The Three 'P's' - Fundamentals for a Healthy Dental Practice
We learn a lot as we talk with different practices all over the world each week. As we continue to study those practices that are thriving versus those who are just surviving, it seems all practices ultimately want the same thing - to become profitable while having fun by lowering stress.
Consequently, I've been able to identify three common characteristics found in those practices who consistently thrive.
I call them the 'Three P's'
Be fully PRESENT
Presence is paying 100% attention to the person in front of you, whether they are on the phone or standing in front of you. Present means listening, with your whole body, not to respond, but to understand. Presence is knowing that your job is to make sure that patients know you value them and that you realize your sole existence is dependent upon them. Because this is a genuine culture, patients come back and they send their people.
Being present applies to those you work with as well. Where you see a harmonious group of people working toward the same objectives, you see success as a by-product. If you don't treat each other the way you would treat Being present means being responsible to and for the success of the relationship. It means showing up authentically with intention and attention. Practices that deliver world-class service understand that power is always in the present moment - and they use the moment to build the relationship stronger.
Be POSITIVE
Every patient and team member deserves to walk away from an interaction feeling good about being a part of your practice. When you have the skills necessary to maintain a positive attitude, regardless of negative circumstances, you become more resilient to external factors and maintain more control over the destiny of the practice.
Mounting evidence from the emerging "Science of Happiness" field tells us that the experience of positive emotion indeed builds good health, helps make us more resilient, and even allows us to think in broader, more wholistic ways. Optimists live nine years longer than pessimists. Where I see a practice with positive people, I see a more profitable practice. Happy people have 65% more energy. Bottom line? If you want to win over and win back your patients, you'd better be focused on creating a positive outcome in every interaction, beginning with your own team.
PRACTICE
I think of exceptional patient service just as one would think of any sport, a craft such as painting, woodworking, or cooking - it's practiced, and mastered, over time. In all these kinds of endeavors we add to our learning on a regular basis, incorporate the new skills and do them over and over again until we master them. The practice of these things is a reward in itself - the same thing with exceptional patient service.
Every day we get the opportunity to practice the art of exceptional patient service through building relationships. Some days (just like in sports, cooking, etc.) are better than others. We master an art when we learn to look at our practice objectively and understand what went right, what went wrong and how we can be better today than we were yesterday. How do the exceptional practices do this? Roleplaying. Video Recording.
In business, as in other areas of life, practice makes profit. The discipline of returning our thoughts to taking care of our precious patients and creating value for all the people we work with does pay dividends.
As we practice being present - really showing up in our work; as we practice being positive - making the effort to look for the good and refocus our attention; as we practice our communication, we find ourselves enjoying work more. We will find ourselves enjoying others more, and we will find that patients actually enjoy being a part of what we've created.