Sally McKenzie

Excellence can be an intimidating concept. After all, an entire industry has been built searching for it since Tom Peters released his bestselling book in 1982. With all the guides, formulas, and special reports that have dedicated countless pages to the topic we've learned this: Achieving excellence comes down to hard work, commitment, and, most importantly, leadership.  

We've also learned that a fair number of businesses that claim in their advertising and marketing to be "excellent" are merely average - if that. We routinely encounter dentists who believe that if they market their practices as being "excellent" that's enough. Unfortunately, patients discover soon enough whether the practice is or isn't.  

At the root of excellence - or even "very good" - is change. And change in any organization, be it a corporate giant, such as Apple, or your own dental practice, is a huge challenge. Why? Because the culture of most every business is "hardwired" from the top down.  

But the beauty of that reality is that if you, doctor, are not achieving the goals or the success that you desire, you are the one with the power to change it. Yes, your team must be actively involved. But real change, true excellence, begins with you.  

You set the course to create the change and that begins with the development of the plan, which involves asking a few fundamental questions. Starting with: What's your vision for your practice? What does an excellent dental practice do differently? How do you get there? And how do you maximize it in your marketing?

Next, is "market research." Talk to your patients about their experiences. At a minimum, ask how your practice can do things better. Just remember that only a handful will be honest with you. And those that share less than stellar comments are doing you a huge favor. Here's why: Studies indicate that if one person complains, at least seven have had the same negative experience and each of them has told nine others about the problem, meaning that at least one negative comment about your practice has been shared with 63 others in your community - not exactly the word-of-mouth marketing you want out there.    

From there begin to assemble the building blocks of excellence by examining each individual system and how it fits into your practice vision. For example, what does the new patient experience involve in a practice that is dedicated to setting itself apart from the others in the community? How do patients feel when they call a practice that is truly committed to excellence? How is the team involved in carrying out the practice culture that you want to create? Once the broad-brush concepts are identified, take an honest look at how your team currently handles specific systems. Don't sugar coat it. Finally, recognize that excellence is the culture that you create in your practice day-in and day-out.