BACK TO SCHOOL? - Practice Perfect Systems

We’ve developed certain cycles that impact our lives. Labor Day signals the end and a beginning. Summer is over and school begins. Playtime is past and now it’s time to get down to business.

As a business leader, now is the time to rally the troops, set the agenda for the 4th quarter, provide inspiration and motivation to achieve the goals you set earlier in the year. But first, here are a few questions you might want to ask yourself. These questions should stimulate thought and their answers enable you to guide your team.

1. How have you performed to date? Are you on track to reach the goals that were set earlier in the year?

2. What have you learned that can serve as lessons for the future?

3. Are there any new goals that need to be communicated to the team?

4. Are all team members aligned with the mission of the practice and able to implement the goals and objectives?

This weekend is a great time to think and strategize. And the coming week an excellent time to meet with key team members to present a plan and discuss implementation.

“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.”

–John F. Kennedy

Are you satisfied with average results? If so, keep on doing what you’re doing. To be clear, average in dentistry today means that you will have to reduce your lifestyle when you retire. And, your retirement at 69 is 7-years longer than the average American (62).

One reason given for dentists’ delay in retirement is that they often have incomes that are large enough to hide financial mistakes. Such mistakes might include:

• Lack of or improper financial planning and investing.

• Large purchases that don’t take a return on investment (ROI) into account.

• Overspending on salaries rather than training for the team.

• Following the herd.

The last one, “following the herd” is almost irresistible. It’s the “if everyone else is doing it, then it must be right” attitude. This is, by definition, the pathway towards mediocrity, or getting what everyone else gets rather than exceeding the norm.

How can one resist the temptation of being “average”?

• Get a coach or mentor.

• Join a mastermind of highly successful people.

• Seek out “atypical” advice.

• Constantly review goals, objectives, and results.

One excellent way to avoid spending too much on staff costs, the single largest line item on the P&L, is to invest in training your team. The Liberated Practice is just such a resource, as is the The Ciladini Institute Influence Course available through Practice Perfect Systems at tremendous savings.

To being above average,

Michael