Dentaltown November 2020 - 57

D

octor, have you ever discovered an
idea that you instantly realized was
precisely what your practice needed?
Whatever its source-magazine, meeting
or a conversation with peers-you lovingly
transported this electrifying information
to your office.
At the onset of the next staff meeting-
why wait for the agenda?-the knowledge
was unveiled, to the aggregate approbation
customarily accorded a newborn. The perfect
action plan was sculpted, proper commitments made by appropriate people and the
idea launched to the fanfare habitually
reserved for a moonshot.
Then, after a month or two, you realized
your office had quit doing it.
For too many years, I lived with the
frustration of being incapable of consistent
execution and the follow-through of genius.
Still, some valuable ideas did become a permanent part of our office. What determined
life or death for these concepts? Did the
capricious whims of a sometimes-fickle fate
or the collective tides of an office biorhythm
govern success or failure? After years of
consternation and lucubration, I identified
the malevolent force that kept restraining
our ability to grow and prosper.
And just as creator Walt Kelly's opossum
character Pogo so sagely predicted: "We
have met the enemy, and he is us." It was
my belief and commitment, or lack of the
same, that determined the fate of ventures.
Let's consider how and why.
My practice held 90-minute staff meetings twice a month for 40 years. (Leadership
rotated throughout the team, except for old
Doc Wilde, who tended toward prolixity and
needed to shut up and listen.) The meetings
were vital to team building, which perhaps
more than any other factor determines
happiness and success, but also played
a critical role in our quest for constant
improvement.

Ideas made real
Examples of great ideas poured forth
from this venue, included going from 15- to
10-minute scheduling units, which resulted
in an immediate and rather astounding
uptick in monthly production.
I first sketched the concept of expanded
hygiene on McDonald's napkins while
traveling home from a state dental meeting.
Our hygiene team used two operatories and
included a hygienist, her dedicated chairside
and one front office person in charge of
their scheduling.
When pay shifted to a percentage basis,
productivity increased 50% the first week
and never declined. Before, remuneration
was identical during open time or when
working. If someone canceled, why not
have a cup of coffee? But, when paid on
production, as are dentists, unscheduled
blocks were aggressively fi lled. Their pay
increased by the same 50%, which I gladly
paid because it's nice to begin a month
knowing that the practice will net at least
$10,000 from hygiene alone.
Another valuable appurtenance to evolve
was morning clearings. I arrived early,
reviewed every record, then discussed my
notes on the day sheet with the entire staff.
Comments such as, "There's a financial issue;
don't treat beyond what's scheduled" or,
"They just returned from their daughter's
wedding" were added.
Once done with patient concerns, staff
had the opportunity to state they were "clear,"
that nothing impeded top performance. But
on occasion, someone had a sick child, wasn't
feeling the best or shared other concerns. All
the team was able to support them, and my
reaction to a less-than-stellar performance
was much different, having been made
aware of an encumbrance that they loyally
worked through.
Employing a "high-tech" approach (stopwatch, pencil and 3-by-5 cards-the term

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Dentaltown November 2020

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