|
 |
|
|
LAST CHANCE!
'More with Less'
Webinar
October 16th - Register
Below
|
REDUCE MISTAKES
More with Less is the Second Step in our Six Step
VALUOCITY Technology © - a technology designed to
ensure viability of dental practices in the new
economy.
In More with Less, first and foremost is Effective
Communication which we described in a recent
newsletter. The second element is applying the
methodology of Metrics to areas of poor or
underperforming aspects of the practice, which we
addressed in the last e-letter. The third element in
More for Less is actually a natural extension of the first
two, Effective Communication and Metrics, is Reduce
Mistakes. This e-newsletter deals with mistakes.
Mistakes are costly. Clinical mistakes put you at risk,
are expensive, and often have long term
consequences. Most dentists apply significant
resources, time, training and money to reduce clinical
mistakes. Nevertheless, clinical mishaps and
mistakes occasionally happen. You are dealing with a
biologic, complex and chaotic system, a human being.
But for the most part, in nearly all dental practices
these kinds of mistakes are minimal.
On the other hand, there are many more mistakes
made on the business side of the practice. Mistakes
in scheduling (staff as well as patients), ordering,
confirming, receivables, 3rd party administration,
overtime, etc. These mistakes are constantly
occurring.
The primary difference between the dentist's
relationship with mistakes at the clinical level and
those at the administrative and management level is
tolerance. Dentists are intolerant of mistakes made
with patients, but they are much more tolerant of
mistakes made in administration. Why is that?
In clinical dentistry, the dentist is an uncompromising
advocate for the patient, the defender of their health,
their well being and their satisfaction. In the business
of dentistry, however, the dentist is unwilling to be the
staunch defender of integrity of the business of
practices and its processes. Why? Because it has the
potential of causing confrontations and conflicts with
staff. The dentist prefers the status quo to the rigor
and demand required to challenge staff to perform at
a level where mistakes are minimized.
In those "Good to Great" companies, the customer
comes first. Mistakes are not tolerated around
customer interactions and service, but the same level
of intention is also applied to internal functions. Spend
a little time at Cisco, Intel or Proctor and Gamble and
you'll see that managers and senior executives are
intolerant of under performance and mistakes.
If you are willing to raise the level of intolerance and
be truly committed to reducing mistakes, then I
suggest the following; for the next few weeks, observe
and note mistakes that are made at a high frequency.
Decide on and apply a metric to the area and
measure the frequency of mistakes. Then, make
powerful and direct requests and continue to
measure. My assertion, backed by the evidence, is
these mistakes will be dramatically reduced or
eliminated.
Take the low hanging fruit first. Then, each week, each
month, reduce or eliminate a common mistake. What
you will find is that the level of integrity will rise and so
will the results along with it. Mistakes will never be
eliminated, but given the cost not only in money and
time as well as the loss in terms of integrity,
confronting and handling mistakes will increase the
strength and performance of the practice.
Our next step in the VALUOCITY Technology© is
'Manage by the Margin.' This 3rd element in our
technology is designed to ensure viability of dental
practices in the new economy. In this series, we'll be
speaking about a different mind-set on the goals,
outcomes and financial objectives of a dentist in
private practice. 'Managing by the Margin' will be the
focus of our next three eNewsletters as well as our
December Webinar.
Dr. Marc B. Cooper
The Mastery Company
MasteryCompany.com
MORE WITH LESS WEBINAR
This Webinar will address the cardinal elements of
applying specific principles and processes to your
practice to get more output with fewer resources.
Please join us on Friday, October 16th for our 3rd in
this series of Webinars.
Start Time: 11:00 AM (Pacific)
Duration: 90 minutes
REGISTER NOW!
VALUOCITY
A Fable for Dentists
Dr. Marc B. Cooper & Dr. Mark E. Silberg
Available November 2009 on Amazon.com
Or Pre Order at The Mastery Company
Copyright © 2004-2010 Dr. Marc B.
Cooper &
The Mastery Company - All Rights
Reserved.
Comments or Questions -
metrix@emisar.com
Please feel free to forward this Newsletter to your
colleagues, staff and acquaintances.
|
|
|
