Our community of oral health professionals seldom gets the opportunity to come together and learn. There will always be trade shows with an exhibition, but time for an intimate conversation about the business of dentistry is rare. For that exact reason, I was so proud to bring together a panel of seasoned professionals from across the dental industry in the inaugural panel, A Better Way. The first of our many discussions, we gathered people at the forefront of practice management to talk about the importance of the people, and the why, behind growing businesses.
From Studio 96 in Edmonton, we were lucky enough to host Bianca Dornan from Practices Made Perfect, Casey Moore from Patterson Dental and Samantha Leonard from Stream Dental HR. Over the course of two hours, we tackled important issues, answering questions from the audience, and unpacking the complexities of running an effective, thriving business, and what that looks like from the ground.
One of the reasons I was so inspired to gather this panel in Alberta, is because of the seismic changes me and my fellow panelists witness when a private practice embraces these ideas. Understanding that a leader asks why something is happening, and where they are headed, while a manager unpacks how to accomplish something, and defines where they are today. Coupling the important distinction between those two allowed us to investigate how workplace culture defines your business philosophy, and what value is brought when you spend time focusing on getting the right people to align with your own goals.
There were many valuable arguments about how your customers will align to your culture, as Bianca mentioned early on, but the reality became very real once Samantha brought up her calculations that onboarding a single employee and for them to ‘not work out’ costs around $28, 000. I was so inspired by the engagement of the audience, embracing these new concepts, and willing to incorporate these ideas and experiences into their business. We heard plenty of feedback in our Q and A during and after the panel, that these were becoming imperatives for many practice owners, but they still seemed foreign and new.
Further exploring the implementation and moving past bad managers, a lack of leadership, or any other roadblocks was one of my favorite conversations. Breaking down the importance of why, is something I don’t just believe in, but live in my professional life. Understanding how to motivate, create a sense of accountability, and creating a clear vision was further embraced by Casey relaying Patterson’s own survey, outlining how big of a priority feedback is, and the ways that people can positively contribute to the organization.
If you’re interested in attending future hosted events, find me on LinkedIn, or sign up for news and notifications through my website, or cleardent.com!
I want to thank our host and moderator, Dr. James Younger, for doing such a fantastic job of keeping us on track. I also want to thank our panel’s candid answers and passionate explanations for all of our topics, and of course our audience for attending, creating such a warm atmosphere, and for being so inquisitive and engaged.
