Identifying and living your core values is the most important thing you will ever do. In this episode, Miranda Beeson, ACT’s director of education, brings in ACT’s founder, Kirk Behrendt, to share the story behind their core values, how they came to be, and why core values matter to a dental practice. To gain insight and inspiration for your core values, listen to Episode 967 of The Best Practices Show!
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Main Takeaways:
Quotes:
“It's a great practice to pause and think about how far you've come, where there were some potential missed opportunities, and now what our future looks like. What do we need to hit the go button on? What is it that we didn't accomplish that we really wanted to? How do we reframe our mindset to get those things done and to accomplish those things that we want to do? Also, to take a moment to celebrate because we've made some progress. It's really important to go beyond production and collection because there are so many different things that play into our practice and the success of our practice than just those two numbers.” (2:41—3:19) -Heather
“Time goes by so fast. So, next year, we don't want 2026 to just be another year that, ‘Wow, the time did go by fast.’ While it does go by fast, we need to be intentional with that reflection to say, ‘What did we do this year? What were the things that we accomplished?’ so that we don't lose sight of our bigger goals, the things that we said were the most important to us. It's really important to ask yourselves a few questions before the new year begins so that you can plan appropriately for the new year and make the same amount of progress or more progress next year than you made this year. So, looking back to see what are some areas of opportunity that we have in the coming year will help so much.” (4:33—5:16) -Heather
“Question number one is, how aligned was my practice this year? What you need to know is that alignment is essential for your practice to be successful. Without that clear vision, without consistent rhythms, your team will drift. You might drift. Priorities will get lost. Your prioritization could be completely a “shiny squirrel” instead of the thing that you said was most important to you, and your progress toward your goals will completely stall. So, it's important to make sure that you guys were aligned. And as you're asking yourself these questions, it's a good idea to rate yourself and your team on a number scale. Otherwise, it's subjective rather than objective to say, how aligned was my practice this year? Do it on a scale from one to ten. Did you lead with clear vision? Were you clear? Did you ask your team if you were clear? Did you ask them for feedback on if you were clear? Were you all on the same page? Did you keep those consistent communication rhythms like the team meeting, morning huddle, check-ins, your Right People, Right Seat Scorecard conversations? Did all of those things go according to plan? Rate yourself on a scale from one to ten. That's question number one.” (5:31—6:40) -Heather
“Part of this alignment piece is like, where are we going? I have so many clients that know where they're going, but they haven't communicated that clearly to their team. I think that that is a huge piece of this is, how aligned was my practice this year? How good was I at getting everybody aligned with what's in my head? Did I clearly articulate it? Did I document it well enough that I've allowed my team to meet me where I'm at, and that they know exactly where it is that we're all going together? If they don't know where you're going, they can't help you get there.” (9:40—10:13) -Heather
“[Question] number two, how smart were we? So, this encompasses the systems piece, tracking and understanding your data and any KPIs that you wanted to track this year and that you wanted to improve, any kind of process or agreement. Aligning on those pieces is super crucial for the smart piece. Being consistent with those specific systems across the board as a team is important as well and will play into this question. Did we monitor? Did we understand and discuss all of that data that we wanted to in the practice? Some of my clients will change their KPIs that they're tracking on a quarterly basis. Some will keep the same ones all year. Were those the right decisions? At ACT, we have a GAPs Financial Scorecard. Did we use that to help guide in which KPIs we were tracking and following and going through those data points? Did we put some great countermeasures in place? So, let's say we were looking at fluoride percentage and it was kind of low. Did we effectively apply countermeasures to improve that percentage and take care of our patients in the way that we want to serve our patients? How well did we systematize the practice? Every single year, we should be either documenting new systems or modifying our existing systems so that they reflect on those successful outcomes and one-year goals that we're hoping to achieve. So, did we rely on those rather than rely on our people? Were we systems-driven rather than people-dependent? That's what all encompasses how smart were we.” (10:21—11:52) -Heather
“A great number you need to have a good understanding of to be smart is days worked. So, if you're a dentist listening, I want you to go to the office right now and figure out, how many days did I work? Most dentists, and I would say like 95% of dentists, have no idea. They have no idea. They go, ‘Well, I work four days a week.’ That does not answer the question. I want to know, specifically, how many days did you work? The other thing they don't understand is what constitutes a day worked. ‘Well, I went to the office, and I saw a big case on a Friday. But I don't normally work Fridays, so the office wasn't really open.’ No, if you went to the office and did dentistry on any level, or if you went to the office and you worked for a couple hours, I would even constitute that as days worked. We could argue about that, but let's just do patient-facing. So, if you saw a patient, that's days worked. We could argue, but let's start there. According to the ADA, the average dentist works 220 days a year. That's not smart. I'm sorry. We are now seeing dentists that are working 240, 245 days a year. They're working to service a false proxy, meaning they're just working to service this gross production number. So, a smart practice goes from 220 to 210 and makes more. Then, they go from 210 to 200 and make even more. Then, they go from 200 down to 190, then to 180, and the story continues. Some of our favorites do 170 days a year. Now, that is a really smart practice. And I'm here to tell you, you can do it. If you don't think you can do it, you need a coach like Heather or one of our amazing coaches because they will make you do it. That's function number one of a smart practice.” (12:09—13:52) -Kirk
“Number two that we talk about all the time is write-off percentages. Write-off percentages are climbing to a rate that's not even reasonable. It's irritating to hear these write-off rates. Last year, we saw write-off rates that were 42%, 43%. Now, we're seeing some practices that we coach — and these are really good practices — they are participating with plans in which they're writing off as much as 55%, which makes no sense. Now, I think that's crazy. Prior to COVID-19, it was completely unreasonable to see people writing off 25%. Now, past COVID-19, we are now seeing practices that are routinely writing off 33% or more. And let me just say this. When you're writing off 33%, you are working one out of every three days for free. For free! I would argue you're not even doing it for free. You're gloving up and seeing patients, and you're doing it for a loss because you’ve got to pay rent. You’ve got to pay all these people. You are servicing people for less than free, and that is not smart.” (13:52—14:54) -Kirk
“It's not just limited to numbers. Some of the smart decisions you make are around vision questions regarding your time. This is my opinion, but seeing patients after 5:00 is silly. It's just stupid. I know why people do it, but it's counterproductive. We have so many people that we coach that go, ‘I don't want to do this anymore.’ I'm like, ‘Don't.’ So, they'll go to four days a week, 7:00 to 3:00 without a lunch, or they'll go 8:00 to 4:00. The cool thing is you can pick. And their net production skyrockets. Their collections actually skyrockets. They make more money and they enjoy what they do. That is a smart decision. They're also expanding. They expand from a position of strength, meaning they have too many patients. They can see how this will monetize and support their vision, not just expand in hopes of doing it. So, you’ve got to be smart in business, in that respect.” (17:33—18:32) -Kirk
“Question number three, how healthy is our culture? Again, it's so subjective unless you make it objective. So, definitely use a number, as we just come off talking about data. Rate yourself and your practice on a scale from one to ten. How healthy was our culture this year? How did we do in 2025 in how it relates to, were we trusting each other? How were our core values showing up? Were they, in fact, alive and well? Did we lean into productive, healthy conflict to be sure that we're aligned? We don't have to agree, but to be sure that we're aligned, having that healthy conflict is so crucial.” (18:39—19:23) -Heather
“Question number four, what will we start, stop, or continue next year? Many of our current Pro clients know what the Start, Stop, Continue Reflection Exercise looks like. What I love so much about this activity is that you could apply it to anything. In this particular instance, you're going to apply it to 2025 and that aligned, smart, and healthy piece. So, how can we be intentional about creating more freedom and fulfillment in the coming year? What is it that we want to start doing that we weren't able to start doing in 2025? What worked well that we should double down on and continue to do and see in the coming year? Sometimes, if we pour more energy into things that are working, the other things will follow. Then, what do we need to stop doing so that we can see more success in those specific segments of aligned, smart, and healthy? There are plenty of bad habits — myself included. I'm totally guilty of doing some not-so-great things — scheduling your time. Specifically, I want to say this one because I've got a lot of clients that are struggling with this right now. I know that you do too as a clinician listening, is to block time. So, at least start blocking time. Don't say, ‘Oh, I'll get to that. I'll get to that. I'll get to that.’ Block some admin time.” (24:26—25:35) -Heather
“The starting and stopping is so important every single year. In order to get something going, you’ve got to say yes to a lot. But you eventually have to move away from that word and start using the word “no”. So, my encouragement to you is to create a “no list”, things I'm going to say no to. ‘I'm not going to do that.’ They might include procedures. They might include behavior. They might include certain hours. ‘I'm not going to see people after this time because I'm getting too old for this.’ It's powerful when you can stop doing some of these things. So, create a “no list” and start focusing on the few things that move the needle instead of the many that don't.” (26:03—26:45) -Kirk
“Start with thinking of all the amazing things that you and your team were able to accomplish this year. We talked about the progress. We always say slow is smooth, and smooth is fast. I just had a client that revamped their core values because they let them bake. And oh my gosh, for me, that's my favorite thing that they did this year. I loved it. I was so emotional for a really good reason, and it was incredibly impactful and powerful for their team. Just that alone, even though this year might have been a struggle year, can help you to see that, ‘Hey, we accomplished something really awesome this year.’” (26:59—27:31) -Heather
“When you sit down and you ask yourself these four questions and give yourself that data point and rate where you were, then it gives you that focus and intention and confidence going into 2026. So, make sure that you're intentional with blocking your calendar and giving yourself some time to reflect on this past year as a dentist-practice owner. Then, if you do have that healthy culture, I would pull your team into it as well. Thank your team and appreciate your team for the progress that you've made this year because dentistry is not a solo sport. Your team had a hand in helping you to get where you are right now. Then, involve them in the process of planning for next year. They might be able to really help you populate your start-stop-continue list for 2026, so include them in the process.” (27:45—28:27) -Heather
Snippets:
0:00 Introduction.
2:34 Why this is an important topic.
5:16 Question 1: How aligned was my practice this year?
10:19 Question 2: How smart were we?
18:36 Question 3: How healthy is our culture?
24:23 Question 4: What will we start, stop, or continue next year?
26:47 Final takeaways.
Heather Crockett Bio:
Heather Crockett is a Lead Practice Coach who finds joy in not only improving practices but improving the lives of those she coaches as well. With over 20 years of combined experience in assisting, office management, and clinical dental hygiene, her awareness supports many aspects of the practice setting.
Heather received her dental hygiene degree from the Utah College of Dental Hygiene in 2008. Networking in the dental community comes easy to her, and she loves to connect with like-minded colleagues on social media. Heather enjoys both attending and presenting continuing education to expand her knowledge and learn from her friends and colleagues.
She enjoys hanging out with her husband, three sons, and their dog, Moki, scrolling through social media, watching football, and traveling.