Dental A Team Podcast

Dental A Team
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This podcast is here to give dentists and all dental office team members, in EVERY position, TACTICAL and PRACTICAL TIPS to: - Be more efficient - Have more fun - Improve doctor and team communications - Eliminate frustration - And make your life easier! Jump in! We are thrilled you have decided to LEVEL UP and be part of the DENTAL A TEAM! New episodes every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

  1. 11H AGO

    #1,151: Signs You Might Be In Need of a Priority Realignment

    Summit 2026 was all about scaling leadership and growing profit in your dental practice, and Kiera and Tiff are here to revisit the highlights. They discuss understanding where your time goes, what it looks like when you need a priority realignment, controlling reasons versus the results, implementing the yes model, and more. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: Kiera Dent- Dental A Team (00:00) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and today is a really exciting day. I got the one and only Spiffy Tiffy on the podcast with me and we're here to do a really exciting podcast. Tiff, how you doing over there today? Excited?   Tiff (00:12) Hi, I'm so excited. We have not podcasted in far too long. Like our schedule's just, it's hard. It's weird because we never see each other. So it's super weird. I know.   Kiera Dent- Dental A Team (00:19) I know, but we did just see each other in person, was   honestly the reason we're podcasting today. But did you miss a little bit? I mean, I had thought during that time where we were testing all the sound forever that we should just bust it out and podcast right then and there. Like, let's just do it.   Tiff (00:38) my gosh. Well, last   year at that same time, we busted it out and we did a podcast on the mountains. So it would have been effective, but instead we had a dance party and karaoke.   Kiera Dent- Dental A Team (00:43) I know. I know.   We did. And what we're referring to is if you missed summit 2026 with the Dental A Team, you missed out. Tiff and I got together in person, which was a blast. Like I said, Tiff and I used to hang out all the time and Tiff, think like the future life of you and me, that sounds funny. I think that's almost a TV show. I think we need to just like schedule in where we hang out more, not for work. Like I'm coming to Arizona soon. You came out to Reno. We got to just hang out. So, but yeah, we just, were together in person for summit 2026 and   This year's theme and topic was scaling leadership and growing profit in your dental practice. And I think, we just had a good time. what we were alluding to was, ⁓ luckily, I don't think people know, but the day before summit, Tiff and I sat there for what? Eight, nine hours trying to get the cameras and the audio. I have done this. That was summit number six. So Sexy Six is what we did. Tiff, we've done them six together. Like that's a pretty incredible, incredible run.   Tiff (01:37) Yes.   That's wild.   Kiera Dent- Dental A Team (01:48) but Tiff and I literally sat there. If you saw the reel on Insta, Tiff and I were sitting there doing karaoke. We were dancing. We were doing a talent show like cartwheels, backwards somersaults, handstands, headstands, things that I don't think either of us had done since we were probably like 15. But you know, Tiff, we didn't get to experience that part of life together. So we had to bust that out together. Right.   Tiff (02:08) True. That's fair, that's fair. That was a good assessment,   Kiera Good assessment.   Kiera Dent- Dental A Team (02:13) Well, it was a really fun time. And I think Tiff, it just reminded me of why I doing this with you. ⁓ I think when we get in person, there's just magic. And so when we put together the summit, I think something people don't really realize is Tiff and I, we don't practice. Like we've got our decks and we've reviewed it, but a lot of the magic just happens because we love helping people. love changing lives. I love watching Tiff in real time do half of my like crazy experiments. Like it's been since the beginning of time that I'm like, all right, Tiff.   I'm not going to tell you in real time, you're going to do this. And I think that that's what makes Summit so special is it's, it's you and me, Tiff, doing it in real time. And the consultants are on the chat, like she definitely carried us quite a bit this year, but we kind of, for those of you who might've missed or those of you who did join, Tiffanie kind of wanted to just do a little highlight reel of some of the key takeaways from Summit that we were able to have. And Tiff, think like probably my favorite part is always the beginning part. ⁓   Tiff (02:54) I'm tired.   Kiera Dent- Dental A Team (03:09) I mean, it's probably because it's the beginning part. And we talked a lot about how like your business can't outgrow your leadership. And we talked so much about this leadership and Tiff, I know leadership is such a passion for you. within that leadership realm, we talked so much about how like you as a person are the most important piece. And I think a lot of people forget that. And I think that that sometimes like driving home piece of summit that I love to highlight. I know you love to highlight, let's kind of rift on that beginning part, the you part, the leadership part, all of that in that yes success formula that we've.   We talked heavily about at summit this year.   Tiff (03:40) Yeah, and I think, Carrie, you said something there. You said, I love leadership. And immediately, I thought, I do love leadership, but I love leadership because leadership focuses so heavily on the actual person, who they are, how they show up, and how they create the culture that everybody wants to be a part of. So when you say, I love leadership, and then you let it in too, and then them. That's why I love leadership, and that's why I love working with leaders and CEOs. So a CEO dentist and then.   the leaders of the practice, but really those leaders come down to people who are inspired by growth, who are ready to take on the next level and who want to give something back to the world. And for me, inspiring those people, like double, triple, quadruple is the impact that we get to make. So that's why it's so cool to me. And so doing things like Summit where we do, like we do open up with who you are because you are the focus that   is required in order for anything else to work. so, yeah, leadership is a passion because people are a passion and I think both of us feel that way.   Kiera Dent- Dental A Team (04:47) Absolutely. Like we've said so many times, like life and people are our passion. Dentistry just happens to be the platform where we get to connect with all of you. And Tiff, as you said, that it really made me start thinking about like, what do you spend your time on? And I loved the little, this year we did an hourglass and Tiff, was fun for you to build the hourglass, right? Like where do we actually spend our time? I think it's something where so often as we're running and we're living our lives, we don't take the pause moment to see like,   I can say my family and my health and my business are the most important thing, but when I look at my calendar, when I look at these items, where is it really? And I actually loved the image of an hourglass because ⁓ maybe it was the birthday this year, Tiff, but like there was a moment this year where I was like, I could be halfway done with my life. And so in the hourglass, I feel like it's our time and it's, is it slipping away into the things that we value most? Is it slipping away into the things that we care about the most?   Is it slipping away to where I am, my 90 year old granny with cotton candy pink hair, who's freaking ripped Tiff. There's like another version of her that's come to the forefront. Like I gotta be ripped and like able to move. I can't just be like dead. Like that's been a new element added into this vision at the Villa. ⁓ But like, what is she gonna remember about this time of her life? And what would she wish that she prioritized more? And I think so often we can get stuck in this like the day, the urgent, the chaos. And I love that and Tiff,   This is a fun thing. had you go and build your little sand piece and build your hourglass. What were some of your thoughts like when you did that and doing it in real time and having offices do it in real time with us?   Tiff (06:22) Yeah, I think ⁓ first an hourglass always makes me think of ⁓ Aladdin. I think of Jasmine, right? And so when I think of the hourglass, I think of, yes, like, where am I spending my time and how much time is slipping by? But then I also think of the other side of that, where we're oftentimes consumed by our time. And so I think of Jasmine, like, and I hope everyone here knows the reference that I'm going for here, because I don't have a picture of it.   Kiera Dent- Dental A Team (06:28) Mm.   Mm.   Yeah, she's like trying to crawl out of that   stand. It's like suffocating her.   Tiff (06:50) Yeah, she's like in the sand   and it's suffocating her, right? So it's like falling on top of her. And that was what I went into that project with that day because I see an hourglass that's just my millennial mind thinks of Jasmine suffocating by the sand. And so for me, I went into it of like, what is suffocating me? Meaning what is taking my time that I'm not intentionally maybe devoting the time to? But I'm like,   Kiera Dent- Dental A Team (07:02) .   Tiff (07:17) just letting it, like you said, slip by. And so I went into it with that kind of mind frame and it was really cool. We did it last year too and last year's was a little bit different and last year I forgot to put work on there. This year I did not. It was a fun exercise.   Kiera Dent- Dental A Team (07:29) It's okay, Tim. It was, I think you had to   block it out. Last year's work was crazy. I think it was like an immediate, like, I need to cut this out of my world, which is fair. And based on the year we lived, I don't blame you. So it felt good that it didn't monopolize. It wasn't home. Like, it's got to just go. We got to, and I don't blame you. It was year for us, for sure.   Tiff (07:40) I agree. It was like an omen.   Yeah,   y

    34 min

  2. 5D AGO

    #1,150: Secrets to Boosting Teamwork & Morale

    Re-releasing a DAT listener favorite! Spiffy Tiffy and Dynamite Dana wax poetic about a topic coming up quite a bit in offices these days: teamwork and morale, and how to make it the best possible. Together, they touch on the following:   Who's responsible How to own your morale Suggestions for jumpstarting positivity   Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review   Transcript: Kiera Dent (00:00) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera. And today we are bringing you something so special. I am so excited because this is one of our most popular episodes from the archives. Whether you're hearing this for the first time or catching it again, I am so excited because it's jam packed with a ton of takeaways that you can start using right now in your practice. We have released thousands, literally thousands of episodes. And I wanted to start bringing a few of these amazing episodes back for you. So I hope you enjoy. And as always, thanks for listening and I'll catch you next time.   on the Dental A Team podcast.   The Dental A Team (00:32) and you guys, I'm so excited for Consultant Takeover. Guys, that was me attempting to sing into this microphone for you, and I hope you loved it. Today, Consultant Takeover, grab your pens, grab your notebooks, bringing in the heat today. And as always, thanks for listening, and I'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team podcast.   Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Tiffanie and you are here on the Dental A team consultant takeover where the traveling Dental A Team consultants take over the mic and share tips and tricks from hundreds of offices nationwide. And today I have with me, Dynamite Dana.   Dana, you have been on a roll. have been podcasting for, ⁓ my gosh, almost an hour now, honestly. And your tips and tricks have just been mind blowing. Your verbiage was awesome on the last one. I freaking loved it. So now I set you up to like have to wing it to bring it here on this one. You're welcome. I just, as I was speaking, Thank you so much for podcasting with me today. ⁓ we all know Kiera does a million solos. I've done a few, I think we've all done a few solos, but it's just so much more fun when we have   at least two people on here to kind of chit chat with. I feel like we're on video, we're talking, we're like two pals just chatting and we're gonna just be two pals chatting about the normal everyday conversation of teamwork and morale. Because that's what brunch talk is, right? I was kidding, I'm just kidding. That is not brunch talk. But that is today, teamwork and morale. I think...   I think everything we talked about today has been super relevant, but I really, really think teamwork and morale has been coming up a ton for practices. think. I think employment is different today than it ever has been in our history. And I think teamwork and morale is at the center of that. Morale means more to team members today than it ever has before. We're in the day and age of if it doesn't feel good, we're not doing it. And I can't.   disagree with that on a lot of levels. And so I struggle with some of practices too. They're like, I don't understand. I'm like, I don't get it either, but I feel the same. If it doesn't feel good, do I really want to do it? And those are the choices that we're all making every single day. And so I think there's a lot to be said for teamwork and morale. And Dana, have you seen it in practices recently too? Yeah. I mean, I have very few practices where this hasn't come up. And I think,    One thing I always like to point out when it comes to this is this is something that takes a ton of work that takes a ton of constant focus. Oftentimes you think, okay, I'm just going to do this office event, or we're going to go out one time, and we're going to bond this one time, and we're going to put in a little bit of effort this month, and then it falls off, or we think that's enough, and teams cycle with this, right? We tend to see   Morale stay really high. And then, know, 90 days later we see it dip again. And so it is catching it before it dips. Right. And to do that, we have to just make it a constant focus. Yeah, I totally agree. I love that. Now question for you. I have my opinions, but I want to know your opinion as well. Teamwork and morale often lies on, ⁓ it ends up in the hands of your leadership or your doctors, your owners, but do you, who do you feel like is responsible for teamwork and morale in a, in a business or a practice?   I think everyone. think ⁓ team, right, is in teamwork and it takes all team members being willing to work together, being willing to face challenges, being willing to grow, being willing to step up and look for opportunities to push other team members to increase that morale, even if it is recognizing when somebody helps you out and saying thank you. I think it can come from anybody. I think team members look to leadership to set the tone.   But I think team members own a piece of it just as much as leadership does. Yeah, I totally agree with you. And that's what I was thinking too. As we're going on this topic, we start out as like, can we do to set the morale? But then I'm thinking, well, we talked about ownership just on a podcast we just recorded. And I think that that is huge here too, being able to own what we bring and what effects, positive or negative, we have on the teamwork and the morale of the practice.   I know I get into my cycles, everything in life is cyclical and we'll always end up back in the same places, right? Unless we make a change and that's the definition of insanity. And I think that's why people go crazy. They're like, well, I can't stay in the same place anymore. Like, well, there's like small changes you can make, don't have to make a whole life change, but there are small things. And so I know I go through these phases and I'll get to the point where I'm like, what the heck? Like with travel, right? I'll go wild and I'm like, shoot, I can't do this anymore. Like, no, that's.   probably not what it is. Like what is my ownership in this, right? I think, well, what is the LA team doing? How are we, how are they making it exciting? Or Kiera will say, let's add in like more fun events. Like Kiera, that's not always it. Sometimes it's just that like we have to take, I have to take a look at what I've been doing. How have I been contributing? How have I been helping the other consultants to feel amazing at what they're doing? How have I been investing and pouring myself into our company and what   We're putting out because that's ultimately how I'm going to feel best about my position and whatever I'm doing. And I know I feel better. I think everybody does. I feel better when I give somebody else compliments and I feel better when I say, thank you, Nicole, to the cash register lady at the store. And she's like, my gosh, thank you for knowing my name. Like you have a name tag. Like I talk about those things a lot, but it really does make it helps build me up so that I think I bring a different, I think I bring a different vibe and a different morale.   to the team when I can identify why I'm stuck in a space and make that change for myself compared to coming and showing up and expecting the rest of you guys to change me, right? If I come in a bad mood, I expect you guys to bring it up and you to put in the teamwork and the morale to make me feel better. It doesn't usually, doesn't usually work that way, right? But when I can show up and know I'm in a funk and how am I going to change that by being   better for you guys, it often will change it for me.   Yeah, I couldn't agree with you more. In 2021, my goal was   I would always, and I started it just with like my friends and then I expanded it to pretty much everyone. And my goal was if I thought something nice, if I looked at my friend's earrings and I thought, they're so pretty, I was to say it. So that was my goal for 2021 when I thought those things that I actually had to force myself to say them. And I went into it being like, I want people to hear these good things, right? I want them to hear the things that I think.   truly, truly what I got from it was far more immeasurable. Like giving that joy and giving that gave so much back tenfold probably than the person hearing it. And so ⁓ I think about that when it comes to morale, that if I can leave my, ⁓ you know, negative things outside and I can show up and I can be positive, or if I feel disconnected that I'm the one that reaches out or   It is truly, truly will make a difference and team members will really have a big impact on that. Yeah, I love that. That's brilliant. And you do give the best compliments. I know you always show up with that. You really truly do stick by that. If you think something, you'll say it about that thing, which I love. It makes everybody feel good. So I think that's brilliant.   We all have our piece to play in teamwork. love that you said that like team is literally you're part of the team and it's in the word teamwork. So I love that. And then morale is, think morale is a combination of the work that we all put in. And you said at the beginning leadership sets the tone. think number one person who sets the tone is your doctor owner. So who's the like big Kahuna who's everybody looking to. And then it goes down from there, um, down your leadership ladder. I know if.   An office manager is responsible for morale and our doctors like, man, I don't really feel like being here. I don't really, I don't love dentistry. I don't want to, I don't want to be here every day. I hate my hours. I wish I could do more surgery. Your office manager, pep rallying, running around, trying to make everybody happy is not going to fix the situation. Regardless, they're still looking towards you doctors. So just ma

    19 min

  3. 6D AGO

    #1,149: Chaos Is Contagious (But So is Calm!)

    Do you often feel like your homebase emotionally is a little … chaotic? Kiera reminds listeners that having a "calm" practice doesn't necessarily mean having a slow practice; rather, it's an intentional place, and it's worth existing in. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:00) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and today is such a great day. It's podcast day and I'm so excited to be here with all of you. I hope that you're excited for today. And again, I hope that you just remember that we are truly so blessed and so lucky to be living in the world of dentistry. I love being in dentistry. I love helping people have smiles. I love that like smiles are contagious, that good dentistry is contagious, that great teams are contagious. And today, today's podcast is   ⁓ calm is contagious and so is chaos. And, I think a calm practice model is really something that's going to help high performing offices feel easier. And I was actually talking to one of my business coaches the other day and he said, Kiera, I just want you to know that chaos is contagious. And so is calm. ⁓ our company is going through some really evolutionary changes. I'm very excited about them, but at the same time, I've made the joke that sometimes I feel like an orange juice being squoze. And the other day told my husband, was like, no, no.   that's too much juice that comes out of one squeeze, I actually feel like an olive. Like you are pressing everything out of me to get one teeny tiny drop of olive juice ⁓ or olive oil. And I just feel like sometimes practice owners, might feel this way. Office managers, you might feel this way where ⁓ sometimes that chaos is very, very contagious. And sometimes I think we accidentally live there. That might be our emotional home that we live in. It might be the place that we naturally go back to. And so just thinking that maybe there is another path.   maybe you coming in with a space in the center of calm and seeing how your team and your patients respond to that rather than coming in with this chaos. I did the trend, the AI trend where you ask chat GPT to make you a character based on what it knows about you. And it was fascinating for me because the character I got was me in a business suit. was holding papers. had traction in the background. had, it was kind of this like a tornado flurry behind me and I was holding a barbell weight because I do like to work out.   and I was in a black and white, so black skirt, white shirt, like holding this barbell weight in my hand and there's a tornado coming down behind me with like papers kind of flying and it was like, you're in this building phase of a little bit of chaos and this tornado. And then I decided to ask it like, well, based on where you know our company is going and where you know I'm going, build me a picture that looks like that. And it was fascinating because there was me in a cream suit, no black and white.   I was sitting there actually barefoot. So I'm in like a very professional suit. My arms were folded. I was very much at like peace and calm and ease. was at, there was like a sun. So it was like Hawaii slash Greece. Like I love to travel, but it was behind me. So was like no longer chasing or striving. was there. Family was incorporated rather than like being there. Working was part of my like Zen. And that's the image that I hold. And I think that that analogy and that story hopefully just shows that both are real.   I'm the same person and I'm living in a world of chaos or I'm living in a world of calm. And even my body feels better when I think about me being calm. And I think that there's times of chaos and there's times of calm. And I was actually chatting with my therapist the other day and we were talking about this like chaos versus calm, this force versus flow, this like drive and hit results versus like, you know, have flow. And she said, Kiera, it's kind of like being in a kayak. And she said, you know, a lot of people are trying to like force.   So you get in the kayak and you're rowing upstream and you're like working really, really, really, really hard to get somewhere, but you're going against everything. And it really is chaotic and you get exhausted and you get burnout. And I think so many practices feel this way. And she's like, versus Kiera, think what you think of calm or flow is like, you just get in the kayak, put your hands in the air and let go of the paddle and you just float wherever you're going to go. And she said, that's actually not flow, that's apathy. She said, flow or this calm is when you're actually in the kayak and you're looking ahead.   and you see rapids or you see a rock and you like put the paddle in to steer around it. And then when it's calm, you actually enjoy that calm rather than having your focus so far down that you're afraid of the rapids that you forget to enjoy the moment you're in today. And hopefully with some of those analogies I've given and some of those examples, you can see yourself in a practice of both of these are contagious. You can be the Kiera and the tornado where it's like, I got the barbell and I'm doing it all, but I'm exhausted and there's a smile, but it's a fleeting smile.   or there can be this calm and centered. And so today, just helping you realize that like a calm practice is not a slower one. It's a very intentional, right? Like me having two businesses, a lot of business owners, when you look at them, a lot of our multimillion, I'm talking my five, 10, 15, 20, $30 million practices, it's very different who that owner is compared to my like startup one, two, $3 million. And what I've noticed, and even some of the five, 10, 15, I'm not saying just when you hit a certain dollar amount, you become this.   But what I do see is these owners are very intentional with their time. One that runs a $30 million organization, works out, doesn't have any apps on their phone, ⁓ has another side business. They're running all these practices. But when you meet this person, you don't feel that anxiousness. You feel this like very much like they're willing to just sit down and have coffee with you and chat with you about your life.   It's very fascinating. And so I also hope that you realize like calm is not a indicator that you're a slower practice. It's an indicator that you're intentional and chaos is not an indicator of growth. think sometimes even for myself, it's like, but if we're having chaos, it's like what I'm darting through traffic, am I really making progress or does it just feel good to have an adrenaline rush? And so chaos is not a sign of growth. Most of the time chaos means that there's missing structure. Now there's going to be times, right? There will be times of rapids. There will be times of   boulders coming down the river, but we don't have to stay there and we don't have to live there. And so I just wanted to kind of go through today a couple of quick tips that I see of these calm, like flourishing, thriving, imagine me sitting there, cream colored suit, very calm. Like literally that's the image that I have in my mind of who I want to be and the practice I want to have and the business I want to create. Because to me, that's more sustainable. That's more fun for my team. It's more fun for me.   And so just going through that. if you guys don't know who we are, I'm Kiera Dent Dental A Team. I'm obsessed with all things dentistry. Our philosophy of Dental A Team is to positively impact the world of dentistry in the greatest way possible and to literally break through the myth that to have a successful practice, you have to be stressed. You have to have chaos. I do believe running a successful practice should be easy and it can be easy with the right team that's empowered. I believe you can have it all. And so ⁓ really truly, I wanna just help you see that like,   You are not always just going to be calm and you're not always going to be chaotic. There's going to be that. But what is your baseline center that you go back to? I think is more of what it is. And for someone like Kiera, who chat GPT says there's a tornado around. I actually just got back from a trip and my team said, Kiera, you feel so calm. And I do think that there's intentionality behind it. I want to show up differently. And I think there's a few best practices that I'm happy to share. So I think calm comes from predictability, not personality. ⁓ I'm a very vibrant human and yet there's calm that comes from predictability. So   Like when we look at this, it's consistent scheduling patterns. It's hitting our daily targets. It's making sure we know our profit margins. It's making sure that our whole team is following structure and processes. And so when we go through a practice assessment with new offices, we talk about, you have a vision and a 10 year target together? And does your team actually know where we're headed? Then do we use KPIs and data to make decisions? Are we profitable? And do we have our systems documented and in place? And do we have right people, right seats?   And then based on those answers, it usually determines if we're stressed out or not. And usually that stress level influences the rest of those other items within a circle. And the more stressed the doctor is, usually the lower those numbers are. And so when we look at it of how do we have like what a good day looks like in our practice, how do we have our systems being documented and followed by all? How do we ensure that we have the correct processes and flow and scheduling and all of that? It does not happen overnight, but it is being very intentional. And I will say a crazy schedule.   creates KZ dental practices, not scheduling and driving patients to where we want them to schedule rather than saying, where do you want to sche

    24 min

  4. MAY 12

    #1,148: Disappearing Profit? You Might Be Missing This!

    Ever feel like money is disappearing from your practice? Tiff and Dana share where practices tend to find that missing money, as well as how to trim down those expenses. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:00) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. I always want to say on that opening, Hello@TheDentalATeam.com and I have to really think about it. Hello, Dental A Team listeners. We are back here. Dana and I have been on a podcasting frenzy we love these days and then we're like out of breath and I also love that because it feels like productive and anaerobic. So I'll take it. I've got Dana here with us today. Dana, thank you so much for riffing with me today, for being here, for blocking out your morning, for podcasting and just   All awesome, awesome. Thank you for being an awesome part of this team. We were literally just talking about how my brain just is like ping pong, ping pong, and then I won't finish a statement. That was it. That was me proving to you that that really happens real life. So, and don't cut that podcast team, whatever. Dana, how are you today?   DAT-Dana (00:38) you   doing really good. am honestly and truly, I feel like today we've rift a lot and we've come up with some really great, I think, content ideas for doctors and teams. And so, so far, I'm super proud of us today.   The Dental A Team (01:01) I agree. I agree. think the marketing one, if you guys haven't listened to the marketing matters, I believe that's what they're calling it. But there's a marketing one that Dana and I just did. I actually, I think that was one of our best podcasts. That was so good. So good. And KPIs again, I know we talk about KPIs a lot, but we really went on a very good tangent of inspiration versus motivation for those KPIs. So I agree. I think it's been fun. And I love talking profit now.   Dana, I think you and I have grown to love profit. Not that we didn't love profit before, but I think we've grown to really, really see some high value in the profit side and just love finding it and talking about it more than we ever did before. So I want to talk about profit today. And we talked about it a lot. It's a huge piece of Dental A Team's Magic Sauce is really, really working systems and   logistics and business and leadership to turn into profit because at the end of the day, that's the only way the business is going to survive. And Dana, when we talk about profit, think teams tend to be like, okay. And I think doctors think teams hate it, that they don't want to hear about it, that they don't want to know that it's like, yeah, that's going in your pocket. But the reality is most teams want to know that their business is profitable because most teams   want a place to work, if nothing else. They want a profitable company because it guarantees that they get to stay where they're at. And if you guys have, you know, we talked about that inspiring why earlier, and if you've got a really inspiring place, you've got a place that people want to work, they want you to be profitable so that they can keep working there.   DAT-Dana (02:44) I agree with you. And doctors, if you feel like your team doesn't care about profit, then it's because they don't understand what profit means to them. And so I think that instead of so often, doctors just shy away from it. And I think instead of shying away from it, make sure that they know what that profit means to them. Because Tiff and I can say, hey, we know and hands down, you're right, Tiff, like people are going to pick job security, right? They're going to want to be in an office that has job security. Do they know that that's profit? Probably not.   The Dental A Team (03:09) Yeah.   DAT-Dana (03:13) Right? And so somebody says something about that or like that. Do they want to grow in their position? Yep, they probably do. Do they know that that comes from profit? Maybe not. And so I think sometimes it's just like, hey, my team. Well, if your team doesn't want to talk about profit or you think they don't care, it's probably just because they don't understand that profit drastically impacts their lives too.   The Dental A Team (03:35) Totally agree. That was massive, massive. And that's the space of really understanding the intentionality behind what you're doing. So if you intend for the team to understand profit, then they will. You'll say the words and they'll understand it. profit turns into not only job security, but it also turns into being able to invest in more tech, more, I don't know, chairs. Oh my gosh, do know how many times as a front office team member I was like, can I just get a new chair? My back hurts so bad.   And they were like, well, let's look at the budget. I'm like, cool, what do I have to do to get a new chair? But those things all come from that profit because we can't spend what we don't have. And so teams really understanding what that turns into and also like how can we impact the community? We've got kids sports teams coming in saying, can you ⁓ sponsor our team? Can you do night guards? Can you do this? Like we wanna be able to say yes to all of those things and that comes from the profit.   Now you know our stance on profit, but Dina, what about disappearing profit? I've had actually, I've had this come up a couple of times. I've had a couple of emails from doctors that they're like, I can't find the money from 2025. I don't know where it went. I should have had X amount of dollars, 400, $600,000 and it's gone. I'm like, okay, well let's look for it. And Dina...   Love those and I hate them because I'm like, well, what do we do for a year? Where what were we doing here? Okay, so I have you know, I have my ideas on where it goes and and we dig and we find it we usually find it but Dana Where do you see the biggest question marks on when doctors say where's the profit? Like where the biggest question marks? Where do you start digging and where are you usually finding it?   DAT-Dana (05:01) Yeah, it usually leads to a rabbit hole, but...   Yeah, typically I am digging first and foremost into just like expenses, right? Like where did expenses fluctuate? Did we spend more than we needed to or did we spend in arbitrary areas just because we weren't keeping track of it? So honestly and truly, do you know what your BAM is and can you assess very easily or quickly like months where it is?   well below well above right so that you can kind of watch those flexes. just worked with an office on this not that long ago and I'm like hey from January to March expenses swung by $100,000 right like what happened let's dig in here because those giant fluctuations to me are a red flag of like hey we're not watching something or something got overcharged double charged things like that so I think the first place to tackle is just like knowing those things like knowing what   the profit should be, knowing what the expenses should be and are you, do you have a cadence where you are looking, reviewing? Because I think what happens is we hire a CPA, we get into QuickBooks, everything auto syncs into QuickBooks and we just kind of like set it and forget it.   And I think that like we don't know that sometimes hey things can swing that Gigantically if we're not looking at those things and we're not looking at those prior to making decisions, right? We're not looking those before we're like, hey, yeah, you can have a raise or hey Yeah, I want that cvct writer. Yep. Let's it's time to mill same-day crowns and we didn't look at that now We're in a big swing of expenses   The Dental A Team (06:51) Yeah.   DAT-Dana (06:52) So I do feel like making sure that all of that is to say, making sure that you know what your numbers are when it comes to expenses every month where they should sit roughly and honestly and truly what you're spending all your money on.   The Dental A Team (07:06) Yeah, I have practices Dana that have Amazon Prime. I think everybody has Amazon Prime. My sister and I canceled Amazon Prime actually, and we just have Amazon, which is wild. And every time you try to purchase something, they try to sign you up for Amazon Prime. But it's kind of like, it honestly reminds me of all of the financial stuff you've done with all of the companies we don't have to name. But ⁓ it reminds me of those because you really second guess the purchase.   And then you're like, okay, well, let me let it sit in the cart for a minute. And then you go back in, you're like, why did I even have this here? Or I'll throw stuff in the safe for later because I'm like, well, it's not on sale right now. And I'm not gonna get it today. So do I really need it? So I'll put it in the safe for later. But I have practices that are so Amazon Prime ready that they're like, we need paper. I'll just order it real quick.   we need pens. you like those pens better? You like the Sharpie pens? I'll order those on Amazon real quick and we'll have them here tomorrow. Right? So they're just constantly processing these Amazon orders. And then what happens, I have a practice that was like Amazon galore. I'm like, where is all of this money? Like what is happening here? And then what happens is you've got some demo supplies, some front office supplies. It's impossible to like see the difference because of how you're placing the orders. It's just this constant running battle or Walmart. I'll have   practices that are like, we have a list. So I just sent Joanna to Walmart and I'm like, okay, but why aren't these on orders? And we say, we watch the dental supply budget and ordering really closely. And we'll say order two times a month. Once is phenomenal, two times a month max order your dental supplies.   but then we forget those front office supplies and they're sneaky or the paper towels or the toilet paper

    27 min

  5. MAY 7

    #1,147: This or That: Running a $3-Million Office or Three $1-Million Offices?

    Consulting across hundreds of offices means the Dental A-Team has seen a thing or two when it comes to scaling strategies, and in this episode, Kiera shares the secret to what type of quantity works best for you. Specifically, she connects why practice success should start with what you want as an individual. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: Kiera Dent- Dental A Team (00:00) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and today's topic is a freaking fun topic. ⁓ I think it's something people ask all the time, should I have like one mega practice or like three littles? And so today the topic is going to be, should I run a $3 million office or three $1 million offices? So it's kind of this like different ways to scale and to grow and in Dental A Team, if you've been a listener, welcome. I'm so happy to hang out with you. If you're new, welcome. I'm Kiera Dent.   And our job is to positively impact the world of dentistry in the greatest way possible. And really it's to just talk about these things, about what you're dealing with. Cause a lot of times it's like, do I just expand my practice and have this mega Montropolis or do I have multiple littles? And I think just talking pros and cons of what we've seen as a consulting company, of working with hundreds of offices that have this. And I think there's, there isn't a better, it's more of what is your preference. And so I just wanted to go like,   what this is gonna look like, different ways to talk about it. And Dental A Team, we love to do this. We love to talk about scaling strategies that are going to match your leadership style, your lifestyle and your financial goals. And that's what we're about. And in consulting, we'd call it the yes model. So we focus on you as a person and what you individually want, earnings and profitability. Like what does this look like? How do we make sure that you're profitable and successful financially? And then implement systems and team development based on what we're finding in that. So you can say yes to more in your life. So I really wanna talk about like,   We're gonna just help you hopefully tickle your brain, tickle your fancy on what is the best way to do it. Do I do that one powerhouse or do I have multiple streamlined ones? So I think here what happens is when I see practices like this and I have consulted mega-montropolis, I have consulted multiple littles. And I think that there's different things. Like I found that like to the three million mark, it's usually sometimes easier under one umbrella if you've got the space.   Now when we're pushing the five to seven to 10, I've got one practice that's producing 14 million in one location. And what I find is like, these are just big offices. So you got a lot of team, you got a lot of patients, you got to have a tight culture, you got to have team depth, you got to have high leadership presence. And it just like, there's just more players involved, but at the same time, it's all under one roof. Whereas when I've got multiple little offices, we got to have systems, we got to have   decentralized leadership and you got to have trust in your people because you're not able to oversee everything. Like I can't have one manager sitting in the office overseeing everything. I've got to have a regional that's popping into all the offices people reporting up. again, there's like no one or right. It's more like what's your preference? Do you like depth or duplication? So I think people who like depth have a larger practice. Those who like to duplicate and think in systems and processes multi offices are usually for it.   I've got an office, are in, gosh, they're in Texas and he's freaking checklist manifest. So he's built an app, he's built these things. That man is built for duplication. I have another doctor who is very, ⁓ loves to be involved, wants to grow and develop a team. He is more for depth. So two different practices, two different styles. They're both producing about the same. I got five locations doing 5 million and I've got one location doing 5 million. So it's just more what is it? And I think for you, like, are you hands on?   or use strategic oversight. The one who's got five locations, they're strategic oversight all day long. Like they don't love to be a clinician. They like to go and like systematize. They love the operations. They think like that. The one who's got hands-on is the 5,000,001 location and very much hands-on, wants to mentor all the doctors, wants to mentor the team, wants to be a part of things, loves being a part of it. And I think their personality is once more like...   It's interesting, my meetings, my meetings with the one with five locations, it was very much like, Kiera, what are the systems? What are the processes? What do need to be doing? How do I fix this versus my one who's five million is like, Kiera, I want to build a leadership team. I want to develop these people. I want to help them get to their next levels. And there's no right or wrong. So I hope as you listen to this, you're just able to see yourself of, you more this depth or you more this duplication? Are you more systems processes? That's usually a multi-location versus depth build a monstrosity.   And the one that I've got that's producing 14 million, that doctor is more of a depth. And the reason why that they ended up building more practices is because they wanted their impact to reach further. But I would say if they could, they would actually build and they are building. This practice is basically building a mini dental hospital. So it's going to have, think right now they're at 20 ops in the $14 million practice. And I think they're looking to build a 50 op practice. So by default, this person was adept, but then out of necessity to serve more.   and to give back more, they made multiple. So I just think it's a space of what do you like to do? Do you want to mentor single large offices? Or do you wanna have like three doctors under one roof? Or do you wanna have three doctors that you gotta travel to and mentor them virtually? Neither one's right or wrong. I think it's know thyself and be true. And that's gonna help you just figure out where you wanna go. So that's gonna be like step one. Step two is systems. You've gotta have systems. And especially if you're going into the multi.   system, system, systems, because if you grow without systems, you're gonna have burnout. Ask me how I know, oh, because I did this. And it freaking is annihilating and it's hard and it's awful. So when you have one large office, you've got to have advanced scheduling, you've got to have clinical efficiency, and you've got to have strong communication loops. It is massive. And like the biggest thing we have in these large practices, our team members feeling like they're not in the loop, they don't know what's going on. I mean, we have so many assistants, we've got our lead assistant in the $5 million practice.   and we're working on having a second because they've got like 14 dental assistants in this practice. Whereas multi locations, you have to like build like centralized billing, centralized reporting, leadership infrastructure, everything's reporting up to it. You've got to have office managers that you can trust with minimal oversight. And so I think for you, it would be as you're listening to this, like, who am I? Do I enjoy like, like I kid you not these 5 million for like stressing, I'm like pushing my   my piece, my temples here, because I'm like, gosh, the 5 million and the 14 million, I do think that there's some easy when it's all under one roof because you can talk to people, you can see them, but you also have just a lot of bodies moving. So our scheduling, we've every person in these practices works four days a week. So you now have a scheduling nightmare of how do get everybody on the same page for meetings, for this, for that, for trainings. So we have to be very strategic in our scheduling and   You've got to think about how we do checkouts and how we do the flow because now we've got eight hygienists checking in. So I've got eight profies coming in. I've got three doctors working. So I've got 15 people possibly checking out at one time. That's a lot of people versus my 1 million. I usually have five operatories. I've got two hygienists. I've got three patients checking in, checking out usually at the same time. So there's just this like   There's ease because everybody's under one roof, but it's hard because there's so many and it's like just duplicated. So you've got to be really, really strong. Things can slip through the cracks. Our treatment planning has got to be strong. Like, and it happens in all of them, but I really think it's a what do you look at and how do I set up the systems and structure of and both of them require it. Both of them just have different types of systemization and what's required for both of them. So when I see like doctors expand before they have like billing that set up.   When you're in one location, I do think you can have more gaps because people can quickly fill in and you can catch them versus when you're in multi locations. I feel like those gaps hit so much harder and faster and it's harder to pick them up because like, shoot, we don't have billing. This practice is drowning. This one's not, and we're running amongst four locations. So I do think sometimes the multi locations tend to have a bit more exhaustion, but if you're built for the systemization, it's okay. But if you're not built for that and you don't live in that,   it is easier oftentimes to maintain under one roof. So I think like, look at you of like, what systems would I need to upgrade for either path? Whether I'm 15 checkout patients versus three checkout patients, but at four different or five different locations a

    18 min

  6. MAY 6

    #1,146: So You Want to Quit

    Kiera walks listeners through a list of questions that should be answered before officially stepping away from your job. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:01) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and today is gonna be a fun day. Like, are you ready about it? Let's talk about when you wanna quit. All team members, all bosses, every single one of us has that. And yet we're so freaking scared to say that out loud. And I just want you to know that like, it's okay to say you wanna quit. It's okay to say you don't wanna do it. And I want to just give you some tactical pieces to navigate through these tricky times. And also like, what do we do when we wanna quit? And to know, are we really ready to be done?   or is it a season that we can change? So you guys at the Dental A Team, I'm obsessed. Our job is to love on you to positively impact the world of dentistry in the greatest way possible. I love doing dentistry. My last name's freaking Dent. I love working with clients. We work with clients one-on-one. We fly to practices. We work with you virtually. And we also have in-person masterminds where doctors and leadership teams come together to truly like be inspired. We call it life and dentistry on purpose. I'm super excited and I hope you can be a part of that. So let's talk about like, all right.   When do I want to quit? And like, let's kind of matrix it down. So when I'm looking at when I want to quit, I break it down to like, what things do I still enjoy doing? Do you still like doing dentistry? Do still like like helping team members? Do you still have patients? It's okay. You can have the list of like, what things do I still love and what things do I absolutely hate? And I just think it's like, most of the time, when I talk to doctors and like, I want to sell my freaking practice care, I want to just give up and quit or office manager like, I'm just sick of this.   When I asked them like, okay, let's talk about what you really don't like. Most of the time for owner doctors, it's usually cashflow and it's usually people management. Well, guess what? Great news. Doctor, you weren't meant to be the people manager. High five. Congratulations. Like, let's get you out of that seat. You're not the right person for that seat. So you're exhausted because you're trying to be the dentist. You're trying to be like the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker, all within the practice. And that's freaking exhausting. And it's not what you were even like meant to be. Dentists, a lot of you are introverts. How do I know this? Cause you work in a like teeny tiny little mouth all day long.   And you're like, gosh, I'm not gonna go like wow and dazzle these people. And I know you're more extroverted but introverted, but like you have to have a piece of that because you work in like such small, small, small mouths all day long and work on smudge, small tiny teeth that like trying to be this expansive human and be on social media and be this person, it's exhausting. And so I just want you to show like, okay, what can we do and how do we figure out what this is going to be? And I just think like, this is our role. This is how we look at it. And for everybody to figure out like,   What happens when I feel this way? So number one is I want you to think of what do I really, really love doing and do I still love doing that? Then number two, what things are like exhausting and draining? Now, it might get thrilling. You might say, hmm, I don't enjoy anything. Well, great. Today's not the day for you to be answering this question then. I want you to be honest because I look at it and sometimes I'm like, hey, well, I still really love getting on the podcast. Some days I look at my day and I'm like, ⁓ I'm terrified for it.   Other days though, most of the time, I was like 90 % of the time, I genuinely get so lit up and so excited to podcast and meet new people and give you guys great tips and tactical pieces and like, cool, let's go to the next thousands of episodes and how can I help you guys and like come up with topics you haven't heard of or change it with the landscape? I genuinely still love that. I still love coaching clients. love like, brush my shoulders off. Like I love to help a client like go from where they are to where they didn't believe was possible and to help them get there with ease and help their team and help them and like,   Like when I get off calls and I get text messages from team members saying like, here, you just totally changed your mind or we always love them and get on your calls because you bring so much positivity or doctors like, gosh, that was like such a good call, like you were looking so far down the line, things we didn't even think about. Like I still light up on that. I still love going into offices and just like brush my shoulders off, like killer visit that you didn't even know was possible. I still love to do mastermind events. I love to bring doctors together. It freaking scares me. I usually cry every single time. It's like so many emotions that like   come into me and out of me all in one moment. Like, I don't know why I do them, but I love it. I love hearing how we're changing people's lives. love when people are like, my gosh, I didn't even know this. Or like, we share resources together and people get to meet. Like, I'm so excited. We're about to run one. And like, I am giddy to see all these people that I love so much in one room and get to share like best friends with each other. I still love that. I still love figuring out new content and new ways to help dentists like thrive. I still love that. Things I don't love doing. ⁓   I hate running meetings. Like I hate them. I do. So what do I do instead of sitting here complaining and saying, I want to quit. Is there another option? And, um, I had a business coach tell me, said, Kiera, instead of thinking like, which door do I need to go through? Why don't I look at all the doors that are available for me? And that to me was such a freeing thing. Like, okay, so we could quit. You can like, let's just put that as an option. We can also sell the practice, like another option.   Then the third thing is like, well, if managing people stressing me out, I can hire a fractional COO. Didn't even know that was a thing. So if you've got like multiple practices and you're like, can't find a regional, they're expensive. I'm talking like 180 to 250. I'm not joking. That's like literally how much they cost and they're working part time. It's really fun, but they're smart and they know how to run businesses and drive things. You can hire a regional manager. You can hire, if you're like, I'm so tired of doing dentistry, you can hire an associate like.   Could I have this? they're like, yeah, but Kiera, I still have to manage. Not wrong. What if my manager became a partner in the practice? So they're tethered in and they're like part of the practice. You can do this. Like, what if it's like, I just feel like I can't ever take vacations. Well, great. Let's like figure out how many vacations you want. Let's figure out the numbers of what we need to produce when you're there. Or we change up our overhead. Like, great. These are all solutions. ⁓ Kiera, I'm just so tired of managing teams. Well, let's see how many team members you're managing and do we need to add leadership members and train them to be leaders?   We've got books, we've got training, we've got courses that we can send them to, to help them be great leaders. Like, I think so often we just feel like it's a, I'm sick of it I'm going to quit or I'm going to sell my practice. And then I think about it. This is how I play the game. I've actually talked to a decent amount of brokers working with clients over the years. And I think something that gets lost is what do we do afterwards? What's your plan after? And is that something that's going to be fulfilling for you or not? You're like, I'm   for me, I'm like, I know exactly what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna take two years off. I'm not gonna talk to a single soul. It's gonna last me two months, guarantee you. I'm gonna go out and work out every single day. Well, great, I could do that now, I? I'm going to travel and see my family more. Okay, great, like talk me through. What is it really gonna look like? Could we do that now? And I think we oftentimes limit our opportunities in the moment of what we're doing and we like exasperate our opportunities thinking of what it would be like versus   Could I not have this life that I'm dreaming up today? And could I actually delegate or pay? Like I think about this, a lot of dentists, make pretty good money. A lot of our clients are usually making 200 on my low end a year, up to like 10 to 12 million a year plus. Okay? So when I look at this, I remember I had an office, they were netting, I think 1.2 million. And they're like, it's just not worth it for me to do this anymore. And I said, really? You're taking home 1.2 post-tax.   You're only working four days a week. You're off every single day at three. 1.2 is not worth it. You're gonna have freaking problems. Like you will, that's part of it. You signed up for a business. It's not gonna all go away. You're still gonna have issues. Things are gonna break. But you're also making 1.2. You could go be an associate and make 200,000, no issue and have none of these problems. Is that what you wanna do? There is no right or wrong answer. But I really think it's like, let's look at this and let's see how can we actually make this better? How can we like?   Could I fix any of these things? For me, when I look at it, I'm like, all right, I'm sick of running meetings. We're hiring a full-time COO. I can't wait. It's gonna cost me my arm, my leg, and my throat. Like, awesome. But it's gonna give me s

    14 min

  7. MAY 5

    #1,145: The Flip (and Fun!) Side of KPIs

    Did you know there's actually a right and wrong time to implement key practice indicators (or KPIs) in your office? Tiff and Dana reveal what should be firmly in place in a practice before you start assigning metrics for success. They touch on KPIs position by position, staying human amid the numbers, and more. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:00) Hello Dental A Team listeners. I am so excited to be here with you today. You guys know that I love podcasting. You guys know that I love spending this time with you. And I love getting to spend the time with my consultant team as well. So I have Dana here with us today. Dana, how are you?   DAT-Dana (00:16) doing pretty good. I'm excited to be here. It's not that often that I get get dedicated podcast time with Tiff, so super excited.   The Dental A Team (00:22) I know,   I know it's because I schedule us long and we bust out a ton and then we don't see each other for a month on podcasting at least. So I agree, I agree. Well, Dina, it's springtime here. We like to call it springtime, which I think that Arizona just doesn't know when spring starts and ends because it goes straight into summer. So realistically, these drop in May, recording in April. I don't know when spring is, but it's hot. We've had a little bit of a cool down.   You've had a ton of sports and it's a beautiful time of year. How's everything down in your neck of the woods of Arizona going?   DAT-Dana (01:00) It's good. It is. It's beautiful. Now is the time where like you just love being in Arizona. I feel like, we don't really get a spring. It's kind of like a mismatch of random weather, like week by week. But now is the time where I truly love being in Arizona and get to be outside a ton. And, you know, if we could just get this wind to go away that's been hanging around down here for a couple of weeks, it would be perfect, really.   The Dental A Team (01:05) Yeah.   Yeah.   Yeah, my sister and I were talking about the wind yesterday. It really has been very strong, very strong. Yeah, especially where you are. You guys get whipped real bad with some wind. Yeah. Well, I'm excited that we're here today, that we're inside. It's supposed to warm up again. I think cool down. Who knows? It's going to rain. Maybe you might get rain. I probably won't. It's going to be great. It's going to be great.   DAT-Dana (01:35) Yeah.   Yeah.   The Dental A Team (01:48) I   wanted to chat today, something that keeps coming up for me on client calls, especially for new clients that come in. know that Nikki and Pam and Trish, you and I are pretty tapped out. So we're not getting a ton of new clients, but I know Nikki, Pam and Trish bring ⁓ oftentimes to our co-labs, really doctors looking for how to speak numbers and how to speak KPIs. We get it a lot. get people asking, Hello@TheDentalATeam.com. That is our email address and we have people that   that pop in all the time on really how do we get our team to love doing KPIs and love watching them and kind of a leadership team standpoint, how do we do that? So I thought it would be interesting to chat a little bit today on the flip side of KPIs. And Dana, think we have an interesting perspective. Number one, we say this all the time that we, anything that we train, we try to duplicate in our own company. We try to create that space here. So we do a leadership.   a ton in our company. We train on leadership a ton. That's kind of like our year two process for clients coming in. We work a ton on systems year two, ⁓ or if systems aren't done yet, might be year three, but we really hone in on leadership a ton once practices get kind of the baseline groundwork done. So with that said, would say Dana, number one, I'd want to look at how far are we in our practice? Like, are we to the point now that we've   that KPIs, they matter or that they make sense, right? Because you've probably seen it and I've definitely implemented too early KPIs with Teams too. So finding that perfect timing and then obviously there's other aspects to it. But Dana, how do you feel about that? And what are you seeing with your clients you've worked with for many years, many of your clients? So when do you kind of see that KPI leadership standpoint roll in?   DAT-Dana (03:40) Yeah, I agree with you, Tim. do think it is like practices when you are building systems to like to add KPIs on top of that when it's like we don't even really know what we're doing to kind of get to these points. ⁓ I do feel like that's a little bit too early to kind of roll out KPIs. I think like when you have your systems in place, when you have job descriptions in place and when you really   feel like you have a team that kind of knows what they're doing and knows where the business is headed, I think that is the time to really start to implement KPIs.   The Dental A Team (04:11) I agree. And I think what that really boils down to and what you just described is the basics for so mission, vision, core values, job descriptions, and then looking at like the basic KPIs, even new practice KPIs, but getting a team to like love doing their own KPIs per position is that next step. So those practice KPIs, like you're saying, Dana, those are the ones that are going to tell us if the systems that we're doing are   benefiting the practice. Are they creating the results that we want? So production collections, new patients, maybe marketing RLI, but really narrowing it down and simplifying it so that they can start to see those to-dos, those things that they're doing every single day that are in line with their job description, they're adding value to those KPIs and then kind of taking a step back and layering it. I know when I look at KPIs and I look at our KPIs in our company, I really try to look at, what is like   What do they mean? How do they apply to my position and to your position or marketing's position? Does it make sense for that KPI to be attached to that person or that department? And then ultimately, what's the impact that it's making on the overall results, right? What is the company going for? And Dana, how do you help reverse engineer that? Because I watched you do that with a lot of practices. Dana's like,   Amazing. She's so good at pulling out meaningful, impactful KPIs per position. And I think your hygiene experience helps you to see those spaces because those back office ones are really the hardest. So how do you help practices reverse engineer that? How can they take a look at that today just from maybe from like an overarching big standpoint? And then we'll narrow in.   DAT-Dana (05:59) Yeah, sure. So I think it really comes down to just like you said, Tiff, making it meaningful, making them see that the things that they are doing every single day, we spent times building the system, we created these systems. So let us have an easy tool for you to know that if the input that you are giving every single day is getting you a certain result. And so I think that I love that you use the word meaningful because I feel like that we get asked all the time, like, how do I have   motivate my team to care about numbers? How do I, you have to make them meaningful for them, meaningful for their position, meaningful for their impact that they are putting into the practice and into patients. And so I think that that is, I think that's kind of where the magic happens. It's like, you've got these overarching goals. So then breaking them down into, let's say, quarterly goals. And then what can each team member do daily, weekly, monthly to help impact or move those quarterly pieces. So I think it is chunking it down, but, to the point where   team members feel like they actually, like the things that they're doing impact them. And I think when you can make those connections, we can say, hey, you've got to keep the schedule full. Well, what does full mean? Right? What do, what does full mean that like I am winning that day or I am hitting that goal or I am like being super impactful. And sometimes too, it's just relating it to.   Yes, these are numbers, but at end of the day, typically numbers equal patients, right? Typically numbers equal impact into the community. Typically, like it means how much we're improving the overall oral health of the patients that leave the practice. And sometimes when you can tie that like, yes, you filling the schedule equals that or yes, you hitting your period goal equals comprehensive care.   When you can link those things with team members, that's how you motivate them. That's how you make these numbers meaningful to just say, hey, I need you to hit 95 % of schedule to goal, right? Well, yeah, that's a number, but what does it mean for that person? What is the impact it does for the practice when they hit it? And like taking time too to celebrate it when we see it.   The Dental A Team (08:02) Yeah. And something that that changes for us, Dana, that dentistry has always in my opinion been like a just do it because we said to do it, right? You build the same way we've built since 1995 because that's how we do it. Right. And we've not, we're super innovative when it comes to photos and CBCT scans and tech and all of these cool things that the back office is using. So doctors and dental assistants are like, heck yeah, this is so cool. Dentistry moves so fast. But then the rest of the team is like,   Does it? Like I'm still doing, I'm still scanning papers. Yeah. Like what the heck? It's not, it doesn't innovate in the other areas. I think now with AI, we're seeing a lot of innovation and I think a lot of front office team members are probably like, Whoa, I'm not okay with this because that's never been dentistry from the front office standpoint. So my point in that is when we have a KPI a

    26 min

  8. APR 30

    #1,144: A Secret to Success People So Often Undervalue

    Did you know: Positive employees are 31% more productive and show higher sales and creativity? That's why Kiera is talking all about positivity! She shares tips for how to encourage those higher cortisol levels among team members and patients. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript The Dental A Team (00:00) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and welcome. Welcome to the Dental A Team podcast. I hope you're having a great day. I hope that you realize that we are so lucky to live in the profession that we do that honestly dentistry is just this life-changing profession and I'm really grateful to be here. I'm grateful you're a part of our podcast family. As you guys know, the Dental A Team podcast was created to positively impact and inspire you in the greatest way possible. Our mission is to be in the hands of every single dental practice owner and office manager out there. So please do us a favor.   leave us a review, share this with somebody today. It really helps us stay at the top and to truly impact, inspire in the greatest way possible. If you're to the podcast, welcome, I'm Kiera Dent. I'm obsessed with all things dentistry. And you can always go to our website, TheDentalATeam.com and you can click our podcast and you can search if you need help with billing, associate scheduling, leadership mindset, you name it, it's all tagged there for you. So it can be a great resource for you of lots of inspiration, lots of motivation.   and it's something I'm very proud of that we've created. I'm proud and grateful for all of you being here. So today I think is very, very on cue for what we do and it's positive mindsets and how it really is, I think, ⁓ an advantage that most people underestimate. having that positive mindset really can set you apart from other people. It can help you ⁓ just really have a team that's positive.   And I think that it's a currency. Positivity and negativity are both available. And it's just which one are we going to have? Which one's gonna run our practice? And so ⁓ there really is research that talks about positivity and how high performing owners use it as a strategic advantage that we're gonna dig into today. So I just am excited to go into this. I really like have been giddy about this because I think it's just an advantage that most people don't realize. And I think it's something that is a trained habit, but also something that really is very doable. And I think...   Shoot, if I could eat a bowl of checks every morning and I would get this huge strategic advantage in my practice, would I do it? Probably yes. If I could just have a more positive outlook on life, literally I'm talking like a one or 2 % better and I can have a strategic impact on my practice, why not try it? So looking at this, positive employees, here's some research for you guys, positivity drives performance. So they say positive employees are 31 % more productive and show higher sales and creativity.   So if we look at this, and that's from Sean Anchor, it was a Harvard research on positive psychology performance. I was looking at this when I was prepping for this podcast and I thought like, okay, so if we know that positive team members are 31 % more productive, okay, great. And then next to it is teams operating in a positive environment have stronger engagement and lower burnout. So we don't want to have team turnover. So right there, and the brain literally performs better when it is not operating from stress.   Okay, well, fascinating. Like if I look at this and I think about, okay, a Harvard researcher did this, like, why not? So it's, it's a, it's a matter of it. And Sean Acker was like, ⁓ author of the, gosh, of the happiness advantage. And like, I mean, they say this, it's really truly something that's going to make your life that much better. And so.   I read a lot of books on positivity, a lot of books on how to be more positive, a lot of things of what can we do to enhance this? And I think it's like, it's crazy that when we look at this like 31 % more productive and the happiness and the joy felt while striving toward potential, which required training the brain to find opportunities. So when it talked about on happiness and success, it says when we are happy, when our mindset and mood are positive, we are smarter, more motivated and thus more successful.   happiness is the center and success revolves around it. Happiness is not the belief that we don't need to change, it's realization that we can. It's hard to find happiness after success if the goalposts of success keep changing. Note that. So if we're constantly moving it, it's very hard to find that happiness and the greatest competitive advantage in the modern economy is a positive and engaged brain. Fascinating. So I was thinking about this and I was like, all right, so if we know this,   What can we do to add that? So number one, we know it's going to drive it. So you think about this, like we can even change our morning huddles to what were wins from yesterday. We start to look and find the positivity, the wins, the happiness within our world. And we start to share that every day. My team, they've been pushing me. I've had a few people say, like, can we change it? Morning huddles. And I'm a hard no, because Monday's a motivation. We all get connected as a team. Tuesday's tip Tuesday, where we all share some of the best things.   We are not a together team, so we have no water cooler talk. We're not sitting in the break room like, my gosh, I love this lip gloss, or have you tried this recipe? We don't get that. So tip Tuesday is when we do that. Wednesday's core value shout out, and we shout out team members who are emulating a core value and doing really, really well at it. Thursday's thankful Thursday, we say what we're thankful for in our life, and Friday's fun Friday. And what I found is, and then after that, we go through that, we do it, and then we talk about client wins and wins as a company. Every single day, my team knows this.   I do this intentionally because I know that focusing on the good, we create more good. Focusing on the bad, we're gonna create more bad. So then what we go from there is emotional states are contagious, whether you realize it or not. So if you're always grumpy, you're always down in the dumps, it's contagious. If you're always positive, you're always looking for the glass half full, that's contagious too. And I think when we, I've seen a lot of teams that are one or the other and the positive teams,   help each other out, they work harder together, they hit goals easier. There is this rallying versus a dragging. And so when we look at it, ⁓ there's actually some emotional studies by a Yale professor where it was like, your mood is an operational infrastructure. And when we looked at that, thought about like calm leadership lowers cortisol levels across groups and improves collaboration. If we know this, how can we as leaders have an emotional state that's contagious? And I think some of the pieces that you have are   going to the gym, reading, like I have a calendar, it's actually being held under the mic. was like, where is it? It's right here. It says, today is the day and every day is a positive quote. And it sits here on my desk every single day because I want to infuse myself with good things. I was noticing that I was very negative and it's because I was always talking about what are the problems? Like as CEOs, we're always looking down the line as OMS is like, we've got an issue with this, we've got an issue with this. Like what's going well?   What are the good things in our company? What things can we really focus on and say like, this is great. Because the more we have that, the more we talk about wins. So honestly, our morning huddle is where I focus on the wins and the positivity of the company. We do it at the same thing in our company. have it Mondays, we start out with our personal wins and our professional wins every single Monday. Cause I want people thinking of how great their personal life is and how great their professional life is. So what else can we do?   ⁓ I read a lot of the positivity books. I listen to a lot of great podcasts. I do meditations that get my mind in the right space. So I can show up as a leader that has an emotional state that's very contagious. It's very fluid and it's very there for people. So I think when offices start to realize that you are the emotional currency in your practice, when you are contagious, if you've got team members, gosh, like it's so hard when I got...   I don't know, just an E or on the team. I'm like, all right, we gotta change this because it's dragging the whole ship down. And for me, I know we'll be higher performing. I know we're gonna get our goals with more ease if we have that positivity. So I think like, perfect. How can we look to see, how can we bring that energy up? And even for my lower energy people, I tell them like, people are like, Kiera, that's just not my natural state. And I'm like, great, well, we're on stage. So it becomes your natural state.   I don't care who you are at home. I do care how you are on stage and that's the stage of our dental office. When you're patient facing, when you're interacting with team members, we have a culture of positivity. We have a culture of teamwork. We have a culture of fun. And I expect that. And then the next piece is going to be something, ⁓ I got a really cool one that I'm excited about where gratitude is one of the highest ROI leaderships. ⁓ It's very scientifically backed.   where gratitude does improve your psychological well-being. It increases optimism, it strengthens relationships, and it reduces stress. And that was pulled from another Harvard Health and UC Davis study. And there was a great human that I got r

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This podcast is here to give dentists and all dental office team members, in EVERY position, TACTICAL and PRACTICAL TIPS to: - Be more efficient - Have more fun - Improve doctor and team communications - Eliminate frustration - And make your life easier! Jump in! We are thrilled you have decided to LEVEL UP and be part of the DENTAL A TEAM! New episodes every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

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    Dental A Team
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    1.1K
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    Clean
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    © 668974
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    Dental A Team Podcast

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