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You can’t really keep score if you never get into the game.  This goes for getting things done.  First of the year, optimistic to really go at it hard, it will be your best year, and boom, it’s the end of the first quarter, and all your best intentions seem to be on the back burner.   John Maxwell told a story about asking someone this: ...

This is a message to all of the doctors who feel like they are just not reaching that level of practice they always thought that they would have.  Secondly, I want every senior dental student and new graduate to also take heed in what follows.   If we go back to the beginning: The first day of dental school.   You can remember that the ...

I just received a call from the front desk staff member that works for a long-term client.  She wanted to know how to improve her recall for hygiene.  They were using Eagle Soft, and the doctor wanted to know what reports to use, and if they could improve their recall strategy.  This front desk person had worked there 2 years and was following ...

I grew up watching the opening of ABC’s Wide World of Sports when the winning runner breaks through the finish line, arms upraised in triumph, elated by the “thrill of victory.”  On the other hand, they zoom in to see the championship skier as he miscalculates and goes tumbling down the slopes into the “agony of defeat”.  Victory and ...

If you are just joining us for the first time, this is one more segment of a concept I call “forced change”.  Forced change is some action or strategy that, if implemented, has the ability to affect all of your systems, protocols, culture, and results.  It is not a specific change is one small area, but an overall strategy that creates a ...

I talk to dentists every day.  Really nice people that tend to have a variety of successes, as well as a few challenges.  Thankfully, we have been able to help almost every one of them.  One of the strange things I have seen is an almost commonplace situation where doctors don’t really know where they are right now.  The “where” that I ...

Every once in a while, you run across a phrase or word that really means something to you.  Far more than the actual words, this statement embodies a deep cultural emotional description that might affect a large part of your vision in life or work.  The challenge I face when sharing something that means a lot to me is that I worry that the words ...

In a previous article, we focused on the concept of “forced change”.  Something we could do that would cost almost nothing, but create a ripple effect on each team member, every system, and most importantly, improve the bottom line.  It eliminates the question of where to start.  It creates a tidal wave of change that washes away the poor ...

I live on a farm, and one of my hobbies is working over a forge to make things from scratch.  The forge is a two-foot by two-foot steel basin filled with coal and attached to a bellows.  The coal supplies heat that can melt or temper iron and steel.  The bellows supplies oxygen and air to increase or decrease the heat.  The amount of heat can ...

For the last few articles we have discussed assessing your results, making decisions, and acting to improve your culture and systems to maximize your results.  We even discussed the nine areas that can doom a practice to mediocrity.  With this in mind, I want to explain a little discussed topic that can literally take the procrastinator and ...