The Sandbox Strategy: Why Dentists Should Test Ideas Before Launch
Step Off the Beach and into the Sandbox
Ideas are like grains of sand on the beach. They’re limitless! There are so many ideas to explore, it’s hard to keep up with them all. You’re the visionary of the dental practice, which means great ideas are always buzzing through your head.
A word of caution: try not to get carried away! Some dentists get so excited about an idea, they can’t wait a second longer to share it with the team. If you constantly throw around ideas, the team won’t know which ones to pick up.
That’s like dumping a bucket of sand on your receptionist’s desk and saying, “Here’s what I got. You take it from here.” They would have no clue what to do!
Our advice? Build a sandbox. Make it your designated space to play with ideas and run them by your traction team first. After playing in the sand for a while, you might realize some of those ideas weren’t as great as you initially thought.
Stay focused on the agreed-upon priorities for this quarter. Then, when the time is right, you can show the team what you’ve been building in the sandbox.
Don’t have a traction team? Bounce ideas off your fellow dentists in the Best Practices Association! In the meantime, check out our blog about different team playersand how they each play a role in bringing ideas to life.
Kirk Behrendt is a renowned consultant and speaker in the dental industry, known for his expertise in helping dentists create better practices and better lives. With over 30 years of experience in the field, Kirk has dedicated his professional life to optimizing the best systems and practices in dentistry. Kirk has been a featured speaker at every major dental meeting in the United States. His company, ACT Dental, has consistently been ranked as one of the top dental consultants in Dentistry Today's annual rankings for the past 10 years. In addition, ACT Dental was named one of the fastest-growing companies in the United States by Inc Magazine, appearing on their Inc 5000 list. Kirk's motivational skills are widely recognized in the dental industry. Dr. Peter Dawson of The Dawson Academy has referred to Kirk as "THE best motivator I have ever heard." Kirk has also assembled a trusted team of advisor experts who work with dentists to customize individual solutions that meet their unique needs. When he's not motivating dentists and their teams, Kirk enjoys coaching his children's sports teams and spending time with his amazing wife, Sarah, and their four children, Kinzie, Lily, Zoe, and Bo.
