Playing the game to win

Playing the game requires a win/lose mentality. Think about sports, someone wins and the other team loses. Most events in life you may approach in this manner. However, is it always beneficial to think in these terms? If you think a win/lose you may find that solutions that offer a win/win solution do not present themself to you because all you see is one side loosing.

Flip the switch. Next, time you are approaching a situation with a patient. Think win-win. Spend the time to ask yourself what would it look like if both sides were to win? What would you have to do? What would you have to give or what would the patient have to give in order for you to be able to win and for them to win?

In order to create an opportunity that wasn't there before you not only have to ask the right questions but you also have to be willing to do what it takes for everyone to walk away feeling like they received something.

For example, a patient comes in and isn't able to pay for services. A win/lose situation is that you complete the procedure but the patient doesn't pay that day and no payment plan is set up. A lose/lose situation would be if you don't complete the procedure at all for the patient.  You don't help the patient and the patient doesn't receive the procedure.

What would be a win/win? It may depend and it may be different in every scenario. However, by simply asking yourself what would have to change right now for both parties to walk away better off then they are right now, you have to not only take the time to ask questions, you have to be willing to not shut down the patient with a no before you even get started. For example, this may mean the patient puts down 5% for the procedure before you get started.

No matter what problem you are faced with you can take the time to look at it from all angles in order to help move your practice forward at every opportunity. I'm not suggesting that every time you will walk away further than you were today, however, you may find the more you walk away with a negotiation the better off you are in the long run.


Great teams take effort. Take time to work on your practice regularly to build quality communication and strengthen your results. For more information and to read other articles, please visit us at www.saltdpm.com.

The Choices You Make

Every choice you make throughout the day has an impact on your business. No matter how small the choice seems or how little you think it will impact you, it does. According to, Leading Every Day, "one of the key characteristics of leaders is that they consciously make all kinds of choices." It is important in the decisions you make as a leader that you make a decision and then move forward but also that you think through the decisions you make.

Make decisions that are going to move your group towards the goal. Don't waste time doing the wrong thing. It is important however, that the mission of your dentist office is clear and concise. Make sure your teammates know what the mission is in order for them to understand the decisions you are making.  You also, need to come back to the mission often.

Leadership deviation occurs when the mission becomes unclear or when people forget about the mission. Leadership choices have to be made to support the purpose and goal of your organization. Choices should also be made that move your office forward. Sometimes we have to complete tasks that we don’t want to or that hold us back. However, a majority of your choices and decisions and activities should align with what you are trying to accomplish.

Questions, problems and activities jump out at you all day long. It is important to establish steps that you are going to take in order to follow through with an appropriate choice to reach your goal. Keep this in mind and if you don’t have time, don’t make the decision right away.

Great teams take effort. Take time to work on your practice regularly to build quality communication and strengthen your results. For more information and to read other articles, please visit us at www.saltdpm.com.

Work smarter not harder

You have heard the saying for years, "Work smarter not harder." Yet at some point in your life or maybe even now you slosh home at some late hour, only to drop off and sleep for a couple hours. To wake up a few hours later, drink a bunch of coffee and begin the day again. 

But you don't have to continue to work hard. There is a better way. Hundreds if not thousands of people every day do what you do but finish on time, take a lunch and spend their weekends enjoying their family.  

Find someone who is doing what you want to do efficiently and then practice it. Study how they clean or how they complete their schedule. Ask how their huddles are ran. If struggle to make re-care calls, then find someone who is successful and implement it. Do not spend days, hours and months reinventing an unsuccessful wheel. It will cause burn out.

Great teams take effort. Take time to work on your practice regularly to build quality communication and strengthen your results. For more information and to read other articles, please visit us at www.saltdpm.com.

ABC's of Consequences

Consequences can be positive or negative and have three things we consider before and during at risk behavior

Antecedent-Values, beliefs, social systems, expectations

Behavior – Will this behavior give me positive or negative consequences?

Consequences – are either positive or negative depending on the 3 keys

1. Will the consequence occur sooner or later?

2.  Are the consequences certain or uncertain?

3.  Is the consequence significant or insignificant?

Let’s say you are speeding, 80 in a 65 MPH zone because you are late to work.

What is the antecedent?  The alarm didn’t go off; I believe that being late for work would be a failure on my part.

What is the behavior?  I choose to speed. 

What is the positive consequence?  I will arrive at work on time.  Is this consequence happing sooner or later?  Sooner, because I can see the speedometer and know the rate of speed at which I’m traveling.  Is the consequence certain or uncertain?  It’s certain.  I know that by speeding I will be on time to work.  Is the consequence significant or insignificant?  It is significant because I value being on time.

Now, what would the negative consequence be?  I could get a ticket for speeding.

Will that happen sooner or later?  I believe later.  I do not see a policeman and if I thought I would get a ticket right now, I would not be speeding.

Is it certain or uncertain that I will get a ticket?  Uncertain as it has not yet happened.

Is the consequence of getting a ticket significant or insignificant?  It is insignificant because it is uncertain that it will even happen.

According to statistics, 330 out of 8 to 10 thousand at risk behaviors have consequences. 

Out of the 330, one will be a major event, 29 will be minor events and 300 will be near misses.  Think about traffic accidents.  300 near misses, 29 minor injuries, and 1 death.  These do not happen in succession or numerical order.  You may have thousands of at risk behaviors and never have the one major event.  Or, you may have one at risk behavior and suffer the one major event. 

EPS

Error provocative situations.  We put ourselves into situations that provoke error.  I drive a car, it is an EPS.  Not only do I have to worry about my driving skills, but the skills of thousands of others as well.  

Definition of ______________

Acceptable level of ?

How are the ABC's of behavior affecting your practice?