DT U.S. Edition, Nov./Dec. 2010, Vol. 5, No. 23

Sally McKenzie, CEO ‘Help! Things have got to change!’ pages of wisdom and endless hours of inspiration, we’ve learned this: Achieving excellence comes down to hard work, commitment and, most importantly, leadership. At the root of excellence — or even just “very good” — is change. Change in any organization, be it a corporate giant such as Microsoft or your own dental practice, is a huge undertaking. In fact, studies have shown that 60 to 90 percent of the efforts to change the way things are done never come to fruition. Why? It’s because the culture of most every business is “hard- wired” from the top down. In other words, if those driving the train don’t change course, every- one else is just another cart on the same track, along for the same journey, and on their way to the same destination yet again. Creating change begins with you The beauty of the dental practice is that if you, Mr. or Ms. Dentist, are not satisfied or don’t like the direction of your practice, you have the power to change it. In reality, only you have the power to change it. Yes, you need your team to be actively involved, but real change begins with you. From there comes the develop- ment of the plan, which involves asking a few fundamental ques- tions, starting with: What’s your vision for your practice? What does a really good dental practice do differently? How do we get there? Next is fact finding. Talk to your patients about their experi- ences. You don’t need to conduct a formal survey, although it’s help- ful if you can. At a minimum, ask how your practice can do things better. Just remember that only a handful will be honest with you. Those who share less than stel- lar comments are doing you a huge favor in offering their candid opinions. Studies indicate that if one per- son complains, at least seven oth- ers have had the same negative experience and each of them has told nine others about the prob- lem. This means that at least one negative comment about your practice has been shared with 63 others in your community. Thus, this is not exactly the word-of- mouth marketing you want circu- lating. Begin to assemble the building blocks of practice excellence by examining each individual system and how it fits into the vision of the office that you have chosen to create. What does the new patient experience involve in a practice that is dedicated to setting itself apart from others in the commu- nity? How do patients feel when they call a practice that is com- mitted to excellence? How is the team involved in carrying out the practice culture that the dentist wants to create? Once the broad-brush concepts are identified, take an honest look at how your team currently han- dles specific systems. Don’t sugar coat it. Then ask your employees for their input. What do they see as Practice Matters DENTAL TRIBUNE | Nov./Dec. 20106A AD g DT page 9A You want to change your prac- tice. You know that you need to change the culture, the sys- tems, perhaps even the staff. You have the desire, but desire alone doesn’t prepare you for the climb when you are standing at the base of what seems like Mt. Everest. Singlehandedly achieving real change in the dental practice can be a truly Herculean effort. Team dynamics, history, patients, prac- tice culture and technology all play significant roles in the trans- formation efforts, and each can erect seemingly insurmountable barriers to achieving the goals unless outside help is brought in to effectively and constructively remove those barriers. Most likely, what you really want is not just change, but excel- lence. Excellence can be an intim- idating concept. After all, an entire industry has been built searching for it since Tom Peters released his best-selling book in 1982. With all the guides, books, for- mulas and motivational speak- ers who have dedicated countless