High Trust Practice Podcast

So you're an employee on a 90 day probation? Why does this thing exist? What can you do to crush it and be the most valuable employee inside of that 90 days? Here's a few ideas. 

Often used to describe someone’s performance People use it in many different ways- mostly when they are trying to recruit new people A quick search on indeed.com yields 5906 jobs with the title or description including “Rock Star” But what is a Rock Star REALLY? Why do you want them? Why you don't. What does that actually mean and why does everyone care so much about hiring rock stars? In this video I dive into the real characteristics of rock stars for your practice and help you determine if rock stars are really what you want.

Breaking down our first one star review (actually it's two reviews for the same office). In this episode the practice has feedback about the new owner and the billing processes within the practice. I break down can we learn and what can we implement to reduce the risk of this issue in your practice. Want to build an elite practice that produces consistent results? Practice Secure might be your answer. http://www.practicesecure.com OR maybe you want to implement repeatable processes. Check out Done Desk at http://www.donedesk.com.

As employees, working in an uncertain environment you may face many professional and personal challenges. You want to get the job done, earn a living, and be proud of taking care of patients. However, for some reason, the employer, the team, and the job just isn’t there. Something’s not right, somethings are frustrating, and you feel like you don’t fit. You certainly cannot change leaders and their actions…but you can control what you can control. YOU. If you are interested here are 5 ways you can improve the value you bring to yourself, your career, and your practice. You should never decide to quit until you’ve done these things for at least 60 days. 1. Embrace the Grind 2. Give Feedback and Own Fixes 3. Entrench on The Basics 4. Grind and Report 5. Watch for 60 Days Want to build a practice that maximizes its potential.?http://www.practicesecure.com​ Check out our compliance platform Done Desk! http://www.donedesk.com  

Leadership Monday: Mindset, Community, Prosperity I have the honor to sit with Dr. Aniemeke to help leaders who are having difficult times. The weight of practice ownership can pin us down in times of conflict and challenge. In this video Dr. Aniemeke shares with us his experiences and provides leadership to our community of medical entrepreneurs.   http://www.practicesecure.com

You pay for them, are you getting MAX ROI for the talent you have on the team?  In this podcast I break down how you can get maximum return on the investment you are making in your people. What does perfection look like.? Here’s a picture: Your business is optimized, runs perfectly, without error, You keep good people, and the others leave A culture forms that supersedes you and your personality Your patients experience 5 star service You are meeting goals and experiencing satisfaction All the stars align and your business booms. I explore the process and mindset leadership must have to engage talent to produce maximum results. 

In this video we look at habits. But not from a “These habits are bad or these habits are good” These are the habits you should have  and these are the ones that you should avoid. What I’m concerned with is aligned habits. Aligned habits are those habits which support your version of ownership satisfaction. Habits are important because they are the only the enablers of your leadership mindset. Habits are the primary actions that influence outcomes, results, and success. As a business owner, there are days when I’m 100% in love with my business. Other days, I’m challenged to be hyper engaged and realize the satisfaction. And, as my business grows and the environment around it changes, there are opportunities to have that change drive dissatisfaction because things aren’t working as I had intended. Maybe it’s time for me to reconsider my habits in response to my changing business so I can influence the result to my  100% satisfaction. It’s a kind of simple math. To secure a different outcome, the inputs need to change. Its time to change my routines and habits in response to my business challenges so I’m able to better respond. The micro routines that are in our lives all add up to some kind of result. And that result is either satisfying or it is not. From there, the pain that’s generated by failure is either great and forces a change response OR the pain is tolerable and we perceive that the cost to change is too high. We stay put, enduring some amount of pain and nothing changes. A potential solution to leadership dissatisfaction- Aligning Routines and Habits to Your Goals

Over the weekend I was frustrated with Discovery Channel by running out a mindless show Mystery at Frog Ranch. At some point, my mind clicked and asked itself "why in the hell are you watching this crap?". I caught myself momentarily slipping into the garbage in content trap. As business leaders, we have to guard our minds so we can project the clearest view of what our business can become, how to get there, and keeping your people on task and in-mission.

Early in my business adventure, self development and mindset were just by-products of meeting my ideas for what success looks like. Work hard, act ethically, take care of customers, and hire talented people. That formula for success worked…for awhile until my business grew, complexities arose, and my team multiplied. The old formula was inadequate to move forward. As a leader in your business, the gravity of ownership and your deficiencies become magnified. So how can we break free and set up on a path to more satisfying ownership? In this first chapter in our leadership series, we start at the top. We start with the boss, we start with the head honcho, we start with you. I’ll start with a simple question- How can you lead a team that produces incredible results until you first learn to lead yourself? To be sure, I struggle with this concept every day- Am I doing the right things, consistently, to produce the right results for my business? OR, am I jumping into a washing machine of administrative tasks and enduring the jostling and churn and confusion of the day? We discuss Mindset as a primer for Thought Leadership Habits as a primer for Results Leadership Self-Development as a primer for Improving Yourself Instilling Trust as a primer for your Talent Strategy.    

With the FFCRA expiring on January first, employers will now have to consider how to handle time off for COVID-19 illness. In this podcast, we discuss what employers need to know, what decisions the need to make, and resources to help with making decisions.  Can you mandate the vaccine for employees? Are you required to pay for time off? What if your employees decline the vaccine?

We're receiving a number of calls regarding employees testing positive for COVID19 or having symptoms. This podcast with Cary Smith and Kara Kelley provides guidance on the process doctor owners should follow to give time off and the process for healthcare workers to return to work.  Topics Covered Obligations to grant time off with pay under the EFMLA Process for healthcare workers to return to work: test based or symptom based approaches.  Establish and communicate your leave policy now. 

In this episode Cary Smith and Kara Kelley discuss the response plan when your employee tests positive for COVID-19. Our discussion focuses on managing the risk through preparedness of your process. 

We are joined by Austin Wheeler and Dylan Macon from Practice Real Estate Group to discuss the current state of startups in dentistry.  Should I start a new practice? Has the real estate market changed? When is the right time to start looking for a new location? What does the process look like? We answer these questions and more in our conversation with our friends at Practice Real Estate Group. 

This conversation with Kara Kelley focuses on the most important, and sometimes overlooked aspect of your success...people engagement people.  In this episode targeted towards new doctors that are thinking about opening a practice or have recently opened a practice we break down 10 drivers fo employee engagement, how engagement impacts retention, healthcare service quality, and risk management success. 

Possibly the toughest position to be in as a business owner Shutdown orders are made Income falls off of the table Employees are let go Loads of financial obligations An uncertain future to be sure Now that we have several weeks of closure New guidelines from CDC, OSHA, and PPE supplies are catching up to massive demand States and offices opening over time. One thing I’m seeing is two themes coming from my dentists over in the Dentist Secure side of the house. We also discuss 5 Lessons you might lean on as you move forward with your new practice. 

Should I sell? Am I losing practice value? What can I do to retain value in my practice? We meet up with Steve Hipson and Matthew Howard to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on your practice's value, how the shutdown impacts the market for buyers, and what you can do to ensure you get a fair value for your practice. 

In the work we do, risk management, I’ve always said that the result of unmanaged risk is loss of practice value. Usually the causes of risk are mostly known, can be mostly managed, and thus we can preserve practice value. There are many potential risks that a business can face, and each risk requires a specific set of risk management strategies. In this case, environmental risk such as a pandemic, could not be planned for or managed at the practice level. However, moving forward we have to adopt a risk management mindset so we can begin the process of preparing our practice for sale. There’s a lot of work to be done here so more conversations will be had. So what’s changed with this pandemic and economic shut down and how will this impact your practice’s value?  I think there are a number of items that we should consider.

Cary meets up with famed Dr. Amy Jackson of South Texas Orthodontics to see how she's been handling the reopening process, leadership thoughts on bringing the practice into compliance, and information on her new retainer program for orthodontists.   

When crazy times call for sane measures, the plan falls to the leader of the practice. Often we can feel alone and unequipped to face the challenges. Max gives a short but powerful message on moving into this time and guiding your practice through it. 

In this lively conversation Cary and Max discuss his opening process and what he experienced as a practice owner.  This is a great message for practices that are working through the process to get back open. 

Many state governments are giving the green light to reopen medical offices. Are you ready? In this podcast Cary Smith walks through 5 readiness criteria and answers lingering questions.  Leadership Readiness Practice Readiness Employee Readiness Patient Readiness This is the first in our May series that covers the reopening strategy and impacts the COVID-19 has on medical entrepreneurs. 

Max and Cary check in on the latest at High Trust Practice, our Talent Labs offering, and offer a challenge to augmenting your mindset as we go into this situation. Have a listen and share! 

A podcast and lecture on the potential timelines for this disease in the US, risk management concerns and impacts to the practice, and a strategy moving forward forward. 

“Experience Sails With The Ship” Troubled seas faces Joshua Slocum in 1892 "Sailing Alone Around the World" Published in 1900 He was given a rotting ship Fixed it and sailed 46000 miles alone around the world in a ship called spray…by himself. Three year trip. The lessons in this book, while not directly intended for this consequence, might have use Lesson 1 The will be troubled waters and the ocean in is “grandest mood” We have to go into this experience because this is where the wind is taking us. We have to adapt and steer our ship as best as we can. "Dangers there are, to be sure, on the sea as well as the land, but the intelligence and skill god gives to man, REDUCE these to a minimum.” Lesson 2 Understand that this experience is happening and you can either wither with a disease of the mind OR Take this situation, embrace it for what it is, and endure as best as you can. Recognize we’re all going through this and now is time for community. As my friend Max Kerr says…It’s time for Team Human “You must then know the sea, and know that you know it, and not forget that it was meant to be sailed over” This experience is here for a purpose and maybe, just maybe, you were meant to be here to influence the outcome. Lesson 3 Take advantage of these lessons, create learnings, pass them on. This will be tough This will be painful Generations can learn from this Adapt to the situation Adopt new habits Implement new practices “Practice in a craft such as the Spray (one that is not optimal and maybe difficult) will teach young sailors and fit them for the more important vessels” In this case the future. The days passed happily with me wherever my ship sailed.

" I am here for a purpose and that purpose is to grow into a mountain, not to shrink to a grain of sand." Og Mandino The Greatest Success In The World" Now is the perfect time to focus on your going-in mindset and strategy WHILE balancing your work and family life. In this podcast we discuss putting work in work time, and home in home time. 

Nothing lasts forever and there is purpose in the seasons of life. This mindset applies to us as business leaders in this strange and trying time. My conversation with Dr. Aniemeke is one that I needed and I think would benefit anyone going through this.  Meet John C. Aniemeke DDS, MS. He’s an international speaker and leader in his community and in his church. You can find him at Touching Heaven, Changing Earth Bethel Covenant church in San Antonio

No condition is permanent and as business owners going into this we need two things: Leadership and Community. Through these two focal points, we can influence the final outcome and impact of this situation.  Community- Just recognize right now, with this problem, we can’t do this alone. I need you right now. Your peers need you to be a leader of mindset, facts, support, and ideas. Your employees need you to lead them into this situation with compassion. They need you and you need them. Your patients need you to help them sort fact from fiction. It would be nice if you could be in front of them as much as they are in front of TV/Internet. Lastly, Your family needs you. It’s tempting to get absorbed in the business part of your life and this problem will certainly cross those lines. Build community and shun fear mongering, shun misinformation, shun politics But also in you, this will be uncomfortable. Shun the human tendency to hide from this. Get in front of it and be the leader.

Cary Smith and Dr. Max Kerr have a chat about leading through this uncertain and troubling time. We discuss the immense opportunity before us, as leaders, to step before our employees and patients and lead them into the unknown. 

What are our employment options as we move into voluntary shutdowns and potential long term temporary employment disruptions. Should we stay open? If not, what are the options available to me and what are the timelines. Cary Smith from Dentist Secure and Kara Kelley from Clinical HR deliver expert advice.  Summary Paid leave – send employees home except for emergencies and work-from-home tasks, decide who works and when (Considerations: assign CE or other activities that can be done from home if possible, caution them about how to spend their time off limiting exposure, track time for non-exempt employees, etc.) Reduction in hours – reduce hours for team, working skeleton shifts to cover emergencies (Considerations: can file for partial unemployment benefits; may be some benefits eligibility considerations, still want them to clock in to track non-exempt time worked) Reduction in salary – reduce hourly rates to keep employees paid and assign CE/trainings, patient communications, marketing, etc. to be conducted at home (Considerations: can still file for partial unemployment benefits) Furlough – reduce hours to 0, but keep team on the payroll (Considerations: can file for temporary unemployment benefits; need to decide what to do about health insurance benefits, pay if you can) Reduction in Force – keep key team members, layoff or furlough the rest; laid-off or furloughed employees can file for unemployment benefits (Considerations: be careful who you layoff/furlough that you’re not being discriminatory or retaliatory) Full layoff – termination of employment, not for-cause (layoff); will hire back when possible, completely closing office, cannot ask team to perform work after layoff (Considerations: may be your option if you have a lot of employees who have health insurance you can’t afford, fear of inability to recover, won’t be able to hire everyone back, permanently closing an office)  

Now is the time to step into a leadership role for yourself, your employees, and your patients. Cary discusses the leadership mindset you might adopt in this time of multiple unknowns. 

As leaders we can face a lot of responsibilities as stress in our lives. Taking time off is an important part of a healthy relationship with our business but do we trust our practice to actually disconnect? Max Kerr and Cary Smith discuss the dynamics of taking time off and ways you can set yourself up for the important activity of taking time off from work. 

A client called in with an employee who was cheating on her time card and breaching trust. In this podcast Cary Smith discusses your mindset going into the conversation and the process to terminate an employee who violates trust in your practice. 

A hygienist called and asked about her obligations when leaving her current employer. She didn't want to get into legal trouble when her former patients started calling her new office to schedule hygiene. This podcast focuses on the relationship with your employee, your handbook, contracts, and trust. Special guest Kara Kelley!

Do you want to earn more and grow in your career? As business owners, we depend on our employees for everything. You are essential to the success of the practice and we recognize you are valuable.  Wanting more money and advancement is the output of the value you bring to the practice...so who's responsibility is it to help you get to where you want to go AND how can you help yourself get there? 

Round Table 3 : Talent That Fits When the lights come on it’s your talent that makes all the difference in the delivery of your expertise. Our round table group of experts discuss the advantages of focusing on talent as your key differentiator and how to start the process of finding talent that fits. We discuss: What is “fit” and why is it important The multiple ways a practice can benefit from a focus on talent Advice on where to start in changing your talent position Speaking on this podcast: Cary Smith, Risk Manager for Medical Entrepreneurs www.dentistsecure.com Max Kerr, DDS- Successful Practice Owner and Leader of People Kara Kelley SPHR- HR Hero for Medical Offices- Clinicalhr.com Jon Fidler- Talent Acquisition Expert- Fidler and Associates Danielle Adams- Culture Coach and Owner of Enviable Culture

This brand experience is a result of one of the following things- or maybe a combination of several of these.  The right attitude and behaviors within the employee- Amanda is just like this. It’s who she is and what makes her tick. Whether the bank intended to hire her on purpose to capture this behavior is unlikely However her attitude and behaviors are what opened the opportunity to have the job. The right training to show her how she can help- Someone connected the dots and said “if you see this; Then this is what you should do” The right leadership to allow her to make this call. She’s a teller at a bank AND she’s able to make account decisions without someone approving. TRUST The right customer- I have more than one account and I’ve been loyal to the bank, They’ve financed two cars, They’ve given me seed money to start Done Desk, I have money in the bank, I pay my bills. I am the right customer to receive this extra attention. When Amanda Executed: The Brand Was Elevated I’m not just ‘satisfied’, I’m thrilled I directly benefitted from her engagement in her job I trust her because she cares I become more loyal- and make a podcast about the experience. This is why we created High Trust Practice, So let’s look at applying this to your practice. Right now. A few questions and a few ideas. Do you have the right people who are interested in supporting your brand? As Max says “do they get it, want it, and can do it’? Have you trained them on what it means to provide quality care, your expectations of them, and connect the dots for them in their work. Are you honing your skills as a leader, setting the right expectations, hiring the right people, and shedding people that don’t fit? Are you hearing your patients, addressing their needs, teaching them about a relationship with you, and do your people put the patient’s first?

Round Table 2 : Whitening Over Perio In our work as leaders are we focused on treating the disease of our business or are we focused on symptoms? In this podcast we’ve assembled an all star cast of professionals that see this leadership challenge in very different ways. We discuss: Why leaders focus on low level issues and the problems this might cause How the practice can succeed or suffer when we don’t address the high level issues Sources of issues within the practice that we can address today Speaking on this podcast: Cary Smith, Risk Manager for Medical Entrepreneurs www.dentistsecure.com Max Kerr, DDS- Successful Practice Owner and Leader of People Kara Kelley SPHR- HR Hero for Medical Offices- Clinicalhr.com Jon Fidler- Talent Acquisition Expert- Fidler and Associates Danielle Adams- Culture Coach and Owner of Enviable Culture

A dentist posted a troubling review from a patient on a Facebook group and was worried about how to respond.  In this episode, Cary Smith CPHRM discusses what entrepreneurs can rely on when public or legal questions about your professional reputation arise.  We build High Trust Practices through: Having the right mindset Building the right team Delivering the right products And attracting the right customers

Are values a part of your relationship with your business? Do values drive your interactions with your employees and patients? As a practice owner, Max Kerr DDS discusses his thoughts on building a values based business and how to gain trust with your team. 

Max discusses the sometimes complex balance of communication within the dentist and dental assistant relationship. He pulls from a recent experience within his practice where an assistant feels that the dentist doesn't trust the team.

Can you believe it's the end of January? As a business owner time does not stand still and we have an opportunity to influence the time in our favor. We have 11 months left to achieve our definition of success so have we taken advantage of January to get into position to win. Or, did we let that 31 days just go by without addressing the big issues that will incrementally make us better business owners?

Your CE strategy for 2020…Do you have one? Understand the true cost of CE: Time away from the office Paying people to attend Actually implementing? Lost opportunity cost of failing to implement. Taking throw away courses that don’t improve your practice. Investing time that could be spent in other high-value endeavors How to evaluate your CE training for your team: GOALS and RETURN ON INVESTMENT What business goal are you supporting? What new skill will you learn and what is the ROI? What behavior will you adopt and what is the ROI? What experience will you enjoy and what is the ROI? Development Planning Fold CE into a planned development conversation with your staff. Right now- What business goal do you want to achieve, what risk do you want to manage? How does each individual on your team contribute to that goal? Where does each individual rank or fall short? How can we get them there? Execution: Can I teach this to my team? Do we internal competency? IF NO WHY NOT? What learning outlets can we employ for maximum result? What is the plan for learning that maximizes engagement and minimizes business impact Measure- What is the real benefit to the company in recognized change?

The first High Trust Practice- Round Table with Friends is in the books! We record a new session every two weeks and tackle a topic that popped up in the last week of working with our entrepreneurs. Special thank you to Max Kerr, Kara Kelley, and Danielle Adams for weighing in on the topic of how entrepreneurs achieve their resolutions and potential shortfalls in success. Please subscribe and throw us a kind review if you like the content! Thank you to Practice Real Estate Group and or sponsoring this week’s program!

Another stellar week of working in the field. This week Cary discusses the wins for the week.  Launch of the new 2020 Risk Management Series over at http://www.dentistsecurelabs.com Announcing support for the San Antonio Christian Dental Clinic through donations from Dentist Secure Kicking off High Trust Practice- Round Table with our friends who work in the dental industry! Every other Tuesday this Year! Cary provides keynote lecture to 300+ dental professionals at the South Plains District Dental Society annual compliance training meeting in Lubbock, TX. 

Dr. Max Kerr and Cary Smith are happy to announce our new podcast High Trust Practice Podcast. This podcast is for medical practice owners. We're exploring the relationship you have with your business, your employees, and your patients in a unique way...focusing on the things that matter in a pragmatic honest conversation.  Our program will include chats with Cary and Max, visits with industry pros, conversations with doctors who are in the struggle of day to day entrepreneurship.  We invite you to subscribe to the podcast, see our Facebook group for day to day conversations, review us over on iTunes, and check us out over on YouTube.