Okay, everyone take out a blank page or go get an easel with a whiteboard or one of those big pieces of paper that’s a giant sticky note you can put on the wall.
Now sit down in a circle and everyone answer this question…
If we could start all over and do this again – what would we do differently?
What would you change about your Practice, your daily life in your Practice, your Patient Experience in your Practice, your Individual responsibilities in your Practice, your fees, schedule, flow, procedures, what people know about you, etc.
The list can go on and on and on; and really it should be revisited at least once a year if not quarterly. Because this is how You stay at (or at least striving to achieve) a level 10.
When I taught and practiced martial arts professionally we would also say “stop” what you are doing right now and rate yourself on a scale from 1 to 10, what could you be doing better, what would take you from where you are to a level 10.
Here’s what you must know that no Dentist or their Team ever remembers or admits:
The Practice you have today has three undeniable truths…
1. You have the practice today that your past decisions have created
2. The practice you have today doesn’t have to stay the way it is, for better or worse, it’s a work in progress and must continually be evolving and growing
3. This evolution can either be guided, directed and controlled by you and your team, or by the market, outside forces, industry, insurance, government regulations…both don’t dictate, only one wins, it’s who chooses to take control first, you deliberately or the others by default.
If you had a clean canvas and could paint the perfect practice, what would it look like, how would it be different, what would it feel like: the patients, the procedures, the money.
The way you improve a practice is by having these conversations through these working sessions. You take the time to reflect, assess and improve.
The key of course is – TEAM PARTICIPATION – thus why I’m talking about it right here in the weekly huddle. People will take ownership of what they contribute to.
If you want to live, be, feel, win, earn, help patients, be known as a level 10, guess what … the first step is defining what exactly that means, what that is, what that looks like.
Then going to work on it.
This should be the most fun thing you ever do and it is the difference between a REAL business and a HOBBY business regardless of how many hours you work or how much money you make.
What do they say…you’re either growing or dying, going forward or going backwards. Don’t just ‘have’ a dental practice ‘own’ it and make it the best it can possibly be.
The ultimate secret to have a level 10 practice is not something decided by anyone else on earth – it is for you and you alone to decide what that means. The secret of course is very simple…own a Practice you are proud of, be a Dentist you admire, have a Team others envy, and win my friends because there is no other reason to play.
