Dentaltown December 2017 - 122

continuing
education

122

Introduction

Discovering what I didn't want

Dentists don't make good CEOs.
If a building were burning down and people were
trapped inside, a CEO would talk to the crowd, find
people with the right skill sets to help, form a rescue
squad, develop a rock-solid escape plan, then send that
team into the building.
Most dentists in that situation would rather rush
headlong into the building to try to save as many people
as possible. It's just who we are. We are more heroes
than executives.
That's why the current climate of the dental profession is so dangerous for us. The exponential growth
of corporate dentistry and group practice is putting
pressure on dentists to try to become something they
aren't-CEOs.
Consumed by the daily demands of our practice
and family, it's hard to imagine trying to learn all the
different skills that would be required to compete head
to head against a large organization.
Some dentists have chosen to try to compete. Others
have decided to close their eyes and continue their current
path, hoping for the best. And still others have decided
to get out of the profession altogether.
The solution is not running away from our life's
work. The solution is going against our heroic instincts
to put all the burdens on our shoulders and instead
becoming real leaders by empowering the people
around us. Doing this creates a practice that delivers
both success and balance.
Leadership styles vary from dentist to dentist;
there is no "magic bullet" leadership style that fits
every practice. But I believe a few principles mesh very
nicely with the personalities of most dentists and yield
consistently good results.
It's time to take a step back to give our leadership
strategy a fresh perspective and a strategic approach,
and to develop clear objectives that will allow us to
take control and enjoy practice again.

Ten years ago, I could see that the landscape of our
profession was changing and moving toward a more
corporate setting. I wanted to get in on the front end
of that industry, so I took two of my best dental friends
who were also interested in forming a dental corporation
on a trip to visit a dentist who owned 32 practices.
It was an eye-opening visit, for sure. The organization
was amazing: From the central scheduling center to the
large meeting spaces, this was the closest resemblance to
a corporate setting I had ever seen for a dental practice
company. The owner was a friendly guy who was very
proud of what he had accomplished-and for good
reason! It was amazing.
However, when I had the opportunity to ask him
some candid questions, I quickly realized that I just
wasn't cut out to do what he was doing.
It wasn't that it required superhuman intelligence
to run those multiple practices; the owner was very
intelligent, but that wasn't it. His sacrifice of personal
time was the dream-killer for me.
He asked me, "Do you have any hobbies?" That was
an innocent enough question and I answered honestly,
"Of course. I love to fish and golf."
His reply drove a dagger through the heart of my
future dental empire. He said: "I don't have any hobbies.
My hobby is poring over reports and data every weekend.
My hobby is having meetings after hours and developing
new strategies to try to keep our company competitive.
My hobby is this company."
It was like all the air was sucked out of the building.
I'm sure that the look on my face made him realize that
I, like so many other dentists, wouldn't be jumping into
the multiple practice arena because I would never be
willing to give up my free time to the degree necessary
to compete in that world. My friends agreed.
The ride home was a quiet one as we contemplated
how we could tackle the challenge of wanting to become
as successful as possible, while preserving our autonomy
and time off.

DECEMBER 2017 // dentaltown.com

http://www.dentaltown.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Dentaltown December 2017