Nickellsilver Business Solutions Inc.

OK, so what does this have to do with dentists?! Well…..lots. Although my primary focus is helping dentists develop their business skills, I often speak to groups of dentists and staff combined, which is great because the business of dentistry affects the team – until the entire team embraces and values the business side of dentistry, a practice cannot run like a well-oiled machine. In order to embrace it, the team must understand its true function and that means understanding that the business of dentistry is experienced differently, depending upon who is doing the experiencing!
When it is the employee’s experience, the perspective can be quite unique. This is because the employee has way more information than the patient, but less than the dentist! How so?
Seeing Only Parts of the Big Picture: The employee sees a fragmented version of the overhead costs (such as one supplies-invoice at a time), and of the revenue (gross billings versus net). They are not privy to the big picture; the financial statements. They may not know about debt-servicing, capital investment, overall overhead, salary costs etc. The employee sees what labour and materials are involved in an individual procedure, but don’t see how that fits into the overall financial status of the practice.
 Risk and Responsibility: This I know….the person who is bearing the full weight of risk and responsibility of a business will experience that business very differently from anyone else. No matter how much of a team you all are, the business owner must measure every move, every decision, every action against risk and reward. An employee’s input is essential and valuable and I am a huge advocate of collaboration, however, that is a gathering of information in order to make an informed decision, not a joint decision! An employee’s perspective is not going to be the same as your own.
Assumption: The other side of the coin brings me to the reason for the cartoon. An employee who interviews for a job very likely has made a natural, reasonable, perhaps unconscious assumption; that the business-owner who is interviewing them is in that position because of a burning desire to be a boss – an entrepreneurial spirit, excited and capable, with a high level of training and acumen in business management and leadership skills. This may be somewhat unrealistic. :-/. Dental employees get about as much training as the dentist – about a couple of hours!! (An exaggeration, perhaps, but sadly not much of one!).
This unspoken assumption and lack of awareness of the employee perspective is the root cause of many misunderstandings and confusion. It can be completely avoided if employees understand the situation and contribute to the learning, if dentists take the initiative to develop their basic business skills through training and the entire team develops their knowledge of the true function of the business of dentistry, values it and embraces it as a catalyst to their work.

For those of you who attended my recent webinar in conjunction with International Coaching Week, “Leadership – The Next Wave”, here is the Values Worksheet I promised to post on my site for downloading: The Next Wave-Values Worksheet. This is a worksheet I presented to young business students at the Vancouver Island University Leadership Conference. I believe that knowing your values enables you to be your authentic, genuine selves. That gives you presence. Presence based on knowing what you stand for will allow the leader in you to blossom. I am often asked if leaders are born? I answer yes. Because I don’t know anyone who wasn’t born. We can all be leaders if we understand what gives us the presence we need.

Do you hate holding interviews?

Do you hate having to perform job interviews? They usually fall at the end of your busy day; maybe you’re tired, frustrated at the annoyance of having to replace an employee or fill a new position, or you just don’t feel confident as an interviewer. You’re not alone!

 They key to holding a productive interview and hiring the right candidate is to ask the right questions (this is a Coach telling you this – the Queen of Questions – so listen up!). Apart from the usual pertinent questions about skill and experience, there are five critical questions that often don’t get asked. Not surprisingly, they are also the questions that can produce the most commonly flubbed answers! That’s because the questions and how they are answered are so important.  If a potential employee doesn’t answer these five questions satisfactorily, reconsider whether or not they are good candidates for the job….

 Question #1 – Why don’t you tell me a little bit about yourself?

As an employer, you are looking for a succinct synopsis of a candidate’s career to date – not details of their kids, hobbies or their dog named Boo. A keen applicant will tell you how many years of experience they have, what their education, areas of expertise and last position entailed. If you get the cocktail party version of their life, they are not focused on your business.  

Question #2 – Why do you want to work here?

An applicant might feel that this question is about their desires.  It’s not. This question is about how well they have done their homework. What do they know about your practice? What stands out for them? Are there shared values? Remember….the question is not “Why do you want to work?”, it is “Why do you want to work here?” As an employer, you are looking for passion and excitement. You want to know what it about you that stands out for your applicant.

 Question #3 – Why should I hire you?

Potential employees might freeze up at this one, because the question is so often misunderstood. They may choose this time to roll out their list of skills and qualifications. Take heed – this question is about what value this person will bring to your practice, what benefit you will realize by hiring them. An excellent answer is one which indicates what difference this person will make to your work, not a rehash of their skills.

 Question #4 – Why did you leave your last job?

You are not prying by asking this question; rather, you are trying to determine fit. What will this person find in your employ that they did not get in their last job? You are looking for honesty without a long, drawn out explanation. Watch body language and facial expressions. The best answer is a truthful, succinct matter of fact answer that doesn’t disclose every little detail. This applies whether they quit or were fired.

Question #5 – What are your weaknesses? What areas need development?

This a tough question, because none of us likes to admit our weaknesses. An intelligent, thoughtful interviewee will have prepared him or herself for this question. They will have made the distinction between a weakness and an over-used strength and will focus on the over-used strength (immersing themselves in work, being an over-achiever, being too much of an organizer, etc.). Hear the difference?

As far as areas of development, your keen interviewer’s ear should be listening for willingness to learn (I’m interested in upgrading my skills and would like to take an implant course, or ortho-module, or business skills training, for front desk staff).  

In summary, by all means ask all the usual questions. Watch and listen for honesty and authenticity. Add these five questions to the interview and understand why you are asking them. Listen for the good, strong answers you seek; it will ensure that you choose the strongest, most valuable candidate for the job.

“Far exceeds anything we received in dental school!”

“Far exceeds anything we received in dental school”    – Survey respondent

BUSINESS BOOTCAMP for DENTISTS™ graduate survey results are in from the completed Fall 2010 session. The feedback was valuable and enlightening; thank you to all the students who completed the survey! Here are some of the insights from students who have earned their Bootcamp dogtags…. 

100% of respondents felt that this program is highly valuable, met their expectations, and that they received excellent return for their investment dollars. The chief motivating factors were a strong need to develop their business skills and the fact that the on-line classroom environment was convenient for them (with no loss of production as classes are in the evenings). To a much lesser extent was the fact that CE credits would be earned or that they were simply interested in the content. To me, this implies that dentists feel a real need to develop their business skills – not just a lassez faire interest that might earn them a few CE points. 

General comments about the course content was that it provided a good, solid start to learning business fundamentals, far exceeding any training received in dental school. The most valuable take-aways were; understanding how to read financial statements, how to write a simple business plan, and being taught business basics. 

A whopping 100% of students who have completed Business Bootcamp for Dentists™ would recommend this program to their colleagues and associates and many said they would consider retaking the program as alumni students (alumni students can register for subsequent programs at a deep discount). 

The next session of Business Bootcamp for Dentists™ is scheduled to begin Feb.3, 2011. Many of the excellent suggestions from graduate students will be incorporated into subsequent sessions and Bootcamp will continue to evolve. Thank you to all the graduating students who completed the survey. Hang your dogtags in your office with pride – you earned them!

Feedback is an important part of my job – both giving and receiving!

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