Did you know? Humans have a shorter attention span than goldfish! Years ago, the average attention span was 12 seconds. Now, it’s less than eight. The goldfish have us beat at nine seconds!
Dentists love to think about growing their practices, and one of the most obvious ways to do so is to add more chairs. After all, more chairs mean more patient volume, more revenue, fewer scheduling bottlenecks, and more space for additional providers, right? Well, not quite. Ultimately, adding more chairs
Are you working too many days and still not seeing the results you want in your dental practice? You're not alone. Many dentists assume that working more days automatically leads to more success. But what if we told you that the opposite is often true?
How is your practice going? I don't mean profits, number of patients, or the team's performance. I'm talking about the actual building that holds your practice. Patients see the little things you don't. They see the weeds in your parking lot, the air freshener that ran out, the bug that got stuck in the observation light. These things may be little, but they really add up. Flaws in the physical space can hinder the patient experience.
Thanks to a gift from one of our coaching clients and BPA members, Dr. Chris Mazzola, I'm reading a book authored by David Brooks called "How to Know a Person." Thanks Chris! One idea in particular, spoke to me. Frankly, it pointed out how I could have been better in just about all my close relationships, including those in my dental practice. Instead of solving problems for others around me or sharing my "wisdom" with anybody brave enough to share with me their troubles, Brooks describes a presence called accompaniment. It's profound and I'll bet after reading more, you will identify many past instances where you would have been better to show up and support rather than inspire, educate, and solve.
Every dentist has those days where they leave the office feeling exhausted and that they could have been more productive. However, you can eliminate these days by focusing on one crucial aspect of your practice—the schedule. Your schedule is more than just a schedule—it’s your blueprint for the day that
How close are you to achieving your goals? You probably have a general idea of how much progress you’ve made. But chances are, you don’t know exactly how much progress you’ve made. You might feel like you’re close to your goals, but your team might feel like they’re far away from those goals.
Ideas are like popcorn kernels. There’s a lot of them, and once they start popping, it’s hard to pick them all up! If this describes your everyday life, then you must be the entrepreneur of your team. You’re filled with many great ideas—so many, in fact, that they spill over the kettle, onto the table, and across the floor. You try to pick up every single idea, but there are just too many. If you pick up every idea that comes to mind, your team won’t know which ones to focus on.
One of the biggest sources of frustration for every dentist is the feeling of being overwhelmed—after all, you’re simultaneously a leader, and entrepreneur, and a clinician—and that constant juggling of roles takes a toll. The headaches drain and distract you, forcing you to lose sight of what matters most. What
Is a team member just skating by? They take the last paper towel and think, “Someone else will refill that.” Or, they see an empty toilet roll and say, “That’s not my job.” If it’s not in their job description, they won’t do it.
