Dental practice strategies“I tried that. It didn’t work.”

That’s a response I have heard many times in my years of counseling dentists in practice management strategies. And I have to say that I am usually skeptical when I hear it. It’s not that I don’t believe that the strategy they tried didn’t work in their practice; I take their word for that. What I question is the level to which they really tried to implement it.

To give just one example, I have advised dentists for years on a simple strategy for getting the most from their time – in life and in their career – by adopting an IN time/ON time/AWAY time approach for  crafting their calendar. (I have an online course, "Fundamental Leadership Objectives" that includes this topic, if you’re not familiar with it.)

A lot of people will look at that approach, take notes, and then sit down and diligently block out their upcoming calendar year using these categories. Then they sit back and wait for the magic to happen. Not surprisingly, they are usually disappointed with the results.

But then there are the people who take the idea and run with it. For them, the exercise of blocking out those categories is not the end, it’s the beginning. Once they have their time apportioned properly, they use that strategically-designed calendar as a motivator. They look into ways to maximize their IN time by getting their hourly production humming. They plan their ON time with the team in a graduated, progressive way. They research ways to spend their AWAY time that will best drive their goals in the practice.  In other words, this new way of calendar planning is not just an abstract exercise to them. They breathe life into the process and make it real.

What it really comes down to is the difference between following the letter of the law as opposed to embracing the spirit of the purpose. And that comes back to one of the most reliable predictors of any person’s success, in anything they take on: their level of engagement.

So this is my advice to any dentist trying to adopt any new idea, whether from Spear or any dental continuing education provider: If you are going to do it, go deep. Take that philosophy and find ways to really apply it to everything you do.  An idea only becomes a catalyst when you choose to make it meaningful.

(Enjoy these insights from Imtiaz Manji? Then click here for a list of his free e-books on dental practice management!)


Be first to post a comment