#13: The Build-Up Weekly

*Welcome to the 13th edition of The Build-Up, where we deliver weekly insights and inspiration for dentists on every stage of the private practice journey. If this email was forwarded to you, you can click here to subscribe.

Dear friends and colleagues,

Summer is almost here! I hope you all have a lovely Memorial Day weekend with friends and family.

I’ve been re-listening to Ron Chernow’s Ulysses S Grant biography and have been struck afresh by the sheer scale of the civil war. Good historical writing deepens your appreciation for the struggle and sacrifice of the brave men and women who have paved the way for our incredible lives of relative peace and prosperity here in the US, and I am immensely grateful. 🇺🇸

Plus, both of my grandfathers turned to dentistry after careers in the Navy. I have them to thank (in more ways than one) for where I am today!

Here’s what I’ve got lined up this week:

• 🚶 The Lame Walk: Paralyzed Man Walks with Brain Implant

• 🗓️ Reducing Cancellations: One Question to Ask Your Front Desk

• 🤔 Leaving a Better Legacy: It’s More than Wealth Transfer

• 🏁 Mario Cart vs Pixar’s Cars: You Won’t Be Able to Look Away

Let’s get started!

🚶Cybernetic Miracles

This week, when I read that a man paralyzed after a horrific cycling accident over a decade ago can walk again, I thought it was news worth sharing.

It’s a remarkable technological advancement for people who would like to walk again, and it opens a number of exciting and scary possibilities. I can imagine a lot of skepticism about this kind of technology, and perhaps our cyborg future isn’t something to cheer, but for now I’ll be happy for a man who can now realize his dream of walking again.

🗓️ Reducing Cancellations

Missed appointments are a top issue for dental practices today.

There are many ways to address cancellations in your practice. Each strategy is usually some variation on setting expectations for your patients and ‘training’ them that your time is valuable.

But instead of simply instituting new systems to address missed appointments from the top down, here is a question to ask your front desk that can generate a productive conversation about reducing cancellations in your practice.

I’ve discovered that involving your team in this way can lead to some effective ‘bottom-up’ strategies, where your team takes on more responsibility for outcomes because they came up with the solution.

Start With The Usual Suspects

First things first: let's play detective.

Ask your front desk team to look at the schedule and identify the patients most likely the cancel. These are the patients who treat appointments like optional social events - you know the ones, and your front desk team certainly knows who they are!

Question 1: Are there patients on the schedule today who you expect may cancel?

I’m not talking about patients with genuine excuses. You have to use your discretion here - life happens, as we all know.

But there are usually some patients on the schedule who regularly miss appointments for no good reason.

Question 2: Why do we continue to give these patients appointments?

If these patients won’t respect your time, why should you allow them to schedule?

If patients routinely miss (a two- or three-strikes policy can be effective here), then you don’t want them on the schedule.

But you probably don’t want to dismiss them as patients either.

Question 3: What are some alternative ways to keep them as patients without putting them on the schedule six months out?

We recommend creating a short call list for patients who've turned rescheduling into an art form. Instead of giving these patients free rein on your schedule, offer to call them when there's a last-minute opening.

It's like standby tickets for a flight - they get a seat only when there's one free!

There are many other ways to reduce cancellations, but I wanted to share this exercise you can do with your team to ensure that your schedule is respected and your valuable time is used efficiently.

Who knows exactly what your team will come up with, but I suspect they’ll be more likely to stick with it if they came up with it.

Don’t let known cancellers on your schedule. Your team will thank you (they’re not constantly trying to fill appointment slots) and your production (and profitability) will soar.

🤿 Leaving a Powerful Legacy

We had a great time at Tim McNeely’s book launch party at CDA. It was great seeing old friends and making new ones.

Tim’s book Dental Wealth Nation: 7 Steps to Decrease Taxes, Increase Impact, and Leave Your Thriving Legacy got me thinking more about the concept of ‘leaving a legacy’ this week, and I wanted to share some of his insights.

Legacy is more than just money.

There are many ways to leave a legacy; money is not the whole story. Your legacy starts with how you spend your time, the relationships you build and nurture, and how you allocate money today - not just the money and assets you have to pass on at the end of your life.

Legacy involves planning.

Tim discusses the importance of legacy planning, using the example of the family estate of one of his clients. To avoid potential litigation and disputes over this division of assets, the family in Tim’s example brought in a legacy planner who helped them work through the decisions as a family and facilitated discussions about what legacy meant to each of them.

Tim observed that this process brought the siblings closer together. They were able to discuss life topics that mattered to each of them and reflect on the impact they wanted to have.

What does legacy mean to you? It’s a powerful question to ask at any stage of life.

Legacy takes time to develop.

Tim compares legacy planning to watching a Polaroid picture develop. It's a process that takes time, and the full picture may not be immediately clear. But with time and thought, a vision for one's legacy can take shape.

I appreciated Tim’s framing of ‘legacy planning’ as more than just deciding what will happen with your money and assets when you pass. It's about the impact you make, the lives you touch, and the difference you make in the world.

It's also something that requires planning and thought to ensure that your legacy aligns with your values and wishes.

As we approach Memorial Day, it’s a great time to think about your own legacy.

What impact do you want to have? What do you want to leave behind, not just when you pass away, but when you leave a room or end a meeting?

Legacy planning isn’t retirement planning. It should start today.

🏁 Mario Cart vs Pixar’s Cars

This was way more entertaining than it should have been. Enjoy!

And with that, I hope you enjoyed the 13th edition of The Build-Up Weekly.

Please consider using the link below to share our newsletter. 🙂 

With best wishes to you and your families,

Trevor Kimball, PhD

A Guide for Selling Your Dental Practice

You can download it for free here. It’s material that I’ve covered in this newsletter before, but - if you’re contemplating a practice sale - the advice in this guide is crucial.

And if you’re ready to have a conversation with a practice sales professional, get connected with your local Integrity Practice Sales broker here.

It’s worth having a conversation no matter your current transition plans. You never know what you’ll discover together.