Personality tests have been around for ages, all over the internet and in books you'll find endless information about personality traits. Whether you're into horoscopes and astrology or you're into all of those personality tests you find online, like DISC. Either way, we all have a general curiosity about our individualism. One thing to keep in mind when discovering your personality traits is to not take it so seriously and keep an open mind because believe it or not some of these are DEAD ON.

Take a look at this picture and at a glance, what is the first thing you see?! The very first thing!

1. The Wolf - The wolf represents guardianship, and people who are drawn to the wolf in this image form quick, passionate personal attachments. However, much like the wolf itself, they hide their soft underbelly and self-perceived weaknesses behind of wall of strength and intimidation.

2. The Tiger - Chances are high that the people in your life, even those who know you best of all, view you as a person who has been damaged, or as someone who needs looking over, protection, and delicate care.

3. The Baby Owl - The owl is traditionally associated with wisdom, a fact most people know, but most folks don't know that it's also associated with our shadow self, the inner self, the part of us we nurture with the arts and with spiritual devotion.

4. The Puppy - Seeing the puppy in this image means that while some people might think of you as being a Type A personality or as a bit distant or difficult to know, that's not so. The truth is you want nothing so much as you want love and someone to frolic and play with, so don't hold yourself back from doing that for even one second longer!

5. The Cobra - Since the time of the ancient Egyptians, snakes have been heralded as signs of wisdom and the protectors of royalty. While some snakes are poisonous, they are all powerful and they are all beautiful.

6. The Lion - Lion are known for being strong, dangerous, and regal, as well as for roaring their hearts out when it comes time to confront an enemy. Never apologize for passion and for your anger. It's part of who you are, and the reason you get so mad is because you feel so passionately.

7. The Bat - If you saw the bat first, you hide how attuned you are to what's going on around you at all times. Bats are known for being able to fly virtually blind in even the darkest conditions. While you might have full possession of your senses, like a bat you use alternative means to get to know your surroundings and the people in it.

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Now, sit and think about your business, your team. What did some of your team members see? If we're all honest with what we saw in this photo, we'll be surprised at how accurate this may be. Using tools like this in your business will help you better understand team dynamic.

So... What did you really see first?

Are you practicing excellent clinical standards by providing your patients with the best care possible? As dental professionals we should all be practicing to the standard of care while striving to go over and beyond it. The definition of the standard of care is typically identified by the level at which the average, prudent provider in a given community would practice and is how similarly qualified practitioners would have managed a patient's care under the same or similar circumstances.

The ADA says fluoride varnish applied in the office along with a prescription 5,000ppm used twice a day should be recommended for all patients that are moderate to high risk for dental caries. If you look at the ADA qualifications for a moderate and high-risk patient, you will see that it encompasses almost all of our patients. Are you dispensing fluoride to the standard of care?

When we place a ‘watch’ on an incipient lesion, essentially, we are just watching it decay. Instead of placing a ‘watch’ on an incipient lesion we should be recommending an in-office varnish and prescription 5,000ppm toothpaste to be used twice a day in order to heal these areas. Patients with 1mm or more of recession are also considered high risk, so all of our perio patients should be on a fluoride regimen. This is the first time in dentistry that we actually have healing agents that will also prevent future decay. Share this exciting news with your patients!

Being an excellent clinician requires that we be very honest with our patients and educate them about the healing benefits of a fluoride regimen. When we are honest with our patients it is very easy to help them to understand why a fluoride regimen is so important and get them to accept usage. Ask your patients if they’d like to have their teeth for chewing for the rest of their lives or if they’d like to outlive their teeth or have their teeth outlive them.

I promise they’ll all say they’d like to have their teeth outlive them. Explain to your patients that decay does not heal itself but by having a fluoride varnish treatment along with brushing twice a day with a prescription 5,000ppm toothpaste they can actually heal and strengthen their teeth helping them to prevent further decay. Your patients will feel that you are truly concerned about them and the health of their teeth and you will be giving excellent care.

Anybody, that has had the responsibility of hiring new team members, knows that it is one of the most important, and most challenging, tasks you will ever be given in a business.  Here are a few suggestions that AMP has to make the process a little easier.

First of all, have your profile ready.  A profile is what requirements you are looking for in that position.  It’s hard to know you found the right employee if you don’t know what you are looking for.  If you do your due diligence on the front end, you won’t need to terminate on the back end.

Secondly, create a more effective interview by digging deep with behavioral questions.  This will give you insight into their attitude and how they reacted in specific situations.  Have some scenarios ready.  Examples of questions might include:

• How did they handle conflict with their past boss/or co-worker?
• Tell me a little bit more about that
• What are your pet peeves and how do you react to them?
• Talk about a time when you had to work closely with someone whose personality was very different from yours.
• Describe a time when your team or company was undergoing some change. How did that impact you, and how did you adapt?

Most people learn how to manipulate an interview after going through a few, so asking behavioral questions allows you to get to know them to a different degree.    You will see if this person can be coached to a higher level that will elevate your practice.

Lastly, watch the person as well as listen to their answers.  Are they making eye contact?  Are they prepared?  Are they asking questions of you as well?

Take your time in the preparation as well as the interview.  It takes a lot of money, time and stress to train a new employee so you want to make the right choice to avoid doing it all over again too soon.

How do you get dental patients to listen to what you want to say, how do you get them to truly hear you and pay attention to what you have to say? I think we find this to be an issue in dental offices often.

We could be delivering bad news, big news or maybe expensive news and we want the patient to really listen to what we are saying. So, how do we do it? We need to scramble the brain prior to telling the patient the news we have to deliver, so they are more open to hearing it. You can "pre frame". This is when you tell someone in advance what to look for and what it means when they see it. You are essentially communicating about the way you think someone may feel. For example, for someone that is spectacle about the work they could need you could say "this probably does not make sense to many people" or to someone that is already sold on treatment and you want to connect with them prior to delivering treatment needs you could say "there is not one person that does not love this treatment solution, I know you will too". Or you can "re frame". This is when someone has a problem or an issue with what you are presenting and you can change what it means by a different frame of reference.

For example, for someone that is in need of having a full mouth rehab and has not eaten "real food" in years and are in denial about what is happening. You can say "I understand this is a lot to take in and you have a long road ahead of you, but lets focus on the fact you will be able to chew again soon". By presenting the topic this way you are recognizing their feelings yet trying to change their focus on something positive. Changing the way we discuss things with patients can be very powerful. I think you will find that you can connect with patients on a totally different level.

While this is never a fun topic to address at some point as a business owner you may have to dismiss an employee from your office. If not done properly termination of an employee can become a huge liability issue. Here are some general guidelines in addressing employees, giving them the opportunity for turn around, and ultimately how to terminate when necessary. Labor laws vary state to state so know your local laws and get with a labor attorney with any specific questions.

Give the opportunity for turn around.

By giving your employee the chance to turn their behavior around they have the opportunity to learn from it and grow. This means sitting down to talk to them and being very upfront about what is not working and then sharing what you expect. When sharing your expectations I have found using the verbiage of “these are the changes I expect to see… if you have not done this you will have fired yourself” to be extremely helpful. The psychology behind this is passing the ownership back to the employee so they can choose to remedy the situation. You are clearly handing them the opportunity to get out of hot water, keep their job, and take ownership of their actions. Documentation is key here especially if an unemployment claim gets filed by your former employee. Be sure to document in writing what has occurred, what behavior needs to change, and have the employee sign it. Then schedule a follow up meeting in 30 days or less to re-evaluate. This is important ensuring you have a follow up plan and your employee has certainty as to what is going on and understanding that the behavior will not be swept under the rug.  If on day 3 of 30 days the behavior doesn’t change then it is time to terminate.

However, if they are doing well in 30 days then set another review in 90 days. Make sure that the behavior you identify and discuss is measurable behavior. Examples such as: you aren’t perio probing, you aren’t collecting payment from patients, you’re not asking, you’re not doing…. Give them behavioral things. The biggest mistake that can be made is when you start talking about the person as different classifications of employees have protected classes. Great resource for employees is the show How Not to Get Fired.

When termination is appropriate there are a few things you will want to do. Have someone else in the room as a witness, keep it short and sweet (no more than 2-5 minutes) but keep it humane- you are freeing up this person’s future so they can go elsewhere and be happier. Ensure this is a conversation that is very controlled and succinct. We have heard horror stories about employees bringing their spouses or attorneys in with them- do not let this occur in your office. I’m going to terminate your employment effective immediately. Then ask them to get their things, return company property such as keys to the office (or perhaps have locks re-keyed), and escort them out. Again, ensure you document what occurred and have the employee sign it.

If this is a challenging area for you reach out to your coach. We are well versed in how to help you prepare. I have found that the hardest part of this is the psychology where an employee has become part of your work family maybe even been there longer than you have owned the practice. If they are good people who just aren’t a good fit I have gone so far as to find a new job for them. So if appropriate and possible give them the dignity of helping them find a new job. On the flip side there are times employees will not react well to what has just occurred. They may cry, yell, or say vicious things to you that hurts your heart.

That’s where the psychology of this comes in where you have to be very clear about what it is you want. In having clarity about your goals for your organization and the certainty of how to meet them you can stand firm. If you have one person who is holding your business back take into consideration how this is also affecting your other employees. That one person is dragging the team down with them while hurting you organization and others who may be performing at a high level and deserve to be recognized. Therefore by letting this person go, while it is difficult, it may be wonderful for your other employees. Have the intestinal fortitude to have the difficult conversations and get through this.

‘Living life to the fullest’ is something that we’ve all heard, but how seriously do we take it? Doctors and team members, all have a tendency to get stuck in our own routine, going on about the days, in a fog, doing nothing to change our direction. What would you like people to remember about you? What would you like someone to say about you at your funeral?

Define what success is for you. If we cannot define success, we cannot reach it. Stephen Covey said, “Begin with the end in mind.” This simply means having a clear vision of what we want, knowing our goals, and then continuing to make things happen. We must set our own goals and intentions, with a realization of the role that we play, adjusting our priorities, and then sharing them frequently with the people around us, especially with our teams. When we become leaders, it helps us to manage our dreams and makes it more likely to achieve. This is a best practice for success whether you’re leading a small office or multiple practices. Then, periodically bring your focus back to your goal to make sure you’re still on track.

The dash serves as a representation of our time here on the earth that may be but a small little line, but it stands for so much more. It’s our footprint, our culture, and our legacy. We are the only ones in control of our lives, and when the dash ends it’s too late. It does not matter what we did yesterday, but what we are doing now and moving forward. The challenges that are placed in our path should be looked at as gifts of opportunity to grow. It’s surprisingly easy to drift away from what’s most important to us. When we actually write down our mission and review it frequently, it starts to become personal nature; the standard in which we measure our lives, helping us to ensure that we don’t meander off course. But keep in mind to never hesitate to update or change your course in order to continue growth. Live up to your potential, take action, and be the best you can be.

“And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.” ~Abraham Lincoln

Don't let the title of this show scare you off; it has great information on how to bring value to your practice by the entire team. Nobody on your team should ever say, "It's not my job;" it's everybody's job. When was the last time you revaluated your approach to answering the phones or getting to know your patients?

Think about it...Phone skills are imperative to show value, to a new patient especially.

Rule #1-always have your best communicator on the phones. The first call determines whether that new patient ever walks through your doors.

Rule #2- Show enthusiasm when answering the phones. The last thing a new patient is going to want to do is come into an office that doesn't treat them with excitement!

We consistently coach our offices that are experiencing a large % of no-shows/late cancellations that it may come down to value. It is highly likely that the patients are not understanding the value of the treatment, or the value of the doctors and team members time.

Ask yourself, "What value does our practice provide that sets us apart from all others." Remember, to STAND OUT, you have to be OUT STANDING.

If you would like to learn how to bring value to your practice, or be OUT STANDING, reach out to AMP, to learn how!

Recently on a trip to Belize, I chartered a boat with a group of friends to go diving and snorkeling. We had traveled a good distance when the the boat arrived at the edge of the barrier reef and close to neighboring island. We noticed quickly that the island did not look like it was inhabitable; however, there was a man all by himself walking down the beach. We asked our guide what the story was with this situation and he quickly said "Oh, thats Joe and thats his island. He has lived on it his entire life with his father".

Our minds quickly started to race with obvious questions. Where does he sleep? How does he get clean water? Does he get mail? How does he support himself? The list of questions were coming to our minds and coming fast! Before we could wrap our minds around all of this Joe himself jumped in his boat and approached the boat that we were on. Joe was likely one of the kindest people I have ever met. No question was too much or too ridiculous. He explained to us what life is like in detail living on this island with his 80 year old father and what they do to make ends meet.

Joe dives for conch shells and once every two weeks rows his boat across the open ocean to sell them at the market on the mainland. The reason I tell you this story is because Joe has wired his brain for success. He has a plan every day for what he needs to do in order for him and his father to survive.

He has a blue print for his life (it may not be like many of ours, but he certainly has one). His life's work is tending to his land, caring for his father and getting into town when he needs to in order to sell his goods. I asked Joe if he ever celebrates when he has a good day at the market and what that looks like. He smiled proudly and said "Of course I do...", we all were waiting for his response, he went on to say "I get two beers, one for me and one for my dad". We of course all laughed with joy.

I think it is important to remember two things in life; we all need to have a plan to make sure that our personal needs, economic needs and professional needs are taken care of and the context in which you choose to look at things will drive whatever success means to you. Joe has a very different meaning of success than many of us; however, he has a plan to achieve what his goals are and he celebrates his successes. I think we could all learn something from Joe.

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There are a handful of doctors out there that see success as something completely different than Joe and more often than not those doctors are overcome with guilt about their success. Darren talks about this feeling and how to conquer it in the AMP TV show below.

"The pursuit of knowledge is never-ending. The day you stop seeking knowledge is the day you stop growing." Brandon Travis Ciaccio made this very powerful statement that we should all consider in everything we do. With that being said......What do you think is your dental edge? What is your passion in dentistry that would encourage your dental practice to grow? How do you keep your dental team motivated?

Lifelong learning is increasingly becoming more and more important in the dental field. The dental industry undergoes major changes in short periods of time due to constant technological advances. Elevating your skillset by learning the latest techniques will put you in a position to lead, influence, and mentor others. In turn, this will enhance the professionalism of your staff by arming them with the latest knowledge in the dental field and provide them with opportunities for growth and advancement. Additionally, offering your patients cutting edge diagnostic, preventative, and treatment procedures that have been developed within the industry will not only cultivate the quality of service for your patients, but will improve your workplace as a whole and simultaneously benefit the development of yourself personally and professionally.

Dr. Duncan represents an impressive example of how continuing education along with having an attitude of constant development and growth will excel your practice beyond anything you ever imagined possible. He placed his trust in AMP almost 2 years ago and still uses the resources that AMP has to offer with his team to ensure they all, including himself, stay engaged and keep the momentum within the team to continue to grow. Reflecting back on his consulting experience with AMP, Dr. Duncan says that one of the best things about the program is that the relationship doesn't end when the contract ends. He comments on how most consulting companies are out the door and you never hear from them again as soon as the contract is over. However, when his contract with AMP came to an end, he knew that he still had a strong alliance to help him stay consistent and continue to implement his daily routines. Dr. Duncan knows that being a leader will inspire his team to follow, encourage the staff to grow mutually with him, and generate positive results that can be celebrated together. He talks about how AMP has been a tremendous addition to his practice by helping his team members to see the value that they each individually bring to the table.

If we stay engaged, we will always have improvement and the resistance level for change will remain low. A vast amount of resources are consistently available for us to use to open a discussion that will encourage us to move forward to the next level or phase of growth. When you reach a goal, ask yourself......What can I do better now to improve?