Archive for May, 2009
Practice Listening in your Practice
Posted by: | Comments“Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply. They are either speaking or preparing to speak.” –Stephen Covey
The fact that we have two ears and only one mouth should clue us in to how important listening is as a skill. But we often fall short in this area, especially in the dental practice.
Listening is an active process which has three basic steps:
1. Hearing. Just listening enough to catch what the speaker is saying.
2. Understanding. The next part of listening happens when you take what you have heard and understand it in your own way.
3. Judging. After you are sure you understand what the speaker has said, think about whether it makes sense. Do you believe what you heard?
As is indicated by the quote at the beginning of this article, even the best of listeners sometimes make this mistake: they hear a few sentences, assume that they know where the speaker is going, jump to a conclusion that may well be incorrect. Such erroneous assumptions can breed unhappy consequences; misunderstandings, lost insights, frustration—even anger. When this happens at the organizational level, results can be disastrous says the editor of Sssh! Listen Up! (The newsletter of HighGain Inc. a company dedicated to better listening in business). The fact that there are companies whose primary focus is to help create better listeners in the business arena speaks to how important this skill is.
We all believe we are good listeners. And most people won’t tell you that you are a poor listener. So we have to monitor ourselves. The ability to listen effectively is not something we are born with. Listening is actually as complicated a communication skill as reading, writing and speaking.
Active listening was selected as the most critical managerial skill by 282 members of the Academy of Certified Administrative managers. In another survey, 170 business people were asked to select 1) the most important communication skill they were presently engaged in at work and 2) the communication skill they wished they had studied more. Listening was the number one answer to both questions.
There is a big difference between listening and LISTENING. Most people practice the former, paying little attention to what is being said by others while busily planning their own reply. The latter, however, is an art and a skill—and the effective application of it can and will improve your work life and the dental practice.
For instance, if you carefully listen to what patients have to say—paying particular attention to what they want—they’ll end up trusting and buying from you because they feel that you understand and care about their needs.
Lee Iacocca, former chairman of Chrysler, claims that “Listening is the single skill that makes the difference between a mediocre and a great company.”
Another positive way in which listening works in business: when you listen to the people who work for you, their productivity and quality of work tends to improve. Why? Because in an open and accepting LISTENING environment, honest opinions and new ideas arise, are heard and discussed, and when appropriate, acted upon. This in turn, helps to decrease and even dissolve team conflicts.
You probably spend more time using your listening skills than any other kind of skill. Like other skills, listening takes practice. You cannot be passive in the process of listening. You must decide to make it an active process. Plan to listen more each day—consciously attempting to listen more will accustom you to the process of listening and provide you with valuable practice.
Remember: time is on your side! Thoughts move about four times as fast as speech. With practice, while you are listening you will also be able to think about what you are hearing, really understand it and give feedback to the dental team member or dental patient.
References: FactMonster.com
Sssh! Listen Up! (From HighGain Inc)
Recession-Proof your Dental Practice
Posted by: | CommentsIt is essential to your present day success to determine to NOT participate in this current economic recession. Here’s why.
Whenever your reptilian brain is activated, you experience negative emotions from the past or fear. The old brain, developed over hundreds of thousands of years is in place to protect you. But your old brain will also limit you. It’s like a speed limiter in a car. Can’t go over 55 MPH. In the human being, most brains are so strongly wired to the past that they have difficulty creating a preferred future.
Yes, times are tough.
Yes, it’s more difficult to sell.
Yes, people, prospects and clients in every field of endeavor are holding back.
There are three vital questions to ask every prospect:
1) What do you have that you don’t want?
And why is it critical to ask this question first?
Because you want to find out how wired the prospect is to his old brain. How entrenched is this person in his or her past? How deeply negatively wired is this person?
Those deeply wired to the past, you know the people I’m talking about…they can’t stop talking about what went wrong, who messed them up, how much money they threw away with a former dentist, or a former management company or a former relationship that went sour…these people are wired in the past…their old brain is extremely strong.
You ask this question to see how NEGATIVE ORIENTED THIS PERSON IS. This is a critical piece in any selling situation, and I hope you can see why you must TURN CNN AND FOX off and never watch them. They love negativity…it’s great news, and paying attention to them or your prospect who are negative will only pull you down.
First you have to pull yourself out of any negative, old brain thinking, or you don’t have a chance in times like these. Then you have to LEAD, PULL, ENGAGE and MOVE your prospects into the FUTURE.
2) What do you want that you DON’T HAVE?
This is a future focused question. And you must realize that in influencing anybody to do anything, it’s like gravity. “The Pull of the Future has to be stronger than the Gravity of the Past.” –George Land
You have to help the prospect grasp a picture of what they want. In fact, have them cut it out or draw it, or describe it in technicolor terms. What will it look like, feel like, taste like and what does their PICTURE do for them?
Maybe you haven’t observed yourself. But I will tell you this–ANYTHING THAT YOU HAVE A CLEAR PICTURE OF IN YOUR HEAD (FOREBRAIN), you will be busy bringing into existence.
3) How bad do you want this picture?
The above is how the human brain works. In biology, in quantum physics, the more you split the cell, and then the atom, the more energy there is. This is interesting. Everything exists because of a thought.
A good relationship or a bad one
Health or disease
Success or failure (in anything)
These are created first by a thought…then a picture, then the result. If you aren’t getting what you want, then it is either because you don’t have A CLEAR PICTURE OF WHAT YOU DO WANT or your NEGATIVE PICTURES FROM THE PAST are sabotaging you (are fogging you up or limiting your ability to see the good).
Some people see the hole in the donut, others see the donut.
Some people see the opportunity…others see only the problems or crisis.
If you ever forget this or don’t use it, well then, I trust you realize why YOU aren’t successfully performing.
There are no excuses…but there are reasons.
Everybody who isn’t performing has an excuse.
Everyone who is consistently getting results is doing so for the above reasons.
ms
–Visit http://www.schustercenter.com/calendar_of_events.aspxfor workshops on Recession-Proofing your Practice
Dental Practice – Selling Differently
Posted by: | CommentsEveryone sells. Regardless of whether you earn your living directly from sales or not, you are selling all the time. How you look, how you dress, the look on your face, your posture, the words you speak and how you say them, what you write, do and live in each moment is a statement about you.
The vast majority of selling methods are flawed and few sales people have been taught the structure that leads to consistent and predictable results. There are two basic positions in life from which we respond:
•Reactive
•Creative
Individuals caught in a reactive structure find themselves always looking for strategies to solve all their sales problems. Strategies, however, can never take the place or overcome a defective structure.
Creation is the ART of CREATING VALUE. What we do and how we do it are all part of the process of the creation of value. It takes a great deal of meditation, reading, contemplation and evaluation of one’s behavior to begin to move into a creative method or mode.
As a young dentist in the 1970’s, I decided that I would help my patients create a plan. A plan to move them towards health – optimum health first and then later optimum repair.
By phasing my treatment plan, I found that the vast majority made choices to move towards, or create health in their dental lives. In time, this led them to create health in other areas of their lives.
In selling, we can sell to a person’s weakness or we can sell to their strength. The choice is yours.
Help people survive and survive only, and they will resent the cost in money and time. Help people create and they will reward you and love you for it.
Levels of Dental Hygiene Care
Posted by: | CommentsIs it possible for the hygienist to practice at a different level of dental care than the dentist within one office? What if the dentist and hygienist do not share the same philosophy of dentistry? It is important to be sure that you are working together as a team and that everyone in the office shares the same vision, values, and goals for the practice.
Dental hygienists do not all practice dental hygiene care at the same level just as different dentists provide different levels of dental care. You may have your thoughts in regard to these different levels but I think you will agree that not all hygienists provide care in the same manner.
•LEVEL 1 Dental Hygiene Care – Managed Neglect
Level I hygienists are practicing managed neglect. Every 6 months they scale away at the same teeth that had calculus the last visit. They feel there is no hope for a change in patient behavior so why bother. The attitude of the hygienist is ‘I just do my job and go home.’ Most of these hygienists are not probing or if they are there is no protocol for active disease so the periodontal exam has little meaning. The cause of disease and true prevention are non-existent with no regard for the future health of the patient. This type of practice pushes patients through the hygiene department as fast as possible. You might call this a prophy mill. The hygienist must see as many patients as possible so as to increase the production numbers. The patients in this type of hygiene department have little or no value for their dental health. They rely on the hygienist to “clean” their teeth every 6 months with not much thought of care in between appointments.
•LEVEL II Dental Hygiene Care – Body Parts Care
Level II hygienists have some higher technical training and are interested in providing higher levels of care that will generate more production dollars in the practice. The focus is more on advising patients of treatment options based on ‘what the insurance will cover’ rather than a comprehensive treatment plan. Success is measured based on production. The periodontal exam does have meaning for this level of hygienist to the extent that patients agree to the treatment presented. The patient’s future dental health, and general overall health are not the focus in this practice. This level of hygiene treatment may provide care that will slow the disease process but it doesn’t address the cause of the problem. Instead of looking at the entire system, this level treats only one aspect of the body, the gums and supporting structures. Patients in this type of hygiene department may end up with a host of dental problems in the mid to later adult life despite having visited the dentist regularly their entire life. We wonder, “How can that happen?” yet we observe it and watch it happen right before our eyes.
•LEVEL III Health Centered Dental Hygiene Care – Cause of Disease Care
The level III hygiene department has moved to be ‘health-centered’ and strives to treat the patient as an entire system. Everyone in the practice understands the ideal of dental health and realizes the importance of conveying that message to their patients. The examination process is engaging for the patient, comprehensive, and includes the protocol necessary to restore health to the highest level for the patient. The patient is a true partner in health as we create together long-range goals for dental and overall health. The hygienist is motivated to life-long learning while growing and developing their technical and communication skills. They understand that to behave differently, they must think differently. The cause of disease is the primary concern so that true healing can occur. The patients are motivated to care for themselves because they understand the consequences of neglect. It is hard work to become a level III hygienist but the rewards are high as service to others becomes the top priority.
•LEVEL IV Health Centered Dental Hygiene Care – Systemic / Total Body Wellness
The Level IV hygiene department has everything described in level III and has now moved to include protocols that provide systemic care. Nutritional counseling related to overall health and testing procedures to identify precursors to disease are implemented. A high level of trust exists between the patient and the hygienist. Level IV hygienists are highly educated in the link between systemic diseases and oral health and continue to educate themselves as new information becomes available. Level III and Level IV hygienists are concerned about the health of themselves as well as their patients thus serving as a model to those around them.
Barb Stackhouse, RDH, M.Ed.
Dental Benefits for the Team
Posted by: | CommentsThis is one of the most confusing systems in our profession. Many offices spell out vague guidelines for their team to use. Many stipulate that they can have dental coverage for “immediate” family members. The definition of “immediate” family needs to be spelled out so misunderstandings are limited.
Many offices provide dental care for the entire dental team. This system can cause problems within the team if one team member has had some significant neglect. A team member who is not at a very high level of oral health will receive a lot of care and a large benefit. While a team member who has taken great care of their mouth may only require minimal dental treatment and not use this benefit.
Consider providing the same amount of benefit for all of the employees. You can provide a consistent dollar amount each year to be used by your team. For example, you could stipulate that you will provide them with $2000.00 of dental treatment each year. They can use those dollars for their care or for their immediate family. Once they use up the thousand dollars, they will be responsible for paying the remaining portion in cash.
Part time employees are typically not entitled to any benefits. You will need to determine what you would like to provide for them, if anything.
Please know that we are not discouraging benefits to your team. In fact, we encourage them! We simply encourage you to put systems and structures in place that are equitable for all of your team members.
Don’t forget the compensation benefits that don’t show up on your employee’s paycheck. These items are called “Hidden Paycheck” items and your dental care benefits are only one example of this.
Employees may overlook the benefits provided to them by their employers. By incorporating these items into your compensation review, it allows the employee to see the whole compensation picture for what it really is. Many times the hidden paycheck items can add up to 35 percent of their earnings, and most of it is tax-free.
Example of a Compensation Review – Preliminary Offer
Annual Base Salary Offered
$__________________
Employer Matching FICA
$ __________________
Profitability Pay when Available
$___________________
Medical Premium Contribution
$ ___________________
Pension Plan Contribution
$ ___________________
Total Salary
$___________________
The items listed below will not show up on your paycheck. But they are additional benefits provided to you by the doctor.
Uniform Allowance
$ ___________________
Dental Care Allowance
$ ___________________
Jury Duty – Bereavement Pay
$ ___________________
Parking Garage Fees
$ ___________________
Continuing Education
$ ___________________
Total Compensation $____________________________
Pension Participation Date ___________________
Coaching Department; The Schuster Center
The 4 M’s of Practice Growth and Development
Posted by: | CommentsFind a proven business MODEL that will enable you to get from where you are to where you want to be. The systems and structures of your business model must be compatible with the philosophy of patient care that you want to deliver on a consistent basis. And, it has to have been tested over time to be successful in practices like yours.
Using that model, write a MASTER PLAN tailored for your practice that will guide you through the step by step management and development steps of your business thereby lessening the impact of emotional decisions and need for crisis management.
As you implement the master plan, identify a MENTOR, someone who will be your personal trainer, coach, motivator, and friend to share ideas through this process; someone who is committed to be there to help when unexpected problems come up; and someone who knows what to do and has successfully helped others in similar situations.
Finally, you will need a way to MONITOR your progress; management reports to provide you with control to assure your progress, hold you accountable for doing the work, and a feedback loop to enable you to make the right adjustments.
Planning your Time in the Practice
Posted by: | Comments“A good plan is like a road map: it shows the final destination and usually the best way to get there.” H. Stanley Judd
As a Coach, one of the key issues I hear from our clients is that “they don’t have enough time to do the work in the management program.”
One thing that I know for certain is that there is one area in which all men are truly created equal and that is in the area of time. God gave us all 24 hours each day to live our lives. The problem arises with how we each use that time. Do we allow the seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years to just happen through our lives? Or do we plan our lives in a way that we maximize what has been given to us?
“We need a sense of the value of time—that is, of the best way to divide one’s time into one’s various activities.” Arnold Bennett
Many of us fail to plan because we are too busy doing instead of thinking. We feel we have to be doing and as a result we react to whatever is happening around us. How then do we take control? Planning is an attempt to leverage our activities against the passage of time. Keeping in mind that there are some things we can’t control. However, to fail to manage whatever time you can will minimize your effectiveness. Whether you control 8 hours or 1 hour of your day is irrelevant. What matters is that we manage whatever time we can, in order to spend as much time as possible on the important things.
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then is not an art but a habit” Aristotle
The daily planner (the to-do-list) is the most common plan used today. Daily planning is worthwhile but weekly planning is better. This gives us a longer range perspective and more options.
The best way to create a weekly plan is to ask six basic planning questions as suggested by the Carlson Learning Company.
1. What results do I intend to achieve?
2. What must I do to get those results?
3. What are the priorities?
4. How much time will each activity require?
5. When will I do each activity?
6. How much flexibility must I allow for the unexpected things I can’t control?
You must allow time for unexpected things. Flexibility will be the key to successful planning. Remember that you are attempting to eliminate reactive behavior. You will want to be slow to change your plan when the unexpected happens. A thoughtful response versus the usual reactive one is desired.
“A first-rate organizer is never in a hurry. He is never late. He always keeps up his sleeve a margin for the unexpected.” Arnold Bennett
It is best to write out your plan for the upcoming week on Friday or whatever day is your last working day of the week. Ask others to do the same thing. You can review these plans at your weekly staff meeting in order to coordinate priorities and activities. Be sure to prioritize you activities and timelines. Set deadlines that are realistic and be sure not to ignore them. Preparing a weekly plan requires about 30 minutes but it will allow you to recover one hour per day for the week. An extra hour per day for important work (working on the practice) will produce remarkable results. Are you ready for your breakthrough? Plan it today.
“Plan your progress carefully; hour-by-hour, day-by-day, month-by-month. Organized activity and maintained enthusiasm are the wellsprings of your power.” Paul J. Meyer
Managing the Hazards of Contemporary Dentistry
Posted by: | CommentsWe have a video here with Dr. Tony McRedmond, introducing his continuing education seminar at The Schuster Center in Scottsdale AZ. It is a lecture to change your practice and teaches the protocols of Holistic Health and Dental Care. Watch Tony.
Holistic Health and Dental Care
Posted by: | CommentsHolistic Health and Dental Care
6 AGD credit hours with Dr. Tony McRedmond
There is a call for higher learning and the quest for a better way to care for people. Because of this request from dentists like you, we have put together a very special one day event at The Schuster Center on May 1, 2009. For anyone who truly aspires to higher patient care and understanding, this offering is for you.
Graduate and mentor of The Schuster Center, lecturer Dr. Tony McRedmond has studied with Dr. Pankey, Bob Barkley, FACE and OBI, among others. His unique holistic approach led him to in-depth study with other healthcare professionals as well as those in the field of research.
If you are looking for different ways to contribute to the overall health of your dental patients or you are concerned about the possible negative effects of some commonly used dental materials, attend this special continuing education seminar.
This dental seminar will cover:
- Biocompatibility of dental materials
- Recurring infections
- Depression, memory loss and/or fatigue for no apparent reason
- Chemical sensitivity in chronic illness
- Improve dental systemic health
If you miss this lecture and wish to speak to someone regarding this or other continuing education opportunities, call The Schuster Center toll free 1-800-288-9393 or visit our website
