"A thousand mile journey begins with a single step."

Taking the first step is always difficult but eventually it will get you to the top of the mountain. If you have been in business for any length of time you have had challenges within your business that have led to having some tough conversations and making some difficult decisions. How do you survive during difficult times when you feel like your business is failing or perhaps you develop a health issue or unexpectedly pass away? What will happen to your family, employees, and patients? Even if you are not in dire straits, an escape plan is essential in order to be prepared. What is the plan in place if your business goes south?

Think of how the economy was greatly impacted in 2008 or after September 11th. In challenging times filled with fear or anxiety, do we make good decisions or does human nature tend to dictate that most of us would panic and make decisions based upon a scarcity mindset?

Imagine the world is burning down all around you and a huge fire is taking place; is that the time you will think clearly and be able to create an escape plan? Or is it better to prepare in advance? I would encourage a contingency plan for your business not because you intend to fail but in order to set your practice up for success. Perhaps by having a very precise plan that is well thought out in advance it may even motivate you to make great changes that keep you from ever executing this plan.

There are many questions to consider here depending upon how your business is structured. This may be a good time to answer the following:

1. What does your escape plan entail step by step?
2. What would happen to your employees, your patients, your building and equipment?
3. If you are midway through treatment with a patient and have to file for bankruptcy does this become an issue of patient neglect which may then jeopardize your license?

Have you thought any of this stuff through? Do you know how?

We are happy to help coach your through how to address all of these issues as well as helping you emotionally prepare. What I have found is that we can help inspire you and your team to come together and rally and that when you approach this with integrity and heart it can cultivate massive change that leads to a better outcome than you could have ever imagined. I would encourage you to contact your coach if this is an area we can help you with. If you are not a current client please reach out to us- we would love the opportunity to serve you and help through this process.

To be successful, it is vital to set goals. I often tell my dental offices, that don't believe in setting goals, you are rowing a boat with one oar; the only place you are going is in circles. As kind of a goal setting 101, I recommend these steps:

1. Keep them few in number: studies show that you really can't focus on more than 5-7 items at one time. Create a list that is easily remembered.
2. Make your goals S.M.A.R.T: the acronym S.M.A.R.T. stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-specific.
   1. Specific-use who, what, where, when, which, why.

Who is involved?

What do I want to accomplish?

Where will I do this?

When do I want to do this? Establish a time frame.

Which roadblocks could throw me off course?

Why am I doing this? Be very specific in your reasons. For example, just don't say, "I want to lose weight," say, "I want to lost 20 pounds."

Measurable- remember the old adage, "You can't manage what you can't measure. You can measure weight loss on your scale.

Attainable- they should stretch you slightly so you feel challenged, but defined well enough so that you can achieve them. You must possess the appropriate knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to achieve the goal.

Realistic- can you lose 20 pounds by tomorrow?

Time-specific- make sure that each goal has a "by when" date. I want to lose 20 pounds by my birthday.

3. Write them down. If you don't write your goals down then they are dreams.

4. Review them frequently. This is what turns them into reality and inspirational.

5. Share with those that will be supportive but also make you accountable.

Good Luck with your goal setting and remember:

"Go for the moon. If you don't get it, you'll still be heading for a star"
Willis Reed

What can we do as leaders in our dental practice to manage the common problem of our best employees quitting?? The key is not waiting around for the problem to solve itself but to be proactive in creating a solution!

In many cases, useful time is spent on non-useful activities like complaining about co-workers, negative situations and (surprisingly) not having enough time...interesting, right?

Creating a plan that is well thought out and explained in detail to the team will create a path that will minimize the constant "fire drill" that eats up productivity. It's difficult at first to make the time for changes, but as the changes start to create time allowance, we get the desired effect.

First, we need to understand the "why" from both the team and the leadership perspective for change to be effective. If neither side is asking this question or answering this question, communication breaks down and we're back to the same circumstance.

Next, explain the expectations in detail, make sure the team is clear on the plan and create an honest pathway of communication that encourages questions and the ability to "check-in".

Increasing communication between employees and leadership is the best way to proactively address team issues.

Start with asking questions to the right person to help you solve your problem, not co-workers. Then ask, what can you do to be a part of the solution instead of being a part of the problem. You'll notice a change in your practice and believe me, so will your patients!

What is the office culture you are cultivating in your Dental Practice??

Question: How do we achieve that? Start with the end in mind! Is it a trip together as a team to an exotic destination like Mexico or a dental conference in Las Vegas?

Leaders: Once you've decided, take a look at the economics in your practice and start looking at how will you afford this terrific experience for your team. Next, set a goal with your team that they need to hit in order to win this trip. Allow your team to contribute ideas as to what the incentive should be, decide together as a family.

Team members: Bring your A-game! Offer a solution to your leaders as to how you plan to create revenue in the practice to earn a raise, bonus or including your family on the incentive trip. Create a goals for yourself, be proactive, share with your boss to create a plan.

Just having this incentive is enough to inspire a renewed sense of excellence that your patients will feel as well. This is how you create a culture of excellence!

What is your dream destination with your dream team? Now go get it!

AMP's President and Vice President are live from Mexico!
Here's what they have to say from the beach! 

I would like to think that every Dental Practice out there has a system of tracking data and any good leader within a dental office uses this data to keep themselves focused on growth. We all know that when it comes to dental patients we tend to ask ourselves if they are accepting treatment, are they appointing ahead and are they paying? These dental patient behaviors can drive practice success and significantly grow a practice.

So, how do we help patients accept treatment, appoint ahead and make sure they pay?

An in house payment plan would certainly help! By allowing your patients a slight discount for all of their routine services you are confirming that they accept their routine care, they will appoint and the payment has been made up front! By giving your patients the perception of affordability for routine care they will be more likely to accept the move advanced treatment that they are prescribed and in return it will only help grow your practice. For those patients that do not have insurance and want something that gives them the peace of mind many people look for with insurance plans an in office payment plan can not only help your prow grow it will also give patients the peace of mind they are looking for.

I have been in offices all across the county that offer these programs and it does great things for both parties; while you are growing your practice you are providing a service that is needed and appreciated by your patients!

"Personally, I have transitioned new doctors into dental practices over my career and I must say the first time I did it was not nearly as smooth as the last time I did it. As I watched the AMP TV show about the transition for an Associate Doctor it brought back so many experiences and lessons I have learned.

There are some basic ground rules for making this new relationship success. Fist and foremost there is only ONE reason to hire a new doctor and that is because the practice is too busy for the owner to physically handle the current patient load. If you find yourself in this place and decide that hiring an associate is right for your practice I would strongly encourage you to include your team in the process.

Discuss with your team who they see being a good fit for the practice and remember that a proper introduction to the team of who you hire is absolutely critical to this transition. The owner of the practice should never speak negatively about the new dentist in any way, you should not compare clinical skills and you should not expect this new doctor to be a practice builder in the first year. The team needs to know that it is not appropriate to refer to the new doctor as an associate, they should concentrate on both doctors schedules equally and should always promote the new doctor during phone call time. Staff should speak favorably about the new doctors work in front of patients and always offer assistance when the new doctor is having a difficult time.

This is an exciting time for any practice and it is important to remember how you handle this change will dictate if your team is accepting of the change or not. This is a time for you to be a mentor and a leader on a whole new level. And lastly, always remember to instill in this new doctor that creating value in the dentistry that you will do together is the philosophy that your practice needs to live by to be successful."

HOW MUCH DOES THAT COST??? Is this the question we fear the most from our dental patients? Are we afraid our patients won't choose our dental services if the "out of pocket" is too much? Or if we are out of their network? Does fear really drive us to believe that insurance coverage or lack of is sustaining our business?

Let's look at what Wal-Mart has done for us. Lower prices, lower prices, lower prices. Do we take this concept into our workplace? Do we spend more time trying to find the lower price disregarding what value we are missing? How much do we do this in our day to day lives? There are two ways to look at cost when it comes to running a business; less spending or more revenue. More revenue is much more fun, promise!

How much value do you deliver in your dental office? Think of the blind lady of justice, a metaphor for value. In one hand we have the cost of your service. In the other hand, we have the value you know you can deliver. Which one outweighs the other? Does your value in what you do outweigh the cost to deliver your services?

Does your brand promise to your patients match your brand reality you feel you provide? Do you provide a Wal-Mart brand with a Nordstrom price or do you provide a Nordstrom brand with a Wal-Mart price (hope not this one)!

I teach this process to my dentists everyday. The infamous rule of thumb " You can teach any skill, you cannot teach Attitude." Therefore, the dynamics that form the Dental Team and entire practice create a challenge involving attitude. The challenge is that while the concept of "think win-win" seems simple, its location is the challenge. The concept lies in our mind in our unconscious paradigm, in the way we view the world. Therefore, a vast majority will not think win-win. While understanding the concept might challenge you or the Dental Team at times, the biggest challenge is living by it.

To keep this simple yet comprehensive, let's define the paradigms.

When relationships are paramount, Win/Win is the only viable alternative.  If on the other hand relationship building is not as imperative, Win/Lose might be the appropriate attitude. There are five angles to see when understanding the Win/Win model: Character, Relationships, Agreements, Supportive Systems and Processes. I will describe it as detailed as possible.

Let's begin with Character. You must display Integrity. This is a necessary in the development of trust amongst You, the Team, and your Patients. It also goes beyond your Dental Practice. There are colleagues and referrals that will be introduced to your practice. The Integrity of you and the Dental Office will define a win in terms of personal values.

Next, we build the Relationships with our Team and Patients. This must be the focus on developing that Win/Win Attitude within your Dental Practice. Those relationships are pertinent to the Success of the Practice. Fostering those relationships despite with whom will be pertinent keys in turning any situation around.

Agreements are the functional ground that provides direction. Whether it is a Team Member or Patient this drives the direction of the win/win Attitude. For example, if it is a Team Member, a performance agreement will set those expectations for a healthy employee relationship. On the other hand, a written expectation of office policies, cancellations, and or no-shows provides a great patient relationship.  Both shift the paradigm of production. The view of Leadership to Team. These agreements in any form should include fundamentals that will create a standard by which the Team and Patients can measure their own success.

Supportive Systems - Once expectations are developed, a varying Reward System should be established. The Reward System for your Dental Practice will be a key element in the Win/Win model. It is imperative that you do not Talk Win/Win and reward Win/Lose. This behavior results in negating the Win/Win paradigm. The appropriate step will be to set achievable individual goals and team objectives that can be rewarded.

The process consists of understanding the other person's point of view, identifying their key concerns, understanding acceptable results and lastly, what new options might satisfy all interests.

Manage what you are capable of managing. Competition is everywhere. The competitive attitude must be accompanied by cooperation within the dental office. This goes back to my phrase, "You can teach skills, but you cannot Teach Attitude."  The passion of Win/Win cannot thrive in an environment of competition. Overall, the entire Team should try diligently to Maintain an Attitude of Gratitude. The foundation of your Dental Practice should be based on the principle of Win/Win. I recommend that you learn to identify and build relationships from the key principles in developing the right attitude. Whether it is seeing the problem from the others point of view, understanding concerns related to the problem, achieving a positive outcome, or finding an acceptable solution. You are the beginning of the right attitude. Each Team Member must reflect upon themselves in order to strategically plan moving forward.

Therefore, encourage that WIN/WIN attitude and turn it around if the result becomes a WIN/LOSE situation.

There are several Habits that we will be discussing in the upcoming weeks based on Stephen Covey's "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People." The Impact both Personally and Professionally will be profound within your dental office.

Your Dental Practice must be consistent in Communication, Time Management, and Leadership to be productive. Dr. Covey references two types of Ethics in his book. They are Character Ethics and Personality Ethics. In brief, Character relates to the core and Personality is on the outside. These are important to understand as your Dental Practice starts with YOU. As the Dentist, you are the owner of the Dental Practice. In many cases there are Associates. The Associates must also think as an Owner. The Character of a Leader must be  derived from their core. Your Dental Practice will only produce in abundance if you are healthy. The overall state of your health and the Dental Practice is pertinent in order to maintain growth and development.

The foundation of your personal journey is developed from these habits. As Dr. Covey mentioned, Character is much like the roots of a tree. Your Character is made from within. It is driven by principles; timeless and like gravity. It is always at work whether you like them or not. The outcome, when the "roots" are solid and healthy, is a strong Tree. The Tree then produces the fruit. This is effectively accomplished by taking the necessary steps to provide you and the Dental Team the adequate "Time Management" needed to achieve productivity. This can be done in many ways. One example would be to consistently communicate with your Team about duties and proper delegation. Another example might be to engage in continuing education. By having the knowledge to implement new technology or methods will decrease the feeling of being overwhelmed in the Dental Office.

Growth and Development gains strengthen by working through the Principles of Effectiveness. The entire office must have a consistent attitude and desire to see results. Begin your week by practicing the First 3 Habits consistently. Encourage the Dental Team to practice the habits this week as well.

The First 3 Habits are:

1) Be Proactive

2) Begin with the End in Mind

3) First things First.

By focusing on these 3 Habits you will change your perception of short term vs long term goals. In theory, by maintaining a Healthy "YOU" , the outcome of consistent core behavior will produce solid results.