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Service industry business expert Brian Harding draws upon his many years of experience to share insights, strategies, tactics, and ideas to help business owners in service industries (like contractors, home and auto repair services, IT providers, CPAs, and B2B businesses) overcome challenges in their businesses. Brian takes on a wide range of topics small business owners face with growth, delegating, customers, employees, and processes, as well as the internal struggles and fears small busin ...
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Managing Dental Drama

Consultant and Dentist Duo; Practice Problems

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Owning, operating, and managing a dental practice can be difficult and sometimes wrought with drama. Meet Dr. Kuba, a private practice owner, and Bethany, a dental consultant, who take real-life examples and talk through issues in an open, honest, and sometimes hilarious manner. Topics are relevant to current dental and employment trends and range from “The Art of Retaining Good Employees” to “The Marriage of Dentistry and Insurance Ending in Divorce” and everything in between. Each episode ...
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Following a practical, repeatable, teachable system for developing leaders is an important step to delegating decision making and problem solving. This is part four of a five-part series on how to develop up and coming leaders. Tune in and I’ll share another step to address early on that has proven to work well for me when developing leaders to mak…
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Bethany invites a beloved client to the studio today – Dr. Williamson! From the first moment Bethany spoke with Dr. Williamson, she knew he was one of the nicest people she has ever met. As she has grown to know him more over the last year, her attribution of his character has been correct. She knew he would be the perfect guest for an episode on g…
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Following a practical, repeatable, teachable system for developing leaders is an important step to delegating decision making and problem solving. This is part three of a five-part series on how to develop up and coming leaders. Tune in and I’ll share another step to address early on that has proven to work well for me when developing leaders to ma…
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It is November, and it only seems fitting that we discuss one of the more foundational truths to running a great dental practice – the art of appreciation. In this episode, Dr. Kuba and Bethany discuss the importance of having a healthy mindset toward others. The foundational respect, often preceded by humility, is critical in displaying genuine gr…
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Following a practical, repeatable, teachable system for developing leaders is an important step to delegating decision making and problem solving. This is part two of a five-part series on how to develop up and coming leaders. Tune in and I’ll share a second step that has proven to work well for me to develop leaders that make solid decisions I can…
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Is it true that dental practices can actually be impacted by an election? In this episode, Dr. Jones and Bethany discuss the very real evidence that elections can definitely impact dental practices. Bethany discusses that the bulk of her clients see a variety of changes between September – November during an election year. One of the more evident c…
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Following a practical, repeatable, teachable system for developing leaders is an important step to delegating decision making and problem solving. This is part one of a five-part series on how to develop up and coming leaders. Tune in and I’ll share a first step that has proven to work well for me to develop leaders that make solid decisions I can …
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Dr. Smith is back in the studio today, and he shares the beauty of a fulfilled vision. Fifteen years after he took over his practice, he is still experiencing the fruit of his mission and is even able to pivot to be away from the practice more than he ever has been before. He and Bethany discuss the importance of documenting the vision and discussi…
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It’s painful to have an employee we are on the fence about. The decision we make about whether or not to keep them impacts a wide range or areas. And there are serious consequences to getting this right or wrong Tune in and I’ll share my only two criteria for deciding if a person should be on our team. Check out Brian's new group: Business TIPS! Fo…
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Plans fail. Even the best laid plans can fail. In this episode, Dr. Kuba, Bethany, Dr. Riley, and Dr. Patel all share comments on the importance of learning to pivot when things go wrong. In fact, Dr. Kuba encourages listeners to get out AHEAD of something going wrong and to work diligently to anticipate problems and build out potential solutions a…
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Gaining true understanding of what our customers really want, not just what they need, can be hard – especially in the beginning. Then, once we do know what they truly want, getting our team to focus on the actions that deliver that experience is a whole new challenge. In this episode, I talk about a way to confirm what our customers really care ab…
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The subject of culture pops up again today! Bethany and Dr. Kuba discuss how delicate nature of a positive team culture. In some cases, one singular employee can throw off the entire balance, sometimes without the practice owner even realizing it. Bethany shares three different examples of recent culture problems that were pervasive due to a “rotte…
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Signs of economic weakness are now consistently showing up. This is going to require many of us to make difficult decisions, especially about the kinds of revenue we are going to focus on. This week, I’m going to share a story of a company who did this wrong in my opinion as an illustration for all of us of what not to do. Check out Brian's new gro…
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Dr. Jones and Bethany break in the brand-new studio today! Together, they discuss how critical it is for a dentist/practice owner to have a vision for what they want to create in their practice, with their team, and with their patients. Using the analogy of all it took to create Bethany’s new house/studio, they draw parallels on how an undeveloped,…
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The root cause of many problems we have with employees is not about how well they execute or perform their daily tasks It’s more often about them taking responsibility for seeing through a desired outcome. Tune in and I’ll explain how I think we often address this incorrectly as well as how we solved this problem in my own company. Check out Brian'…
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Building trust on a team is a delicate and often difficult process. Once a team has a foundation of trust, the operation of the practice becomes much smoother and efficient. However, when trust is shaken or an employee on the team works to dismantle that trust, it takes swift and decisive action to right the ship. In this episode, Dr. Kuba shares a…
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Knowing what a "successful" meeting looks like is hard for people who don't have a history of holding or participating in meetings they would consider worth the investment. In this episode, I cover three items that will contribute to having meetings that result in willing participation, as well as active problem diagnosis and solving. If you're not…
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Kuba and Bethany tackle some uncomfortable examples of an employee who felt entitled and was quite verbal with her disappointment over gifts she felt were hers. The examples will definitely make the skin crawl, but these are relatively common examples. It is important to set the stage very clearly with team members regarding bonus plans, which are …
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Training is crucial for performance, improvement, and consistency. It’s also one of the most expensive investments we will make. Getting it right can make a massive positive impact on our business. And when we don’t see meaningful results from training, it can cause tremendous frustration. In this 6-part series – of which this is part six – I’m sha…
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The conversation continues today! This topic is simply too large to cover in one episode. Today, Dr. Kuba and Bethany talk about what can occur on the team after an employee is fired. First, the terminated employee could very well experience strong emotions after the well-executed termination. He or she could lash out in a variety of ways not limit…
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Training is crucial for performance, improvement, and consistency. It’s also one of the most expensive investments we will make. Getting it right can make a massive positive impact on our business. And when we don’t see meaningful results from training, it can cause tremendous frustration. In this 6-part series – of which this is part five – I’m sh…
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After receiving a clear plan of action for terminating a relationship with an employee, the crucial question becomes – How do you handle the aftermath of firing an employee? What do you say to the team? When do you say those things to the team? Often, the aftermath is the scariest part of termination decisions, and at times, the anxiety over the af…
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Training is crucial for performance, improvement, and consistency. It’s also one of the most expensive investments we will make. Getting it right can make a massive positive impact on our business. And when we don’t see meaningful results from training, it can cause tremendous frustration. In this 6-part series – of which this is part four – I’m sh…
  continue reading
 
Training is crucial for performance, improvement, and consistency. It’s also one of the most expensive investments we will make. Getting it right can make a massive positive impact on our business. And when we don’t see meaningful results from training, it can cause tremendous frustration. In this 6-part series – of which this is part three – I’m s…
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Firing an employee should always be a last resort, but many practice owners delay in terminating a relationship with an employee simply because they are not confident in HOW to fire an employee. Firing an employee is an incredibly difficult task, and if the task is not handled correctly, it can lead to an emotional explosion. In this episode, Dr. K…
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Training is crucial for performance, improvement, and cohesiveness. It’s also one of the most expensive investments we will make. Getting it right can make a massive positive impact on our business. And when we don’t see meaningful results from training, it can cause tremendous frustration. In this 6-part series – of which this is part two – I’m sh…
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There are times when the team is surprised with or plagued with a disrespectful or dramatic team member. It is unpleasant and can have an impact on every single person. In this episode, Bethany asks Dr. Kuba what she would do in three different scenarios where an employee was dramatic or disrespectful. Dr. Kuba offers office to the practice owners …
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Training is crucial for performance, improvement, and cohesiveness. It’s also one of the most expensive investments we will make. Getting it right can make a massive positive impact on our business. And when we don’t see meaningful results from training, it can cause tremendous frustrations. In this 6-part series, I’m going to share the guidelines …
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Everyone worries about it, and yet nobody talks about it. It’s a cringe-worthy topic, and yet every practice owner should diligently work to prevent a board complaint AND be prepared for one as well. In this episode, Dr. Kuba enlightens listeners on a typical board complaint process. She then walks through each step and explains how to best navigat…
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Recently I was at a bowling alley for a very large business networking event. The owner of that bowling alley perfectly demonstrated the clarity and understanding of his customers that is hard for many of us to attain. Tune in and I’ll share why this is a great example for all of us to follow. Check out Brian's new group: Business TIPS! For less th…
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In a world where insurance continues to find new ways to pay less, it is incredibly frustrating when the dentist and team are somehow the ones to blame. In this episode, Bethany and Dr. Kuba discuss what is becoming a chronically reoccurring problem – patients angry at the dentist when insurance fails to hold up their end of the deal. Bethany has w…
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Many industries have noticed demand softening over the last several months. So it might seem silly to be talking about hiring. But could this be a good time to look for people who would be a better fit in certain roles? Tune in and I'll explain what I mean! Check out Brian's new group: Business TIPS! For less than $100 per month (with no commitment…
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Meet Dr. Ludlow! He and Bethany have worked together for almost 10 years. Dr. Ludlow has a unique practice in that is very large and still privately owned. Therefore, it might be surprising to most listeners that Dr. Ludlow does not have an Office Manager. In this episode, he discusses his strategic decision to grow a large, successful practice wit…
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You can’t build a sizable company alone. You need capable leaders to help you reach goals, meet expectations, improve, and address issues. But not all the people we promote or hire to leadership roles succeed. Today, I share why I they most often fail, and how we can prevent that failure. Check out Brian's new group: Business TIPS! For less than $1…
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Anyone who has read a business book since 1992 knows that we need to document how we do things – for a wide variety of good reasons. But how many procedures is the right amount for your company? Tune in and I’ll share some things I’ve learned with you. Check out Brian's new group: Business TIPS! For less than $100 per month (with no commitment or c…
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Dr. Kuba is back in the studio today, and she is asking some very raw questions. She confesses that there have been many times in her career where she simply doesn’t care, so she asks Bethany how to push past these moments. Together, they discuss why practice owners and team members sometimes hit theoretical walls and what to do once you hit them. …
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It could be said that our success and fate will largely be determined by how well we manage our customer relationships. So how can we get better at this? Tune in and I’ll share some ideas that worked for us. Check out Brian's new group: Business TIPS! For less than $100 per month (with no commitment or contracts) you can ask Brian any question you …
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Oftentimes practice owners groan about the necessity of “morning” huddles. In fact, many practice owners opt to do away with them completely. In this episode, Bethany discusses all of the benefits associated with a daily or weekly huddle. Benefits include preparation for the patient's care plan, accountability for team members to prepare, and setti…
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If you’re going to have employees, eventually there will be conflict between them. How should we address, resolve, and reduce the frequency of those distractions? Stay tuned and I’ll share some tips that worked for me. Check out Brian's new group: Business TIPS! For less than $100 per month (with no commitment or contracts) you can ask Brian any qu…
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This long overdue episode reveals two new scathing negative reviews that Dr. Kuba received in the last few weeks. After lamenting the torture of these negative reviews, Dr. Kuba and Bethany discuss the specific details of the reviews. They also identify the specific claims that the reviewer made which then informed the needed response. They also di…
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Many hours can be seemingly wasted trying to drive home the same point, over and over again. It can be frustrating and maddening for us – especially when the problem persists, whether it be days or weeks later, or just a few hours. Why do we have problems with things that we know we’ve covered in depth before? More importantly, how do we overcome t…
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So often, there is a spoken and unspoken pressure to push your practice as far as it will go. Grow. Grow. Grow. Push. Push. Push. So many well-meaning people apply pressure to dentists to grow their practice into something massive. There tends to be a simple definition of success that every practice owner is fed, and then they spin their wheels alw…
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Sometimes it’s harder to get genuine buy in on customer service expectations than getting buy in on expectations with the technical work we do. We talk about how we must do this or that thing because it’s critical to providing the experience we want for our valued customers. But there are challenges with getting a team of people to truly take these…
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Most days for dental professionals feel overwhelming. How is it possible to get everything done? With constant interruptions and consistent “fires” to put out, the daily tasks of running a dental office often get pushed to the side. Then, they pile up. By the end of the week, the mound of things to complete feels insurmountable. Dentists and their …
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Dan writes in and asks “How can I ensure my business is scalable?” While there are many ways to answer this, I’m going to focus on the 3 things that I think were the biggest reasons our business scaled so fast and so well. Tune in to hear what they are! Check out Brian's new group: Business TIPS! For less than $100 per month (with no commitment or …
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Peer-to-peer feedback is one of the most helpful forms of performance feedback, and yet it is so incredibly difficult to figure out HOW to incorporate peer feedback. Fret no more! This episode provides a detailed description of how to tackle this difficult task. Dr. Kuba shares the specific details of her most recent iteration of her “Engagement Sc…
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By default, we want it all. All the time… All the money… The comfort, simplicity, and ease… And especially all the growth! But, there are many periods of time in which we must choose what we really want because aiming for everything will result in us getting none of the things. This week, I’ll cover three critical examples Check out Brian's new gro…
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No matter the specialty, treatment acceptance is the lifeblood of every practice. In a good number of practices, an excellent treatment coordinator is behind exemplary treatment acceptance. So, what is a good treatment coordinator (TC)? What makes them unique and better than other TCs? In this episode, Dr. Kuba and Bethany discuss the core qualitie…
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We need to put good managers, leaders, and decision-makers in place to build a business that doesn’t require us to oversee every import decision, or drive every critical behavior. But how do we teach people we put into leadership roles to do well at the things we will ask of them. In this episode, I share a simple, three-step process that is a fund…
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