by Ginny | Nov 15, 2006 | Practice Leadership
Here’s a great quote from Napoleon Hill, the author of ‘Think and Grow Rich’ “Every well-built house started with a definite plan in the form of blueprints”
Your practice is your home away from home. Do you have a blueprint for your success? Does your team know about it? If you’re like most of your colleagues, you started out with a business plan but how often have you revisited and revised your plan?
It’s a great time of year to move from a day-to-day tactical approach to a strategic approach to planning your success. The Practice Renewal System will take you through a 10-step process to engage your team to build new growth and opportunity. Begin now and create a whole new energy in the practice to jumpstart 2007. Details are on our homepage at ginnyhegarty.com
by Ginny | Oct 17, 2006 | Practice Leadership
Who would have guessed that Sir Richard Branson’s best friend is his dentist? Branson says the secret to having fun in dentistry is to surround yourself with people who like to work for you…. listen to those people…. laugh with those people…. praise those people…. and don’t take yourself too seriously. Let’s not keep this a secret.
by Ginny | Oct 17, 2006 | Practice Leadership
I’m in Las Vegas this week for the Academy of Dental Practice Management Consultants and the ADA Annual Meeting. This morning’s distinguished speaker was Sir Richard Branson the founder of the Virgin Group of companies. Sir Richard has not only founded over 250 companies within the Virgin brand, he guides them all under a single vision and mission. I’ve been a fan of Branson’s for years and use examples of his business philosophy in The Practice Renewal System. What a thrill to see him speak and see what a humble, even shy man he is. Sir Richard shared that he believes there is no reason to go into business unless you are going to make an enormous difference. That has been the umbrella philosophy that brings companies as diverse as airlines, soft drinks, music, mobile phones, wine and bridal wear under the same brand.
What’s your vision, your brand? It’s not about what you are obviously doing. For vision to drive your success it must be bigger than the obvious. Otherwise, you could just say “We fix teeth” but don’t you really do so much more than that? There is great power in knowing how to focus on what you really do and helping your team to embrace the difference you want to make in your corner of the world.
by Ginny | Oct 12, 2006 | Practice Leadership
In my September Practically Speaking column in Dental Practice Report I discuss a caller’s initial reluctance to implement credit card preauthorization as one strategy for eliminating patient billing. I’ve received requests for an explanation of the process so here goes… When practices accept insurance assignment of benefits most will request that patients take care of their estimated copayment at the time of service. Invariably there is a remaining balance after benefits have been received that require a statement to be generated.
By updating your payment options to include leaving a credit card on file for any balance remaining after insurance, you will eliminate the need for these statements. Some software programs enable you to store credit card information securely behind passcodes. Other practices keep a separate lock box and store the box in a locked cabinet overnight. You might also choose to scan the authorization into your computer system and put the original through a shredder. This is a service to your patients as well as to the practice and can keep your team members focused on serving patients rather than processing paperwork. It’s a proactive solution that works if your team members are on board. Without the enthusiastic support of your team, your patients will pick up the negativity and won’t accept the changes. If you need help gaining consensus, give me a call and I’ll be happy to help.
by Ginny | Oct 4, 2006 | Practice Leadership
Over the past week I’ve spoken with a couple of doctors who are concerned about cash flow and practice collections. As we talked about strategies and systems to address the problem, the doctors admitted they had no idea how many billing statements were being sent each month. As the practice leader, this is one of the key indicators that you need to know.
It is possible to eliminate billing so you and your team can focus on patients instead of paperwork while being paid for the fine service you provide. The first step is awareness. The second is to create a strategy for your team to effectively improve time of service collections while providing exceptional service to your patients. Your team members need and deserve the proper training to achieve the results you desire. The third is to keep a positive focus on results.
by Ginny | Sep 27, 2006 | Practice Leadership
Check out my feature article in the August issue of Dental Practice Report titled What Corporate America Can Teach Dentistry. The side bar – How to Get the Most from Your People – (page 14) is generating a lot of very positive feedback.
Doctors have been embracing our message that it’s not only fair but it’s good business to evaluate team members based on their performance. if you reward average performance you’ll be rewarded with an average practice. Create a culture of accountability that rewards high performers and you will build a winning team. You’ll also de-stress and start to enjoy your days more too – that’s a win/win if ever there was one.
If you want to learn the skills that will enable you to build this culture in your practice, come to New York City on October 27 for the Leadership & Accountability Institute …
get details at www.officemagic.com/institute.html
