices about how we spend our time in a spirit of goodness and we get that back in return.  It's not that hard, it's just a decision about what we do with our time.

What Are You Waiting For?

I really think that people intend to do their best everyday.  I believe that most people want to do a good job.  So, what are they waiting for?

I once had a staff member that I loved as a person, but was frustrated with as an employee.  She seemed to have a lot more potential than she was realizing.  I would sit down with her and try to inspire her, and I'd walk away proud of the amazing things that I came up with as we talked.  Surely, now we'd see some improvement. Uh, no.  Ok, so now I tried tough love.  I told her she must improve if she wanted to have a future with us.  She seemed up for it and I congratulated myself for finally getting through.  It was great, except for one thing, she didn't change.  Finally, I asked her what she was waiting for.

I think that was a key to the problem.  I realized that she was waiting for something good to happen.  She was waiting for me to be satisfied and I was waiting for her to do something different.  I think they call that a stalemate and it was time for someone to make a move.  So, I began to be the pea under the princess.  I made her uncomfortable with what she was doing, and she either had to do something different and get out of the bed of complacency she had gotten so comfortable in. 

It's the same with a lot of things.  Look at a practice as a whole.  We get together for staff meetings and work up mission statements and practice visions.  We get excited about what we want to offer our patients.  Then we leave the meeting and go back to status quo.  We may have an initial burst of enthusiasm and then things stall and gradually go back to the way they were.  Now, to be fair, the way things were may have been pretty darn good for most of us, but in those meetings we have stood on the shoulders of inspiration and seen further. We know we can be better.  The problem may be that everyone is waiting for everyone else to make it happen.  It's easier that way, but everything worth having is worth working for.

So, is there something your waiting for?  What's stopping you?  What would help you get moving?  Figure it out and realize your potential.

Adaptation - The Art of Achievement

The art of positive action also has three fundamental requirements:

 

 

1. Govern your attitudes.  Negative attitudes can sneak up on us and hold us back.  The good news about attitude is that it’s ultimately within our control.  We can choose to consider the positive possibilities of a situation, or to forgive a person who may have tripped us up.  We can also take measures – such as daily walking, jogging, or meditation – that can indirectly but almost magically transform our attitudes.  Good attitudes can lead to great outcomes.

       To a large degree, I have found that developing an awareness of the direction in which my thoughts are going, has helped me avoid the slippery slope of negative thinking.  That doesn't mean ignoring negative issues or glossing over them.  It does mean finding positive ways to deal with everything.  One of the most difficult things to do as a manager, is firing an employee.  No amount of positive thinking will make that feel good, but you can do it in a way that allows the employee to understand that even though they might not be a good fit for your practice, they have many wonderful qualities that will make them perfect for someone else.  There are many opportunities to choose to turn what could be unpleasant situations into opportunities for everyone to call upon their finest selves.

 

2. Look for opportunities. The churn of change always creates new opportunities.  The most successful people actively look for emerging opportunities in times of change, and so are among the first to take advantage of possibilities that didn’t previously exist.  In every challenging era, some people grow and benefit.  By always searching for new opportunities, we can be among those people.

    In dental offices, we are often presented with difficult situations or difficult people.  If you see it as just another burden to deal with, you may get through it ok, but you won't make a difference.  If you can look at a difficult patient as a chance to find out more about why they are difficult and then find a new approach, you may just find yourself with a raving fan. 

3.      Take the initiative.  In uncertain times, people hunker down, hoping the storms will pass.  A common trait of high achievers is a very different tendency to take action.  By being action-oriented, we can make the most of new opportunities, which are often fleeting and must be seized quickly.  Leaders always show initiative.  In situations of rapid change, it’s up to each of us to do so.

    I find that most people want to be led when things get tough.  No one wants to take a chance of making a mistake.  More time is wasted waiting for someone to step up and voice an opinion or suggestion.  In the meantime, time marches on.  Even something as simple as decided where  to eat lunch can become a monumental decision.  Once a leader emerges, others will look to them for guidance.  The best leader will develop other leaders and then you've really got a strong team.

Adaptation - The Art of Self-Control

Tom tells us that the art of change has 3 components with the first component being the art of self-control, which also has 3 aspects to master.

 

1. Don’t rush to judgment.  Many ancient philosophers believed that nothing is as good as it seems or as bad as it seems, so we should all just calm down.  Complex situations are hardly ever what they initially appear to be.  And in turbulent times, the well-known category, “A Blessing in Disguise” may have a lot of potential applications.  When we stop ourselves from rushing to judgment about new developments, we empower ourselves to deal with them as they really are.

    As I've recently learned during our practice sale and transition, we all needed to just calm down.  Sure, change brings uncertainty and some amount of fear and possibly threat.  It can also enhance something that is already good or bring new adventure to routine.  We don't have a choice, things change.  We do have a choice in how we respond.  Waiting to see what develops and helping with good faith and true intention makes a good outcome more likely.  Assuming that all good things have come to an end will probably ensure that sentiment becoming a reality. 

 

2. Value the right things. We tend to value comfort and security a bit too highly in our culture.  Growth and learning are also crucial for a good life.  If we value the right things to the right degree, we are more open to the positive adventures that even initially difficult change can bring into our lives.

    Upon initially hearing that our practice would be sold, I felt my comfortable way of working in our practice slipping out from under me.  My first concern was that a new owner wouldn't be as confident in me as Dr. Price was.  Had I continued to feel that way, I most likely would have made a poor impression on my new boss, Dr. Morgan and my present reality would have remained a difficult challenge rather than the positive adventure it really is.

 

3.      Use your imagination well.  In economically unpredictable times, our imaginations can easily run wild, projecting worst-case scenarios, and taking our emotions to places we don’t need to go.  The only reliable cure for negative imagination is positive imagination. When we use our minds to project desirable scenarios, we actually strengthen our ability to make those things happen.

        Right now we are hearing about how the recession and rising gas and food prices will mean desperate times in dental practices.  If we buy into that thinking, it could affect the way we present, or even recommend treatment.  Continue to recommend ethical, necessary treatment and try to find ways to help patients afford the care they need. 

    When you practice self control as a manager, you learn to listen more and ask more questions rather than jumping to judgement.  You learn to bite your tongue and realize that the short-lived satisfaction you would getting from saying what was really on your mind would lead to protracted rebuilding of trust and respect.  When you practice self-control as a staff member you learn to give the benefit of the doubt and trust that the people you work with are not out to get you and that we are all doing the best we can being who we are at this moment in time.  Self-control lets you act in ways that will ensure growth for you and the people around you. 

 

Adaptation Lessons

    Sometimes I just sit back and realize how lucky I really am.  I have a great family, wonderful friends, and a job I just love.  I get to write this blog and people actually read it, and I have so many great opportunities find great messages and spread them here.  My former boss, Jeff Price, introduced me to Tom Morris' books on philosophy about 5 years ago when I became his practice manager.  Over the years, Tom has been a generous mentor to me and I've really learned to enjoy philosophy and to see how to apply it to daily life.  Dr. Price forwarded a new essay by Tom, called Adaptation, because he knew I'd enjoy it.  Well, I like it so much that I asked Tom for permission to share it here.  Over the next week or so, I'll break it down into sections to discuss.  Please, feel free to comment and add your own interpretations to the discussion. 

Adaptation

Mastering The Art of Change

 

Tom Morris

 

We’re living now in a period of widespread, unsettling change and growing economic uncertainty.  Every day seems to bring with it a new cause for anxiety.  It’s easy to worry about the future.  But the great philosophers of the past have recommended something very different from that reaction: the positive response of creative adaptation.

_______________

 

A situation becomes favorable only when we adapt to it.

The I Ching

_______________

 

One of the primary sources of power in life is the skill of adaptation.  It’s also one of the most important contributors to long-term success.  As someone who has studied for decades the wisdom of the ages on all aspects of personal achievement, I’ve come to understand something very important.  Our ability to flex appropriately with changing circumstances, and our knack for transforming our circumstances in accordance with our own highest aspirations, are two distinct sides of adaptation.  And they are both absolutely necessary for attaining business and personal excellence in times of change.

 

The good news is that there is an art of change that will give us the crucial inner keys for masterful adaptation.  A consistent practice of this art can generate amazing results.

_______________

 

What in the whole universe is more natural than change?

Marcus Aurelius

_______________

 

The art of change, as understood by its masters, consists of three component arts:

 

(1)    The art of self-control

(2)    The art of positive action

(3)    The art of achievement

 

 

Each of these component arts has a few simple rules that can be derived from the deepest practical wisdom of the great thinkers. Let’s take just a minute to consider them.

           

The art of self-control has three basic requirements:

 

1. Don’t rush to judgment.  Many ancient philosophers believed that nothing is as good as it seems or as bad as it seems, so we should all just calm down.  Complex situations are hardly ever what they initially appear to be.  And in turbulent times, the well-known category, “A Blessing in Disguise” may have a lot of potential applications.  When we stop ourselves from rushing to judgment about new developments, we empower ourselves to deal with them as they really are.

_______________

 

Things often love to conceal their true nature.

Heraclitus

_______________

 

2. Value the right things. We tend to value comfort and security a bit too highly in our culture.  Growth and learning are also crucial for a good life.  If we value the right things to the right degree, we are more open to the positive adventures that even initially difficult change can bring into our lives.

_______________

 

Only in growth, reform, and change,

paradoxically enough, is true security to be found.

Anne Morrow Lindbergh

_______________

 

3.      Use your imagination well.  In economically unpredictable times, our imaginations can easily run wild, projecting worst-case scenarios, and taking our emotions to places we don’t need to go.  The only reliable cure for negative imagination is positive imagination. When we use our minds to project desirable scenarios, we actually strengthen our ability to make those things happen.

_______________

 

You can’t depend on your judgment

when your imagination is out of focus.

Mark Twain

_______________

 

The art of positive action also has three fundamental requirements:

 

 

1. Govern your attitudes.  Negative attitudes can sneak up on us and hold us back.  The good news about attitude is that it’s ultimately within our control.  We can choose to consider the positive possibilities of a situation, or to forgive a person who may have tripped us up.  We can also take measures – such as daily walking, jogging, or meditation – that can indirectly but almost magically transform our attitudes.  Good attitudes can lead to great outcomes.

_______________

 

With our thoughts, we make the world.

The Buddha

_______________

 

2. Look for opportunities. The churn of change always creates new opportunities.  The most successful people actively look for emerging opportunities in times of change, and so are among the first to take advantage of possibilities that didn’t previously exist.  In every challenging era, some people grow and benefit.  By always searching for new opportunities, we can be among those people.

_______________

 

Know your opportunity.

Pittacus

_______________

 

3.      Take the initiative.  In uncertain times, people hunker down, hoping the storms will pass.  A common trait of high achievers is a very different tendency to take action.  By being action-oriented, we can make the most of new opportunities, which are often fleeting and must be seized quickly.  Leaders always show initiative.  In situations of rapid change, it’s up to each of us to do so.

_______________

 

In the arena of human life, the honors and rewards

fall to those who show their good qualities in action.

Aristotle

_______________

 

Finally, the art of achievement requires that we focus our energies toward favorable outcomes by living in accordance with seven universal conditions for positive achievement.  In times of change, we need to use “The 7 Cs of Success” constantly and relentlessly, as individuals and as teams.  We need:

 

C1: A clear CONCEPTION of what we want, a vivid vision, a goal clearly imagined. 

Goal setting is often tough in the whirl of rapidly altering events, but it’s always important.  A disciplined use of our intellects and imaginations to envision new targets adapted appropriately to the vicissitudes of our day will enable us to move forward productively as great problem solvers and creative examples to others.

 

C2: A strong CONFIDENCE that we can attain our goal. 

In situations of tremendous change, the first thing most people lose is their inner sense of confidence.  Confidence is an attitude and, as such, is within our control.  We can boost it by how we think, talk, and act.  And we owe it to ourselves, as well as to those around us, to do exactly this, since confidence is contagious and can drive success in surprising ways.

 

Time To Stretch

    Have you gotten to the point of complacency?  Sometimes when people have been in an occupation for many years they think they've learned all there is to learn, done all there is to do.  They settle for coasting and rarely think about the enthusiasm they started out with.  They forget to look forward and find hills to climb.  They decide to coast. 
    Let's think about two hygienists who have been in the profession for 20 years.  One may look at what she does as just cleaning teeth.  The other may see herself as an educator and health care provider.  Which one do you think will have more enthusiasm for what she does?  Which one will inspire her patients and co-workers.  They may both perform equally as far as the clinical aspect of the job goes, but one is stretching herself continuously, and one is frozen in time, somewhere in the past.
    Then there's the assistant who feels like she does nothing except suck up spit.  She doesn't see assisting as a career, just as a job.  Better than nothing, but nothing great.  She doesn't see how educating herself and being innovative can make this job a profession, and she'll get out as soon as she can.
    Finally, there's the dentist who starts to see himself as a trained monkey, running from room to room all day, just to turn around tomorrow and do it all over again.  He's got a good job, but he's found he doesn't really like dealing with people, he's tired of staff issues and dentistry just isn't what he thought it would be.
    Depressed yet?  If you work with people like this, you'll find yourself fighting the relentless pull of their negativity.  It's hard to shake them up and make them see it's not so bad, as a matter of fact you've got it pretty good.  If you are one of these people it may be time to stretch yourself.  Sometimes it's a matter of getting some continuing education so that you have new, interesting things to incorporate into your patient care.  Maybe you just need to develop the ability to look for the ways your daily work matters to others.  People trust you, they count on you to keep them healthier.  Focus on that and make a commitment to read over your patients charts more carefully and to follow up on  their treatment and treatment recommendations.  Don't just go in and clean their teeth.  Really examine their teeth and mouth.  Be in-depth and talk to your patient about what you see and what they can do to help themselves and explain how the dental team can help them.  Challenge yourself to be on time, be set up, be helpful and cheerful with others. 
    Stretch.  The challenge will keep you interested and the accomplishments will motivate you and make you happy. 

The Weight

    Are you still carrying that around with you?  You know it's worse than useless, it's destructive.  There's not one positive thing it can do for you, rather it can only cause you pain and hurt others, as well.  If you give in to the temptation to open the door and take a peek at it, it will fling the door wide and obliterate anything productive you have done to deal with it.  It wants to keep you involved with it, because without you, it is nothing, it's powerless.  It can have a hold on you and even though you know it has nothing good to offer, it's pull can be so strong that you can find yourself drawn back over and over even while you tell yourself you will regret the indulgence.
    Grievances and hurts of the past are the useless weight that can destroy perspective and stunt our personal and professional growth.  It's as if you spend your life sitting in front of a screen that distorts everything that happens in the present with feelings and impressions of unpleasant events and interactions from the past.  If you can't leave your feelings about the wrongs that were done by others in the past, you deny yourself the opportunity to enjoy the better person they may have become in the meantime.  Ironically, you torture yourself more than you bother them.  They go happily about their day while you remain mired in useless resentment.  If you are foolish enough to give into the desire to make sure others know how someone once hurt or cheated you, you further diminish yourself, while they continue to enjoy the peace of moving on.
    You may reason that of course you are still living it, you were the one who was wronged.  It's easy for them to move on, of course they want to let it go.  Ok, let's imagine they wanted to join you in reliving the past.  What would it serve?  Maybe they could admit their sins daily, fall all over themselves making it up to you and beg forgiveness over and over.  Wouldn't that be great!  And what would your response be?  You'd tell them to forget it, don't worry, we all make mistakes.  So, get on with it.
    Aristotle and many great thinkers and philosophers believed that our main purpose was to seek happiness.  We can't even begin to do that if we hold on to old problems.  If we want to find happiness we must allow happiness to others.  We can't do that if we look at them with vision that is clouded with resentment.  Resentment is wasted and only turns back upon the beholder.  After writing about Galba Bright's passing and encouraging others to look at others with kind eyes only yesterday, I found myself allowing resentment over past events to not only intrude on today, I gave into the shallow desire to share those memories with someone else.  The words are out, they won't ever come back and now I'm sorry for it.  I'm worried that the person I talked to will think less of me. I feel guilty about the words that would have never been uttered if the other person had been present. I'm impatient and frustrated with the weakness in myself that allowed the useless sentences. And new life is breathed into the almost dead problem of the past.  And the weight is uncomfortable.  As it should be.

Hiding Behind "If Only"

    We create what we experience.  We also often create what we don't like in our dealings with others.  We create what we don't like in ourselves, as well.  By this I mean that the way we treat the people around us, creates the experience we will have with them.  Did you ever watch someone that you just can't get along with behave completely differently with someone else.  You think to yourself, "I'd like her better if only she'd be that way with me."  Well, maybe it's you, or the way she feels around you.  People are full of needs and desires.  They are usually expressed in "If only's."  "If only she'd ask me to do things in a more respectful way, I'd do it without complaining."  "If only he'd thank me once in a while, I'd be happier at work."  Our "If onlys" control us and we have the illusion that they control others.  We have to stop making "If only" excuses and start doing the right thing for the sheer reason that it is the right thing.
    "If only" is a time waster.  It puts you on hold.  While you're waiting for "if only" to happen, you've been operating at a lower standard than you could have if you'd been guided by the reality of the situation rather than by your ego.  The reality may be that your boss is never going to be more polite or appreciative.  So are you going to let that affect your performance?  Do you go home and ruminate over these issues?  I bet you do, because it is controlling you.  What if you looked at the situation and analyzed it just once?  You can't control your boss.  Poor performance or an attitude won't change how she acts toward you, but may only make it worse.  She won't think, "Gee, I bet if I were nicer or more appreciative, Linda would perform better", will she?  Nah, people who are rude or unappreciative  don't spend a lot of time worrying about other people's psyches.  So, the only thing you can control is your response.  You can push away what you can't control and stop creating monsters for yourself.  Look at your boss with compassion and see the good things that they miss out on by being the way they are.  Forgive them and then look at yourself.  Do you really need to be asked in a certain way or do you just need to know what you have to do?  It's nice to be spoken to kindly, but it isn't a requirement if you have control of yourself.  Why do you need that affirmation from a boss who won't give it to you?  Because it will make you feel good?  Take control, make yourself feel good by realizing a job well done when you do it.  Sure, it's nice to hear it from the boss, but it's better not to try to wrestle it out of someone who can't give. 
    When you stop letting "If only" control you, you begin to see what an imposter it is.  What are you hiding behind "If only" for?  Are you afraid to stretch yourself and try something harder?  "If only" then becomes a reason not to try.  Are you trying to hide from some inadequacy in yourself or hurt from the past?  Maybe "If only my boss would appreciate me" really hides "If only my father was proud of me."  Try to understand what your "If only's" are hiding and maybe you can come out from behind them and live your best life.  Time's wasting, you never get this moment back again, so don't waste another one hiding behind "If only."    

The Central Question

    It doesn't matter what you're trying to accomplish.  You have to figure out the answer to one question if you want to succeed.  That question is "How?".  Think about it.  You want to find out whether a prospective employee will fit into your team.  "How?"  How will you get to the truth of who that person is and how she'll act if you hire her? 
    You have to present a treatment plan to a patient that you truly feel will enhance your patient's life.  "How?"  How will you talk to them in a way that lets them know you see them as people?  How will you help them understand what this treatment can do for them? 
    Maybe you have a staff member that does a great job, but can't get along with the rest of the staff.  You don't want to fire them, but you can't let them keep causing friction with the rest of the team.  "How?"  The way you approach them can make all the difference. 
    In my own case, a big how came up when my boss asked me to manage our practice.  It would mean giving up being the primary assistant.  "How?"  It was a position I was proud of and loved. How would I give it up?  How could I disappoint my boss by not agreeing to his request? 
    Here is the answer to "How?"  The answer is understand the person's identity, even if you are the person.  Once I understood that being the primary assistant had become part of my identity, I realized that I could shift the way I saw myself and take pride in being trusted with the responsibility of managing this practice.  You can answer all of the previous questions the same way.  What identity does the staff member have for herself?  What others see as aggressive, she may consider assertive.  Understanding that may open a window into that person's psyche and help you help them find a better way.  Understanding a patient better will direct the way you approach them about treatment.  Paying attention during an interview and finding ways to draw a new employee into conversation about themself will give you insights into how they'll fit into your team.
    Whenever you feel like your stuck in a situation, stop and ask yourself "How?" and see if ideas don't start popping into your head.  Learn to listen for the answers.  That's how.

I Am The Woman!

    Oh yes I am.  I ran my first 5K today.  It was misery, but I did it.  My husband and daughter ran it with me.  I kept telling them to run ahead, they wouldn't leave me.  There were times I slowed down and walked, but I never quit, which I'm still pretty happy and a little surprised about.  Do you want to know why I'm telling you about it?  Well first of all, I'm bragging, I'll admit that.  On a less self-serving level, I want you to think about me the next time you have to do something that's hard for you.  Because I tried to talk my way out of it all day. When I got up, it was cold and raining and it rained all through the run.  My husband looked at me and asked if we were still going.  My daughter came in then and said, "Oh yeah, we are."  I whined a lot right up until the first step and then whined off and on for about the first half mile.  Then I started setting my sights on getting a little farther down the road.  Before long I was looking at the finish line.
    We finished in 42 minutes which I know isn't fast, but  I finished.   They could have done it in 30, but they stayed with me.  So, the next time something is difficult for you, look around for support, set your sights on the path ahead, and think of a 50 year old woman, who could use to lose a few, cheering you on.  You can do more than you think you can.

The Unique Opportunity of the New Year

If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you know that I consider Tom Morris one of my mentors.  Reading his book, If Aristotle Ran General Motors, caused an immediate and irreversible change in the way I think, work and relate to others.  It's a change for the better.  Regardless of whether the change you need to make is in your personal or work life, a change in one area usually affects everything else, hopefully in a positive way.  Tom sent me the following email essay the other day and agreed to let me share it here.  Whether you need to lose a few pounds, make changes in the way you run your practice, start a new phase in your professional or personal life, etc., I think you'll find some encouragement here.  Visit Tom's website here, to find some other great essays, ideas and information that will affect and enhance the way you think and live.  Keep your eyes open too, Tom tells me that he will be re-vamping the site within the month with new essays and possibly videos as well.  That's got me excited, I can't wait to see it!  Maybe that's the best explanation of why Tom's work means so much to me.  Everything I've read that he's written, whether it's a book, his website or an email, fills me with hope, enthusiasm and a new and better way of thinking and living. 

The Unique Opportunity of the New Year

Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises.
Demosthenes

We Americans often love new beginnings – a birth, a marriage, a baptism, a bar mitzvah, a new job, a new client, or a new home: these are all things that we celebrate and enjoy immensely.  New beginnings offer endless possibilities and opportunities for good.  They awaken something within us, they spark new hope, and they stir us to a new level of energy. 

With the arrival of each New Year, we get a psychological chance to start over, building on the victories of the past in novel ways, and at the same time correcting the mistakes we’ve inevitably made.  It’s cathartic, and it’s motivational. 

Yes, I know, January is in some sense just another month on the calendar in the endless rotation of seasons, but symbolically this time of year allows us mentally to wipe the slate clean and launch out in new directions.  It’s also the one time of year when it’s easiest to get other people to try something new.  Your associates and clients are themselves emotionally and intellectually poised on a new horizon. It’s a culture-wide phenomenon, and it sparks a transitional mentality in everyone. 

As resistant to change as people can be, this is the one time of year when we all have to change – in little ways like writing ‘2008’ onto our checks instead of ‘2007’, and making entries into a new calendar, as well as in other respects.  Many of us even look forward to those changes that we’ve traditionally called “New Year’s Resolutions” – losing a few pounds, getting a little more organized, trying a new approach at work, or spending a bit more time with the kids. 

The ancient Greek mathematician Archimedes liked to say “Give me a place to stand and a lever long enough, and I can move the world.”  The first few weeks, and even the first couple of months, in the New Year offer us a unique place to stand, and this pervasive mindset of “new horizons” offers us an amazing leverage for moving our enterprises, our associates, our clients, and even our families to a new level of productive activity, as well as to new forms of fulfillment.  If you take this one time each year as an opportunity to initiate something new, you will stand the very best chance of getting a receptive response from the most people around you.  It just seems like a time for new adventures.

For decades now I’ve been bringing the wisdom of the ages into people’s work lives and personal experience.  I’ve come to appreciate the advice of the most practical philosophers concerning success in any new endeavor.  From Plato and Aristotle up to the present day, the most insightful thinkers have seen that it takes seven things to position us for success in any new challenge and in any new opportunity.  I call these things “The 7 Cs of Success.”  Let list here the briefest possible statement of them.

For true success in anything new, we need:


The 7 Cs of Success

1. A clear CONCEPTION of what we want, a vivid vision, a goal clearly imagined.

2. A strong CONFIDENCE that we can attain our goal.

3. A focused CONCENTRATION on what it takes to reach the goal.

4. A stubborn CONSISTENCY in pursuing that vision.

5. An emotional COMMITMENT to the importance of what we’re doing.

6.  A good CHARACTER to guide us and keep us on a proper course.

7. A CAPACITY TO ENJOY the process along the way.


These seven conditions of success are so simple on the surface, but they’re also very powerful.  That’s what impressed the great practical thinkers about each of them.  If we can keep them in mind throughout 2008, and use them consistently in everything we do, we can, like Archimedes, “move the world.”

I recently had an opportunity to meet the great seafaring New Zealander, Russell Couts -- the man who has won more consecutive America’s Cup yacht races than any other captain in history.  We talked about The 7 Cs of Success and he told me they capture exactly what his crew does to win.  Russell would be the first person to say that you can’t control the way the wind blows on any given day, but if you launch out on any new voyage with great people, great ideas like The 7 Cs of Success, and a great attitude, you can be amazed at what results.

Poised at the start of what can be a new era in your life, use the wisdom of the past – insights that you’ve accumulated from your own experience so far, and ideas that other wise people have handed down to you – and then make the most of the new opportunities that are coming your way.

May you have a wise, happy, and prosperous 2008!

Your Philosopher,

Tom Morris

Can You See More Clearly Now?

    You've had some time to reflect on what you'd like your practice to look like in the coming year.  Hopefully you've written down some thoughts and prioritized your ideas.  My boss is great at reining me in this way.  I've usually got a dozen ideas at any given time.  When I start to ramble  them off, he reminds me to pick my top three.  The reason for this is so that I can focus and complete one project before jumping into another.  In the meantime, I keep a list and review it when I've completed the previous idea.  Sometimes a new idea jumps to the head of the list. 
    Let's take it one step farther.  What would your practice be like if you were dreaming big?  What would make you get up in the morning, rush through your grooming and breakfast and gulp down your coffee because you just couldn't wait to start your work day?  What would make your heart race if you thought you could have it?  Ok, now that you've pictured it, don't let any "buts" get in the way.  People may throw out reasons that you can't have what you want.  That's ok, you don't have to believe them.  Embracing challenges is energizing.  Energize those around you by asking them for solutions to obstacles, especially if it's their attitude that's the obstacle.  You can't remain an obstacle if you're involved in trying to solve it.
    So, what will you do next?  Have a staff meeting.  Share the ideas with your staff and ask them to help you make it happen.  Make them a part of the process and let them know it's a whole team effort.  Do you want to improve treatment plan acceptance and integration of new patients into the practice?  Maybe one of your staff members would be a perfect patient care coordinator.  Are collections a concern?  Brainstorm ideas for getting patients to pay faster.  Work out scripts for the front desk to use so that when patients approach the desk, she's ready.  I used to hear our front desk person ask patients if "they wanted to pay something today?"  Now, our front desk assistant says, "The fee today is $, will you be using a credit card or check for that?"  It was a little touchy at first, but now patients expect to pay.  For any issue that you'd like to see changed, there is a solution.  Make your team a part of that solution and you'll see results. 
    If you'd like to share some issues you'd like to tackle this year, just click on comment and we'll talk about it.

Look Ahead

    Look ahead to a brighter future in 2008.  Looking back over the year just past has it's benefits.  It gives you a chance to see what worked and what didn't.  Now you know what you want to keep doing, or do more of next year, and what you hope to never deal with again.  Even if some of the same problems arise, hopefully you'll know how to deal with them better.  Then there are the things that have no saving grace.  You lost your temper and hurt someone's feelings, you made a mistake that still makes you blush, one of your employees said something in frustration that she didn't really mean, someone quit and left a lot of hard feelings and burned bridges behind.  Realize now, there's nothing you can do to change any of that.  Leave it behind the door marked 2007.
    Bringing up and reliving pasts pains doesn't solve anything, even though you may tell yourself it does.  It just keeps it alive and ugly.  Once a situation can't be changed by talking about it anymore, shut it down.  Move on and put your energy into something you can affect.  Sometimes people feel that if they can understand every nuance of a problem they can somehow fix it.  All they really do is hold whomever they are talking with, hostage to the past. 
    So where will you start to make 2008 a great year?  Does your schedule need tweaking, your staff need motivating, do you need some new changes in your practice?  If you're the dentist, it starts with you.  Even if you have a practice manager, at some point you have to get involved if you want to have the practice of your dreams.  While you have some time now during the holidays, think about all the things you'd like to see in your practice.  Write them down as they come to you.  Every one of them.  Don't edit out things because you think your staff won't support it or it's too much effort.  It costs you nothing to write it down.  Once you're done, look over your list and rate the importance of each item.  Just ask yourself how you'd feel if each item actually became a reality.  Then rate them from 1-5; 1 being in the "yeah, that would be nice category and 5 being "Wow, if only I could make that happen, I'd have the practice of my dreams!"  Guess what?  You are on the way to making it happen.  You took the first step, you made it a part of your vision for your practice.  Pick one or two of the things that you rate a 5, those will be the goals you work toward, first. 
    Don't worry, you don't have to do it alone.  We're going to get your staff involved. You can't just walk in on January 2 and say, "listen up, this is how it's going to be from now on."  Well, you could, but I doubt you'd get what you wanted.  You have to let them know about your vision and you have to ask them to make it their vision as well.  I'll be back to help you plan how to make that happen.

Take One Look Back

    Now that 2007 is drawing to a close take one look back before you move forward into 2008.  Look at the things that didn't work.  The mistakes that you don't want to make again.
    I'll bet that many of you would find that most of the things you don't want to repeat are mistakes you made with other people.  Sure, that time that you cemented the tip of your glove under a bridge retainer was a nightmare, but you'll likely never do that again.  For some reason, it's easy to avoid making those kinds of mistakes again.  The dollar value of making a mistake like that can be pretty high and very hard to swallow, but it's a definite amount.  The cost of the mistakes you make with other people can be inestimable in terms of money and loss of regard.
    If you're a staff member it's pretty cut and dried.  Fail with your patients, your co-workers or your boss and at the least, you may not get a salary increase, or not as much; in extreme cases you may lose your job altogether.  You may find that it's hard to find another one and even if you do, you may realize that you didn't know how good you had it in your previous job. You may also see that in ignoring all the warning signals and the feedback that you received, either verbally or from the reactions of others, you lost their respect and friendship. That kind of regret can be hard to swallow.  So, if you're recognizing your own situation and feeling a little uneasy, make this realization your impetus for changing your behavior in 2008.  Give more for the right reasons.  Just do your job and help others and stop wondering what's in it for you.  That's when you'll find out how much better life can be.
    If you're the dentist, look back over the year and ask yourself if you'd like working with you or being treated by you.  Did you lose your patience with patients who wanted to ask too many questions and who made you run late?  Did you take your staff members for granted or treat them like they were just cogs in a wheel?  Yes, you do need to keep a certain amount of objectivity about staff and what they bring to the practice, but if you are cold or uncaring toward them, it may cost you more than you can put a number on.  Really good employees need and deserve a certain amount of feedback, both good and bad.  They want it because they want to know what worked and what needs to be changed.  They also like recognition of the fact that they give outstanding service.  It's like fuel for a car.  If you want to keep going places, you put fuel in the car.  If you make a mistake and treat an employee too harshly, you can break even with a sincere apology.   That  shows your own humanity and allows them to cut you a little slack when you need it.  It doesn't diminish your standing in their eyes, rather it takes to to new heights of stature.
    Do you feel so rushed in your day or so frustrated with your staff that you are starting to lose enjoyment in dentistry?  What would it take to make that better?  Look back and try to identify the reasons you felt rushed, or what your team could have done differently to make things better.  Maybe you need to change the way you schedule your day or maybe the staff doesn't know what would make you happy and satisfied.  Wishing never gets results.  Speaking out loud gets it on the table, setting expectations makes everyone pick up the challenge, and acknowledgment makes good things keep happening.  In a couple of days, I'll talk about how to get 2008 off to a great start. 
    Ok, so you had your look back, you know what went wrong.  Now close the door.  It's over.  Take what you learned and get ready for a great new year. 
    

EQ VS IQ

    Is it better to be smart, or is it smart to be reasonable?  IQ measures how intelligent a person is.  EQ tells us how smart a person's reactions are.  Dental team members need a certain level of intelligence to perform their duties, no doubt about it.  They need a high level of emotional intelligence to be outstanding team members.
    You can be really smart, but have no clue about how to apply your intelligence in a way that benefits the practice.  You may be smart, but also be so impressed with what a genius you are, that you make everyone around you roll their eyes back in their head every time you open your mouth.  Smart is only good when it has emotional intelligence to ride around on.
    An emotional intelligent person thinks before they act.  They understand that what they say and do affects everyone around them, and also determines every result they get.  They are considerate of the desires of others and factor in other people's personality types and patterns.  They have self-control, an attribute that seems in short supply these days.  They don't have the need to tell everything about themselves and they understand that it's ok if others have a different point of view.  They know how to live and let live.  They don't bicker about what's fair and don't worry about who's getting more than them, or who is getting special treatment.  They respect that the dentist is the owner and get's to make the final decision and they know when to make suggestions, when to be silent and when to let go. 
    If you have a lot of conflicts between staff members, you may find that they just aren't demonstrating a lot of EQ.  Can it change?  I think so, once you become aware of it and bring it to their attention.  But, you have to have a plan for change.  Don't bring it up as an accusation, make it a team project.  Describe the difference between IQ and EQ and ask them to think of times when they saw someone on the team display a good EQ.  Then ask them to think of times when their own response to stress was a little low on EQ.  Finally, challenge them to pay attention in the next few weeks and write down instances of high EQ among the team.  They can read out their list at the next team meeting.  You'll notice a lot of emotional intelligence going on, because they'll all want to provide something worthy of report.  Once they see how much better demonstrating EQ is, they'll do it because it feels good.

Dig For It

    "Why do so many...settle for so little?  I don't understand why they're not greedy for what's inside them."     ~Jack Gilbert~

    Have you even scratched the surface yet?  Do you know how good you can be?  So many times we become complacent about our performance at work, or even how we live our day to day lives, that we may be ignorant of what lies beneath.  We may underestimate our own abilities or we may have become so caught up in our routine lives that we are getting by with "just good enough."  I put that phrase in quotes because it's one that I hate to hear, I hear it a lot, and it's my mission to wipe it out of the popular vernacular.
    There's nothing wrong with "good enough" sometimes, and in some circumstances.  We have to use our discretion about what we give our all to and what we do "good enough."  What worries me is that so many people blink their way through life and before they know it, they've come to the end and look back and say "What happened?"  What happened to all the joy I used to get in doing things right, my interest in my work and relationships?  What happened to the person who got up in the morning ready to do great things.  Why did I pass my time just passing time?  Could it all have been more than "just good enough?"
    Some people spend a lot of time blaming their upbringing or their circumstances for their lot in life.  At some point you had the power to change things.  Not every successful person had parents who encouraged them or the money to go to the best college.  Some of them had to work harder than most to understand, had to start each day behind the rest, or had to grab whatever tiny bit of help was given them and then do something with it.  They had to spend more time taking advantage of the luck or privilege that they had, than whining about the lack of it.
    Dentists and managers, do you try to make your staff members see what is inside of them?  Do you expect more of them, and let them know they have to deliver.  After all, if you settle for what they are giving and it's not enough, you are the beginning of the problem.  Staff members, if your boss or manager tell you what they need, and you don't dig down and find it and bring it to them, you are going to be your own worst enemy.  Sometimes it becomes such a flash point for managers to discuss performance with staff members, they just settle for what they are getting, and then complain and vent at home or to colleagues.  This is wasted energy, time and emotion.  Because, dentist, your life and career are passing by quickly, also.  Do you want to look back and think about how nice it could have been if you'd had a staff that cared and dug deep to give your practice the performance it deserved?  Staff members, it's too late to be surprised when you lose your job because "just good enough didn't cut it." 
    When you think of the amount of time that is spent trying to get everyone in a dental practice on the same page and moving forward, you'd wonder where they ever find the time and energy to care for patients.  I've been in both situations.  Working with a team that is "just good enough" is frustrating and discouraging.  When as a co-worker, you see a team member idle away the day because she just doesn't want to put the energy into exploring her depths, you know that no matter what you are willing to do, she will hold you back in some way.  You may look at the dentist and wonder when he's going to do something about it.  Dentists, your team depends on you to deal with these issues.  The sad thing is, good team members are lost because of complacency on the part of other team members or the dentist. Then the situation spirals down until no one knows where to begin making it better. Working with a team like I have now is a dream.  We all want to do our personal best and are committed to helping each other realize that, as well.  We understand that when we do that, our personal best gets better, individually and as a team.  That realization makes coming to work every day an exciting adventure.  Between three of us alone, we have almost 60 years of combined experience and we still look forward to each new day and we all dig a little deeper to find out what else is in us.  Must be something to it.