Dentaltown November 2020 - 58

Nothing will increase case
acceptance more than the
palpable trust exhibited
by staff for doctors. Seeds
of doubt can destroy this
literally priceless attribute.
is relative) to accurately time every procedure
enhanced our ability to stay on schedule,
which reduced stress while skyrocketing
production. I had initially set length of
appointments by ... well, guessing.
Our first timed procedure was an anterior
endo, for which we'd allotted 60 minutes.
(We always allowed a standard 10 minutes
for administering anesthetic and timed
restorations separately.) When a mere
13 minutes was required to complete the
root canal, even inside my obdurate head,
much more than a lightbulb turned on.
After measuring every type of procedure
we performed 10 times, we averaged the
data to achieve precise scheduling times.
Cost: bupkis. Result: incredible. We
functioned like a Swiss watch. I can't conceive
of another idea that could enhance your
practice more than this. Things don't have
to be challenging to be valuable and, per
usual, staff does all the work anyway.

Principles lead
to production
But failed and discarded concepts still
haunted the tomb of great ideas. Why
couldn't we bring these worthies to fruition?
One recurring disappointment was our

58

reluctance to ask patients to refer friends
and family. I've heard it recommended
often and praised highly, and believe it's a
practical, straightforward practice building
plan that costs nothing.
We repeatedly discussed it during staff
meetings, role-played, polished our language,
even developed a bonus based on the number
of new patients seen. But that critical request
was seldom made because, truth to tell, I
never felt comfortable asking.
The problem was congruency, or lack of
the same. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "What
you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear
what you say." I could force myself to lead
by example and ask ... for a while. But staff
discerned that this excellent idea conflicted
with my principles. My subconscious lack of
commitment (consciously, I did everything
I could to have this implemented-at least
by others for whom the request didn't seem
so blatantly self-serving) doomed the effort.
Were failed concepts badly conceived or
poorly developed? Nope, merely incongruous
with the office leader's inner truth.
Yeah, but what does the loss of these
abandoned ideas signify? A little time,
energy and money wasted. No real harm
done, right? I'm not so sure.
We obviously forfeited growth, but
consider how you react when sensing someone's actions vary from his or her beliefs.
At best, it makes one question; at worst, it
destroys trust in that individual and further
proclamations must now be evaluated and
analyzed, rather than taken on faith.
I contend that Earl Nightingale was
correct when he maintained that had honesty
not been invented, it should be as the surest
way to guarantee success.
Accepting care is critical to fi nancial
success because no treatment occurs until a
patient says yes. Nothing will increase case
acceptance more than the palpable trust
exhibited by staff for doctors. Seeds of doubt

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Dentaltown November 2020

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