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When it gets cold and wet, I have a tendency to work through most of my to-do-list pretty quickly.  While not a good habit, I will take time to watch an old movie before I start on another project.  In 1993, the number one comedy movie was “Groundhog Day” starring Bill Murray of Saturday Night Live fame.  Bill was a weatherman who, for the ...

This is a continuation of last week’s article on the nine things that hold doctors back from taking their practices to the next level, or cause them to become a “settler”.  Dental Settlers are those doctors that pride themselves in antiquated practice strategies, or just stop trying because they are too tired and worn out to compete in the ...

Regardless of the time of the year (it shouldn’t be just January 1st), each office should be looking at their “historical results” (quantitative numbers that tell you your practices’ score), your “momentum” (your pace, your ability to adapt, and change), and your “trajectory” (basically your flight path, the route you are ...

In any type of business, most owners fail to really identify problems.  Instead, they tend to look at the “symptoms” of problems.  For example, in a dental office an owner might say they have a collections problem (their symptom), rather than identifying the actual financial arrangements with the patient (the real problem).  They need more ...

In a profession where everything counts we need to limit our unforced errors.  I love tennis, and I hate unforced errors.  I have trained, practiced, been coached, and played engaged and then I miss a “give me” shot that I would actually have to work at missing.  The term unforced error is an important part of the vocabulary in the world of ...

A Few Good Men immortalized the scene between young Jag officer Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee played by Tom Cruise, and the crusty older marine Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Markinson played by Jack Nicholson.  Nicholson, while on the stand in a military court room, is being cornered by Cruise when Nicholson asks: “You want answers?”  Cruise fires ...

Welcome to the continued list of warning signs, detours, and red flags (part 2) or what you should have know but were afraid to admit.  If you are reading this for the first time, there are two previous articles you really need to read first.  Let me know if you can’t find them and I will send them to you.  We are creating a checklist that ...

Now that you have psychoanalyzed yourself, let’s look at the common warning signs, detours, and red flags that you are guaranteed to run into.  Remember, as we look for a practice, that there are no perfect jobs.  You will never be able to check all the boxes on this list.  I will try to highlight the “can’t do without” items.  ...

Just to be clear, I am writing this short article to help young doctors overcome the common mistakes in searching for that first job, as well as helping educate yourself on the type of practice that would be a good fit for employment as an associate.  With this said, there are no perfect jobs nor will there ever be a perfect transition from being ...