Tuesday, November 25, 2008
To say the least, this has been an interesting year for our country, our economy, and our profession. In the midst of all the chaos, tried and true principles still apply: know your business, know your goals, and execute well. Gone are the days of allowing your personal or practice budget to go by the wayside simply because more money is coming in this month than the month before. We have all had to tighten our belts, and at the least, take a hard look at every aspect of our business.
Dental professionals come out of dental school ill-equipped to handle the finer points of business. And while schools nationwide are starting to update their curricula, there are several generations of dentists out there who are still taking on this whole idea of running a small business with trepidation, one day at a time. I am one of them.
One of the best pieces of advice I have ever gotten is this: realize your own limitations and surround yourself with a team of people who know more than you. It’s the idea behind a good team of consultants, or a president’s cabinet. In my own practice, I have checked in with mentors and consultants on a regular basis, and I’m always looking for new advice. Interestingly enough, the most recent advice I had gotten had nothing to do with the dental practice, but with politics.
I was reading an article written by Howard Fineman on MSNBC.com about Barack Obama, and David Plouffe’s campaign strategy that launched him into office. Whether you voted for Obama or not, it is undeniable that his team’s approach to the business of politics was focused, and effective. The article discussed the “Obama Way”, seven steps that applied to his success. After reading it, I thought immediately how any business could use these same cues, and how the business of dentistry was no exception.
Here are those same key points, along with tips on managing your own practice. You can find a link to the original article at the bottom of the page; any quotes are pulled directly from his article.
- Be decisive –
David Plouffe - “It’s better to have one strategy and stick to it than to try ten in pursuit of the perfect answer. The point is that there is no perfect answer.”
Come up with a philosophy for your practice. Know how you will run your business six months from now whether you have patients scheduled then or not. Invest in new ideas and techniques with the specific purpose to grow and to learn. A good leader will sometimes make decisions whether they have all the information or not, because sometimes a decision simply needs to be made.
- Have a tight circle –
You need a core group of people helping you out. No matter how long you have been in practice, find a clinical mentor to discuss cases and ideas. You are not as good as you think you are with investment strategies, so find someone who can help chart your path to retirement.
- Stick with the plan –
Decide where you want your practice to be in one year, five years, and ten years. With that in mind, work backward and make decisions now that will help you achieve those goals. Along the way, don’t be swayed by scary economic times, or that scary sales rep who comes to the door.
- Sweat the details –
There are few professions that require as much focus on detail as dentistry. With no one looking over your shoulder, you are the only one to evaluate your own work. If a margin is open, don’t cement that crown. If there was saliva contamination in the prep, don’t bond that filling. Mediocrity has no place in dentistry. Even if you have to take the time to redo an impression, the long term investment into quality will help grow your practice exponentially more than the short term hit of doubling up your lab fee on a redo.
- Understand your brand –
The number of dentists who can grow their practice on word-of-mouth alone is shrinking fast. Competition in the market, changing perceptions of dentistry, and an overall lack of consumer loyalty has made it difficult for any business to survive without doing some sort of marketing. It doesn’t need to be cheesy or tasteless, but you need to have a plan that includes marketing to new patients--and to existing patients. You don’t want someone coming in your door with Invisalign from another doctor because they didn’t know you were certified too.
- Go digital –
If you have not bothered to go with digital x-rays because it is “so expensive”, you haven’t really done your homework, and it’s time to rethink your strategy. Every manufacturer of digital x-rays has ROI calculators for you to use, and even if you are planning on retiring in a few years, it still makes sense. The concept applies to the rest of your practice as well. Throw away that inefficient paper calendar already, and get practice management software that allows you to maintain better control over your schedule. Create a Web site so that patients can find you, get directions, or download patient forms. Get a digital intraoral camera to help explain treatment to patients, and assist with insurance documentation. How much longer until patients stop going to your office simply because you don’t offer any of these things?
- Use Caution –
Be careful about the staff you pick. They not only have a job to do, but represent you to patients. They need to understand your practice philosophy, and abide by its ethics, and intent. Also, be careful about selecting your patients. We get trapped sometimes into taking on certain cases that end up bogging us down. Know the limitations of your clinical skills, as well as the limitations of your own patience.
Dentistry is not easy. It is difficult to do what we do, much less run the business that allows us to do it. A cavalier approach will ensure failure in that business. In the midst of uncertain economic times, it is more important than ever to define who you are, not just as a clinician, and as a business owner.