“There is an old story of a poor but righteous man who prayed every day and ended his prayer with the plea, ‘Lord, please let me win the lottery!’ He never won. One day, toward the end of his life, he changed the end of his prayers by asking, ‘Lord, what must I do to win the lottery?’ The clouds parted and the voice of the Lord said, ‘Give me a break…buy a ticket!’” 1
A successful dental enterprise will not miraculously drop into your lap. Your task as a Solopreneur and Dentrepreneur®? is to apply an amount of “due diligence.”
Thinking you can fall into a thriving dental practice, treat patients for a certain number of years, and then retire with time and money to spare has a frightening similarity to the plight of the “poor but righteous man,” in the opening story.
Now is the time when you, as a Solopreneur and Dentrepreneur®?,must buy-in to a more profitable future. TWEET THIS
And not everyone is cut out for this.
In fact, if you’re reading this and your pulse is racing a bit more than usual (in a good way), keep reading. And it would be a good idea to invest some reading time on this blog to get up to speed on the dentrepreneurial approach to dentistry.
Wired for it.
You’re here and reading because you are wired for diligence. But you are perhaps not hard-wired though that’s about to change.
Expanding your dental enterprise requires a particular brand of diligence. It’s uncommon to many. TWEET THIS
The Due Diligence Mindset That Guides You as a Solopreneur and Dentrepreneur®?in an Age of Acquisition and Expansion
1-Think main-thing (not mainstream)
“The main thing is to keep the main thing, the main thing!” 2
Jim Barksdale said that as CEO of Netscape. For your purposes, he’s implying that your core challenge in a season of growth and expansion is staying centered and focused on what matters.
There are two essentials to keep in mind within all organizations.
- Guide people and processes in a single direction with a clear purpose.
- Align the organization’s resources, systems, and processes to achieve that purpose.
Main-thing thinking prompts your due diligence to accurately assess those two essentials.
Is the newly acquired or expanded culture capable of “singular focus?”
And…
Can you achieve alignment with your resources, systems, and processes in place to pursue that purpose?
Due diligence compels you to keep the “main thing the main thing” throughout your enterprise and each phase of its growth. TWEET THIS
2-Determine your main-thing design
Next to defining your purpose, aligning your dental enterprise with that purpose is a priority. Achieving alignment throughout the organization must become your obsession.
It starts with creating aligned understanding. This means that everyone throughout your enterprise comprehends and performs their role out of clarity of purpose.
Due-diligence explores the acquired or expanded culture’s design and works towards alignment. It will involve your recognition of what stays and what goes - in essence what can and cannot be aligned in your specific organization.
3-Link your people and process to the main-thing
Your team(s) will align according to how vital they believe their contribution is to the enterprise’s purpose. It’s amazing how connection compels commitment.
Due diligence assess who and who isn’t making the connection. Not all will buy-in.
Alignment isn’t necessarily compliance. It has more to do with how significant your team members feel in connection to their role and how it fits the overall purpose (your main-thing).
Contribution to strategy is equally important. The due diligence question is: can team members understand and act on their contribution to the designed purpose?
Early buy-in helps. The earlier you gain contribution the better your success at long term culture satisfaction.
There are other due diligence priorities you must give attention to as a Solopreneur and Dentrepreneur®?. Connect with our community of like-minded dental industry leaders and accelerate your success now!
Source:
1, 2. George Labovitz and Victor Rosansky, The Power of Alignment - How Great Companies Stay Centered and Accomplish Extraordinary Things.