Knowledge Centre

“Nobody on my team can make decisions on their own!’ “Everyone comes to me with questions about how to do the simplest tasks!” Do these complaints sound familiar? Too many dentists I talk to tell me it is impossible for them to focus on growing their practice because they are constantly interrupted by team members asking for […]

Taking the time to “plan your next step” in so many facets of life is always a challenge…and dentistry is no exception. As dentists, it often feels like your day is an endless procession of moving from one patient to the next faster than the eye can see. To keep up, you just have to […]

One of the greatest assessments we use to measure “a life well lived” comes from the question “what would people want to say on your epitaph?” Would they say you were kind to others? That you were respectful and generous with your time? That you displayed empathy to others? Would they say you truly lived […]

As a Dental CEO, decision-making is one of your primary responsibilities. No matter how collaborative a work environment you create (and you should create a collaborative work environment!), as the CEO, you are the ultimate decision-maker. Personally, I believe that great decisions are most likely to come from a CEO who understands the balance between […]

One of the greatest challenges many dental CEO’s face is how to effectively use their time in the slower, summer period. We all love “those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer!” And we know that Canadian summers are far too short to spend our entire time working. But true CEOs know that downtime does not last. Let’s […]

If you have been following my blog for a while, you will notice that I place a great deal of emphasis on encouraging dentists to approach their business with the mindset of a CEO. I want to move you from thinking like a small business owner so you can better embrace the power of your team! […]

Really getting the business side of your practice operating effectively does take time. You need time to plan, strategize, and execute the decisions that will drive your business forward. Unfortunately, most dentists I speak with constantly tell me time is the one commodity they never can find enough of. I get that! As a practice owner, it […]

In recent years, the environmental impact of various industries has come under scrutiny, and dentistry has been no exception to this trend. Overall, the need to remain sanitary for each patient stands as the primary contributor to this environmental burden, followed by common practices such as patients traveling to dental offices, the extensive use of lighting […]

I recently had the opportunity to share my perspectives on empowering your practice by thinking like a CEO when I spoke at the annual meeting of the Academy of Private Dental Practice conference in Fort Lauderdale. It was a great group of dentists and I would encourage you to check them out. During one of the breakout sessions, […]

One of the hardest aspects of being the CEO of your practice is holding your team accountable when their performance is not measuring up. Let’s face it, most dentists try to be people pleasers. They want their patients to be happy. They want their team to be happy. Conversations about poor performance can be hard. They can […]

Building momentum within your team is one of the greatest challenges you will face as a dental CEO. You will not achieve the success you want in your practice if you think you can do it on your own. Having that team behind you is vital and you want that team to be enthusiastic about […]

Welcome to 2024! This is the time when we think of all the exciting changes that come with a new year. We swear all those “old” habits that have held us back will be kicked to the curb and replaced with “new,” life-changing ones. This “out with the old” idea brought to mind recent conversations I have […]

”Can you believe the year is almost over?” This is the question we always ask ourselves as we make our way to the final weeks of the year. And, of course, we wonder what the next year will have in store for us. Economically, we can certainly expect a bumpy ride. With total GDP falling 1.1% in […]

Let’s be totally honest, you are the CEO of your practice. Perhaps you are a reluctant CEO, as I recently heard one speaker describe it. But you are the CEO! And great CEOs understand they cannot do it all alone. They need a team to help them. For the last five months, my blogs have addressed how to build […]

Welcome to the last category of management tasks that we will consider for delegation. Over the last 4 months, we have looked at how to delegate tasks in a way that ensures there is ongoing accountability. This is critical to your role as CEO as without that accountability you can never feel confident that you […]

Good news! We are coming close to the end of our series of blogs on creating accountability through delegation. Today, we will discuss the second last category I have for you. And after that, I will close it out with a few final comments. Last month, we took our CEO minds to those tasks where […]

We are on a roll with the delegation train and there is no reason to let that engine cool down just yet! In moving that train forward, I would like to address one of the biggest challenges I see dentists face on the issue of delegation. That issue is the sense of a loss of control. It […]

Let’s keep the idea of delegation going this month! Great CEOs recognize the importance of developing their leadership team and that means more than simply giving them a title. It means truly assigning those team members responsibility for some of the most important tasks in your office! Last month, we created a category for those tasks that, while incredibly […]

Congratulations! You have stepped into the world of the great CEOs and committed to delegating some tasks to your manager (see last months blog)! Now you have to consider: WHAT tasks you will delegate HOW you will ensure you still have the information you need to make your big, CEO decisions Delegation is not about surrendering control […]

In last month’s journey to developing your inner-CEO, we referenced the importance of working with a leadership team. Working more efficiently will mean delegating some managerial tasks to members of that team. Before considering which tasks you should delegate, I want to address one of the greatest obstacles I see to the effective operation of potentially […]

In March, my blog took a bit of a trip down memory lane! I recounted my own mindset of fear that acted as my motivation to study hard while in university. Fail to study…fail the class! And as much as that fear proved successful in my academic life, building a business motivated by fear is […]

Last month, we discussed how the perfectionist mindset many dentists have can be a barrier to their willingness to delegate certain tasks to team members. These dentists either wind up doing too much work themselves or micromanaging team members to the point of frustration. Neither approach is helpful to build long term success. Today, I […]

One of the greatest challenges ALL small business owners face is recognizing what tasks they should do themselves and what tasks they can delegate to team members. Letting go of responsibility is hard – but it is also essential! CEOs recognize that even the smallest of businesses have so many moving parts, all crying out […]

Happy New Year! I hope the Holiday Season was enjoyable for all of you and that you managed to find ways to spoil your team members – as well as your family. All the better if they spoiled you too! For many, this is the time of year we envision the “new and improved” versions of ourselves. […]

In November, we focused on delegating tasks to team members and holding them accountable. As a dental CEO, you simply cannot do it all. You need to entrust some vital tasks to your team. And as we head into the holiday season, a time of year intended to spoil our family members, it seems appropriate […]

In October, we discussed how some people simply are not happy practising dentistry. Making a few tweaks at the fringes will not change things. They just do not find dentistry fulfilling and may even consider it exceedingly stressful. They need to find an alternative career. Others love being in the clinic! It gives them an incredible […]

In last month’s blog, I asked the crucial question whether you can still be happy in private practice. I believe you can and how you achieve it is something I will explore in upcoming blogs. However, before we move into that realm, there is an even more fundamental question that dentists should consider. Namely, are […]

It is always interesting to observe how perspectives change from one generation to the next.  While consulting with a dentist in Ottawa approximately 10 years ago, a 4th-year dental student dropped by. An ambitious person, she was already exploring the path for potential associate opportunities when she graduated the following year.  We chatted and she […]

Last month, we discussed the importance of cross-training, particularly at a time when so many offices are struggling with shortages of team members. The question is how to do this effectively. The first thing I would suggest is make sure your team is involved in the process. Employees today do not respond well if they […]

Just to be clear, the link between cross-training and summer has nothing to do with peak fitness so we look great in our summer wardrobe! Well…it could be about that. But not in an article for a dental publication. Instead, this is the time of the year when we try to slow down at work so we […]

It seems like it has been forever since we could turn on the news and see anything remotely positive. All we have heard about for the last couple of years has been the pandemic, supply shortages, skyrocketing home prices, Russia invading Ukraine, more supply shortages and now…inflation like we have not seen in decades! And […]

It is an interesting contradiction to talk to dental students about the importance of learning about the business side of dentistry. The response I receive to offering training on management, human resources, marketing and financial planning is that they are so stressed focusing on the clinical components they need to earn their degrees, they don’t […]

I was recently asked by a dentist to look into my crystal ball and tell them what I see for the future of dentistry. We know that when one is trying to predict the future, one must be prepared to be wrong more often than they are right! Still, it is always fun to play […]

We know the world is showing signs of re-opening and that is a time for cautious optimism. Cautious because it seems we have been down this path before only to have a new variant push us back. But optimism may feel strong as maybe…just maybe…this time we will be in a better position to avoid […]

We know the pandemic has had a profound impact on the dental profession. Hygiene, in particular, has been hit hard, with a number of hygienists seeing it as a sign to change careers. The resulting labour market has seen dentists jumping over each other, pushing salaries ever higher to make sure they had someone—anyone—available to […]

Here we are starting off a new year. Sadly, it feels like more of the same. The pandemic is still raging as a new variant has taken off. That means all the talk is on boosters, restrictions on public gatherings and shut downs! Hopefully, we will not see the same increase in hospitalizations as early […]

Welcome to December and my final blog for 2021! It has been a great honour to share some of my thoughts with you again this year and I look forward to continuing to do so in 2022! My most recent blogs have focused on the importance of proper onboarding to increase your rate of employee […]

In my last blog, I touched upon the idea that proper onboarding of a new team member was vital to avoid playing the current, far too popular game of employee roulette. Many of my colleagues agree that most dental offices have historically struggled with onboarding and training. Rather than develop a training program, many offices simply […]

You have dramatically increased salaries…you offered thousands of dollars as a signing bonus…and now, you are spinning the wheel yet again…waiting to see if you will still have all your employees at work today. Welcome to the world of employee roulette! If you get through this round, you can choose to do it all over […]

After an early summer that seemed so promising, signs of a 4th wave are leaving all of us wondering what is next. How will we end 2021 and how will we begin 2022? Let’s face it…business planning has likely never been more challenging than it is right now! The impact on dentistry has been a […]

Many of you are likely familiar with the work of Brené Brown. She has become a renowned coach and thought leader on the topic of, well, leadership. Her books, such as Dare to Lead, have taught us that leadership is not merely about who delivers the best “rah rah…rally the troops” speech. Nor is it about who […]

“Train people well enough so they can leave. Treat them well enough so they don’t want to!” – Sir Richard Branson. At a time of incredible labour shortages for so many dental positions, the ability to attract and keep top level talent is proving to be as challenging as it is critical. I know of a number […]

By now, everyone probably knows about the DentalCorp IPO. It is the first Canadian corporate dental group to go public since TriDont tried it, unsuccessfully, approximately 35 years ago. The response to this news on social media has been interesting to watch. Some dentists in private practice have responded with an “if you can’t beat’em, […]

Congratulations! This is incredible news. Your passion and pride in what you do in the healthcare field is truly being rewarded. Perhaps you were an excellent hygienist…a phenomenal dental assistant…a top-notch admin team member providing your clinicians with first rate support. And today…your journey as a new office manager begins! This is your chance to […]

It was right around this time in 2018, I presented before a group of dentists and office managers in Ottawa. Most of them were 45 years of age and older. The topic: technology that many experts predicted would become commonplace in dental offices by 2020. I was not presenting on cutting edge, futuristic technology that […]

Have you sat down with your accountant yet to review your 2020 financial statements? Now is the time of year many of you are doing just that! And let’s face it…looking at those numbers after a year of Covid is not likely to help chase away the February Blues…even as we move into March! Some […]

Let’s admit it…as dental professionals, we love to nerd out!

Welcome to 2021! I hope that you and your loved ones have managed to remain healthy and safe throughout the Holiday Season!

As we find ourselves in the final month of 2020, I am sure many of us would rather just turn the page to 2021 rather than look back on this crazy year.

We see it in our daily news coverage…particularly now! We see it in many of our regular, commercial advertisements to purchase this product or that service or something bad will happen.