A complimentary e-newsletter from Linda Miles for the professional dental community.

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Dear Doctors and Staff,

Happy Holidays to one and all. As we come to the close of another calendar year, I hope you can reflect on the areas of your professional and personal lives that made a positive difference this year.

What patients did you see that brought more than revenue to your practice? What course did you take that made you a better dental professional? What procedure did you perfect that made it easy and more predictable? What staff member was hired that brought you joy rather than frustration?

So many times we get bogged down with the negatives of the profession, and fail to concentrate on the good. Make a list of the things you can do to make dentistry, your practice, and a co-worker s day easier, less stressful, and more fun professionally. Be a mentor to one of your co-workers, or someone new in the dental profession. It is only by teaching others that you as an individual reach your full potential.

One of the exercises I ask my clients to do each year on their annual retreats is this:

Hand each staff member 2 sheets of paper with these headers:

One of my goals in 2001 is to become a better time manager. List three things I can do to accomplish this.

1)
2)
3)

One of my goals for 2001 is to become a more effective leader. List three things I can do better.

1)
2)
3)

P.S. You won t be fired for honesty!!

Too many times the doctor forgets that the practice’s commitment level is only as strong as the leaders . Show me a practice where the dentist is clear in their focus, goals, commitments, and I will show you a staff who shares these goals. Show me and office where the dentist thinks, do as I say, not as I do , and I will show you a practice that gives lip service.

This month we honor all our active clients who have shown significant improvements in time management and leadership. They send their monthly monitors and call to arrange their tele-conference calls at a time that allows group interaction with the entire staff on speaker phone, Most importantly, they implement the ideas we shared with them.

AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND TOUR

My 4th Speaking Tour to Australia and New Zealand went very well, with the best audiences ever. When the dentists and staff heard about our SunFun Seminars to Cancun and the Caribbean Cruise, they encouraged me to return to do a cruise off the coasts of Perth and Sydney in 2003!

Speaking of Australia, my client, Dr. Deanne Blazek, WI, and her dentist husband, Dr. Larry Heltzel, were in my Sydney audience November 4th. My sincere thanks to them for sharing the platform to field questions from the audience to give my laryngitis a break. It was great to have them interact with ideas from their two different practice perspectives. They also helped Don and me celebrate our 39th wedding anniversary at a lovely Sydney restaurant at the Rocks.

Our thanks go to our hostess, Ruth Port of Port Laboratory, Sydney for all the seamless arrangements. And, to our friend, Kathy Metaxas of Perth for hosting us in that city. The people we have met make this trip a definite highlight each time we go.

ADMC IN CHICAGO

One of our sponsors for the American Academy of Dental Management Consultants Meeting in October was Professional Practice Capital. They are a bank lender for the dental industry. They make loans to acquire dental practices, build dental offices, and they re-finance loans that can save dentists lots of money.

According to their President, Mr. Fred de Roode (Spring, TX) 281.419.0400 or www.ppcloan.com, they will prepare an Economic Valuation for any of our clients. If this is of interest to you, please contact Mr. de Roode and mention Dynamic Data. We are always happy to inform clients and readers of companies that put the clients needs first.

At the ADMC Meeting, I was also privileged to have lunch with two of my favorite consultants, Mr. Bent Ericksen and June Harper of Bent Ericksen and Associates. Bent is the number one person in dentistry who can offer assistance in hiring and retaining good employees. He and June have spent years dedicating their business to making it easier and safer to work with top notch people in the employee/employer relationship arena. They are experts in the office policy adaption process. They take the questions out of dealing with staff. They can be reached at 916.393.0973. Their website is www.Bent-Ericksen.com

EVIDENCE BASED CARE

Our thanks to Joe Blaes, Editor of Dental Economics for publishing Vicki Anderson s article on Evidence Based Care in the November issue. This may be the largest negative to impact dentistry in four decades! I was privileged to be invited to co-author this with Vicki. If you haven t read that issue, please do so.

As we close this year, my staff and I wish you and your staff and families a happy holiday season and an exciting New Year.

We hope to see all of you in Cancun in January or aboard the 4 Day Cruise in April. For more information call our Corporate office at 800.922.0866. Bookings are strong and the airlines have limited seats available these days, so don t delay. What better give to give your spouse and team in appreciation for their tremendous support for the year 2000.

Sincerely,

Linda L. Miles

Please keep in mind that this newsletter is being offered FREE in response to your request for information. If you would like to unsubscribe to Dynamic Data, please send an email to LLMiles@ix.netcom.com to let us know.

Miles & Associates – December 2000

Miles & Associates 4356 Bonney Road Suite 2-103 Virginia Beach, Virginia 23452

757-498-0014 757-498-0290 FAX 800-922-0866 Toll-free DentalManagementU.com