There is a famous saying that says, “Success Leaves Clues.”
The point being that success is really a formula comprised of specific actions, organized in a specific order and executed in a specific way every single time based on your particular goals and objectives.
I think back to last weekend when I hosted one of my amazing and powerful Wealth Groups of Doctors in the mountains of Virginia. There happened to be a golf course on this resort that really played a key part of the property design. It was laid out through the mountain area and created a breathtaking scenic course. As I was watching several people tee off, it reminded me of how much a golf ball is really like a patient.
Before you laugh, let me explain.
You see, when a ‘good’ golfer steps up to the ball they follow a very specific routine of precise steps that are similar for all golfers but still unique to each. They follow the pre-shot setup that gives them the best and highest probability of making a great shot.
Depending on what shot it is as to how they would prepare but mentally the properties remain the same even though the swing is different from a Driver to an Iron to a Wedge or a Putter.
No matter how perfect a golfer is at following the steps the same every time, still the ball doesn’t always go where you want it to.
This is exactly like your patient engagements of phone calls, emergencies, new patients, hygiene, basic operative, specialty things. Each type of visit or process is a different club. With every category of patient requiring a different approach. Customizing your actions, order and method given the variables you have to consider.
Here’s the point…
If, as a golfer, you just went up and swung at the ball following no steps with only the intention of hitting it – you would continually and predictably have ZERO control over what is going to happen. You didn’t properly prepare and follow the steps you know give you the best chance at a success.
Even though you know you can’t have complete control over the outcome regardless of your preparation and execution (because we know nothing and no one is perfect), still you wisely give it your ‘best shot’ every time by following the right actions in the right order to the best of your ability.
In Dentistry, more often than not, people, doctors and teams alike just step up to the patient and swing. Just have a phone call, just diagnose, just present treatment, just answer questions, just talk insurance, just do the procedure today, just let the patient walk out the door.
We just swing.
We all know that that is really just giving up control and saying, “Ah, I don’t care what happens. We’ll just leave it up to the patient, they are going to do what they do anyways, no matter what we do.”
That’s a sad perspective and emphatically untrue.
Here’s the thing: you have way more control, influence and impact over the patient than you realize. Mostly, people just don’t want to take ownership or accept the responsibility that is possible because they don’t want to be accountable for the outcome.
The golfers have but themselves to blame. They swung; it’s hardly the ball’s fault. What if you adopted that same mindset with every action you take in your practice with your patients.
This is why I brought up PROTOCOLS last week and why I am hitting you again even harder this week. The specific actions, organized in a specific order and executed in a specific way with every single possible interaction with a patient you have in your practice really do matter.
And if you know what gives you a greater opportunity for success, then why wouldn’t you do that – every single time?
You can’t ultimately control what the patient decides no more so than a golfer can ultimately control where the balls ends up. However, you can always be assured that it’s bound to end up in a better place if you follow what you know to be the best approach.
From your perspective, when you think about the CLUES left by the successes you have experienced before (the patient outcomes that you wish to have more of), what do you find as a) the actions, b) the order, and c) the way of doing things that give you the best chance at success?
What is your formula to go through every single time in order to increase your control over the outcome and result?
That’s my question for you to answer today. Take this seriously and write it down somewhere safe. I will be giving you my answers from every possible patient position over the next several weeks. You go first, then we’ll compare.
