Remember playing “hide-and-seek?” Win or lose you gained two important skills.
Creativity: when it was your turn to “hide” and diligence: when you played the role of “seeker.”
Business-wise, dentistry fits the analogy of hide-and-seek. As a
dentrepreneur® you must master a combination of skills to “play.”
Creative-(due) diligence
Creatively speaking, dentrepreneurship is more than a trendy way to
view your dental enterprise. It’s easy to become complacent while
working to survive the changes in practice ownership, related processes,
and longevity.
You will think differently about it all as a dentrepreneur®.
- Where others see brand drift, you see new models for practice success.
The problem isn’t solely industry related. It’s more a matter of how you frame it going forward.
Practices are brick and mortar. Sounds like I’m stating the obvious, right?
Providers are the heart-and-soul. Their practice rises and falls on the created culture.
Where diligence pays
Practices are hiding places. They can hide ineffective processes, out
dated management styles, and equally antiquated treatment and
production protocols.
So, you’re a dentrepreneur® wanting to acquire a practice. Do you apply creative genius to expand your skillfulness at hiding those cultural norms?
Or…
Do you become skillfully diligent at seeking them before you invest your future in what could prove unchanging?
Tough, penetrating questions
It’s a matter of brand awareness
The brand often speaks for itself. As a dentrepreneur® you must tune your ears to hear what its saying. TWEET THIS
- What is the provider’s philosophy?
- How open to change is the present practice culture?
- Why would they want to adapt to a new era?
Again, the current practice culture holds the cards, so to speak.
It’s where you should apply the greater part of your due diligence when
considering a dentrepreneurial acquisition.
How to Seek What’s Hiding in a Practice Culture
1-Value people over property
The people make the practice. That’s more than cliché’ when you’re seeking an accurate picture of the brand.
Seek perspective on the provider. Determine the scope and effectiveness of the culture he/she has created.
Base your gut-feel on how the culture resonates with you. Keep in
mind too, that as a dentrepreneur®, you will bring a fresh approach to
the provider-patient relationship.
Be aware, going in, what culture shifts are necessary. And what are those you can live with initially.
2-Vacate preconceived ideas about practice building success
What worked before might not work now. Strategy evolves.
As a dentrepreneur®, you are on the evolutionary edge. Building your
dental enterprise requires you to think beyond a solo-provider mindset. TWEET THIS
If you’ve been accustomed to a multi-provider, large practice, you
will have a bit of an advantage. That said, dentrepreneurial leadership
requires a new skill set.
This places value on a collaborative relationship. Knowing what to change, where to start, and when to begin is unique to each practice culture.
Be open to new resources. Seek understanding before implementation.
Realize what once worked might (or might not) work in this specific circumstance. Knowing this is your strength.
3-Visualize what will uniquely contribute to the success of the practice culture
Vision compels. It’s what fuels your dentrepreneurial drive. TWEET THIS
You wouldn’t be seeking new ventures if you lacked vision. Use it to your full advantage.
See the big picture. Then view it pixel by pixel to gain ground-level
perspective on what’s needed to shift the existing culture.
Again, our eyes-on-the-process relationship will be valuable to you
in this phase. At no point should you feel alone in setting and acting
on your vision as a dentrepreneur®.
Hide-and-seek is literally child’s play compared with the high stakes-high return potential of being a dentrepreneur®. We’re here to help.