by [email protected] | May 12, 2021 | Prescriptions for your Practice
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Stephen Covey was spot on when he said, “The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule but to schedule your priorities.”
If you want to make more with less work, you need to leverage the principles of ruthless prioritization, that is, eliminating anything that does not add value toward achieving your goal.
Sometimes, you need to get rid of the good to focus on the great.
In this episode, I talk about the aggressive and scary move I made in 2016 to carve back some personal time from my workdays and still able to grow my practice. I’ll also discuss how to find the hidden potential in life’s harsh realities of unfairness. And as a bonus, I’ll share with you 5 highly recommended books to guide you on how you can make more by working less.
Tune in and find solutions to common practice issues at Prescriptions for Your Practice
Key Quotes:
- “You can make more and work less each and every year by leveraging the principles of ruthless prioritization.”
- “The reality is that the world is incredibly imbalanced and you have to embrace the harsh realities of ‘unfairness’.”
- “Sometimes you need to get rid of the good so you can focus on the great.”
- “Document and focus on the things that really create a lot of focus and power and the things that are disempowering.”
- “If you are going to chisel your big patients based down to one person who would you start with?”
- “If you give all your time and attention trying to fix your bottom performers, you’ll ultimately end up losing some of your best talents.”
- “How can you eliminate, delegate, automate the bottom few [assignments]? How can you find more time and focus in the top few [assignments]?”
- “Who are your multipliers? The ones who naturally align with your core values and mission and get you consistent results.”
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by [email protected] | May 5, 2021 | Prescriptions for your Practice
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How do we secure a productive environment in our practices? One that doesn’t get disrupted by the increasing tension in society and result in a toxic culture that could compromise your livelihood?
Let’s engineer a work environment that brings out the best in you and your team!
In this episode, I talk about the imminent changes in the dental profession that are big long-term wins if we start enhancing our company cultures. I’ll also discuss how to keep your team innovating and encourage your employees to grow their confidence, improve engagement, and experience joy at work.
Tune in and find solutions to common practice issues at Prescriptions for Your Practice
Key Quotes:
- “Our dental practices are a microcosm for society. Unless we create systems for safety and alignment for our teams, that polarization will create a very toxic culture and undermine your livelihood.”
- “In all (economic) climates, it’s important that you, as a practice owner, are building your confidence and that of your team.”
- “Personal issues manifest as work issues all of the time.”
- “If there aren’t systems for frequent and open dialogue, there’s a very good chance there’s some toxic behaviors hidden from you, the doctor. Those are the ones that explode and hurt you, patient care, and others on the team.”
- “Make sure you have some sort of no gossip policy.”
- “Make sure that you have systems for recognition.”
- “If you, the doctor, don’t engineer an environment that brings out the best in you, patient care and your pay will eventually take a hit.”
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by [email protected] | Apr 21, 2021 | Legendary Leadership
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I am re-releasing one of the more popular and the No. 1 most downloaded episode of all my podcasts. It features the incredibly insightful Dr. Thomas Grass as he recounts the story of how he found dentistry and the path that led him to this career. This is one of the most powerful conversations I have ever had on the show, as Tom delves deep into the importance of being present and how to avoid always looking to the future or your next achievement.
We discuss what Tom calls the UFO method and how to use this when approaching unpleasant discussions or delivering difficult news. You’ll learn how to create satisfaction out of inherently unsatisfying experiences. Listen in as we share personal stories about making connections with the people in our lives and touch on the responsibility you have to yourself to do the same.
Tune in and meet more Legendary Leaders
Key Quotes:
- “The minute you turn your patients into problems, tasks, or room numbers, you’ve failed.”
- “Dentistry checks all my boxes; you get to take care of people for a long time, you get to know people, and you get to be hands-on.”
- “Hospice is really good at showing you all the pieces and parts that surround someone’s life.”
- “You don’t know what people are living with, what people regret.”
- “Tell people what you need from them and give people what they want from you.”
- “When you are caring for people, you are giving away your emotional energy to them.”
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by [email protected] | Apr 14, 2021 | Legendary Leadership
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Two of my favorite people in this profession, Dr. Molly Karmazin and Dr. Corey Karmazin, join me on this week’s podcast to unpack their secrets to success. Drs. Corey and Molly are among those featured in my “Dentist On A Mission” book. They practice in a gorgeous, state-of-the-art facility in Sioux Falls, SD alongside a very enthusiastic high-performance team.
Listen in as Drs. Molly and Corey talk about how they made their scratch-start dream a reality, how they continue to reinvest in their practice and refine their leadership style to make the best better. They will also share their insights on culture, systems, and lifelong learning.
Tune in and find more Legendary Leadership
Key Quotes:
- “They said in school, one of the hardest things you can do is probably start your own from scratch. And we were like, let’s do it.”
- “I think with the information overload that we get now, I think it would feel daunting. I’d probably still do it [a startup practice].”
- “We’re always big in putting time and effort back into the team because I think it always pays off in spades.”
- “Sometimes you take it personally when people make a decision to make a change. And I feel like there’s no real substitute for just experiencing that. And I won’t say that it makes you kind of cold, but it makes you realize to really appreciate what you have at any given time and just know like there’s going to be things that are switched out.”
- “Anytime someone leaves, this is always for the better. And then it makes our expectations and levels even higher for the next one and we’re quicker to make decisions whether things are working or not.”
- “The thing that I’ve learned, probably the most in the last couple of years, is we’ve found our voice and it doesn’t have to come off as bossy. And being a leader is telling people what you want and giving them the tools to be able to do that.”
- “We had to invest in technology. We had to computerize the office because I wanted to have a seamless flow from our Sioux Falls office to this office. So it was kind of fun.”
- “I still can’t believe we still have patients that we saw like day one. I felt like I knew nothing. I felt like my skills were there, but they weren’t there where they are now. And you’re just like, Oh, these people saw it in you. And they were like, you can do it.”
- “I think doing it on your own, from the get go, you invest so much more in yourself and the business. Whether it’s with technology or remodel, whether it’s just trying to be on top and up, we just constantly re-investing.”
- Every single patient through the door has either come because they’ve picked up the phone and took a chance on us or they have now told other people. And so, we really do very little advertising. A lot of our patients come from, Hey, so-and-so told me to come see you.”
- “Our confidence in ourselves that we can deliver has made a huge difference.”
- “You don’t know what you don’t know and you think you’re doing a good job and you can do great dentistry forever in that little bubble. It’s just been such a pleasure to burst outside of it and to be able to start different things.”
- “Make connections with dentists all across the country and even the world.”
- “You can’t complain and get angry and bitter when you come from a place of gratitude.”
- “Starting each day with a thing of gratitude, I think, has changed everybody.”
Corey and Molly Karmazin started their dental practice 18 years ago in Sioux Falls, SD. They have embraced continuing education and technology and A-Team atmosphere at their office. Grace, Gratitude and Attitude help make each day at Karmazin Dental a GREAT DAY!
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by [email protected] | Mar 24, 2021 | Legendary Leadership
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Hiring is complicated. You don’t want to be working with a team who doesn’t embrace and support your goals. Good thing Laura Nelson is there to guide us throughout the process. She recently released a new book, “Hiring without Hesitation: A How-To for Small Business Success” which I am excited to share. I’ve known Laura for a long time, and I admire the honest value she’s bringing to the dental industry.
Listen in as Laura talks about best practices in hiring the right people for your practice and how to quickly spot a potential rockstar. She also touches on office culture and why you should involve the whole team in the hiring process.
Be inspired and meet more Legendary Leaders
Key Quotes:
- “ It starts with leadership. It really starts with your attitude about hiring. if you think there’s no good people out there, then there’s going to be no good people out there.”
- “You need to have an environment and a culture where people want to come to work there because they’re considering potentially leaving somewhere else maybe, or part-time or whatever to come to you.”
- “If you wait to just hire when you need it, and you’re desperate, you’re gonna hire a square peg and try to put it in a round hole and then you’re going to fail and then you’re going to hit hiring and it’s going to be the cyclical problem that you have.”
- “Always be looking. Don’t rely on just when you need it. ‘Cause if you wait until then it’s going to probably be too late.”
- Let them [team] know that you’re always looking. First of all, it’s going to keep them on their toes. And then second of all, they’re not going to be whispering in the break room going,” Oh my gosh, you know, the [boss] is doing an interview. Who’s he canning? Who is he letting go?” Right? Like it’s just full transparency. So I definitely think involving your team is an important part.”
- “There’s a difference between a job description and a job advertisement. So we need a job description, right? We need a checklist of what are they going to get trained? What are they responsible for and what are they accountable for? But an advertisement is meant to attract.”
- “I’ve had some dental assistants who are amazing at six months and I’ve had some that stink after six years. So, it doesn’t really matter, the amount of experience. So, really going through your job ad and saying, what is required? And then what is nice to have?”
- “ I’ll take personality over experience all day long.”
- “I want somebody to be teachable with experience. That’s the best, that’s the rock star, right? But if they’re not teachable and they’ve got a lot of experience, like you said, they could be stuck.”
- “And again, it ties back to the leadership and the culture. You know, you’ve got to foster a culture, that’s like that, the ability to make mistakes, the ability to learn and grow their ability to take responsibility, to work together as a team for you to be vulnerable for.”
- “You can take a rockstar, put them in a bad culture and kill them. Or you can take an average employee and put them in an amazing culture and make them a rockstar.”
- “Reference checks — and I’ve been guilty of not doing them. You’ve been guilty of not doing them. They are so important. And it’s important.”
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