Every employee in your dental office plays an important role. Working as a team is what makes the day go smoothly.
Just before playing the NCAA Championship game, one of the UNC Tar Heels star players revealed their winning strategy. He said, "It doesn't matter which player scores the most points. If we play as a team...we'll win." He was confident and sincere. He had been coached by one of the best coaches in college basketball history, Roy Williams. And the message was clear. "I'm not here to show off my skills, I'm here to play all out and support my team."
So how exactly does that translate to a dental team? I think we've all had enough experience to remember a few examples of times when team work pulled you through a tough month. And we've also seen examples when even just one team member can pull us all down. We're all going to drop the ball now and then and at those times, it's up to us to self-evaluate and self-correct AND to accept coaching from our team and our leader.
The bottom line is that it doesn't matter who schedules the most treatment, who collects the most money, who connects best with patients. What matters is that we're ALL playing full out-all the time! Sometimes this means more than is contained in our 8-5 schedule.
It means:
* Happily completing more CE than is required
* Staying late when a teammate or patient needs help
* Being present and participating in team meetings
* Knowing when you need to work on a particular skill
* Attending team retreats and celebrations
* Doing whatever it takes to reach your team goals
When Wayne Ellington won MVP of the NCAA Championship, he said that all the nights he was practicing alone, all the extra hours of workouts were all worth it. He wasn't the 'superstar' going into the tournament but he had been working hard to show up strong for his team. And he did! The win was a combination of all their talents, not just one.
I learned a long time ago what's most important in a dental practice:
1st Patients
2nd Team
3rd Self
I learned a great concept from my friend and mentor Vicki McManus. It's called the 3:1 restorative ratio. You must present 3 times the amount of treatment you want to complete. If your production goal is $100,000 a month then you must present $300,000 each month. This ratio considers that 1/3 of patients will say 'yes' today, 1/3 will say 'yes' later and 1/3 may not ever say yes. Break down your target for treatment presentation. It might look like this:
Goal = produce $100,000 present $300,000
16 working days = present $18,750/day average
Doctor = present $5000/day
Hyg 1 = present $5000/day
Hyg 2 = present $5000/day
Admin = follow-up on $3750/day
The Tar Heels knew their goal was to win the Championship. It took thousands of little steps over years of work to get there. It didn't happen by chance.
What are you doing every day to reach your goals?
Do you know what your "championship" would look like?
How will you CELEBRATE?
How to Finally Get Things Done
No one likes marking things off a 'To-Do' list better than me! That's how I see what I've accomplished and create my work plan for the coming days, weeks and months.
Productivity...It's Not About Money
Productivity, profitability, production, sometimes it seems that dentistry is all about the numbers. Let’s face it, you’re in business to deliver outstanding care to your patients AND make a living, right?
What have you done for them lately?
They come in like clock-work, rarely missing an appointment and just being great patients. And yet it's easy to take them for granted. You count on your base of solid patients to keep your practice running and busy.
