Dentists are incredibly resilient. There will always be setbacks as a practice owner, but the ability to bounce back is a sign of an excellent leader. As author Zig Ziglar once said, “It’s not how far you fall, but how high you bounce that counts.”
Let go of the bad stuff. It’s unfortunate, but good dentists can go through bad years. Some events are beyond your control, such as a large local employer moving or a new competitor opening nearby. You may anticipate these types of events in your strategic planning process, which looks at potential threats to your practice and helps you devise ways to respond. However, you can’t stop such events from happening, and you can’t change what happened. Your time is better spent remaking the present than reliving the past.
Don’t forget to listen to your team. Your team has firsthand knowledge of management systems, processes, equipment, and patient experience. Their comments and suggestions should be viewed as valuable insider information. Not every idea will be a homerun, but you don’t want to ignore good feedback either.
Dr. Roger P. Levin is CEO of Levin Group, a leading practice management and marketing consulting firm. To contact him or to join the 40,000 dental professionals who receive his Practice Production Tip of the Day, visit LevinGroup.com or email [email protected].
The comments and observations expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the opinions of DrBicuspid.com, nor should they be construed as an endorsement or admonishment of any particular idea, vendor, or organization.
