If you’re not careful, it is easy to get sucked into the busy-ness that accompanies this time of year. It’s important to make a conscious effort to make the most of the remaining days of 2013. Today, I thought I’d give you the opportunity to evaluate your progress so far in 2013, in order to help you sharpen your focus for the rest of the year.

Below are several key areas of focus, along with questions you can ask yourself to determine which areas need extra efforts.

1) Marketing and practice development. Is your practice growing? If so, great! How can you capitalize on your growth and ensure that your new patients enjoy an exceptional experience and continue to spread the word about you? If not, have you identified an effective marketing message? Have you found effective channels (like social media or local advertising) for getting your message out?

2) Financial performance. Is your practice profitable, and continuing to trend in the right direction? Obviously retaining current patients and bringing in new ones is key to profitability, but are there additional steps you can take to control expenses and improve your bottom line?

3) Team development and effectiveness. How effective is your team? Can you count on them to execute their responsibilities consistently? Do they provide exceptional service? Keep in mind that you can and should help your team to continue to grow by continuing to train and mentor them.

4) Personal effectiveness and enjoyment. Finally, how has this year been for you personally? Are you spending your time profitably, or do you find yourself consumed with mundane details? Are you able to spend plenty of time away from the office, with family and friends? If not, why do you think this is the case, and what can you do about it? (Hint: it usually starts with training and empowering your team to handle the details so that you don’t have to!)

Questions or comments? Please contact us today to learn more!

One thing is for certain.  We have only seen the beginning from this individual.  Even though his teachings and treatments have touched thousands of lives, both patient and professional, he is only “jogging” at this time due to his commitment to his young family.  Once they have spread their wings and launched their own careers, only then will we see what amazing final products will come from his imagination.

A Michigan native, he attended the University of Michigan for my undergraduate studies in microbiology and completed my dental education at the University of Detroit-Mercy School of Dentistry. Upon graduation from dental school, he enlisted in the US Navy. His first year consisted of an AEGD (Advanced Education in General Dentistry) residency allowing him to further his education in the various disciplines of operative, endodontic, periodontic, and surgical dentistry. The last 2 years of his military commitment was completed in Twenty Nine Palms, California, where he focused on comprehensive dental treatment for the Marines.

Returning to Michigan, he worked as an associate for 2 years, gaining insight into the business aspect of dentistry. Shortly after that, he opened his practice, named Premier Dental Center, from scratch, focusing on comprehensive and restorative care.

Within the last decade, he has had the opportunity to consult with a variety of dental manufacturers, assisting them on product development and enhancement. In fact, in 2002, he created the DemoDent® patient education model system that is distributed worldwide through a variety of dental suppliers. Most importantly, he has had the honor of being able to share his passion of full-mouth rehabilitation, cosmetics, and implant dentistry by educating fellow dentists globally via lectures and seminars. Recently, he established the Reconstructive Dentistry Institute to help set and elevate the standard of care in all areas of dentistry, ranging from single-implant placement to full-mouth reconstruction using a hands-on approach.

His interests with implant dentistry started more than 14 years ago with the application of small-diameter implants for denture stabilization. I, myself, took that course about 10 years ago and was astonished at the precision of his surgical technique.  To date, He has personally trained several thousand dentists in this treatment. Having already restored traditional implant restorations, his goal was to seek formal education on the placement of traditional implants as well as the grafting necessary to build the foundation for complicated cases. In order to fulfil this desire, he enrolled at the Misch International Implant Institute, led by the world-renowned Dr. Carl E. Misch. With its well-trained faculty, the institute provided him with the most progressive and documented information on bone grafting as well as implant placement and restoration through education that is based on research. In addition to this program, he also received training in rotary endodontics, cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) analysis and treatment planning, short-term orthodontics, sedation dentistry, full-mouth rehabilitation, minimal preparation veneers, and maxillofacial prosthodontics through a variety of teaching institutions and courses.

Reconstructive dentistry is probably the broadest and most inclusive term used to describe the concept of replacing, rebuilding, or creating, for the first time, the elements and relationships between teeth, the upper and lower jaws, and overall facial structures. In order to provide this type of care, his practice is not limited to implants. As a general dentist, his goal is to utilize a wide variety of dental services, such as restorative, endodontic, periodontic, and prosthetic care, in order to produce the precise outcome desired, with no exceptions. However, he does rely on specialists to provide a team approach to patient care if it is needed.

When he is not in the office providing dentistry for his patients, lecturing to fellow dentists around the world about the latest techniques in dentistry, or learning about new dental materials, he prefers to spend his free time with his wife and two sons. His hobby is to enjoy their love and company at home, away on vacations, or skiing and traveling. Now is the time to enjoy them, since they are still very young. Later on, when they are at college, and Dr. Ara can focus his attention on our profession improvement…

One can only imagine.

Just like most kids growing up in the South, I was introduced to hunting at an early age. My father taught me how to train bird dogs to hunt quail using feathers on the end of an old cane fishing pole. It was my job to hide the feathers in some tall grass and then hide while Dad’s Setter sniffed around looking for it. I think the most fun part of hunting was the camaraderie between my Dad, me, and the dogs as we walked up and down the fence rows around our soybean fields.

I guess when it all boils down; it’s not the actual hunting that’s addictive. It’s not even spending time with your friends. It is the experience of working as a team and setting out to achieve a goal together.

Which gets me to why I’ve sent you this letter with a picture of me in hunting gear on the cover.

It’s because I’ve been very busy HUNTING for you. But instead of hunting for quail with my Dad, I’ve been on the HUNT for the newest and best ways you can ADD an additional 6-figures of production Q-U-I-C-K-L-Y to your practice as part of our upcoming seminar in Nashville, Tennessee.

So, Iet me start off with asking you a simple question. Could you use an extra 6-figures of production added to your Practice?

I know, it’s easier said than done, but what I’m about to let you in on is finding out about the “6-BEST-WAYS” others have found to add an extra 6-figures of production to their Practice as well as a seldom talked about topic (except whispered behind closed doors) which is Creating “Life-Changing-Money” Outside of Dentistry. This should excite you so much that you IMMEDIATELY

REGISTER YOURSELF and YOUR TEAM to attend the 2013 SUMMIT seminar.

Why am I qualified to lead you on this Hunt?

I’ve been practicing General Dentistry in Ripley, Mississippi since I graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1998 and I compete with five other Dentists in my small town. I am proud to be blessed with over 3,000 active patients and routinely schedule well over 50 NEW Referred Patients each month.

In fact, Dr. Woody Oakes* one of the most highly respected dental educators has labeled me…

“Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Dentist”

What might be more impressive to you is that I don’t even consider myself a full time Dentist because I work in my practice just 27-hours a week! In fact, just recently I was christened the MOST EFFICIENT MAN IN DENTISTRY as reference by Dr. Michael Miyasaki and Dr. Woody Oakes on coaching calls to their Members because of all of the “Systems” I’ve put into place that allows me to be super productive in the least amount of time.

First a Bit of Reality

We all agree that our Profession is in turmoil and “danger” signs loom all around, from government

intrusion, corporate takeovers and recent documented decline in Patients visits. Many experienced Dentists take their hard earned money and ride off into the sunset, unsatisfied with what they’ve accumulated and disappointed that if they could sell their practice, it’s NOT worth nearly what they hoped it would when their day came to retire.

Actually, Dentists who have already retired are now returning to Dentistry in record numbers; not because they want to, but because they have to. Unfortunately, all of the years they’ve put into practicing dentistry didn’t create enough money for them that they would never have to worry about outliving.

The hard fact is that Dentistry is in the midst of cataclysmic change and if you haven’t already experienced it, it’s only because the changes are creeping in at such a slow pace that many Practices don’t even notice them yet.

Perhaps your still relatively high income has made you comfortable to a point where you haven’t yet noticed the slow erosion of that income or the subtle decrease in your quality of life. Or maybe your “J-O-B” is so demanding that you don’t want to think much about the future.

Here’s the good news

I and many of the Members of my Capacity Academy have not only survived during this turmoil in our Industry, but are having their best and most profitable years ever. In fact, when I’ve observed what they are implementing along with what I’m adding in my own HUGELY successful Practice, I’ve literally HUNTED DOWN and identified the “BEST WAYS” for YOU to add “at least” an ADDITIONAL 6-Figures of take-home income.

Before I tell you the BEST WAYS, let me tell you why this is like

NO other Event you’ve ever been too…

…Actually, I hate to even call it an “Event,” “Conference,” Boot Camp,” or anything else you may have heard of in the past. In fact, The “New” Innovations in Profitable Dentistry SUMMIT has been completely revamped for 2013 to make it the “Go-To PLACE.” (Keep reading and you be the judge.)

Here’s why:

1) It’s NOT a “pitch fest.” I’m sure you’ve been to other events before where speaker

after speaker is paraded in front of you trying to sell you their latest and greatest Practice Growth widget. In case you’re not familiar with the term, that is what is commonly referred to as a “pitch fest.” This ain’t that. In fact….

2) This IS “real training.*” I, along with a hand–picked faculty of experts, will be

delivering ALL of the training. Everyone has been informed that the purpose of the SUMMIT is

to deliver real actionable content that will lead you towards the goal of earning “at least” an

ADDITIONAL 6-Figures of take-home income. In addition, your attendance at the SUMMIT will

qualify you for 16 AGD Approved CE Credits.

*Just to provide more incentive for each Speaker to give you their absolute best and most useful information they

will each compete for the title of “The TOP 2013 New Innovations in Profitable Dentistry SUMMIT Presenter of the Year” and I will donate a $3,000.00 check to their favorite charity. I can tell you that most of them are super competitive and will try to outdo one another vying for the crown.

3) My Staff will train your Staff. Let me let you in on a dirty little secret. I didn’t earn

the distinction as one of the MOST EFFICIENT Dentist in North America all by myself. I did it along with my extraordinary and well trained staff and for the 1st time ever, I’m going to have them conduct separate Training Sessions for your staff to attend and learn how we do what we do right from the people who are doing it for me. (As you’ll see on pages 8-11 training your staff alone should be worth “at least” an ADDITIONAL 6-Figures of take-home income to YOU, not to mention creating a Hyper-Motivating environment in your own Practice….)

4) It’s NOT 3-days ONLY about making an ADDITIONAL 6-Figure Income from WITHIN your own Dental Practice… Have you ever said to yourself that you hate being so dependent on your Dental income and would like to discover multiple ways you can make “Life Changing Money” so you weren’t so dependent on working ‘IN’ an Operatory the rest of your life? Wouldn’t that create some additional security for you and your family?

Your Prayers Have Been Answered: For the First Time at the SUMMIT, we’ll also cover making multiple streams of income from OUTSIDE your Practice and reveal how you can remove the chains from the stranglehold that Dentistry has on you.

The question is: Given the current state of Dentistry, what is best for you to keep your Practice supporting you as you wish and continuing to maintain its value allowing you to exist on your own terms?

I will tell you – unabashedly – that being at The 2013 “New” Innovations in Profitable Dentistry SUMMIT is the answer to that question.

So, there it is.  I hope you can “join the hunt” with me and the real “Winning Dentists” out there.

Just be sure you don’t less this opportunity pass you by.

Ripley, MS – March 28, 2013 – Chris Griffin, Founder of The Capacity Academy, a dental practice consulting company, recently published an article on his website (http://www.TheCapacityAcademy.com) encouraging dentists to evaluate their progress towards their 2013 goals. The article, titled “Dental Practice Management: Are You On Track for Your 2013 Goals?” offers three key questions to ask.

Chris Griffin writes, “As 2012 wound down, I encouraged my readers to set goals for the New Year. Well, believe it or not, we’re already nearly 25% through 2013!”

The Capacity Academy specializes in dental practice consulting. They help clients increase production and profitability through the use of efficient techniques and systems.

The entire article can be found at Practice management are you on track for your 2013 goals

To learn more about The Capacity Academy, please visit TheCapacityAcademy.com

About Chris Griffin:

One of the few dentists brave enough to tackle lecturing and coaching dental assistants, Chris Griffin, DDS, formed The Capacity Academy in 2008 to help dentists increase both their hourly production and overall clinical efficiency.  He soon found that no dentist can truly flourish without the help of their trusted auxiliaries.  Now, their training is an essential cog in the wheel of his style of dental coaching, along with teaching the absolute essentials of efficiency without sacrificing clinical excellence.

Dr. Griffin is a columnist for The Profitable Dentist magazine and self-publishes a monthly newsletter called the Capacity Review. He is the Lead Author of the new best-selling book, More Than A Mouthful, a human interest book to the general public about dentists.  His previously published book, Time Genius: Design, Achieve and Implement Any Goal Into Your Already Hectic, Crazy Life (or Business), has sold over 770 copies, and his self-published book The Ultimate Secret of Success: Not Just For Dentists has had over 530 downloads as an ebook.  That book has 6 top notch guest authors, such as Dr. Howard Farran, Dr. Sam Puri, Dr. Bob Westerman, Dr. Woody Oakes and others.  His newest venture is his ezine, The Winning Dentist, which currently boasts over 2000 subscribers.

If possible, now would be a great time to quickly review the goals and objectives you have for yourself and for your practice this year. Then, take a look at the questions below as we evaluate your progress.

1) How are you doing on the specific goals you set for yourself? Have you made significant progress? Are you on track to reach the goal by the end of the year? Are there any unforeseen challenges or obstacles that have made this process more difficult? If so, what can you do to overcome them?

2) Have you been able to grow your practice so far this year? At the end of the day, just about everything you do as a dentist comes down to growing your practice. Has your practice grown – or has it been a struggle to acquire new patients?

3) Are you using your time effectively so far in 2013? We spend a great deal of time in this space discussing the importance of systemization. Systemizing your practice basically means that “lower level” functions (such as ordering supplies or managing every single aspect of your staff’s workday) come off your plate and are handled by your team. This frees you up to spend more time with patients and more time strategizing and planning for the future. How have you done in this area so far this year? Do you spend most of your day performing essential functions –or is much of your time consumed with less important tasks?

If the answer to most of these questions isn’t very good, don’t worry. The good news is that you still have plenty of time to turn things around and make 2013 a great year. What’s important, however, is that you identify the problems or challenges that are keeping you from meeting your goals. And once you’ve identified them, create a plan to mitigate or overcome them.

Over the years, I have found that understanding the purpose behind your work is a key factor in your ultimate success or failure. In other words, if you want to succeed, you need to have a clear vision in mind that you’re working towards. In our context, the goals and objectives that you set for the year are a big part of your purpose. The reason you’re getting up early each day and coming in to work is because you’re working towards something significant. Think back to the first week of the New Year. If you’re like most people, you were excited, upbeat, and optimistic. This is partially due to the fact that most of us begin the New Year with our resolutions in mind. We’re motivated and we work hard because we want to accomplish big things in the New Year. (That’s why gyms and health clubs always fill up in January).

But after a few weeks, the enthusiasm dies down. Don’t let this happen to you—take a few moments right now to review your goals and sharpen your focus as you continue building your practice throughout the year. If you’d like to learn more, or if you’d like some help getting back on track, please don’t hesitate to contact us today!

Ripley, MS – March 21, 2013 – Chris Griffin, Founder of The Capacity Academy, a dental practice consulting company, recently published a blog on his website (http://www.TheCapacityAcademy.com) discussing employee management. The blog, titled “Dental Practice Management: Invest in the Future by Developing Your Team” warns that a “short term” mindset will prevent a dental practice from reaching its full potential.

Chris Griffin writes, “So here’s my challenge to you – get rid of the ‘it’s easier to do it myself’ mentality. Take the time to train and develop your staff so that they can take trivial tasks off your plate.”

The Capacity Academy specializes in dental practice consulting. They help clients increase production and profitability through the use of efficient techniques and systems.

The entire blog can be found at http://ddspad.com/blog/dental-practice-management-invest-in-the-future-by-developing-your-team.php

To learn more about The Capacity Academy, please visit http://www.TheCapacityAcademy.com

About Chris Griffin:

One of the few dentists brave enough to tackle lecturing and coaching dental assistants, Chris Griffin, DDS, formed The Capacity Academy in 2008 to help dentists increase both their hourly production and overall clinical efficiency.  He soon found that no dentist can truly flourish without the help of their trusted auxiliaries.  Now, their training is an essential cog in the wheel of his style of dental coaching, along with teaching the absolute essentials of efficiency without sacrificing clinical excellence.

Dr. Griffin is a columnist for The Profitable Dentist magazine and self-publishes a monthly newsletter called the Capacity Review. He is the Lead Author of the new best-selling book, More Than A Mouthful, a human interest book to the general public about dentists.  His previously published book, Time Genius: Design, Achieve and Implement Any Goal Into Your Already Hectic, Crazy Life (or Business), has sold over 770 copies, and his self-published book The Ultimate Secret of Success: Not Just For Dentists has had over 530 downloads as an ebook.  That book has 6 top notch guest authors, such as Dr. Howard Farran, Dr. Sam Puri, Dr. Bob Westerman, Dr. Woody Oakes and others.  His newest venture is his ezine, The Winning Dentist, which currently boasts over 2000 subscribers.

But you won’t get there without a strong team. A well-trained team ensures that your practice continues to run smoothly… without demanding the attention of the dentist or the practice manager every 30 seconds.

Now, all of this sounds good in practice. In fact, I’ve yet to encounter a dentist or a manager who disagrees with me that a well-trained, competent team is very important. But… when it comes to actually creating and refining this team, it’s a different story.

Why?

Because training a team and developing your employees takes time. It requires an investment. And let’s be honest, in many cases it really is easier to “do it yourself” than it is to train your staff. But here’s the thing—if you keep “doing it yourself”, nothing is ever going to change. If you suck it up, bite the bullet, and take the time to train your staff… within a few weeks you will have one less thing to worry about. Continue this process for several months and you’ll find that you’ve got much more free time in your day—time that you can spend with patients, or growing your practice, or home with your family.

So here’s my challenge to you – get rid of the “it’s easier to do it myself” mentality. Take the time to train and develop your staff so that they can take trivial tasks off your plate. Yes, it requires an investment of time on your part. But I can promise you it’s an investment that will pay off many times over. 

Ripley, MS – March 8, 2013 – Chris Griffin, Founder of The Capacity Academy, a dental practice consulting company, recently published an article on his website (http://www.TheCapacityAcademy.com) discussing the importance of accountability. The article, titled “Dental Practice Management: Accountability Leads to Results,” provides practical tips for his readers.

Chris Griffin writes, “It is accountability that produces results—because without it, most (but not all) employees will do the bare minimum.”

The Capacity Academy specializes in dental practice consulting. They help clients increase production and profitability through the use of efficient techniques and systems.

The entire article can be found at http://ddspad.com/articles/dental-practice-management-accountability-leads-to-results.php

To learn more about The Capacity Academy, please visit http://www.TheCapacityAcademy.com

About Chris Griffin:

One of the few dentists brave enough to tackle lecturing and coaching dental assistants, Chris Griffin, DDS, formed The Capacity Academy in 2008 to help dentists increase both their hourly production and overall clinical efficiency.  He soon found that no dentist can truly flourish without the help of their trusted auxiliaries.  Now, their training is an essential cog in the wheel of his style of dental coaching, along with teaching the absolute essentials of efficiency without sacrificing clinical excellence.

Dr. Griffin is a columnist for The Profitable Dentist magazine and self-publishes a monthly newsletter called the Capacity Review. He is the Lead Author of the new best-selling book, More Than A Mouthful, a human interest book to the general public about dentists.  His previously published book, Time Genius: Design, Achieve and Implement Any Goal Into Your Already Hectic, Crazy Life (or Business), has sold over 770 copies, and his self-published book The Ultimate Secret of Success: Not Just For Dentists has had over 530 downloads as an ebook.  That book has 6 top notch guest authors, such as Dr. Howard Farran, Dr. Sam Puri, Dr. Bob Westerman, Dr. Woody Oakes and others.  His newest venture is his ezine, The Winning Dentist, which currently boasts over 2000 subscribers.

Today, we’re going to address an important component to creating effective systems: accountability. You see, it doesn’t matter how effective the systems you design are if your staff members don’t execute properly. Management consultants often point to fast food restaurant McDonald’s as the ultimate example of the power of systemization. And for good reason—the franchise has achieved remarkable consistency. You could walk into any McDonald’s in America and order a meal that looks and tastes exactly like the food at your hometown location.

But… what happens if the cook doesn’t stick to the manual and cooks the fries for too long? Or uses the wrong toppings on a burger?

All of a sudden, the incredible system that has been built doesn’t matter. All is lost, simply because one team member failed to execute. This scenario doesn’t happen often at McDonald’s, because they emphasize quality control and accountability. Mistakes are quickly identified and corrected.

Now… can you say the same about your practice? Do you have rigorous quality control parameters in place? If your employees aren’t executing properly, will their mistakes be identified? And once they are identified, will corrective action be taken to ensure that the problem is resolved?

Most dentists and practice managers, if they are being honest, will admit that their employees aren’t held to high enough standards. It is accountability that produces results—because without it, most (but not all) employees will do the bare minimum. They’ll look for opportunities to cut corners. They won’t execute your systems the way you’ve designed them, and the result will be an inconsistent experience for your patients.

What can you do to create a culture of accountability? Below are several ideas:

Lead by example. If you don’t meet your own standards, don’t expect your team to. If they see you cutting corners and taking shortcuts, they are absolutely going to do the same. I guarantee it!

Don’t tolerate tardiness. If a staff member is supposed to be at work at 9:00 AM, hold him or to it. 9:01 isn’t acceptable. This may sound unnecessarily strict, but the goal is to create a culture of accountability, and you can’t “pick and choose” when you enforce the rules and when you don’t.

Perform thorough reviews frequently. Most dentists DO have clear expectations for their team. They just don’t hold them to it. Take the time regularly to review a team member’s work. Review it in depth and point out any areas that need work. If you expect every ‘I’ to be dotted and every ‘t’ to be crossed, hold your employees to it!

Without accountability, you won’t get the results you want. And no matter how well-designed your systems may be, if your employees don’t execute them properly, your patient experience is going to be inconsistent at best. Hold your team accountable!

Their culture and economy is completely different, but there are also many distinct similarities.

Regardless of their unique ways, one thing is for sure: they are hungry for American dental education.

When they looked to the United States for a doctor to come and mentor, they didn’t have to look far to find a man uniquely qualified to teach them.

Dr. Michael Morgan is probably the biggest star in the world of composite resin study that you’ve never heard of.

His name may be a little nondescript, but there’s nothing “normal” about his history of educating.

His Bio reads like a history book of the last 15 years of American cosmetic dental continuing education.

He was there for the boom, teaching at both LVI and PAC-Live back when they were the 800 pound gorillas in Cosmetic dentistry.

From there, he used that resume to springboard into all the big U.S. meetings: ADA, AGD, AACD, etc. Then, it was time to go international.

Dr. Morgan took his show on the road to Switzerland, Russia, Ukraine, Malaysia, the Philippines, England, and finally he landed on the shores of Japan.

He was asked about 2 years ago to come to Japan by Dr. Junji Tagami, who is affectionately considered the “Godfather of Dentistry” in Japan. He spoke to his students and residents at Tokyo Medical Dental University, which was quite and honor.

Dr. Morgan spent his time doing roundtables and consults with the residents there and, soon, he was published in their journals.

Then, he was asked back to their country in 2012 (another great honor) to do presentations at the Japanese Esthetic Dental meeting in Hokkaido. There were presenters and attendees form all over Asia and other parts of the world as well.

One thing that struck Dr. Morgan while he was there was that there is a serious need in Japan to find a way to do a quality composite very efficiently, but very clinically sound.

You see, the Japanese people still consider honor to be very important to their culture and it is ingrained and woven into their history. To do shabby work wouldn’t be acceptable there. Yet, they routinely only receive the equivalent of $30 U.S. dollars to do a posterior resin.

There is a need to find a way to help them improve their income, yet still maintain their honor of providing a quality restoration.

Dr. Morgan is currently taking up that charge and working behind the scenes to find a technique or sequence that can accomplish both of these desired outcomes.

As the trip wound down, Dr. Morgan also had the opportunity to visit the clinic of Dr. Hirofumi Tashiro, who is considered one of the best young dentists in Japan. His office was truly a model of efficiency. Bright and nicely decorated, immaculately clean, always runs on time, and probably does more production per square foot than most office in this country. Not just production, but very high quality production.

That trip changed the way Dr. Michael Morgan looked at dentistry in other countries and it probably changed the way he looks at dentistry, anywhere. Period.

As 2013 gets underway, there is no telling how those travels will shape the way Dr. Michael approaches his teaching style. Heck, who knows how it will affect dentistry in the world as we know it.

Only time will tell.