Focus For Dental Practices

Tuesday Tip from Pride Institute: Keep sight of your purpose

Oct. 14, 2014
Don't lose focus on what's important, keep your team focused on your purpose, and your practice will be more successful.

One of the most useful ideas that Dr. Jim Pride taught was the “Purpose Triad.” In any confusing or frustrating situation it is quite probable that we lose sight of the purpose.

Recently, my college-age son was writing a paper for his English class. He got very caught up in the details of sentence structure and how to get his thoughts into the proper words. His frustration level was sky high. He asked for my advice, and it was simple for me to see, but he couldn’t see the forest for the trees. I asked him to tell me his thesis statement, and I suggested he focus on that. It was nice when I saw that he got it – get back to the purpose!

January 1 is a mere two months away. We need to start the New Year with our vision in the forefront and a new annual plan in place. The entire team should focus on new goals for 2015.

How are things going? Is the office humming along, are goals being met, and is all going well? Great! Keep it up! Or, is the office not humming, are goals not being met, and is all not well? If you find yourself in the second situation, then frustration levels can be quite high, like my son and his English paper. Are you so bogged down in the day-to-day office operations that you have lost sight of where you’re heading? Then stop and refocus on your vision – your purpose!

All goals must move you to your vision. The numbers, or statistical benchmarks, are based on your goals. The numbers are anchored by your team and their knowledge, skills, abilities, and attitudes, and by your office systems.

PAST TUESDAY TIPS:
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Nip cancellations and no-shows in the bud

Tuesday Tips from Pride Institute are provided weekly on their Facebook page as well as in this column in DentistryIQ. To ensure you don’t miss any of Pride Institute’s proven methods to take your practice to the next level, visit prideinstitute.com, and like them on Facebook.