DYNAMIC DATA NEWSLETTER tm March 2001

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

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AADPA ANNUAL MEETING

Hopefully in your part of the country it is getting warmer. In Virginia Beach we have had a long cold, windy and wet winter. I spoke in Boise, Idaho in February and it was actually as cold in Virginia as it was that week in Boise. Following Boise, Don and I went to the AADPA Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas two days early to have a little sunshine. Guess what? It was cloudy, cold, and wet there too!

The AADPA meeting was truly the best AADPA meeting in the past ten years. With over 650 in attendance, each session was standing room only. Program Chairman, Dr. Don Gary of TN, truly outdid himself in the planning along with Kathy Uebel, Executive Director.

Speakers for this meeting had many powerful messages to share. From the Opening Session with Robert Schuller of the Crystal Cathedral, to Nido Qubein, the country's foremost successful immigrant who built empire businesses with Fortune 500 companies. Roger Crawford, the author of many books and tapes on overcoming diversity and positive thinking, was also a headline speaker. Roger was born with no hands and one foot. His tapes reveal how he went on to become a champion tennis player and carried the Olympic Torch, all because he refused to believe he was handicapped. Mark Victor Hanson, co-author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series talked about "The Magic of Imagination". The line-up of speakers included many dental speakers such as my friend, Joy Millis, Larry Rosenthal, and many others. I was delighted to invite two new client offices this year. Enjoying the meeting with us were Drs. Arthur and Barrick of Lynchburg, VA, and Dr. Lisa Samaha from Newport News, VA. It was great seeing so many of my past clients there as well. To order the entire tape series of the AADPA Sessions, please call Infomedix at 800.367.9286. These sessions will change your life by reshaping your thinking!

One of the highlights of the AADPA meeting was the informal confab with nine other consultants who were there this year. Friday afternoon in the main lobby while the members played golf, we had a great impromptu Consultants Focus Group to discuss the joys and frustrations of consulting and speaking. My thanks to Annette Linder, Joy Millis, Lynn Garber, Linda Lakin, Steve Gutter, Marsha Freeman, Vicki Turner, Lois Banta, and Mary Osborne for their input. We all agreed that we have the most exciting careers in dentistry, and are privileged to be members and prospective members of AADPA, the premiere meeting for Practice Administration issues.

HINMAN DENTAL MEETING 2001

As we go to press, my consultants and I are off to the Hinman Meeting in Atlanta. I speak on Thursday, Friday and Sunday mornings. The consultants' five break-out sessions are Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. Char Sweeney, who has been with LLM&A since 1990, is also a featured clinician at the Hinman this year. Char "temporarily retired" last year to concentrate on raising her two young daughters and helping her periodontist husband Dale with his very busy practice in Port Huron, MI. It will be great working with these six fine professionals next week. I am happy to report that Lee Tarvin from Corporate, will be joining us for this wonderful meeting, along with our friend, Linda Buschmann from Atlanta, GA

INSURANCE AND COLLECTIONS PROGRAM

This past week I had the pleasure of sitting in on one of my Speaking Consulting Network member's seminar on collections and insurance management held in Norfolk, VA. Lois Banta of Banta Consulting, MO, did a fantastic job of bringing all of us up to date with new insurance codes, techniques, and most of all to remind her audience that collecting money in dentistry is actually fun!! If your office suffers from a back-log of mis- managed funds, you may reach Lois by calling her at 816.373.0515. Her friends in the Network call her "Dentistry's Insurance Detective".

CONSULTING

My Senior Consultants and I have had an exciting meeting which revealed that 69.7% of our in-office consulting assignments in the past five years had doubled their practices in 12-24 months. The interesting part of our survey is that they were already good practices when we met them and began our work together. (We know that good practices seek consulting because it is a known fact, the best want to be better.) If you are a client of LLM&A, and haven't scheduled your 2001 Follow-Up date, please do so, as our consultants are getting busier each quarter. If you have thought about becoming an active client of LLM&A, call today 800.922.0866, and one of our Senior Consultants will be happy to reserve time on their schedules for your practice. We focus on communication, organization, motivation and appreciation of patients, doctors and staff. The first letter of those four items spell COMA, (what practices are in if they are not reaching their full potential.)

ALL ABOARD!

Our cruise is filling all the reserved cabins with only four to offer in our block. If you and your staff wish to celebrate a great year of 2000, call Executive Travel Services at 877.524.8466, and speak with Ginger. As our repeat cruisers can tell you, when the entire team is geared toward higher goals, new communication skills, and a more positive mind-set, the investment is more than recouped within the first month back to the office. It is also true that "practices that learn together, stay together". Annie Seela and Christy Garrison from Corporate will be joining Executive Travel's team to coordinate our cruise April 26-30, 2001.

THANK YOU

Thanks go to Greg and Lenora of Seattle King County Dental Society for their 12th invitation to address their Society in 15 years. It was well worth the day over and Red Eye Flight home Friday night to see all my Seattle friends again. President, Dr. Sue Hollinsworth introduced me and Dr. Ace Goerig and Dr. Paul DiDonato were charming hosts for dinner. My thanks to Lynne Nelson, one of my Speaking Consulting Network Members for her assistance during the seminar.

SPEAKING CONSULTING NETWORK 2001

Speaking of SCN, if anyone in the reading audience wishes to start or enhance their own speaking or consulting business, they should definitely join us for the 5th Annual SCN workshop in Hilton Head, SC. This year's meeting for 1st and 2nd year attendees is being held June 1 & 2, 2001. The wealth of information, networking, and sharing is parallel to no other meeting you will ever attend! All of our members wished they could stay for an additional two days of learning and discussion. If you are interested in joining us this year, call the Crowne Plaza Resort at 800.334.1881 while there is still room available.

I am truly excited to have various sponsors that will be displaying their goods and services, as well as attending the meeting to share their knowledge and skills with all who attend. They are quite anxious to meet the rising stars in dentistry.

VIRTUAL CLASSROOM

Our bi-weekly Office Administrator eight-session Virtual Classrooms are causing quite a stir in the dental community. Mr. Bob Kehoe of Dental Practice Report, will publish a joint article for the VC group this fall on interviewing and evaluating all members of the team. We took a poll and found the average number of years in dentistry for this group is 21 years, so a lot of experience and knowledge is being shared. If you wish to apply for upcoming Virtual Classrooms, please email or call to get on the lists of classes that begin this fall. Hourly tele-bridge calls include 5 minutes of introductions, 20 minutes of class on a particular subject, 20 minutes of group interaction on that topic, and a 15 minute wrap-up. Continuous networking takes place via email and faxes, and can dramatically improve every practice that participates.

Until next month,

Linda

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' corporate headquarters may be reached at:

www.DentalManagementU.com LLMiles@ix.netcom.com Miles & Associates 4356 Bonney Rd, Ste 2-103 Virginia Beach, VA 23452 800.922.0866 757.498.0014 757.498.0290 FAX