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869: The Future of Private Practice: Debra’s Top Tips from the APDP Meeting – Debra Engelhardt-Nash

We've all heard that private practice dentistry is dying. But now is the best time to own and grow your practice! In this episode of Practical Solutions Day, Kirk Behrendt brings back Debra Engelhardt-Nash, co-founder of The Nash Institute, to share highlights from the latest APDP meeting that will empower you and your team to create a better practice and a better life. To hear Debra’s top tips from the top dentists, listen to Episode 869 of The Best Practices Show!

Learn More About Debra:

Learn More About ACT Dental:

More Helpful Links for a Better Practice & a Better Life:

Main Takeaways:

  • Focus on your team culture.
  • See your team as an asset, not a liability.
  • Identify and remove the “arsonists” on your team.
  • Gratitude is intentional. Reflect on how you choose to express it.
  • Allow your team to “coach up”. Be open to receiving their feedback.
  • Overcommunicate with your team. Don't serve them just an “empty bowl”.
  • Don't be a chair. Exceed expectations rather than doing only what's expected.

Quotes:

“Statistically, is private practice alive and well? Seventy percent of dentists are still in private practice. Right now, I think the DSOs have a louder noise. But that doesn't mean that private practice is going away.” (1:32—1:51) -Debra

“Some of these students hear about DSOs first, and they forget that there is private group practice as well — they don't have to go in and buy a practice. That might be a little bit daunting, to buy a practice right out of dental school. You don't know how to hire, you don't know about administration or the business of dentistry. That's one of the things that the American Dental Association is actually partnering now with the Academy of Private Dental Practice with because they realize we have to teach business skills to younger dentists so they're not afraid to go into private practice dentistry. I think there's a comfort in — DSOs promise that, ‘We're going to hold your hand for a while and get you some experience. We're going to bring you patients, and we're going to run the practice for you, so that's not what you have to worry about. The only thing you need to worry about when you first get out of dental school is to hone your clinical skills, and we'll do all the rest.’ I mean, listen to the way I pitch that. It sounds pretty attractive. So, I think the American Dental Association is recognizing we need to address that for younger dentists. We need to address it. We need to have an opportunity for them to learn that there are other ways that they can practice dentistry, and they can take their skills to another opportunity or a different scenario. But once again, there's no right or wrong.” (3:31—5:01) -Debra

“[Lou Radja] said, ‘People don't get up to go to work. They get up for a purpose. We get up for a purpose.’” (17:16—17:21) -Debra

“One of the things that [Lou Radja] said about teams is, ‘Over-communicate with your team. Never give them an empty bowl.’ He used an analogy. He said, ‘If you and I had set ourselves up to meet for dinner and I said, ‘We're going to meet at 6:00,’ and you said, ‘Great. I'll see you there at 6:00,’ and at 6:00, I show up and you're not there, I go, ‘Oh, he's a couple of minutes late.’ At 6:05, you're still not there. I think, ‘He must be parking his car.’ At 6:10, I'm thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, did I miss him? Did I miss a text? Did something happen? Is he not showing up?’ At 6:20, I'm like, ‘Was he in an accident?’ At 6:30, I'm thinking you're a jerk. You stood me up. And the problem was we didn't communicate. He says when you have an empty bowl, you fill it with your speculations. He said teams do that all the time. If you do not over-communicate and you hand them an empty bowl, they start filling it with assumptions, with what they're thinking. It's never positive. It's not, ‘Oh my gosh, they stopped to buy me flowers.’ So, he says never serve your team an empty bowl. Always over-communicate.” (17:27—18:49) -Debra

“[Lou Radja says] don't be a chair. He brings a chair up to the stage. We all came into this room, and we all sat down on this chair. We assumed that the chair is going to hold our weight. We sat down. We all sat on the chair. When we left this conference, we left this room. We didn't talk about the chair. The chair met our expectations. He said, ‘That's all it did. It did nothing. Success is going beyond people's expectations. So, don't be a chair.’ I was thinking about how in dental offices, that's the way we sometimes approach our patients. We're a chair. Even when we answer the telephone, ‘Oh, all new patients get a full-mouth series of X-rays. They get an oral cancer screening exam. They get periodontally probed. We're going to go over your treatment plan. We're going to tell you what your insurance is going to pay. We're going to tell you what you need. Then, we're going to tell you what your co-payment is going to be. Then, we're going to make an appointment.’ That's a chair.” (19:21—20:29) -Debra

“What if your patient walks into the operatory and there's a gift in the chair? What if there's a small swag bag? What if there's a warm blanket with your logo on it in a bag and something that says, ‘In case you get chilly during your appointment, here's a nice blanket. And you can take that home with you.’ Now, it's not a chair. So, what can you do to exceed expectations? Because that's what people talk about.” (21:10—21:40) -Debra

“Think about your hygienist or your dental assistant who, man, they produce their little brains out every day. You go, ‘Man, they're a top producer and the patients love them, but they undermine the team.’ They bully, or they berate, or they're never on time. Everybody knows they're never on time, and you're allowing them to never be on time because they're so productive. And you allow them to bully, or you allow them to get away with stuff that nobody else can. That's an arsonist.” (26:22—26:51) -Debra

“Think about if a doctor told their team, ‘I want you to care enough about this practice that if you see that I'm faltering in some way, you see that I am not living up to the integrity of what we agreed upon, you see that I'm not acting in the code of conduct that I want you to all act on, I want you to call me out on it. I want you to call me out.’ Can you imagine the strength in that?” (28:08—28:33) -Debra

“Talk about keeping a team and having a team attracted to your practice when you talk about private practice. If you want me to own it, give me permission to say, ‘Hey, we're screwing up here.’ And teach me how to say it in such a way that I'm not saying, ‘Gee, Doctor. You really suck.’ Say, ‘You've got to be specific, and you've got to give me feedback.’” (28:49—29:07) -Debra

“[Lou Radja] said, ‘The strength of the wolf is the pack. The strength of the pack is the wolf.’ . . . We used to say you're only as strong as your weakest link, which is basically what he's saying. But it's like, the wolf is strong because the wolf is in a pack, and the wolf knows that the pack is going to protect him. Well, the pack is strong because the wolf is strong. So, when we build teams — and once again, we have to understand that your individual endeavors create the wholeness of who we are. I'm going to celebrate the wholeness of who you are.” (29:39—30:22) -Debra

“[Lou Radja said] gratitude is not simply gratitude. It's also your expression of gratitude. He says gratitude is very intentional.” (32:27—32:39) -Debra

“You've got to see your team as an asset, not a liability. So many times, we look at the cost, we look at payroll, and we feel resentful. We feel resentful that they're taking. And if a doctor feels like their team is taking and not giving, we have a problem.” (37:04—37:21) -Debra

“So many times, whether it be a spouse or whether it be a team member, that's the arsonist who is saying, ‘Doctor, you can't do that. Our patients won't accept that. We can't do that. We can't raise our fees. We can't be doing this kind of treatment. We can't be bringing in this new technology. We can't afford it.’ I think sometimes doctors give their power and leadership away.” (38:12—38:33) -Debra

“We talked about retention. Lou Radja said, ‘You shouldn't say “retention”. It should be called “engagement”. You don't attract and retain. Retention is jail, prison. Don't use the word retention. It's engagement — constant engagement.’ It's also not entitlement. It's, how do you continue to engage your team? How do you continue to engage your patient? I have to have an engaged team that aspires to engage the patient. I have to have an engaged team to say, ‘I've worked for Dr. Nash for 22 years. Can I tell you why? Because this is how he treats our patients, this is how he wants to serve, and this is what he wants to do. Not only does he treat our patients with integrity and respect, he treats me with the same integrity and respect every time I come to work.’” (40:47—41:36) -Debra

“One of the things Lou Radja said is, ‘The secret to avoid what's not working is to really focus on what is.’ So many times, we focus on what isn't working in our practice. I always say we should start a meeting, especially strategic planning meetings. Let's talk about what's going well and really talk about those things, and then we can talk about what could be improved.” (44:51—45:11) -Debra

Snippets:

0:00 Introduction.

0:59 Why this is an important topic.

7:48 About APDP and their partnership with the Nash Institute.

15:03 Highlights from the APDP: Walk the talk.

17:21 Highlights from the APDP: Overcommunicate.

18:53 Highlights from the APDP: Don't be a chair.

21:46 Highlights from the APDP: Fireproofing versus firefighting.

24:39 Highlights from the APDP: Do you have arsonists on your team?

26:52 Highlights from the APDP: Coaching up.

29:32 Highlights from the APDP: The strength of the wolf and the pack.

30:30 Highlights from the APDP: Gratitude is intentional.

33:31 Highlights from the APDP: Solutions to the hygienist shortage.

36:51 Highlights from the APDP: See your team as an asset.

38:36 Highlights from the APDP: Explaining the why is important.

40:37 Highlights from the APDP: Engagement versus retention.

41:38 Future APDP events.

44:36 Final thoughts.

46:00 More about Debra’s courses.

Debra Engelhardt-Nash Bio:

Debra is a trainer, author, presenter, and consultant. Having been in dentistry for over 30 years, she engages organizations and study groups nationally and internationally. She is a continual presenter for the American Dental Association, the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, and the Chicago Dental Society Midwinter Meeting. 

Debra is a founding member of The Nash Institute and past president of the National Academy of Dental Management Consultants. She is an active member of the American Dental Assistants Association, the American Academy of Dental Practice Administration, and the Speakers Consulting Network. She has been repeatedly recognized by Dentistry Today as a leader in continuing dental education and as a leader in dental consulting. She is also a member of the American Dental Association’s Dental Practice Management Advisory Board, and recently became the president of the Academy for Private Dental Practice.

Debra is married to cosmetic dentist and dental educator, Dr. Ross Nash, of The Nash Institute for Dental Learning. She continues to work in his busy practice, doing exactly what she preaches. 
ACT Dental Team

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