A Creative Approach to Problems and Solutions

Suppose you're in a busy three-operatory practice with limited space. You have been working on your presentation and value-creation strategies and you realize you would really like to have a dedicated consultation room. But there is nowhere to expand and you're not ready to move to a bigger facility. It seems like a roadblock with no solution.

But what about that private office of yours? You spend most of your time chairside anyway; what if you renovated that space and put in a small conference table, a couple of chairs, and a computer?

You could still have a roll-top desk there for yourself, where you could easily store your paperwork out of sight during patient consultations. This is a great example of a problem being an ally rather than a roadblock, because it encourages you to think creatively and uncover a hidden opportunity.

Here's another example: You have a team member who just doesn't seem to "get it" when it comes to promoting the value of what you do to patients. But maybe she really doesn't get it because she has never experienced it herself. What if you were to perform smile enhancement procedures on her? That gives you an opportunity to showcase your abilities to your patients and it will likely do wonders to convert the team member into an enthusiastic advocate of great dentistry.

The too-small facility and the unmotivated team member can seem like typical problems, so we often start to look for typical solutions – and often come up frustrated. But sometimes these aren't really problems to be solved. Sometimes they are clues that point the way to a better way of doing things. Sometimes problems are allies.