Wherever you go, there you are
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“People are a direct reflection of the conditions or circumstances surrounding them. When things are good, they are good. When things are bad, they are bad. In today's economic conditions, it is safe to say that ‘tense, anxious, nervous, stressed, edgy, and apprehensive’ describes most people,” says dental business consultant, Dr Marc Cooper. In the uncertainty of the economy, the constant flood of bad news and doubt about personal economic circumstances, Dr Cooper gives advice on how to take a stand a be a leader.
So, what is the impact of these conditions and circumstances on your practice? Check out your hygiene cancellation, no-show and reschedule rates. Check out the real case acceptance rate, not what you assume. Check out your expanding receivables. Check out the decline in new patients. Check out the increase in mistakes staff is making. Check out the increasing difficulty in producing results. Check out the mood of your staff. Look closely in the mirror. What do you see?
Patients are highly emotional about the present economic state of affairs. They feel it's out of control, beyond their control, and when people (patients/staff/doctors) feel a loss of control, they lose their capacity to trust. What can you do to increase your patients trust with you?
Patients are also upset. Expectations unfulfilled lead to upsets. They had an expectation the world would not be this tumultuous. Their 401Ks have become 201Ks. The market is in the tank. What can you and your staff provide patients who are upset?
Patients are also deeply resigned. When the economic world is crashing and burning, possibility evaporates. When possibility wanes, resignation takes its place. When possibility vanishes, opportunity is lost. When possibility departs, the future, the dream they once believed in is nowhere to be found. When possibility and future disappear, all that's left is resignation. What can you and your staff provide your patients to restore possibility?
The answer is leadership. And your job as leader is more difficult and challenging than ever before. Your challenge is to inspire yourself and your staff to not only take good care of your patients, but take care of them in a way that totally displaces their apprehension and anxiety, their resignation and upsets.
What you need to do as a leader is awaken yourself and your staff to expand your relationship with patients. You need to expand kinship, affinity, and appreciation to extremely high levels with each and every patient. How do you generate the leadership necessary to enhance your relationship and service to patients when you and your staff are in the same condition as your patients?
The thing you must understand is: Wherever you go, there you are. Your practice, your staff, and your patients are a direct reflection of you. How do you overcome your own mood of resignation? How do you overcome your own upset about the current situation? How do you become a leader that engenders trust in a successful future? How do you become a leader who isn't an extension of the toxic, dominant and thunderous conversations that are all around you?
What you need to do as a leader is Take a Stand. You need to take a stand about the practice. You need to take a stand about yourself as a dentist, and the difference your dentistry, your staff, and your practice make. You need to take a stand in the face of waning evidence, a stand about the future in the face of dire circumstances.
Now, the biggest challenge in taking a stand is it's an existential leap of faith. There is no evidence to support your stand. There is no data or proof to support your stand. There is only the raw courage to stand for ‘it shall be’ and then become the stand you take. If you can do that, if you can take an authentic stand about yourself, your practice and its future, you will weather this storm.
So, be a leader and take a stand for a future of success and opportunity. Create an oasis where staff and patients can discover hope and possibility. It's in your hands.
Marc Cooper is President and Chairman of The Mastery Company. He has been a consultant to the health care industry for over 25 years, at the practice management level as well as at the corporate and organizational levels. Dr Cooper has been an academician, basic science researcher and practicing periodontist. For the last seven years, The Mastery Company's work has focused primarily on dentists in private practice using its exclusive online technologies and transformational methodologies. He is co-inventor of Mastery online practice management surveys and assessments - proven tools for dentists to appraise the performance of the human assets of the practice - staff, patients and themselves. In addition, he is the author of two books, Mastering the Business of Practice and Partnerships in Dental Practice; Why Some Succeed and Why Some Fail.
Copyright © 2004-2010 Marc B. Cooper & The Mastery Company - All Rights Reserved.
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The subject of ‘leadership’ has fascinated me for decades; what constitutes a good leader, are they born, chosen or just wired that way? And I want to start this article with the punch line - that we are ALL leaders in some aspect of our lives, professional and/or personal. So we may as well accept that and learn some skills.
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Recruiting the right people for your practice can be seen as a daunting and time-consuming task. Dental recruiter, Tracy McLaughlin from DentaFind in London, sheds some light on how putting certain processes in place can help you hire and retain staff members that are ideally suited to their roles and more importantly, your practice.
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Most practice management programmes are ineffectual. That’s right; useless, a waste of time, not worth a plug nickel. Stop spending your money. Practice management programmes don’t work.
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Dr Marc Cooper, dental business consultant, shares his thoughts on the recession and its impact on dentistry in his latest e-newsletter.
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Newly launched city centre dental practice, Ollie and Darsh (Liverpool, UK), shares some tips on how the right combination of business planning, branding, design and vision can lead to success and an an influx of patients. Join dental business coach, Chris Barrow, on a virtual tour through the practice.
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“The upcoming New Year looks much different than those of the past 10-20 years,” says Dr Marc Cooper, president and chairman of the Mastery Company. He explains that what you ask yourself what really matters to your wellbeing, the recession will not occur as relevant to your answer. He explores the tools and opportunities available to dentists to have a positive and fulfilling 2009.
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“During the recession, it makes good sense to shift the focus of your practice,” says Dr Marc Cooper from the Master Company. He explains that for many years, growth has been a focus for dental practices. “The way to grow more is with more, more of everything. But the tide has turned. A recession is defined by prolonged negative growth, negative real economic growth. Pursuing practice growth is now going against the tide. And if you continue to go against the tide, it's going to cost you big time,” he says. Read his latest article on how you can manage the new tide and remain afloat.
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“Regardless of whether the US economy is in a recession or not, you and your practice may be,” says Dr Marc Cooper, president and chairman of the Mastery Company. Ask yourself: Have my practice revenues stayed the same or declined over the last year? Has my personal income stayed the same or even shrunk over the last year? “With energy, food, housing and taxes all on the increase, this combination means that you and your practice are in a recession.” Dr Cooper has developed a 10-step programme to help you make the right decisions for your practice in the current economic climate.
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“People are a direct reflection of the conditions or circumstances surrounding them. When things are good, they are good. When things are bad, they are bad. In today's economic conditions, it is safe to say that ‘tense, anxious, nervous, stressed, edgy, and apprehensive’ describes most people,” says dental business consultant, Dr Marc Cooper. In the uncertainty of the economy, the constant flood of bad news and doubt about personal economic circumstances, Dr Cooper gives advice on how to take a stand a be a leader.
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“If your practice results are beginning to swirl down the drain, you need to consider managing yourself and your staff like there's a hole in the bottom of the boat. In a recession, you recalibrate and you reconsider. You look at what you must do to make that bottom-line number.” Dr Marc Cooper from the Mastery Company, explains how to adjust your mindset to survive in an uncertain economic climate.
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"Most dentists manage by job description. How dumb is that? Well, if you ask me, pretty dumb," says Dr Marc Cooper from the Mastery Company. "Description has no power. Describing how to perform your job and delivering high performance are not the same. But dentists believe that if you accurately describe to staff exactly what you want them to do, how you want them to do it, and why you want it done, it will produce the results. Now that's dumb!"
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"Once upon a time, in a dental practice far away, there was a young dentist named Doug. Doug knew that anyone who was anyone in dentistry had slaughtered the dragons that imprisoned excellence. The great knights spoke of their many battles and how they were able to take excellence into custody and keep it in their possession. Ah yes, excellence was able to be captured and Doug would not be denied." Dr Marc Cooper from the Mastery Company discusses the goal of excellence in the dental practice.
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"What kind of leader are you? Do you bore your staff or do you inspire them? Do you generate enthusiasm amongst your staff, or apathy? Does the future shine throughout the practice or is it dulled by business as usual? Is your staff on a mission or are they indifferent? Is your staff charged, revved up, on task? Do they show up early and leave late? Do they do everything they can to be at work, or do they do anything they can to get out of it?" In this article, Dr Marc Cooper from the Mastery Company investigates the role of a leader in the dental practice.
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However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.
Winston Churchill
If you're not producing results in your practice, why aren't you? I'm sure you have good reasons: difficulty finding and retaining good staff; bad location; the economy's gone sour; new competition moving into your neighborhood; hoodwinked into a lousy transition; Delta reimbursements suck; there are not enough new patients.
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Dental practice guru, Dr Marc Cooper, started his career as a periodontist, academic and researcher, and went on to become a practice management consultant and ultimately founded the Mastery Company. He welcomes dentists who have “strong core values, a driving intention to deliver quality care and an intense desire to be successful”. Dental Learning Hub asked him a few questions about his work, approach to life and thoughts on dentistry.
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Dr Markus Firla, dentist and quality management consultant, provides some insight into the current climate of dentistry in Germany and how it is set to change in the future.
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Dental business coach, Chris Barrow, talks to Dental Learning Hub about the predictors and capabilities required for success in the dental practice.
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