Podcasts about tif

Chris Hagenow and John Hendrickson are back in the Hendrickson Library with a packed episode covering Iowa's fast-moving post-primary political landscape. Both gubernatorial candidates have now selected their running mates: Rob Sand tapped Dave Muhlbauer, a farmer from western Iowa, while Zach Lahn chose State Representative Derek Wulf of Black Hawk County, also a farmer. Chris and John break down the strategy behind each pick, why Wulf stands out as a particularly strong choice for Lahn, and what the selection of two agricultural running mates signals about where both campaigns think the race will be won.The conversation turns to the broader general election dynamics shaping up between Lahn and Sand. Chris and John assess how quickly the Republican Party has consolidated around Lahn, the head start Sand's campaign has built toward a general election operation, and how the scrutiny of a real general election contest may complicate Sand's carefully constructed moderate image. A Republican Party audio drop this week — featuring Sand openly calling for political retribution on judicial nominations — gives the Lahn campaign exactly the kind of contrast material it needs to make the "governor for all Iowans" sell a harder one for Sand.The second half of the episode takes up two policy-driven stories. First, the final report on Iowa's Universal Basic Income pilot — a project run through several central Iowa cities that distributed $500 monthly stipends to participants. The report's conclusions, citing reduced stress and improved "sense of mattering," prompt a pointed exchange about what government is actually for, who's paying, and why local governments have no business engineering social outcomes with taxpayer dollars. Chris and John connect this directly to Iowa's property tax problem and the fiscal absurdity of local governments playing philanthropist.Finally, a Des Moines Register story on the city of Des Moines reconsidering its tax incentive programs — including TIF and property tax abatements — gives Chris and John a chance to explore when these tools have merit and when they're simply political ribbon-cutting at taxpayer expense.0:13 Welcome & housekeeping2:24 Trivia: Laddie Boy & Smoot-Hawley5:01 Correction & running mate announcements5:52 Sand picks Muhlbauer, Lahn picks Derek Wulf8:22 Why Wulf is a strong pick for Lahn10:32 GOP consolidation & Lahn's general election ramp-up12:22 Sand's media advantage and the contrast campaign ahead13:37 Sand audio drop & turning him into a generic Democrat14:34 Andy Beshear visits Iowa — 2028 implications15:32 Iowa's UBI pilot: background and ITR's role18:15 Dissecting the report — who pays for "feeling mattered"?21:22 UBI, local government overreach, and property taxes25:59 Des Moines reconsiders TIF and tax incentives28:05 When incentives work — and when they're ribbon-cutting30:33 Free market vs. government-directed development33:28 Sign off

Fran Spielman interviews Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza about her renewed bid for Chicago mayor, revisiting her 2019 loss and associations with Ed Burke and Mike Madigan, which she says she condemned. Mendoza calls Mayor Brandon Johnson's tenure a “blizzard of incompetence,” citing credit downgrades, heavy borrowing, TIF “raids,” staffing vacancies, and strained Springfield relations, and says she'd impose fiscal discipline, consider workforce reductions, stop using TIFs for operations, hire more police, restore ShotSpotter, and improve police-community trust. 

まだできたばかりのフォロワー3桁に満たないグループのTIF出演が決まって一部のオタクから批判が殺到。だけど本当に実力だけで決まるフェスが楽しいんですかね？

One week away from the Obama Presidential Center's June 19 opening, Crain's reporter John Pletz previews the museumwith host Amy Guth. Plus: O'Hare gate shuffle gives American an edge — and trims United's lead, Foundry Park slated for $202 million in TIF money for roads and parks, Capital One cuts nearly 300 jobs in fourth round of Discover layoffs and Pritzker moves to end data-center incentives. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Wesh l'équipe ! Bienvenue dans ce nouvel épisode de Radio Tyler. Cette semaine, le rap français a tremblé et on décortique tout ça au calme, tout en s'ouvrant des boosters Dragon Ball !

Ad Astra Travelers and welcome to Tales of Teyvat: A Genshin Lore Podcast. This week, our hosts are going world-wide to discuss one of the best traveled characters in Teyvat, Liben! Many know Liben as the NPC who takes your last carrot in exchange for some primogems, but did you know he's been spilling tea before Childe was released? Talk about being the original mister world-wide… Tif and Feens set off on a journey this episode to convince Bee to like Liben, tune in to see if they succeed! The conversation will include his early lore drops on Fontaine, how he was robbed twice in Nasha Town, and if he could possibly have a connection to Honkai Impact the Third. Grab your radishes, and make sure to pick some carrots, as you prepare to find out if Bee is convinced to like Liben or not!Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠talesofteyvat.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to find a comprehensive lore sheet that provides visual aids and links to videos and important Genshin Impact Resources. Make sure to give us a follow on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to stay updated on all things Tales of Teyvat and let us know your thoughts on today's episode. Questions? Thoughts? Theories you have to share? Feel free to email us at talesofteyvatpod@gmail.com and let us know, we would love to hear from you!Tales of Teyvat has partnered with the Shade Chamber Podcast to create a Genshin Community on Discord for our listeners! We are so excited to chat Genshin Lore, Honkai Star Rail, and so much more with you! You can join our server at https://bit.ly/shadesofteyvat.

Agradece a este podcast tantas horas de entretenimiento y disfruta de episodios exclusivos como éste. ¡Apóyale en iVoox! Acceso anticipado para Fans - ** VIDEO EN NUESTRO CANAL DE YOUTUBE **** https://youtube.com/live/xeydaV2D848 +++++ Hazte con nuestras camisetas en https://www.bhmshop.app +++ En este programa especial de Bellumartis, analizamos el punto de inflexión de la Segunda Guerra Mundial: La Batalla de Moscú. Junto al historiador y autor Cristóbal Vergara Durán, autor de "LOS AVIONES DE CAZA SOVIÉTICOS 1936-1941" ** https://amzn.to/4vgMgnn ** exploramos la defensa aérea del Kremlin y cómo la tecnología aeronáutica soviética, a menudo subestimada, fue capaz de frenar a la invicta Luftwaffe. A través del material exclusivo del libro de Cristóbal, realizamos un recorrido técnico y operativo que va desde los duelos en la frontera durante la Operación Barbarroja hasta la épica contraofensiva de invierno que salvó la capital soviética. Estructura del programa: El Legado Técnico: Análisis de los modelos I-153, I-16, y la llegada de la nueva generación: MiG-3, Yak-1, LaGG-3 y el imponente Pe-3. El Escudo de Moscú: La campaña de bombardeos sobre la capital y la respuesta de las VVS. Grandes Cercos: El impacto de las batallas de Kiev y el asedio de Leningrado en la estrategia aérea. Operación Tifón: El asalto final alemán y la resistencia en los cielos de los Urales. Arsenal de la Democracia: El papel fundamental de la ayuda aliada con los Hurricane y P-40. Contraataque bajo el Hielo: La contraofensiva de invierno y las conclusiones de una campaña que cambió el mundo. SUSCRÍBETE a @BELLUMARTISHISTORIAMILITAR y @BELLUMARTISACTUALIDADMILITAR para no perderte ningún programa y únete a nuestra comunidad de apasionados por la historia militar, la geopolítica y los conflictos del mundo. Apóyanos para seguir creando contenido riguroso e independiente: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/bellumartis PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/bellumartis Bizum: 656 778 825 Síguenos también en redes: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bellumartis Twitter / X: https://twitter.com/Bellumartis Bellumartis Historia Militar — Porque entender el pasado es prepararse para el futuro. #BatallaDeMoscu #HistoriaMilitar #Bellumartis #WW2 #CazasSovieticos #CristobalVergara #FrenteDelEste #AviationHistory #SegundaGuerraMundial #EstrategiaEscucha este episodio completo y accede a todo el contenido exclusivo de BELLUMARTIS PODCAST. Descubre antes que nadie los nuevos episodios, y participa en la comunidad exclusiva de oyentes en https://go.ivoox.com/sq/618669

En quoi le don de la Torah a-t-il tellement amélioré le monde ? Pourquoi a-t-il, paradoxalement, entraîné la haine des nations envers nous ? En quoi est-il si important pour un Juif de travailler et de vivre en société ? Réponse à travers des propos du Tiférèt Israël et du Ben Ich 'Haï.

On CPC Together, Brandon, Rachelm and Josh—dubbed the “mystery man”—talk about his ideal 24-hour day: waking at 4 a.m. in London with Tif, spending quiet time praying and reading, taking a long walk, sailing or fishing, enjoying great meals (minus blood sausage), and even watching a dramatic Oakland A's win before dinner and late-night hanging out. The conversation turns to why the question “Who are you?” matters, arguing that identity is often wrongly built on accomplishments, roles, or vices rather than on being a child of God, which can lead to aimlessness and destructive substitutes. They discuss John's Gospel as distinct from the synoptics due to its broader audience in Asia Minor, its use of Greek concepts like logos, and its emphasis on belief as trust and relationship, concluding with practical “come and see” steps toward deeper trust in God.    

Episode 238 of The Hitstreak, a podcast where we talk about anything and everything!  This week we are joined by Board-Certified Vascular Surgeon at Siragusa Vein and Laser, Dr. Tif Siragusa!Episode in a Glance:In this episode of the Hitstreak, I get to sit down with Dr. Tif Siragusa, a vascular surgeon by day and DJ by night, to explore the complexities of vein disease, its symptoms, and the importance of understanding its medical implications. We discuss the connection between lifestyle, genetics, and vein health, as well as the misconceptions surrounding cosmetic versus medical vein issues. Dr. Siragusa shares his journey into the medical field and emphasizes the need for education and awareness regarding vein health. The discussion also touches on the impact of diet on vascular health and the complexities of navigating health insurance for treatment costs. Dr. Tif encourages proactive health management and offers insights into preventative care.Key Points:- Vein disease can progress to serious health issues if untreated.- Genetics play a significant role in vein health.- Lifestyle choices can impact vein health significantly.- Education is crucial for early intervention in vein disease.- Regular monitoring and proactive health measures are essential.- Sealing off problematic veins improves overall circulation.- Proactive health management is key to wellness.- Online screenings can make consultations more accessible.About our guest: Dr. Tif Siragusa is a board-certified vascular surgeon and one of Middle Tennessee's leading vein specialists, known for delivering advanced, minimally invasive solutions that restore both health and confidence. Since 2008, he has treated more than 15,000 patients, addressing everything from varicose and spider veins to complex vascular conditions including blood clots and venous ulcers. As the founder of Siragusa Vein and Laser, Dr. Siragusa combines cutting-edge technology with a highly personalized approach to care, ensuring each patient receives a treatment plan tailored to their goals and lifestyle. His work goes beyond aesthetics—focusing on improving mobility, reducing pain, and helping patients regain the confidence to live fully and actively. In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Siragusa is committed to advancing the field of vein care. He regularly trains physicians on innovative, precision-based procedures and remains at the forefront of emerging techniques. He is also among a select few physicians in the United States offering specialized, minimally invasive treatments for bulging forehead and temple veins—expanding options for patients seeking solutions to previously difficult-to-treat conditions. Dr. Siragusa's mission is simple: to help patients move better, feel better, and live with confidence—free from the limitations of vein disease.Follow and contact:Instagram: @tifsiragusa | @dr.nashvillenashvilleveincenter.comSubscribe to Nick's top-rated podcast The Hitstreak on Youtube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/NickHite⁠rFollow and Rate us on Spotify: ⁠https://spotify.com/NickHiter⁠Follow and Rate us on Apple Podcast: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/NickHiter⁠Follow and Rate us on iHeartRadio: ⁠https://www.iheart.com/NickHiter

Did you know there's actually a right and wrong time to implement key practice indicators (or KPIs) in your office? Tiff and Dana reveal what should be firmly in place in a practice before you start assigning metrics for success. They touch on KPIs position by position, staying human amid the numbers, and more. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:00) Hello Dental A Team listeners. I am so excited to be here with you today. You guys know that I love podcasting. You guys know that I love spending this time with you. And I love getting to spend the time with my consultant team as well. So I have Dana here with us today. Dana, how are you?   DAT-Dana (00:16) doing pretty good. I'm excited to be here. It's not that often that I get get dedicated podcast time with Tiff, so super excited.   The Dental A Team (00:22) I know,   I know it's because I schedule us long and we bust out a ton and then we don't see each other for a month on podcasting at least. So I agree, I agree. Well, Dina, it's springtime here. We like to call it springtime, which I think that Arizona just doesn't know when spring starts and ends because it goes straight into summer. So realistically, these drop in May, recording in April. I don't know when spring is, but it's hot. We've had a little bit of a cool down.   You've had a ton of sports and it's a beautiful time of year. How's everything down in your neck of the woods of Arizona going?   DAT-Dana (01:00) It's good. It is. It's beautiful. Now is the time where like you just love being in Arizona. I feel like, we don't really get a spring. It's kind of like a mismatch of random weather, like week by week. But now is the time where I truly love being in Arizona and get to be outside a ton. And, you know, if we could just get this wind to go away that's been hanging around down here for a couple of weeks, it would be perfect, really.   The Dental A Team (01:05) Yeah.   Yeah.   Yeah, my sister and I were talking about the wind yesterday. It really has been very strong, very strong. Yeah, especially where you are. You guys get whipped real bad with some wind. Yeah. Well, I'm excited that we're here today, that we're inside. It's supposed to warm up again. I think cool down. Who knows? It's going to rain. Maybe you might get rain. I probably won't. It's going to be great. It's going to be great.   DAT-Dana (01:35) Yeah.   Yeah.   The Dental A Team (01:48) I   wanted to chat today, something that keeps coming up for me on client calls, especially for new clients that come in. know that Nikki and Pam and Trish, you and I are pretty tapped out. So we're not getting a ton of new clients, but I know Nikki, Pam and Trish bring ⁓ oftentimes to our co-labs, really doctors looking for how to speak numbers and how to speak KPIs. We get it a lot. get people asking, Hello@TheDentalATeam.com. That is our email address and we have people that   that pop in all the time on really how do we get our team to love doing KPIs and love watching them and kind of a leadership team standpoint, how do we do that? So I thought it would be interesting to chat a little bit today on the flip side of KPIs. And Dana, think we have an interesting perspective. Number one, we say this all the time that we, anything that we train, we try to duplicate in our own company. We try to create that space here. So we do a leadership.   a ton in our company. We train on leadership a ton. That's kind of like our year two process for clients coming in. We work a ton on systems year two, ⁓ or if systems aren't done yet, might be year three, but we really hone in on leadership a ton once practices get kind of the baseline groundwork done. So with that said, would say Dana, number one, I'd want to look at how far are we in our practice? Like, are we to the point now that we've   that KPIs, they matter or that they make sense, right? Because you've probably seen it and I've definitely implemented too early KPIs with Teams too. So finding that perfect timing and then obviously there's other aspects to it. But Dana, how do you feel about that? And what are you seeing with your clients you've worked with for many years, many of your clients? So when do you kind of see that KPI leadership standpoint roll in?   DAT-Dana (03:40) Yeah, I agree with you, Tim. do think it is like practices when you are building systems to like to add KPIs on top of that when it's like we don't even really know what we're doing to kind of get to these points. ⁓ I do feel like that's a little bit too early to kind of roll out KPIs. I think like when you have your systems in place, when you have job descriptions in place and when you really   feel like you have a team that kind of knows what they're doing and knows where the business is headed, I think that is the time to really start to implement KPIs.   The Dental A Team (04:11) I agree. And I think what that really boils down to and what you just described is the basics for so mission, vision, core values, job descriptions, and then looking at like the basic KPIs, even new practice KPIs, but getting a team to like love doing their own KPIs per position is that next step. So those practice KPIs, like you're saying, Dana, those are the ones that are going to tell us if the systems that we're doing are   benefiting the practice. Are they creating the results that we want? So production collections, new patients, maybe marketing RLI, but really narrowing it down and simplifying it so that they can start to see those to-dos, those things that they're doing every single day that are in line with their job description, they're adding value to those KPIs and then kind of taking a step back and layering it. I know when I look at KPIs and I look at our KPIs in our company, I really try to look at, what is like   What do they mean? How do they apply to my position and to your position or marketing's position? Does it make sense for that KPI to be attached to that person or that department? And then ultimately, what's the impact that it's making on the overall results, right? What is the company going for? And Dana, how do you help reverse engineer that? Because I watched you do that with a lot of practices. Dana's like,   Amazing. She's so good at pulling out meaningful, impactful KPIs per position. And I think your hygiene experience helps you to see those spaces because those back office ones are really the hardest. So how do you help practices reverse engineer that? How can they take a look at that today just from maybe from like an overarching big standpoint? And then we'll narrow in.   DAT-Dana (05:59) Yeah, sure. So I think it really comes down to just like you said, Tiff, making it meaningful, making them see that the things that they are doing every single day, we spent times building the system, we created these systems. So let us have an easy tool for you to know that if the input that you are giving every single day is getting you a certain result. And so I think that I love that you use the word meaningful because I feel like that we get asked all the time, like, how do I have   motivate my team to care about numbers? How do I, you have to make them meaningful for them, meaningful for their position, meaningful for their impact that they are putting into the practice and into patients. And so I think that that is, I think that's kind of where the magic happens. It's like, you've got these overarching goals. So then breaking them down into, let's say, quarterly goals. And then what can each team member do daily, weekly, monthly to help impact or move those quarterly pieces. So I think it is chunking it down, but, to the point where   team members feel like they actually, like the things that they're doing impact them. And I think when you can make those connections, we can say, hey, you've got to keep the schedule full. Well, what does full mean? Right? What do, what does full mean that like I am winning that day or I am hitting that goal or I am like being super impactful. And sometimes too, it's just relating it to.   Yes, these are numbers, but at end of the day, typically numbers equal patients, right? Typically numbers equal impact into the community. Typically, like it means how much we're improving the overall oral health of the patients that leave the practice. And sometimes when you can tie that like, yes, you filling the schedule equals that or yes, you hitting your period goal equals comprehensive care.   When you can link those things with team members, that's how you motivate them. That's how you make these numbers meaningful to just say, hey, I need you to hit 95 % of schedule to goal, right? Well, yeah, that's a number, but what does it mean for that person? What is the impact it does for the practice when they hit it? And like taking time too to celebrate it when we see it.   The Dental A Team (08:02) Yeah. And something that that changes for us, Dana, that dentistry has always in my opinion been like a just do it because we said to do it, right? You build the same way we've built since 1995 because that's how we do it. Right. And we've not, we're super innovative when it comes to photos and CBCT scans and tech and all of these cool things that the back office is using. So doctors and dental assistants are like, heck yeah, this is so cool. Dentistry moves so fast. But then the rest of the team is like,   Does it? Like I'm still doing, I'm still scanning papers. Yeah. Like what the heck? It's not, it doesn't innovate in the other areas. I think now with AI, we're seeing a lot of innovation and I think a lot of front office team members are probably like, Whoa, I'm not okay with this because that's never been dentistry from the front office standpoint. So my point in that is when we have a KPI and when you were speaking, I'm thinking like make five calls a day, make 10 calls a day. Why?   DAT-Dana (08:34) Still confirming.   The Dental A Team (09:02) Why am I making 10 calls a day? Because my ultimate goal is that the schedule is full to 95%. So then tracking a KPI of how many calls am I making? So what's the impact that I'm making towards that goal? And then I think, Dana, what you made me think of is really being able to take a step back and saying, is that thing that I'm doing impacting the goal? Because I don't want to just make 10 calls because you told me to make 10 calls. I want to make 10 calls because it's   positively impacting my overarching goal of 95 % scheduleful and that's positively impacting the impact we're having on the community. And so when it rolls up that way and it doesn't feel like they just like do this because I told you to do it, I don't think we work that way anymore. I think in the 90s, 2000s, we did. When I first got into the workforce, I was like, just tell me what to do. I'll just do whatever you, just give me a list, I'll check it off.   But I think as we evolved as humans, as dentistry is evolving, and now as there's more innovation coming to all aspects of dentistry, we're in a space now where we really have to know, why am I doing this thing? What is it for? Because I don't want to work for nothing as in money. I don't want to work for nothing. I don't want to do this if it's not helpful. I want to change it and do something different. And I think, Dana, in my opinion,   you know, the practices that I'm seeing in the forums that I'm seeing, I think there's a big wave of that mindset that really wants to know the impact.   DAT-Dana (10:28) I agree with you. think that like technology is great, but I think some a side effect of technology is it's made us a little bit skeptical, right? So we ask more questions than we have before. think that we do, we want to know why we want to know like all those background pieces. And I think too, like, I will say, I think it's still a side effect from COVID is like we value time. And so I don't, feel like as a society, we don't want to be wasting time. We want to try to get our time back. And so   The Dental A Team (10:36) Yeah.   DAT-Dana (10:56) If I have to spend time making five calls and it's not making an impact or I don't have that link on like why I'm making them and then it's pushing to the goal of my 95 % and that is incorporated into the practice goal, right? I want to know those answers because I don't want to waste time making calls just because you said I agree with you.   The Dental A Team (11:14) Yeah, and we want to feel valuable. So we want to feel like we're valuable in our position. And we want to feel like the things that we're doing are daily, whatever, monthly, weekly, all of those things that we're doing are valuable. Because I also think to your point, Dana, COVID taught us too that like, this is going to sound maybe so controversial. We are not like we don't have to stay stuck anymore. It opened up a whole new world.   I think for a lot of people who felt like they fell into dentistry and that like, this is just their path. This is where they need to be. This is the position they'll always hold. There's nowhere to go. You know, it changed a lot has changed in the last six years that we're still trying to understand. And on that, one of my least favorite questions is how do I motivate my team? And you don't motivate your team. inspire your team.   DAT-Dana (12:05) Thank   The Dental A Team (12:09) by being who you are, your culture, your mission, your vision, like what are we serving? What are we doing here? Inspires people. Motivation is very short. So yeah, like I always say, Dana, I can motivate you. I could probably convince you and motivate you to go for a mile run with me. Does that mean you're gonna be a runner? No. You're gonna do a mile with me because I motivated you to, I motivated my sister to go for a hike with me yesterday, right? Is she gonna go hiking again today? No. Would I? Absolutely.   Cause I'm inspired by how I feel when I'm on the mountain. So that like difference really, it gets me that, that question of motivate and it always Dana, I hate the word always, but I swear to you every time, I don't know if this is just me. They're like, if I give my team these KPIs and I ask them to measure these things and do them, I need to pay them more. And I'm like, they're like, how else do I motivate them? If I get, if I dangle this carrot at the end.   maybe they'll do these things. And I'm like, well, is that not their, like, is their job not this piece? Are you not already paying them for this? We're just not tracking it. So they could be doing 50 things that don't matter, that aren't making an impact. And we may be able to measure and replace them with things that do matter. I'm not necessarily asking for extra work aside from the tracking that takes 30 seconds, but that motivation space.   Like I want to sub box all day, but Dana, are you seeing that too? And how do you feel about that question?   DAT-Dana (13:40) Yeah, absolutely. guess I probably get asked that question at least once a week, right? And I do agree with you. It is, well, what can I do to motivate them as far as bonus, as far as activity, as far as, and like those things are essentially great, right? If there's a space for it. But I don't think that those are tools that are ever really needed to me. If you are feeling that way.   The Dental A Team (13:45) Yep.   DAT-Dana (14:02) Your goals themselves aren't inspiring. Your vision itself isn't inspiring because those should be the inspiring pieces that spur the motivation to do the daily work. And so if you are asking someone in your life that question, if you are asking yourself that question, if you are flat out asking the team, what can I do to motivate you to get there? The there is not inspiring them. And it's probably not inspiring you, which is why you're digging for the next layer or this bonus or this   push of some way because those foundational pieces aren't truly inspiring the team or you yourself.   The Dental A Team (14:39) I was thinking that same thing. If you're not inspired by the work that you're doing, you're not inspired by your vision or why your team's not going to be inspired either. And we've honestly lived that, Dana. We've lived that in this company where we were like, it just doesn't hit and it didn't hit Kiera. And we could tell and Kiera was like robotic because we were trying to hit a goal. So we all became robotic trying to hit a goal and it didn't hit right.   we failed and we had to take like 15 steps backwards and say, why did we fail? Where did we misstep? And it was because our why what we were really going for wasn't inspiring enough. it was like, honestly, even this year's vision is narrowed down to one of the best that we've had in years because it's narrowed down to the impact on a personal basis. And that's what consultants love.   dental team members love, right? Our favorite stories are the patients who came in after traumatic experience or cosmetic work or whitening, or they had a crown that they were afraid to get or fillings that those are first fillings and they're 42 and they're not scared anymore and they're coming in and they're so happy. Their whole demeanor changes because we've been able to change how they view dentistry. That's what we're here for. And when people dig for that, why? And I hear the, I hear the, ⁓   I want to, what is it, delivering smiles, delivering smiles to Maricopa County. Like, are you, is that why you're here? You want to deliver smiles? No, you want to change lives by giving them a different perspective on dentistry. You want to teach them something about dentistry that they never knew existed. You want to make them feel confident because they have a healthy place to go. They have somewhere that they know they're loved, taken care of, seen and heard, and they're getting quality dental care. Like, that's what you're here for.   DAT-Dana (16:29) Yeah, and in the end, are   you creating smiles for Maricopa County? Yes, you are, but like that's not why you show up every day. Yeah.   The Dental A Team (16:34) Yes!   Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.   And when people can key in on that, I literally see that light bulb moment of like, wow, that's exciting. Like I want to go do that crown. Yeah, you do. You do. Because it's more you're not delivering smiles to everyone. Right? It's an impossible feat. Like you're not going to create a new smile for everyone who walks through the door. You're not. Some people don't care about their teeth. And that's okay. Like how they look right aesthetics. Some people   don't need you to aesthetically change their teeth. Some people are coming in with straight teeth, white teeth, already veneered teeth, and you're not doing anything. But what you are doing is you're creating an experience and you're creating a space that they can come feel seen, valued, and heard and leave knowing that they were well cared for and they're a happier human when they leave your practice.   DAT-Dana (17:28) Yeah, I love   that. Because when they can, maybe eventually they will care, right? And you'll be the person that they come to when they do. Or maybe eventually the cosmetic work they already had will need redone and you've created that space that they can say it. And so I agree with you. It doesn't happen every single time, but we're looking for the times that it does and we're making those times incredibly meaningful.   The Dental A Team (17:33) Yeah.   tracks.   Yes, and when we can carry ourselves in a way that no matter what we are looking for, how can we positively impact this patient's experience? How can we make them a better person out to the world when they leave my practice? Like I want to inspire them. I want to make them happy. They leave feeling energized. They carry that on to the next person, right? So when we can make that's our focus that we're positively impacting the person who's standing in front of us, then we're showing up every single time. And our KPIs are like,   Hey, did you make 10 calls to make sure that people get back into this practice for their re-care so that they're well cared for and they don't feel like they have to find another practice that they start all over again? Absolutely, I made 10 calls. And when you get the question of, do I have to call? Can I just text? I don't care what you do, measure it. And if whatever you're doing works, we'll keep doing that. So if you're doing text messages and they're not working, try sprinkling in some calls.   see if the calls work too or double them up. I always say that because I think Dana, we get so rigid on what the system needs to be that we're like, no, Tiff and Dana, they said you need to do 10 calls a day. If that's your only takeaway from today, oh my gosh, right? They go, they're like, 10 calls a day, that's your KPI. And the team, maybe it's, you know, a 23 year old who is like, I don't want to get on, I don't want to get on the phone, I'm 41, I don't want to get on the phone. So like, I want to know that if I'm doing these 10 calls a day,   They are what is going to work. And if they're not, because we're in an age of tech and maybe voice small drops work better or text messages are working better, I want to do that. But it's going to be based on your community and not the person making the outreach. Because here in Phoenix, we got a lot of snowbirds. We got a lot of retirement communities. We've got a lot of people who, heck, like I don't want to, I don't want to do anything with my phone by the time I'm done with the day.   So I think measuring it and making sure those pieces add up to that value that you're trying to perceive to your patients.   DAT-Dana (19:56) Yeah. And I think sometimes there's a misconception with team members in this TIF that like the number tells them something about them, right? And sometimes it can, but for the most part, what it tells us is if our system works or doesn't work. And so I think team members too, just being embracing and open to the fact that this is not necessarily, if you don't hit 95 % scheduled to goal, that doesn't mean you as a human aren't succeeding. It means that there's something in our system or something in our consistency that isn't getting us   The Dental A Team (20:04) Yeah.   DAT-Dana (20:25) there and so I think you can have open and honest conversations with team members too and say like this isn't a value for you as a human. This is a value for the effort, the work and the systems that we've put into place because you're right Tim, if I can get one person scheduled with 40 text messages or one person scheduled with three calls, my gosh, give me the three calls.   Right? So it is being able to evaluate and assess those things too. And I think so many times when we go to roll out KPIs offices get a lot of resistance because it's like, I don't want you to put like a number on me, right? Or I don't want it to feel like it is me, the person that is letting the office down or we're not getting the goals. I think think of it as a tool to evaluate our systems. Yes, our people too, but honestly and truly typically it's a systems problem and not a person.   The Dental A Team (21:15) I 100 % agree. And I think that's where we start measuring the results instead of micromanaging the people. Yeah, I love that. You made me think too, Dana, that if you're not able to get to 10 calls a day or whatever your KPI is, if you can't get to them and you see the consistency is that you're falling behind, you're not able to do it, then take a step back and evaluate your time spent. Like what are the blockers that are coming up? Does this belong to that job description? So is it in the right lane?   Does it impact that person's goals that impact the companies? then like take those steps back. There have been so many times that I'm like, gosh, I just haven't been able to get to this. But next week, let me rearrange my schedule. I'm going to try a couple of things out to get it different so that I can try to get these done. And if it's consistently not happening, there's a blocker. There's something else going on. And it's not just that they're busy. I had this conversation a couple of weeks ago with someone. I'm like, there's no time. They're like, I see time. I'm like, okay, you know what? There is time.   There's no space left. So how do we get rid of some of the other clutter and rearrange to declutter my brain so that I still have output left for this piece of my job? And those conversations are really important. And your leaders, your one up above you should be able to help you unblock those. So Dana, I love this conversation. Thank you for having it. I think motivate versus inspire.   is really, really special. And when they're meaningful, impactful results, it makes a huge difference. So Dana, I would say action items for today. Number one, is your vision, your mission, your core values, are those things inspiring to you as a practice owner? And are they inspiring to your team? Do they fully know the definitions of them? And are we ready to make an impact on that community? Number two, assign some KPIs. If you've got that solid, you've got job description solid, you're working on some systems maybe, but   lot of systems are super clean and clear, then start doing individual KPIs. And Dana, I would say if they're not ready for individual KPIs, take that big, the umbrella, do your production, collections, new patients, and let them see how they're impacting every day. Dana, anything you want to add before we wrap for today?   DAT-Dana (23:31) No, I think you hit it out. This was a good one too.   The Dental A Team (23:33) Awesome.   I agree. Thank you. Thank you for riffing with me and busting this out Dana and you guys go leave us a five star review. We love to hear from you. We love to know how this impacted you and maybe how it impacted your why I always love that piece Dana and I live for a phenomenal why Hello@TheDentalATeam.com. If you need help with KPIs for individual positions, please reach out. Sometimes they get a little tricky with like dental assistance. Hygiene is kind of easy, but you get kind of bored with the flora, the perio. Just reach out.   We've got a million of them and Dana will help with all your hygiene and Britt. So anyways, that's a wrap guys. Thank you so much. We'll catch you next time.  

Frazer James aren't looking for every candidate. They're looking for A++ people.Check out the jobs and book a meeting with James Mackay today!!And if that's you, or if you're also interested in attracting some of the industry's best talent, then this episode was made for you.In this week's episode of Financial Planner Life, Sam Oakes is joined by James Mackay, co-founder of Frazer James, to find out what a firm that's serious about attracting exceptional talent actually looks like from the inside.James and Chris Hindle built Frazer James from scratch, with no clients or referrals, and today it's growing at 40% year on year. The reason? A founding philosophy that is rarely brought to fruition: build the business you'd actually want to work for.He breaks down exactly what that means in practice. Explaining the five-stage career framework inside every role. The benefits package, which includes a four-month paid sabbatical, a 5% personal growth allowance and up to three months working abroad. Plus, the associate financial planner pathway, a carefully designed development programme that actually delivers on what most firms only promise.The episode's key takeaways

Last week, The Daily reported on how Northwestern's transition to UnitedHealthcare is affecting faculty and staff, Evanston City Council considering the future of the city's newest TIF district and an NU alum speaking about their culinary journey and appearance on MasterChef.

Your Nebraska Update headlines for today, April 24, include: Nebraska could face one of its most severe droughts on record as unusually warm and dry winter months outpace even 2012 conditions, federal reclassification of medical marijuana brings new hope for Nebraska advocates, state plans waiver to block candy purchases under SNAP, appeal has been filed in McCook immigration detention center lawsuit, Lincoln councilmember proposes maintaining $15 minimum wage, Lincoln approves University Place redevelopment plan using TIF.

Fourth Sunday of Easter • April 26, 2026 • Year AIntroductionWe begin with the four Revised Common Lectionary readings for the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year A (April 26, 2026). This Sunday is sometimes called Good Shepherd Sunday because of the Gospel reading from John 10, and the theme of shepherding runs through all four texts in different ways — care, guidance, the cost of protecting others, and what it looks like to belong to someone who truly looks after you.Photo credit Good Shepherd Catholic ParishThe ReadingsActs 2:42–47The First Lesson — Life in the Early ChurchSUMMARYThis short passage describes what the church looked like in the days right after Pentecost. The new community devoted itself to four things: learning from the apostles, sharing meals and life together, breaking bread, and praying. A sense of awe settled over everyone, and the apostles were doing remarkable things among the people. Those who believed held everything in common — selling what they owned to make sure no one went without. They met daily, ate together with joy, praised God, and were well regarded by their neighbors. Each day, more people joined them.KEY IDEAS FOR PREACHING* This passage is often read as a picture of what the church is supposed to look like. That can be inspiring, but it can also be crushing if a congregation feels they fall short. A better approach might be to ask: which of these four practices is most alive in our community right now, and which one needs the most attention?* The sharing of possessions is described matter-of-factly, not as a heroic sacrifice. It simply made sense to them given what they had experienced. Preachers can explore what that kind of practical generosity looks like when it comes from genuine gratitude rather than obligation.* The word ‘devoted' appears at the start and shapes everything that follows. These people were not dabbling. What does it mean to be devoted — not just interested — in the life of faith? That question is worth opening up for a congregation.* Glad and generous hearts are named as the interior quality beneath all the external practices. The community was not running programs — they were living out of a particular emotional and spiritual posture. What produces that posture, and how does a congregation cultivate it?SIGNIFICANT CAUTIONS* Be careful about holding up this passage as ‘the early church was perfect.' Acts itself shows conflict, deception, and failure arriving very quickly after this moment (see chapter 5). This is a picture of a community at its best, not a permanent state they maintained.* The communal sharing of property has sometimes been read as a biblical case for a particular economic or political system. The text is not making a policy argument. It is describing what love looked like in a specific community at a specific moment. Preachers should resist turning it into a platform for contemporary political positions from either direction.* The rapid daily growth can make congregations who are not growing feel like failures. Be thoughtful about how you use the phrase ‘the Lord added to their number.' The text is descriptive, not prescriptive — it tells what happened, not what must happen in every time and place.Psalm 23The Psalm — The Lord Is My ShepherdSUMMARYOne of the most familiar passages in all of Scripture, Psalm 23 moves through a series of images describing God's care. The Lord as shepherd provides rest, leads to water, and restores the soul. Even in the darkest places, the presence of God brings comfort. The image then shifts: God becomes a host who sets a table, anoints with oil, and fills the cup. The psalm ends with confidence — goodness and mercy will follow all the days of life, and the speaker will dwell in God's house forever.KEY IDEAS FOR PREACHING* Because this psalm is so familiar, many people hear it without actually listening. One of the most useful things a preacher can do with Psalm 23 is slow it down and let people encounter it as if for the first time. What does it feel like to have someone else take responsibility for your wellbeing? That is the posture the psalm invites.* The dark valley in verse 4 is easy to rush past on the way to the green pastures. But the psalm does not skip it — it walks straight through it. Preachers can offer this as honest pastoral care: the life of faith does not avoid hard places; it travels through them with company.* The shift from shepherd to host midway through the psalm is striking. God is not only the one who guides from ahead but the one who welcomes and feeds. Both images together give a fuller picture of what divine care looks like.In the Easter season, this psalm takes on additional resonance. The table spread in the presence of enemies, the overflowing cup — these images land differently after the resurrection. The congregation is living the reality the psalm describes: walking through a world where death is present but defeated, sitting at a table prepared by the risen Christ, drinking from a cup that overflows with resurrection life. We can draw that connection without forcing it.SIGNIFICANT CAUTIONS* The familiarity of this psalm cuts both ways. It is beloved precisely because it has been a comfort in grief and crisis for countless people. Do not treat it as too simple or obvious — for many in the congregation, these words have carried them through the hardest moments of their lives.* Avoid using this psalm to suggest that faith means nothing bad will happen. The dark valley is in the psalm, not as something to be explained away, but as something to be walked through. The comfort is in the presence, not the absence of difficulty.* The phrase ‘green pastures' and ‘still waters' can sound like a promise of ease and prosperity. That reading flattens the psalm. The rest and restoration described here come after real depletion — this is a psalm for tired people, not comfortable ones.1 Peter 2:19–25The Epistle — Suffering UnjustlySUMMARYThis passage addresses people who are suffering — specifically, those who are doing right and being mistreated for it. The letter does not pretend this is easy or that it makes sense from a human point of view. Instead, it points to Christ as the one who walked this road before them. He did not sin, did not threaten or retaliate when he was abused, but entrusted himself to the God who judges justly. He bore what he bore in his body so that those who were lost might find their way back. The image at the end is of sheep who had wandered returning to the shepherd who watches over them.KEY IDEAS FOR PREACHING* This is a hard text to preach because it can sound like an endorsement of passivity in the face of injustice. But the key phrase is ‘endure when you do right and suffer for it.' This is not about accepting all suffering quietly — it is about the specific situation of doing good and still being mistreated. Naming that distinction carefully matters.* Christ is held up not as a distant ideal but as someone who actually went through this. The passage is saying: you are not the first, and the one who went before you knows what it costs. That is genuine solidarity, and it can be a rich vein to mine for people in real pain.* The image of wandering sheep returning to a shepherd at the end of the passage is worth dwelling on. It is gentle and without accusation. The return is not a march of shame — it is a homecoming. This can speak to people who feel they have drifted and wonder if there is a way back.* The phrase ‘entrusted himself to the one who judges justly' is quietly powerful. When there is no human court that will hear your case, the text says there is still a court that matters. This can be a word of real hope for people who have experienced injustice with no recourse.SIGNIFICANT CAUTIONS* This passage has been used harmfully to tell people — especially women, enslaved people, or those in abusive situations — that they must endure mistreatment without resistance. That is a serious misreading. The text is not a command for victims to remain in danger. Preach it with this history in mind and be explicit that it does not apply that way.* The call to follow Christ's example in suffering can romanticize pain if not handled carefully. Suffering is not good in itself. The text is not saying that being mistreated makes you holy — it is saying that when you cannot avoid it, you are not alone in it.* The phrase ‘leaving you an example' should not be used to pressure people into silence about legitimate grievances. An example is something to learn from, not a rule that overrides common sense, safety, or the pursuit of justice.John 10:1–10The Gospel — The Gate and the ShepherdSUMMARYJesus uses a picture from everyday life — a sheep pen, a shepherd, and a gatekeeper — to describe his relationship with his followers. The one who enters through the gate is the true shepherd; those who try to climb in another way are up to no good. The sheep know the shepherd's voice and follow him because they trust it; they run from strangers because that voice is unfamiliar. The religious leaders who are listening do not understand what Jesus is saying, so he makes it plainer: he is the gate. Anyone who comes through him will be safe, free to come and go, and well-fed. Thieves come to take; he came so that people might have life — life that is full and overflowing.KEY IDEAS FOR PREACHING* The detail that the sheep know the voice of the shepherd is one of the most relatable images in the Gospel of John. Most people have some experience of recognizing a voice they trust — a parent, a friend, someone who has looked out for them. Preachers can use that instinct to open up what it means to learn to recognize God's voice.* Jesus describes himself as the gate, not just a gate. This is a strong claim, but it is worth noticing what he says those who enter through the gate find: safety, freedom to move in and out, and pasture. The emphasis is on abundance and access, not restriction.* The thief comes to steal and destroy; Jesus came so that people might have life and have it fully. That contrast is one of the clearest statements in the Gospels about what Jesus understands his own purpose to be. A sermon could spend significant time on what ‘life in its fullness' actually looks and feels like in practice.* The phrase ‘the sheep hear his voice' assumes a relationship that has developed over time. Recognizing a voice is not automatic — it comes from familiarity. This is an opportunity to reflect on what it looks like to spend enough time in prayer, Scripture, and community that God's voice becomes recognizable.SIGNIFICANT CAUTIONS* The line ‘all who came before me are thieves and bandits' is jarring and should not be used to dismiss the whole of the Hebrew prophetic tradition or Jewish leadership in general. Read in context, Jesus is contrasting himself with those who exploit the flock, not with all prior religious figures or Judaism as a whole.* The gate image has sometimes been used to draw sharp lines about who is ‘in' and who is ‘out' of salvation. The text's own emphasis falls on what the sheep find once they enter — safety, nourishment, freedom — not on who gets excluded. Let the text lead with welcome rather than boundary.* The image of sheep following a voice can be used to encourage uncritical obedience to religious authorities. The passage itself guards against this by emphasizing that the sheep run from voices they do not recognize. Discernment, not blind following, is the point.Thematic ConnectionsAll four readings this week describe what it looks like to be genuinely cared for — and what it costs the one doing the caring. Acts shows a community that took care of each other with glad hearts. Psalm 23 pictures God as the one who leads, feeds, and stays close through the darkest stretches. First Peter points to Christ absorbing the cost of others' wandering so they could find their way home. And John 10 names Jesus as the gate through which people find safety, freedom, and full life.A preacher could anchor the week anywhere in these texts. John 10 is the natural center given the day's traditional focus on the Good Shepherd. But Acts 2 offers a concrete, practical angle — what does shepherd-like care look like when an entire community practices it together? And First Peter raises the hardest question of all: what do you do when doing right still leads to suffering? These texts can hold that tension without resolving it cheaply.Narrative LectionaryThe primary text is from Acts 16, where Paul and Silas end up in prison in Philippi — not because they did anything wrong, but because setting a slave girl free cost her owners money. The supplemental verses from Luke 6 set the stage: Jesus came to heal and free, and the people who followed him knew what it was to be pushed to the margins. Together these texts ask a pointed question: when following Jesus disrupts the status quo, what happens next?The ReadingActs 16:16–34The Primary Text — Paul and Silas in Prison at PhilippiSUMMARYPaul and Silas are in Philippi, a Roman colony and a city where status and economic power matter a great deal. They keep running into a slave girl who has a spirit that allows her to predict the future — something her owners have been making money from. She follows Paul around for days, shouting that these men are servants of the Most High God who are proclaiming a way of salvation. Paul, eventually exasperated, turns and commands the spirit to leave her. It does. Her owners, furious that their source of income has disappeared, drag Paul and Silas before the city magistrates, accusing them of causing trouble and promoting foreign customs.The crowd joins in the attack. Paul and Silas are stripped, beaten with rods, and thrown into the inner cell of the prison, with their feet locked in stocks. Around midnight they are praying and singing hymns, and the other prisoners are listening. Then a violent earthquake shakes the foundations, every door flies open, and every chain falls loose. The jailer wakes up, sees the open doors, and draws his sword to kill himself — assuming the prisoners have escaped and knowing what fate awaits him. Paul calls out to stop him: everyone is still there. The jailer falls before Paul and Silas and asks the question that echoes through the whole passage: ‘What must I do to be saved?' They tell him to trust in the Lord Jesus, and he and his whole household will be saved. He takes them home, cleans their wounds, and is baptized with his family that same night. He brings them a meal and celebrates with his whole household, now that he has come to believe in God.Image courtesy UnsplashKEY IDEAS FOR PREACHING* The slave girl is the most overlooked person in this story, and she deserves more attention than she usually gets. She was being exploited for profit, day after day. When Paul frees her, he disrupts an economic arrangement — and he pays for it. The text does not follow up on what happens to her after the spirit leaves. Preachers can acknowledge that gap honestly and invite the congregation to sit with the fact that doing good for someone vulnerable can set off serious consequences.* Paul and Silas are singing at midnight in a jail cell, bleeding from a beating they did not deserve. Whatever that is, it is not forced positivity or denial. It is something that runs deeper than their circumstances. Proclamation can open up the question of what produces that kind of resilience — not as a formula to copy, but as a reality worth wondering about.* The earthquake opens every door and loosens every chain — but no one runs. That is an extraordinary detail. The prisoners stay. Paul calls out to the jailer before the man can hurt himself. This is a moment of genuine human care in an unexpected place, and it is what opens the door to the jailer's question. Preachers can draw a direct line: sometimes witness is not a prepared speech but a decision not to take the exit when it opens.* The jailer's question — ‘What must I do to be saved?' — comes out of genuine crisis. He is a man at the end of his rope, not someone sitting in a pew considering his options. The answer Paul gives is simple: trust in the Lord Jesus. What follows is immediate and whole-household — washing wounds, being baptized, eating together, rejoicing. Salvation in this passage is not a private transaction; it reshapes a family and produces a meal.* This story takes place in a Roman colony where power and status are everything. Paul and Silas are stripped of all social standing, beaten publicly, and imprisoned. Yet by morning the jailer is washing their wounds and feeding them breakfast. The power dynamics have completely reversed, and it happened through an earthquake and a decision to stay. We can ask what it means that the Gospel keeps showing up in these kinds of inversions.SIGNIFICANT CAUTIONS* The slave girl's liberation is real, but she disappears from the narrative. The text does not tie things up neatly for her. Preachers who skip past her too quickly risk reinforcing the pattern of treating vulnerable people as props in someone else's story.* The midnight worship in prison is powerful, but preachers should not use it to suggest that the right response to suffering or injustice is always to sing and wait. Paul and Silas did not engineer the earthquake; they did not escape when they could have. This is a specific story, not a universal template for how Christians should respond to being mistreated.* The ‘whole household' baptism raises real questions about consent — were children and servants included without much say? The text does not address this, and we preachers do not need to resolve it from the pulpit. But it is worth being aware of, especially in congregations that practice only adult or believer's baptism, where someone may push back.* The jailer's story is moving, but do not let it overshadow the injustice that put Paul and Silas there in the first place. The authorities who beat them without a trial are not held to account in this passage. The text is not saying the system was fine — it is showing what happened inside it.Luke 6:18–19, 22–23The Supplemental Text — Healing and Blessing the ExcludedSUMMARYThese verses come from the opening of Luke's version of the Sermon on the Plain/Mount. A crowd has gathered from all over — some sick, some tormented — and Jesus heals them. Power is going out from him and everyone is trying to touch him. Then come the beatitudes: blessed are you who are poor, hungry, weeping, and hated. When people exclude you and mock you because of the Son of Man, leap for joy — your reward in heaven is great, and the prophets who came before you were treated the same way.KEY IDEAS FOR PREACHING* Paired with Acts 16, these verses establish that the pattern goes all the way back to Jesus. He drew in the sick, the outcast, and the struggling — and so did Paul and Silas. The supplemental reading gives the Acts story a longer arc: this is what the ministry of Jesus looked like, and the early church was continuing it.* The beatitudes in Luke are addressed directly in the second person: ‘Blessed are you.' This is not a general principle — it is a word spoken to specific people in the crowd. Preachers can use this to help congregations hear it personally, especially those who feel excluded, overlooked, or pushed to the edge. It is the equivalent of the Southern saying, “All y'all are in on this… in a good way.”SIGNIFICANT CAUTIONS* The promise that those who are excluded should ‘leap for joy' needs to be handled with care. It is not telling people their pain does not matter or that they should pretend to be happy. It is pointing toward a bigger picture — one that most people in genuine suffering cannot see on their own. Preach it with gentleness, not as a demand.* The comparison to the prophets who were mistreated can make suffering sound heroic or inevitable. Not all suffering is meaningful, and not all exclusion is persecution. Preachers should be specific about what kind of exclusion Jesus is naming here — exclusion for following him — rather than letting the verse be applied loosely to any difficult experience.Thematic ConnectionsBoth texts this week show what happens when the work of God runs into opposition from people who benefit from things staying the way they are. Jesus heals and blesses the excluded; a slave girl is freed; Paul and Silas are thrown in prison for it. The people who get hurt in both texts are the ones doing good. The supplemental verses from Luke say that this is not a surprise — it follows a pattern that goes back to the prophets. And the Acts story shows that even inside that opposition, something keeps breaking through: a midnight song, an open door, a jailer asking the right question.TIf you want a single focus, you would do well to stay with the jail scene and the question ‘What must I do to be saved?' — exploring what prompted it, what the answer meant, and what happened next. But the slave girl at the beginning is an equally powerful, and less-traveled, starting point. A sermon that begins with her and follows her thread through the whole story could be especially fresh. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit lectionarypro.substack.com/subscribe

Back again! This week on the show we head to District 8 with John Nelson jumping into a packed House race, Casey Crabtree laying out why affordability is becoming the defining issue in South Dakota politics, and the ungovernable Pat Powers jumping in to stir up the ballot chaos, convention chatter, and governor's race crossfire. We get into the farm economy squeeze, property tax reality, economic development fights, TIF confusion, and why the debate over who can actually put more money back in voters' pockets is quickly becoming the whole race.Plus we hit the early voting mess, turnout math, the GOP convention money crunch, and of course the only Dakota Town Hall side quest wild enough to steal the third break: Murdoc's full-blown campaign to bring Pablo Escobar's Colombian hippos to Reptile Gardens. Add in gizzard diplomacy, Pizza Ranch politics, and Pat's signature war-college-level chaos, and this one feels like campaign season in South Dakota finally hitting full speed.@DakotaTownHall@Jakeshoenbeck@MurdocJ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you've ever been told your labs are “normal”…but you feel anything but normal—this episode is for you.Because right now, there's a lot of noise around hormone testing.From expensive lab panels to social media advice telling you to “test everything,” it can feel like labs are the key to finally understanding your body.But here's the truth: 

- ✅Por Qué Hitler No consiguió Derrotar a Stalin? Las Claves de la Operación Barbarroja con Veramendi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsEfVec3BHg ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ ¿Te apetece hacer un viaje con nosotros a Normandía, Ardenas, El Alamein o Berlín? - Escríbenos a viajeshistoriasbelicas@gmail.com ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Redes sociales y Telegram Canal de Telegram para No perderte Nada! https://t.me/segundaguerramundialtelegram Canal de Whatsapp https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaSmnrC0QeatgWe2Lm27 Twitter: https://twitter.com/BelicasQue https://www.instagram.com/historiasbelicasoficial/ ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Apoya el canal: Hazte miembro del canal y disfruta de ventajas exclusivas: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC4EcUU21Vpwm73B8DES24Q/join 00:00 Operación Tifón y la Batalla de Moscú 03:16 Hitler culpa y exagera al invierno ruso 09:15 El relato soviético del General Invierno 10:11 Los datos reales del invierno de 1941 12:54 ¿Fue el invierno ruso de 1941 el más frío del siglo? 14:20 ¿Por qué el Ejército Alemán no llega a Moscú? 15:35 ¿Por qué el Ejército Alemán no tenía equipación de invierno? ¿Hasta qué punto Hitler culpó y exageró el invierno ruso para justificar la derrota? ¿Fue el frío realmente la causa principal del fracaso alemán o se utilizó como coartada política y militar? ¿Qué es exactamente el mito del “General Invierno” y cómo se construyó desde la propaganda soviética y alemana tras la Batalla de Moscú? ¿Qué dicen los datos meteorológicos reales del invierno de 1941? ¿Fue realmente uno de los inviernos más fríos del siglo o esta idea ha sido amplificada por el relato posterior? ¿Por qué el Ejército Alemán no consiguió tomar Moscú a pesar de sus victorias iniciales y de la debilidad soviética en el verano de 1941? ¿Por qué la Wehrmacht no estaba equipada para combatir en condiciones invernales extremas si la campaña se prolongó hasta diciembre?

Tiff and Kristy shine a light on key performance indicators that won't just propel a dental practice to success, but any business. This includes knowing your numbers (stop treating them like the bogeyman!), locking in production, case acceptance, and diagnosis. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:00) Hello Dental A Team listeners. I am so excited to be here with you today. You guys know that we love podcasting. I hope we have a ton of newbies here who don't even know who we are. I say that because our reach at Dental A Team is something that we are intentional about and intentful on expanding further than you guys can even imagine. So something that we are very intentional about at Dental A Team is looking at how many lives have we impacted.   and how many lives can we impact. And we know that dentistry is vast, business is vast, so we also know we have some listeners here who aren't even in the dental industry, but just business owners in general. We love that and we wanna welcome all of you. So all of you who are here today that have been listeners for a long time, welcome and thank you so much. All of you who have shared these podcasts with others, thank you so much because you are helping us serve our mission.   And for those of you who are new, know that Dental A Team is mission full and mission forward and we are here to help support you in the best ways possible. So welcome everyone. Today's topic is gonna be super fun. But first, let's welcome Kristy to the show. Kristy, how are you today, my dear? Thank you for being here. It's a Tuesday afternoon for us, so it's a little wild for a podcasting day, but how are you doing over there today?   The Dental A Team (01:17) Doing good. Hey, ⁓ we had a big warm up and now we're kind of on the downside of it. So the weather's perfect and couldn't complain. And I get to spend time with you.   The Dental A Team (01:28) I agree. I know I do love podcast days. So this   one's a long time coming. This one was a long time coming and it's true. We definitely were both in Phoenix. The Phoenix area, I should say. Everybody always says, where are you? And they're like, is that Phoenix? Like, it's all Phoenix. So we are in the Phoenix area and it definitely got warm really, really early, probably two months earlier than normal for the, for the,   temperatures that we were experiencing. So we've definitely felt like, gosh, we hit summer really early, but we're getting a little snippet of springtime right here around the corner. So I agree. I'm very, very excited for this cool down we're experiencing. With that, I think that's actually like a really good thought process to start on. We have our warms, we have our cools, and with quarter one having, you know, it's behind us at this point, really looking forward to see what the other three quarters look like.   Was that a warmup for you? Was it cool down? We have some practices that are onboarding right now, some new practices that are onboarding to Dental A Team that are like, gosh, I've been in a cool down or they're about to onboard because they're in conversations with us and we've had kind of a cool down for that first quarter, meaning maybe we're not tracking quite as well towards our goals as we could be, but I've got a few practices. I talked to one specifically just today that is in a massive warmup and   Kristy, I'm gonna brag for a second. I saw them just a weeks ago in person and we did our in-person visit and we, gosh, it was our first one ever and the team was just phenomenal. They jumped on board. The doctors were just floored at how well the team jumped on board with the goals. They've never talked goals before. I increased them by quite a bit, by like 17%. I said, you guys can do this. I know what you're capable of and you know what, Kristy, as of last   Friday, which there's still two days left in the month technically for them. They were 82 % towards their goal and they were $20,000 ahead of any month yet this year. So, it was just really cool and I brag about that and I talk about that because I want you guys to know the possibilities and one of the things that we did, I told them today, I said the best part about what we do is that we make small tweaks in areas that make massive differences. We're not completely overhauling anything.   we're saying what can we tweak in the best way possible to get a different result than what we're getting. And what we tweaked, one of the biggest pieces that we tweaked was looking at the numbers. They they weren't looking at them. And I remember in January or December, they said, Tiffanie, how are you gonna promise us that we're more profitable? And I said, well, what does more profitable mean? And they were like, well, we're making more profit. I said, well, what profit did you make? They were like, well, don't know.   Okay, well how do we know if we're making more if we don't know what we made? And so really just focusing in and being intentional about looking at the numbers and looking at where we've been and where we can go. It opened their eyes to really even see the possibility because I increased them slightly and it's going to be a massive difference for them and their numbers. And so   I say that, Kristy, I think your warmup and your cool down kind of gave me a little spur of excitement there because we definitely see those seasonalities within dentistry and business ownership too. And something I think that keeps us on track no matter what seasonality we're in is really focusing in and looking at those top KPIs at least. So we can dive and we can go minute and track the smallest things and that's fine too.   But I wanna talk today about really those top four KPIs that every business owner should be looking at. And I can say business owner because realistically, it transfers to any business. I know people who are in, like I've helped chiropractors before, we've helped eye doctors. I've talked with financial advisors about their businesses and marketing companies. they're so, all of it kind of transfers very seamlessly. It's the systems behind it that gets you there that are different for dental.   Kristy, with all of those words that I have said, welcome to the show, sorry for stealing it all. What do you feel like, if I were to say top two KPIs, what would your first two KPIs for any business owner to track really look like? What would they be?   The Dental A Team (05:47) Yeah. Well, I think it has to start with what do we need? What do we need to cover the bills for the month? Because that's our first benchmark, right? Otherwise, all of the numbers are just numbers. We don't really know where we're going. It's funny that you were talking about that TIF because my mind went to, I don't know why in dentistry it's so taboo to talk numbers, but literally, could you imagine if you had to pay your bills for the month and you never opened your bank account?   The Dental A Team (06:16) Yeah, I mean, I've done it and it's really scary. It's stressful. Yeah.   The Dental A Team (06:17) I just, yeah, it's like, is there enough to cover it? Yeah. So   definitely I think the number one benchmark has to know what's our BAM that we have to go for, and then we can start digging into what are our goals to get there.   The Dental A Team (06:36) Yeah, I totally agree. I totally agree. And by bam, she means bare ace minimum, you guys. What does it take to pay those bills and to keep the business thriving? So your bare minimum comes prior to your loans, prior to your owner pay, really prior to savings, right? Prior to profiting. So this is like, if I were to sell today's business, my business today, I was to sell this company to someone else, what are the financial obligations that they would take on?   That's going to be your employee costs, your marketing, your supplies, your rent, all of those pieces, your top line overhead and really figuring that out. And then adding into that, what does it look like to pay my loans, to pay my debt, to pay myself and to profit on top of that? So you get your bare minimum. Yes, I can survive. And then you get your thrive. How do I thrive? How do I pay for the things that and the lifestyle that I want? Now that's my goal.   including some profit to add back into the business later or savings, you know, for those rainy days, for those compressors that go out, all of those fun pieces, making sure we've got that in savings. So I totally agree. Making sure that that benchmark is there and that's going to be your collections, right? But it also transfers right directly back into your production. So those give you your top two KPIs right there where it's your finances. So we're looking at   What do we need to collect? What does my bank account need to have deposited every month in order to thrive? And then within my production, how do I ensure that comes? Now, Kristy, something I see practices do, which I don't necessarily disagree with, I think that it just makes it more difficult than it needs to be, is to track for collections. And so in the huddle, they're like, okay, we need X amount more in collections. The reason that I have opinions on that and is   is because we don't have as much control over the collections as we do over the production. Now, over the counter collections and what our patients owe us, we do. We have control over that, we can get it. And we have some control over insurance to the extent that we're following up, we're submitting and following up correctly, but their timeline to pay us, we have no control over that. So on a Monday, I mean, I've put in myself $80,000 worth of insurance checks on a Monday.   and then gone three weeks like, my gosh, when are we seeing more money? Because it fluctuates so much. So I think having that collections mindset is one piece, but translating that into, okay, great, now we need to know how much production it's going to take in order to collect that amount. ⁓ It seems to translate. Do you feel the same, Kristy? And have you seen that too?   The Dental A Team (09:20) Yeah, 100 % tip, I support that. ⁓ Always we're gaining or we're looking to have that 98 % or higher. That's just kind of a given. But truly the production is where we need to keep our eye to get there. absolutely 100%.   The Dental A Team (09:38) Yeah, and I think when we talk about other businesses, so dental is production and collections, but in any business, it's revenue, right? Revenue generated and still again, collections, right? So the revenue generated, the product sales, so you might be in product sales, know even like chiropractor kind of, those modalities, the medical field is still gonna maintain that production kind of collections thought process, but when you get outside of that,   you might be into a product sold and revenue generated situation, especially if you have credit card sales, because you're going to lose a percentage of that, or if you have payment plans that you offer trickles in maybe by quarter, your payments trickle in by quarter, those types of things are going to make it so that you're looking at both of those. And if you're getting payments,   even if you're like maybe an ortho practice, we have a lot of ortho practices that we work with or that we invite to listen to the podcast, right? You're likely doing some sort of in-house payment plans, which we definitely have a love hate for. So there are options around that, but a lot of ortho practices are still operating off that modality. And so they're trickling in monthly or quarterly payments and insurances are paying monthly or quarterly on those. So.   If we're only looking at the collections, we might find ourselves in a lag of production sometimes, which then generates a lag in collections later. And then we go, my gosh, let's write this wrong and we need to produce more to collect more. And we're constantly in this warm, cool toggle of back and forth seasonality within it. So I think you're right, focusing really in on the stability of both is gonna give them that headway that they need.   The Dental A Team (11:23) 100%. They go hand in hand, right? And so many times we're looking to bridge that gap with just collection. My front desk isn't collecting. And you're like, you're not producing.   The Dental A Team (11:31) Yeah. Yeah, yes.   Yes, I agree. I agree, which I think leads into a couple other really great KPIs. And one of them you made me think of is like the case acceptance, right? So I think case acceptance in it and all of these you guys should see that they kind of flow up into each other. So your case acceptance obviously flows straight into your production, flows into your collections.   And Kristy, what you just said made me think of case acceptance. And I want you to tell the team here, everyone listening, why what you just said was, collect more. My front office needs to collect more. And they're like, well, you're not producing. Why does case acceptance feel the same for me? Why did that make me think of that?   The Dental A Team (12:15) Yeah, because truly clinically, we've got to get our patients bought into the treatment and get them to saying yes to what we're prescribing for them. And that number really matters, the number that we're diagnosing, because again, if we're only diagnosing 50,000 for the month and we need to hit 100,000 for that goal, it doesn't matter how well we collect, we're not going to hit that target.   The Dental A Team (12:41) Absolutely. And we harp on the front office team, right, our treatment coordinators, call, call, call, get the schedule full, get the schedule full. But if they're not bought in, if the patients don't understand, and if the diagnosis isn't there. If we haven't diagnosed enough, so maybe even our treatment case acceptance is mediocre or high, you might have, ⁓ we'll say a low goal, right, a normal.   The Dental A Team (12:54) Yes.   The Dental A Team (13:06) practice goal, $100,000 a month, right? So nothing massive, just kind of your standard single doctor, maybe one to two hygiene goal, $100,000 a month, and you've diagnosed 40,000, and you're like, yeah, but my case acceptance is 72%. Stellar, stellar, you still have room to grow there, right? We've got some percentage to make up there, but also we need much more than $40,000 if we're hit a $100,000 a month benchmark. So I totally agree.   The Dental A Team (13:21) Yeah.   Yeah.   To that point, Tiff, that's why I always say people like to brag on that percentage. And it's true. At 72%, I would brag too. It tells me that the patients you're seeing really trust you because when you do recommend something, they accept it. However, I would much rather see you diagnosing 100,000 and getting 50 % than 72 of 40. Yeah.   The Dental A Team (14:01) I totally agree. Yeah.   The Dental A Team (14:04) Got it.   The Dental A Team (14:04) Yeah. And I think that that school of thought for me has been fairly recent within the recent, you know, five to seven years or so. I think when I was in practice and I was just in my day to day, I never thought too far outside of the case acceptance. And I think in dentistry, we really didn't, we harped on case acceptance. And that was like the big number and it was the big target and treatment coordinators were harped on. I mean, we were   battered on call, make more calls, get them to say yes. And it's like, gosh, we really did call everyone we can. And so that mindset I think has shifted in the recent years and it's still just as important. And then we're also looking at the pieces that get us to that point. So like you said, stellar, phenomenal case acceptance and what if you diagnosed more and still maintained that yes model.   that you've proven you can acquire.   The Dental A Team (15:01) Absolutely, Tiff. And I ⁓ also say in the case acceptance, if it's low, go back and look at your service mix. know, sometimes in dentistry, we're so used to looking for the problems that a lot of doctors say, well, I have healthy patients. have healthy patients. When's the last time you took a step back and celebrated that they're healthy and said, holy cow, this is the perfect time to see if you would love something changed about your smile?   And now you've diagnosed something cosmetic in changing their life too in that way.   The Dental A Team (15:35) I totally agree. Yeah. Yeah. I have a few practices. I think this happens often, especially I would say on practices that have been around for a long time and maybe a new doctor comes in or really we just have been doing things the way we've been doing them for a long time. And we dive in and we look at our perio percentage, right? So that's part of our diagnosis is also how much perio are we diagnosing and what's that case acceptance looking like. And we dive into that and oftentimes it's down like   to 10%, you know, and our goal is 30%. I usually say 25 to 30 % is a pretty healthy perio department and 25 to 30 % of perio or of hygiene should cover your production and to get there typically you need 25 to 30 % of that production to be perio is that definition there. So when perio is coming in at 10 % it's like, cool.   That tells me we've got a lot of really great opportunities right here in our own patient base. So what are we doing today that's kind of being nice to patients and appeasing ⁓ fear that we might be holding inside for them rather than being kind and diagnosing and telling them the truth on what their circumstances do look like? Are we appeasing and doing profis that should be?   that's our P's and periomaintenances. Are we doing a third pro fee because we're like, oh, it means something more. Are we doing periomaintenances and charging profies? And then still, we one to three scaling? Like all of these pieces, right? And then I have a couple of associate doctors that I love, associate dentists. I think they're so cool. I think they are some of the most coachable, sincere humans I've ever met. I don't know what it is about the associate space, but they're ready to learn.   The Dental A Team (17:05) Yep.   Great.   The Dental A Team (17:25) And I have a few that I've talked with. Kiera always says to diagnose one more thing. It doesn't mean make something up and find something. It just means if you have the mentality of what's one more thing, you're less likely to hold back on that large amalgam filling that's leaking into the body and saying, hey, yeah, we need to take that sucker out when you do a crown. You're less likely to watch something that you truly know needs to be diagnosed.   and just having that mindset changes the game. And I talked to a doctor today that he's increased his just we're not even done with the month yet. And he's increased his production average by almost $20,000 this month, this month. And I said, what changed? What's different? And he said, well, I've been taking a lot of pictures of those massive shadowy leaking amalgams and just showing my patients that and doing the diagnose one more thing. They're doing it. And I said,   Like you're just, it's so incredible. So it's not to say we hit the number, it's to say we're hitting the standards that we should be hitting with an dental practice, which means I'm treating my patients really freaking well. And that was just so cool to see today. that production leads to collections and that case acceptance and diagnosis leads to your production. And it really tells you some sincere stories within that.   in order to get case acceptance, in order to get diagnosis, unless you really do have, if you're a brand new to the office doctor, you just bought the practice, you got a lot of new patients, okay? I need to say that because a lot of you undervalue how many new patients you have. They're new to you. They maybe have been at that practice forever, but they're new to you and you are a new set of eyes. So take that into consideration.   And then for all of my practices, new patients are a massive piece of that. And Kristy, I think for me at least, tell me if you have a different one that you recommend because I love them all. But I think new patients really are that kind of icing, you know, that cherry on top, the icing on top of the cake piece that really pushes it all together. What do you feel about that?   The Dental A Team (19:44) Yeah, I love that you said that and we're giving them the cherry on top because we're just giving the fifth metric TIF. But with that being said, yes, one of my favorite things to look at is how many new patients you got and how many during that month actually got scheduled for a next appointment. So you're getting them, but sometimes they're leaking out the back door too. So take a look at that. You guys will be surprised. Yeah.   The Dental A Team (20:00) Yes. Yes, that's cute.   Yeah, I   totally agree. I totally agree. had a doctor yesterday text me and she said, what's our new patient reappointment rate goal supposed to be at and what's our reappointment goal supposed to be at? And I was like, heart eyes that there's two separate questions. It's not just reappointment, it's new patient versus re-care. And that was phenomenal because those two are very different things and we wanna make sure that the patients we're getting in, one are the right patients for our practice.   The Dental A Team (20:25) Good.   The Dental A Team (20:37) And two, we are getting them to schedule back. So I totally agree. I think your top four KPIs, production, collections, case acceptance slash diagnosis, and your new patients and your new patient retention is key. There's a ton, I think, that we could add. Like that just makes me go, okay, well, what about attrition? What about reappointment rate? What about, like, there's so many more that we can add in. But for our newbies that are new to numbers.   Those four KPIs will get you so far for a while. I'd say focus in on those.   The Dental A Team (21:13) Yeah, I was going say we never drop those ones, right? They always stay at the top. So they are the key foundation. And again, it gives you peace of mind that it's not just going off of a feeling. We know when we're succeeding. And if we're not, then we have the power to change it.   The Dental A Team (21:31) Absolutely. think with that, right, Kristy, knowing where your new patients are coming from is also a tangible piece because I want to know that my patients referred to me. Like I want to know that I'm doing well because I'm getting, I'm hitting my numbers. So I know I'm doing well there and my patients respect me and love me and want their friends and family to come to a safe dentist. And they're referring back to our practice. That's the highest compliment you could get.   The Dental A Team (22:00) agree.   It's like full circle, right? You know you've tied it in a bow when they're referring back to you because they love you. Yep.   The Dental A Team (22:00) I agree. Yeah.   Mm-hmm.   Yeah, yeah, I love it. Awesome. I hope you guys found this helpful. Your top four KPIs, and we slid some extras in there. I like to do that. Production, collections, case acceptance, and diagnosis. New patients and new patient retention. Those are all gonna be really, really sincerely so helpful for you. If you're already doing those and you're like, okay, cool, girls, what can I add on to that? Awesome, reach out. Hello@TheDentalATeam.com. We are always here to help our team of   Experts will answer all of those emails and just so you know most of those emails come straight to us as well and that we might not be the one who types the answer but the questions come over to us so we can ensure that you get the answer that we would have given you personally. You can also chat with us anytime. Head over to our website, TheDentalATeam.com. There's an option there for a free consultation with our team to really see and evaluate where you're at, where you can go, and what gaps are in between. So whether you're working with us now,   working with us in the future or just a forever listener, we are here for you and we wanna hear from you. So, Kristy, thank you so much for diving into those with me today. I know metrics are your jam. You guys should see her spreadsheet. We have our own spreadsheets. We have two spreadsheets that we use. We have our own in-house spreadsheet. We have our scorecards we use with our practices and Kristy has her own scorecard that she uses with all of her practices. So if you need metrics helps, Kristy, you're the girl.   Just, I think you thrive in numbers and I love it.   The Dental A Team (23:37) Thank you. It's fun because you can gamify it, you know, and I want people to have fun with it. Don't ever think it's a bad thing. If you know you have knowing the game, right, then you can fix it. So thank you.   The Dental A Team (23:50) Yeah,   I agree. You're welcome, thank you. You've taught us all a ton. And you guys, that's a wrap for right now. We've got more podcasts to come, so hit that subscribe button. If you haven't hit it yet, you'll get notified when there's new ones that pop up. I come on with the consultants often, but Kiera does a slew of podcasts on her own and with special guests, so watch out for those. We have a lot of really cool people that hop on our podcasts with us. So Hello@TheDentalATeam.com, subscribe here.   Give us a five star review below. We'd love to know what metrics you're already watching and what metrics you add after today. Thanks guys and we'll talk to you next time.  

Back again! On the show this week we're joined by Ryan Budmayr, returning show historian Tony Venhuizen, and District 13 Senate candidate Dan Kippley for a fast-moving episode on how the session ended, what actually got done in Pierre, and how the governor's debate is already reshaping the 2026 race. We get into historic property tax relief, TIF and Future Fund fights, the battle over economic development, and why the divide between growth-first Republicans and the populist wing is only getting sharper. Plus Dan jumps in to talk about his District 13 Senate run, why he's leaning on his economic development background, what “common sense politics” looks like in Sioux Falls, and how he plans to grind through one of the toughest primaries in the state. We also hit petitions, yard sign wars, debate fallout, and the campaign-season chaos that's officially underway. @DakotaTownHall@Jakeshoenbeck@MurdocJ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Iowa's conservative tax reform story didn't happen by accident — and Governor Kim Reynolds made that crystal clear at the annual ITR/NFIB Tax Day Luncheon in Des Moines. With roughly 200 attendees packing the Hilton downtown, Chris Hagenow and John Hendrickson recap what the governor had to say about Iowa's decade-long transformation from one of the worst tax climates in the country to one of the best. From income tax reform to inheritance tax elimination to government efficiency, Reynolds made the case that Iowa's success is a model for the nation — and that the secret ingredient has always been fiscal discipline alongside the tax cuts, not instead of them.The numbers back it up. New IRS migration data for 2023 shows red states gained $37.2 billion in adjusted gross income and nearly 500,000 new tax filers, while blue states lost $41 billion and over 500,000 filers. Iowa is part of that story. Meanwhile, Washington State — which had no income tax — just enacted a 9.9% rate, and companies like Starbucks are already eyeing exits. Chris and John break down what this means for Iowa's competitive position and why the fiscal foundation Reynolds built is what makes continued reform possible.Property taxes are the unfinished business of Iowa's reform era, and Governor Reynolds called it plainly at the luncheon: it's the last big thing she wants to get done before leaving office. With the House, Senate, and governor each carrying a bill and session winding down, Chris and John dig into the state of negotiations — the 2% cap, growth factors, TIF reform, SAVE fund acceleration, and the importance of making sure whatever passes actually limits spending. The point is made clearly: if local governments can simply raise franchise fees, increase bonding, or find other workarounds, the reform won't deliver real relief to Iowa taxpayers.The governor's race got a quick update, with Congressman Randy Feenstra on television making the case for continuing to lower — and eventually eliminate — Iowa's income tax, Adam Steen hitting the mail, and Zach Lahn running a statewide tour focused on land ownership issues. The ITR Local Government Symposium is coming this summer — details ahead at taxrelief.org. Like and subscribe to ITR Live on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts, and share the show with someone who cares about Iowa taxes.00:00 Welcome & Intro00:58 Tax Day Luncheon Recap02:38 Trivia Question03:59 Iowa Tax Reform Legacy07:34 Fiscal Discipline & Tax Cuts11:16 Red State Migration Data14:20 Reynolds on Property Taxes16:01 Property Tax Cap Negotiations20:00 Local Government Efficiency23:05 Spending Cap Loopholes Warning27:46 Taxpayer Voice at the Capitol29:14 Governor's Race Update31:40 Feenstra on Income Tax33:45 One Size Fits All Debate38:22 Closing

Back again! On the show this week we're joined by South Dakota Searchlight reporter John Hult and South Dakota Chamber CEO Ryan Budmayr for a wide-ranging episode on what did—and didn't—happen in Pierre this session. Plug in as we talk about prison reform that stalled out, what lawmakers avoided tackling, the reality of rehabilitation efforts, and how campaign politics may be shaping those decisions. We also get into economic development, TIF changes, data center incentives that didn't make it, property tax shakeups, shifting the tax burden, and what it all means for businesses and communities across the state.Plus we dive into Sioux Falls' massive upcoming transformation with the Smithfield move, what doubling downtown could look like, the politics behind big development projects, and how local leadership is navigating it all. And of course, we wrap with campaign season chatter, candidate announcements, legislative leftovers, and the always important debate… best burgers in South Dakota.@DakotaTownHall @Jakeshoenbeck @MurdocJ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Back again! On the show this week we are joined by Campaign Manager Ian Fury, Pat Powers of South Dakota War College and Sioux Falls City Council candidate James Oppenheimer for a packed episode on city politics and campaign season chaos. Plug in as we talk about James' run for Sioux Falls City Council, the future of downtown, the massive Smithfield redevelopment, TIF debates, data centers, public safety, affordable housing, family-focused growth, the Sioux Falls mayor's race, and what the city could look like in the next 5 to 10 years. Plus Pat jumps in for a full South Dakota politics rundown with court week drama, Shad Olson, candidate DUI trouble, a flood of new legislative filings, major Senate primaries, PUC buzz, governor's race ripple effects, campaign season madness, and of course… the best burgers in South Dakota.@DakotaTownHall@Jakeshoenbeck@MurdocJ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Candidate filing season is underway, and the next few weeks will reveal not just who's running—but who can't get on the ballot. Chris and John flag what to watch: retirements, surprise re-runs by incumbents, and especially the volume (and seriousness) of primaries against sitting legislators—potentially on both sides of the carbon capture pipeline issue.They then revisit TIF (Tax Increment Financing) within Iowa's urban renewal framework and the renewed debate around it inside the Governor's property tax proposal. The core reforms discussed: (1) a 20-year limit (ending “perpetual TIFs”), and (2) narrowing eligible spending toward horizontal infrastructure (roads/utilities) rather than incentives that effectively boost developer profitability. The theme is not abolition—just enforceable guardrails.Next up: a Budget Continuation Act concept—essentially a “status quo” backstop that keeps government operating if a budget isn't passed on time (whether due to political deadlock or emergencies). They frame it as stability for taxpayers and a structural safeguard against D.C.-style shutdown politics and policy “hostage-taking” during endgame budget negotiations.Finally, they tease broader regulatory reform via the REINS Act approach—tightening legislative oversight of major regulations and reinforcing checks and balances over the administrative state. They also note movement on integrity/oversight legislation affecting SNAP and Medicaid, driven in part by federal rule changes and the need to reduce error and fraud exposure for Iowa.00:00:14 – Welcome + trivia setup00:01:12 – Trivia question: President + Chief Justice (only one person)00:02:13 – Candidate filing period: who's in, who's out, and what to watch00:05:04 – Primaries vs incumbents; carbon pipeline politics00:06:50 – Democrats: U.S. Senate primary chatter and endorsements00:09:04 – TIF recap: what it is and why it exists00:10:45 – Governor's TIF reforms: 20-year limit + guardrails00:12:33 – Restricting TIF uses: infrastructure vs developer incentives00:17:00 – Budget Continuation Act: how it works and why it matters00:21:25 – How budget brinksmanship drives bad policy add-ons00:24:16 – REINS Act: regulatory oversight and checks/balances00:27:54 – SNAP/Medicaid oversight bills: error rates and fraud control00:29:15 – Wrap + subscribe

TIf you've ever felt overwhelmed, frozen, or caught in the spiral, this is your invitation to reframe fear, move with intention, and breathe your way back to yourself.Whether you're navigating uncertainty, healing from burnout, or simply wanting to live more grounded and awake this episode is here to hold you gently and guide you forward.The Upside of Stress by Kelly McGonigalEmotional Agility by Susan David, PhDThe Happiness Trap by Dr. Russ Harris How to Make Stress Your Friend” – TED Talk by Kelly McGonigalMel Robbins on Turning Anxiety into ExcitementThink Like a Monk by Jay Shetty Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

February 17, 2026 - Dave Wendt of the Village of Forsyth joined Byers & Co to talk about Chic-fil-A, a new disc golf course, roadwork, TIF district incentives, and farm land. Listen to the podcast now!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chris Hagenow and John Hendrickson kick off a Presidents' Day episode from the Hendrickson Library with a quick reset on the show's running trivia thread—last week's question on FDR's failed 1937 “court-packing” push—and a new prompt for listeners: who was Abraham Lincoln's political hero? They also trade a few studio-quality-of-life notes (and Chris's ongoing desire for better signage) before moving into the day's agenda.The conversation takes a detour into culture and Americana with news that Robert Duvall has passed away at age 95. John and Chris swap favorite Duvall roles and recommendations, landing on Open Range and Secondhand Lions as must-watches, with a few quick nods to The Godfather, MASH, Days of Thunder, and Gone in 60 Seconds.From there, they pivot into Iowa policy: the annual TIF (tax increment financing) report is out, and they walk through the basic mechanics of TIF—borrowing against projected future property-tax increments—while highlighting why the “free lunch” argument often collapses in practice. The top-line number that grabs attention: roughly $4.7B in TIF-related debt statewide, paired with concerns about permissive rules and the extent to which incentives become direct developer subsidies rather than targeted remediation or infrastructure.Finally, John previews his research on property-tax reform efforts nationwide, arguing Iowa isn't an outlier and that caps/limits are being explored even in places you wouldn't expect (often driven by education-cost pressure). They contrast true reform (reducing the growth of government costs so taxpayers actually pay less) with “shell game” approaches that simply swap one revenue source for another. The episode closes with a broader warning about high-tax states pursuing new levies (including wealth-tax proposals) and why Iowa's competitiveness hinges on resisting the spending trajectory that creates those shortfalls.0:00 Intro + Presidents' Day open1:44 Trivia recap + Lincoln question3:00 Robert Duvall segment5:29 TIF report reset + definition13:43 Property-tax caps spreading nationwide19:21 Why tax swaps fail without spending restraint22:15 “Seat at the table” + taxpayer focus29:28 States raising taxes + why it matters for Iowa32:34 Closing

Welcome back! this week, with Murdoc in the West out of town, this week is hosted by Jake in the East! On this week is Deputy Mayor of Watertown Kyle Peters, D5 Senator Glen Vilhauer as well as Rep Mat Roby. Plug in as we talk about appropriations, farm bill, THC derivative legislative changes, bathroom bill, LRC, economic development, datacenters, power infrastructure, Bill Gates, growing revenue, TIF thoughts, Rep Roby's bills, tie breaking votes, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ad Astra Travelers, and welcome to Tales of Teyvat: A Genshin Lore Podcast. This week, our hosts are returning to Nod-Krai to discuss the battle with Rerir. Join our hosts as we cover Acts III and IV of the Nod-Krai Archon Quest. Our hosts start with a quick recap of where we left off with Act II, the new integrated character story quests and if Rerir was truly a good guy before his abyssal corruption. Afterwards, we'll walk through Acts III and IV to discuss the dynamics among the Harbingers, our introduction and thoughts on Master Varka, and the apparent power of Pyro. Feens will gush about Albedo, Tif will judge his chair making abilities and Bee will question the misogynistic conversations had between Flins and Varka. Of course, we'll discuss Nefer's memory diving abilities, Varka being left in charge of Hiisi Island, and how sucky Khaenri'ah was. Make sure you and the mysterious voices in your head are ready for this week's episode! Check out our merch store or buy us a cup of coffee at https://ko-fi.com/talesofteyvatVisit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠talesofteyvat.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to find a comprehensive lore sheet that provides visual aids and links to videos and important Genshin Impact Resources. Make sure to give us a follow on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to stay updated on all things Tales of Teyvat and let us know your thoughts on today's episode. Questions? Thoughts? Theories you have to share? Feel free to email us at talesofteyvatpod@gmail.com and let us know, we would love to hear from you!Tales of Teyvat has partnered with the Shade Chamber Podcast to create a Genshin Community on Discord for our listeners! We are so excited to chat Genshin Lore, Honkai Star Rail, and so much more with you! You can join our server at https://bit.ly/shadesofteyvat.

In this episode of ITR Live, Chris Hagenow and John Hendrickson break down the first full week of the 2026 Iowa legislative session, with a sharp focus on property taxes, government spending, and the tone being set by legislative leadership. After years of debate, property taxes are unmistakably front and center—across party lines—marking what could be a pivotal session for Iowa taxpayers.The hosts walk through opening-day speeches from Republican leaders and Kim Reynolds, highlighting a consistent message: spending drives taxation. Chris and John emphasize that Iowa's recent income tax reforms were only possible because of disciplined budgeting, and that the same principle must now be applied to property taxes. Proposals such as a 2% cap on local government budget growth are framed not as cuts, but as a way to slow growth to a level Iowans can afford.A significant portion of the conversation focuses on the predictable pushback from local governments and media voices, including familiar scare tactics suggesting that any restraint will lead to unsafe communities or failing infrastructure. Chris and John push back hard, noting that slowing the growth of spending is not the same as cutting essential services—and that similar warnings in past debates never materialized.The episode also dives into specific policy ideas emerging early in session, including limits on tax increment financing (TIF), efforts to redirect a larger share of the SAVE sales tax toward property tax relief, and incentives for local government consolidation and efficiency. While supportive of the overall direction, the hosts raise concerns about proposals like senior property tax freezes, warning that they risk creating unequal treatment within the tax code.The discussion closes on a cautiously optimistic note. With multiple major bills introduced in week one and clear alignment among Republican leaders, Chris and John argue that the opportunity for meaningful reform is real—but only if lawmakers stay focused on the core issue: controlling the growth of government spending so taxpayers can finally get lasting relief.

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are a powerful tool. They provide concrete numbers for your practice, showing what's working well, but also clear-cut areas for improvement. Tiff and Kristy break down how and where to use KPIs, plus interpretation, growth factors, and more. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:00) Hello Dental A Team listeners. I am back here with one of your favorites I know she's one of your favorites because we get some massive kudos and massive reviews and feedback on Miss Kristy and I've got her here today to pick her brain on a couple of different Topics and this one we are diving right in you guys I'm super excited for this topic and for what's to come Kristy you work really really really hard with your clients on   finding the metrics that are actually going to push their needle. And something that I think you key in very easily on is that missing, I said earlier, like a puzzle piece. And you're able to see the picture, the big picture, and then narrow it down into pieces that are going to move ⁓ incrementally, right? We always look for the things that are gonna, a small change that can make a massive difference. And you're really good at keying into those pieces. Now,   Earlier we were recording a podcast and we talking about this massive growth that a platinum client of yours had experienced this year. We're recording this in 2025. It'll release in 2026. So this year they had experienced this incredible growth. And we talked about some of the systems that they had used, handoffs and block scheduling and financial menus, all of the different things that you guys were able to implement lasers, kind of all the things.   DAT Kristy (01:02) Thank   The Dental A Team (01:16) But when it comes to, we can implement things and this I think is what happens when practices come to us. The practices come to us, Kristy, and they say, teach me systems, right? I need systems. We're like, gosh, you have systems. You just don't know if the systems are working or not, right? You wouldn't have gotten this far. You wouldn't be calling down on a team if there were no systems. So we just have to key in on the systems that you have and figure out why, if they are working or not and if they're not, why they're not working. Now, Kristy.   DAT Kristy (01:30) Thank   The Dental A Team (01:45) The word KPI or the acronym KPI, key performance indicators, I think can be daunting and confusing, very confusing. So help us to simplify today. How do you go about choosing the right KPIs? And what are some of your favorite overarching KPIs for practices to use?   DAT Kristy (02:06) Yeah. I love that you say that Tiff, because KPIs, you know me, I do love the numbers because the numbers don't lie, right? And they start to tell a story. They don't tell this whole story, but it lets us see what's working well and be able to celebrate with our teams, you know, what is going good. And it also lets us ⁓ dive into maybe areas where there's opportunity for sure.   And I always like to say there's lead and lag measures. And so I like to look at both, you know, to your point, probably my top ones, obviously everybody knows production, collection. ⁓ And I also like to say, don't get hung up just on percentages. Also look at the numbers too, right? It's both. And then also case acceptance.   dollars diagnosed, dollars accepted, and your percentage accepted. ⁓ And to that point, your re-care and even new patient numbers too.   The Dental A Team (03:14) I totally agree with you. I'd   love that you said don't pay attention just to the percentage. I think both are equally as important. And I think what you mean by that, I can surmise, is we'll take diagnosis for an example, something we talked about in the other podcast we recorded for your Platinum client was that they were able to increase their case acceptance, but you started tracking and looking at what their diagnosis amount was. So if we strictly look at, and I love this one because   I love when practices come in and they make it really easy for us and they're like, gosh, I have a really high case acceptance. have 87 % case acceptance, but my schedule isn't full. I'm not hitting production goals. And we're like, heck yeah, slam dunk, this one's easy. We're not diagnosing enough. So I think that's the differentiating space that you're talking about, the percentage versus the dollar amount, because we can have really high case acceptance of a small dollar amount. So if we're not looking at both of those simultaneously and seeing   are we diagnosing enough dollars to get to the production and collections that we want and then also getting the case acceptance? Is that what you're meaning there by that KPI? And how would you separate those KPIs for someone tracking them that's trying to maybe get to that next level of production?   DAT Kristy (04:29) Yeah, absolutely. That is exactly what I'm talking about because again, that percentage we can celebrate all day long. But if my goal is $100,000 a month and I'm getting 80 % case acceptance of $50,000 a month, obviously that's not enough to reach our goal. definitely looking at dollars diagnosed being at least three times what we want our goal to be. ⁓   we know we're more likely gonna hit our goal. Then we can start working on the percentage and capturing more of the percentage. But it's funny that you say that Tiff, because just the other day I was pointing out to a doctor, I'm like, look at this month, you had 46 % case acceptance, but this month you had 21%. But look at the dollar amount. I'd rather take that dollar amount all day long in the 21 % month than the 46 % month. So again,   The Dental A Team (05:24) Yeah.   DAT Kristy (05:25) then we can start focusing in on how do we capture more of it as long as we're diagnosing enough to get there.   The Dental A Team (05:33) Totally. And what do you use as your marker for the amount of ⁓ diagnosis that they need? So how much production should a practice be diagnosing per doctor in order to hit their goals?   DAT Kristy (05:44) Yeah, depending on what their goal is per month based on their overhead of the practice and you know other factors for growth, we want them to be diagnosing three times at least what that monthly dollar amount is that we want to hit.   The Dental A Team (06:01) Yeah, I totally agree. And that gives you the flexibility of case acceptance, right? So if we're diagnosing three times, because when we look at case acceptance also, there's two different, there's multiple KPIs within KPIs. And you guys, this is why it gets so daunting. And it can be overwhelming to try to find quote unquote, the right KPIs. Like just find KPIs, just start tracking KPIs, just start tracking key performance indicators, and then get more granular as you see, okay, great, this leads to the next one, because you're gonna try to capture too much.   and you're gonna get overwhelmed with the choices. I say that because case acceptance, just case acceptance alone has two variations of KPI. There's a one-to-one, did they schedule or not, right? So if they scheduled a filling but they had a crown diagnosed as well and they only scheduled the filling, that's 100 % because they scheduled something. Or our preferred method, a dollar for dollar.   If they were treatment planned $1,000 and they only scheduled $500, that's a 50 % case acceptance. So thank goodness I picked easy numbers this time. I'm usually really hard on myself there. But that's how the KPIs within that KPI work. So if you're at a 35 % case acceptance, but you're diagnosing three times the amount of your goal or four times and maybe you're a cosmetically driven practice, so your case acceptance is lower than a general.   DAT Kristy (07:02) You   The Dental A Team (07:22) bread and butter, then your case acceptance against your diagnosed is going to work to help fill that schedule. So I think that's a beautiful place to start, that diagnosis plus case acceptance, those go hand in hand. And then Kristy, I always go down, I kind of see it going, so you see the diagnosis, like how much are we diagnosing? Are we diagnosing enough? What percentage of that diagnosis are we getting accepted?   and do we have enough new patients to continue to support that diagnosis? You might see one month you have great stellar diagnosis because you had a massive amount of new patients, but that new patient number isn't consistent. So then next month your new patients drop, well so does your diagnosis, and your case acceptance probably does, because you're not feeling so hot either. You're like, what the heck is going on? You're spiraling, so is your case acceptance. So they all follow each other. So I kind of see that like.   diagnosis, case acceptance, then new patients. And on average, Kristy, what would you say a good KPI number for new patients is per full-time doctor?   DAT Kristy (08:28) Yeah, I say anywhere between 25 and 35 per full-time doctor for sure is a healthy metric.   The Dental A Team (08:35) Yeah, I totally agree, totally agree. And what other KPIs would you say, so think diagnosis, case acceptance, new patients, those are really, really easy to track numbers and those are definitely indicators of everything else. What are some other key performance indicators that you typically have offices start out with?   DAT Kristy (08:38) Thank   Yeah. The other one is your reappointment rate and even taking a look at how many patients are going inactive because surprise, surprise docs, a lot of times we're really happy about that new patient number, but then we see, there's equally that amount going out the back door because we haven't worked re-care. And so again, we can be very strategic and focus on the re-care. We can look at the patients that have outstanding treatment because like you said, Tiff,   it definitely directly affects the doctor's schedule when we're not getting those patients back in that have outstanding treatment. So that is one that I definitely would recommend looking at.   The Dental A Team (09:32) Absolutely.   Yeah, and that one, Kristy, I love your appointment, right? Because it gets the team involved too. It's very easy for the doctor, the owner, the office manager to think that all of these KPIs need to land on you and that you need to be the one tracking them. But those kind of smaller variable KPIs really get the team involved. And to that point as well, do think, I think doctors knowing their diagnosis is massive, but I treatment coordinators should be the ones that are tracking and reporting on that metric. And this is where   DAT Kristy (09:41) Mm-hmm.   The Dental A Team (10:06) know, practices come in and they're like, I need to track these KPIs. And they're like, Kristy, can't fill out the scorecard. We're like, cool, you shouldn't be, that's okay. So taking that, you know, to back up, we use a scorecard with all of our clients that tracks a ton of metrics that are indicators of making your goal or not. And so what we like to do, Kristy, I know you do this really well too. ⁓ Also, I like to split it between what makes sense. So I like the person who is being held accountable to the result.   to be the one that's tracking that measurable and filling it in. And then we're all coming together and talking about the results, but we're really looking at, if I'm a treatment coordinator, I'm tracking the treatment case acceptance, which simultaneously tracks our diagnosed amount. So I'm tracking the diagnosis and the case acceptance. If I'm a scheduling coordinator, I'm tracking open hours and new patients, right? And probably attrition.   which is the patients going out. And Kristy, to your point, I actually had a practice the other day that was like, Tiff, we're doing really great on new patients, but my active patient count isn't changing enough to show those new patients. And I was like, that's your attrition. That's where they're going out the other side. And Kristy, that's where that reappointment rate comes in to play, right? And that reappointment rate then can go to a scheduling coordinator as well, but also can go to hygiene. And I know a lot of people,   DAT Kristy (11:29) Thank you.   The Dental A Team (11:31) struggle getting KPIs that are for the team. I think those are those areas. So I love that. What else do you dive into kind of on like a more granular space that can get that team involved that can help doctors and office managers see that it's not all on them?   DAT Kristy (11:42) Yeah.   ⁓ 100%. ⁓ Another area of metric. Well, let me go back to the reappointment rate. I think sometimes again, just like I was telling you on numbers and percentage, again, even in that, sometimes talking, hey, we saw 100 patients last week and eight didn't get reappointed. That's eight hours of hygiene in six months from now. And I don't know about you, but if I'm working full time, I don't want to cut a day out of my schedule. So sometimes   The Dental A Team (12:07) Yeah.   DAT Kristy (12:16) putting it in that perspective can make a huge difference. And ⁓ Tiff, another area that I love looking at is the AR. AR for patient AR and also insurance metrics and formulating ⁓ goals around that, know, what's healthy. And ideally we don't have more than one, one and a half times our monthly production sitting out there in AR.   The Dental A Team (12:25) Yeah.   Yeah, I love that point. That is a massive, massive space. so, Kristy, to take all of these things together, really, we're looking at are your KPIs actually driving your growth? So how would you kind of decipher within some of these KPIs we've talked about how the practices could see, are they actually driving my growth?   DAT Kristy (13:04) Yeah, looking over the year to year ⁓ metrics and tracking it for where they want to be. And one of the things that I think we're really good at, Tif, is doing the projections for the year and reverse engineering it. So then we have a guideline, if you will, to work toward not just the big year goal, but quarterly and monthly. And so same thing with my teams. I'm always looking at   You know, the month view, the week view and the day view. Chunk it down, make it easier. And again, if there's a gap, usually when you're looking at it in a week view, there's not much of ⁓ a change. It's usually doing one more thing, right? Adding one more thing to our schedule can make a huge difference.   The Dental A Team (13:53) Yeah, I totally agree. And Kristy, if a practice is going from, let's talk about the practice we spoke of already today. They're going from 2.8 ish to over 3 million. What were some good KPIs that you chose for that practice specifically to increase that production goal that year?   DAT Kristy (14:11) Yeah, capturing more case acceptance, for sure. Dollars. How can we capture more at one time? And again, I think the biggest thing TIFF to recognize is behind every one of those metrics is a system. And really, I look at it twofold. If the metric isn't where we want it, let's pull out the systems that we know can directly contribute to it. And I look at it like a recipe.   Probably a lot of people this time of year are baking, but I'll use the analogy and I do it with my clients. If we have a chocolate chip recipe, let's pull out the recipe. Are we still following it to a T? ⁓ And if not, why not? Maybe it's we substituted a cup of sugar for a cup of salt and we just need to get back to the real recipe. Or if we followed it to a T, maybe we need to find a new recipe and we'll develop it together to get the results we want.   The Dental A Team (15:11) Yeah, I love that. love that. in essence, we're tracking the question, are your KPIs actually driving your growth? We don't know until we start tracking them and then looking at this isn't changing or this isn't exactly where I wanted it to be. So let's look at what got us there. And I think we do fail to do that. Sometimes we just say, you know, this is how we've always done it. Well, my AR is out of control.   This is how I've always done it. Eventually it will find its way back down is not the case. So we've got to look at what we're doing. What's that recipe and do we need to add a little brown sugar, you know, sprinkles onto our chocolate chip cookies? Like what does that need to look like in order to make the change to get the result that we want to get the better cookies? Yeah. Yeah. I love that. I love that. Well,   DAT Kristy (15:44) you   You got it. You nailed it.   The Dental A Team (15:57) Honestly, you guys, we can talk about KPIs for 16 hours because there's so many different KPIs that can be brought up within a dental practice and really truly you've got to look at what's going to work best for you and for your team. What is the result that you're looking for? Like Kristy said, what's that end goal? And then reverse engineer it. So if you're looking for production, looking for collections, like what is it that gets you the production and the collection? What are those systems underneath it? That's how you're gonna figure out the right KPIs.   I'm a firm believer that there's really not a wrong KPI. There's just more KPIs. so if you're halfway through the year, a quarter through the year, and you're like, gosh, actually, I need to add this. Cool, add it, change it. It doesn't matter just because whatever you choose here in January does not mean that that's for the whole year. It just means this is what's getting us there right now, and it's going to turn into more. ⁓ Kristy, you are phenomenal. Thank you so much for today.   Thank you for the work that you put in with your clients on these types of things and everything else that you do. And I love these nuggets. Thank you. Just thank you so much, Kristy. I know that the listeners are really appreciating this today.   DAT Kristy (17:05) Absolutely, my pleasure.   The Dental A Team (17:08) Amazing. And guys, go listen again. Reach out. If you are a client of ours, ask your consultant if you guys aren't talking about KPIs, if we're not using that word specifically, and you're like, hey, what are we tracking here? We're tracking and we're probably just not using that word specifically. So ask your consultant. Ask where you're at. Ask if you need to shift anything. And if you're not a client yet, then reach out. Hello@TheDentalATeam.com. We are happy to give you some ideas to take a look at what you've got going on and really   let you know what we could do for you or what you can do even without us to increase from where you're at now to where you want to go. So reach out, Hello@TheDentalATeam.com and we will catch you guys next time. Thank you.

Southern Remedy Healthy and Fit is hosted by Josie Bidwell, Professor of Preventive Medicine and Nurse Practitioner at UMMC. If you have a question for Josie, you can email fit@mpbonline.org. It this episode, Josie answers some questions from listeners and alos tIf you enjoy listening to this podcast, please consider contributing to MPB. https://donate.mpbfoundation.org/mspb/podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Re-releasing a DAT listener favorite! The Dental A-Team is joined by Dr. Nate Tilman! Fascinating history aside (read his bio below), Dr. Tilman talks with Kiera about his unique dental practice situation, how he's managed to merge five different practices into his own, and a strategy for doing so. He also speaks to the shifting of culture in his practice, what it took for him to recognize, and the success it's brought. More on Dr. Tilman: Originally from Salisbury, Maryland, Dr. Tilman attended Wake Forest University for his undergraduate degree. He was awarded his Doctor of Dental Surgery from the University of Maryland where he graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2001. Dr. Tilman served in the U.S. Navy Dental Corps for four years, including two years forward deployed aboard USS Ashland (LSD 48). Following his military service, Dr. Tilman moved to Newport, Rhode Island, in 2007 and opened Newport Family and Cosmetic Dentistry. He has had the pleasure to work with an amazing team and amazing patients in creating a state-of-the art, caring, and comfortable dental practice. His commitment to incorporating advanced technologies and techniques allows Dr. Tilman and his team to provide dental treatment in fewer visits and more comfortably than with traditional techniques. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: speaker-0 (00:05) Hey everyone, welcome to the Dental A Team podcast. I'm your host, Kiera Dent, and I have this crazy idea that maybe I could combine a doctor and a team member's perspective, because let's face it, dentistry can be a challenging profession with those two perspectives. I've been a dental assistant, treatment coordinator, scheduler, filler, office manager, regional manager, practice owner, and I have a team of traveling consultants where we have traveled to over 165 different offices coaching teams. Yep, we don't just understand you, we are you.   Our mission is to positively impact the world of dental. And I believe that this podcast is the greatest way I can help elevate teams, grow VIP experiences, reduce stress, and create A-Teams. Welcome to the Dental A Team Podcast.   Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and you guys. I love podcasts where I get to bring on offices that I just think are fantastic. So this is an office that we have worked with in the Dental A Team. Also fun fact, he is in the smallest state in the entire United States. So you all know me and my state traveling. His state is one of my hardest states to get to every year, because it's so tiny and it's so far away from me. But he's just one of the best people I've ever met. He's an incredible leader, incredible dentist, incredible just   good human. So I'm so glad and so excited to welcome Dr. Nate Tilman to the show. How are you today, Nate?   speaker-1 (01:27) I am great. Thank you. Thank you. I'm super excited to be here. ⁓ as you know, I've been a fan of the podcast for, know, pretty much since you started. And it's kind of like, it's kind of surreal being, you know, being on, being on the podcast. So I appreciate, appreciate the offer.   speaker-0 (01:44) Well, I love it. love to one it's fun. Thank you for being a podcast fan I mean it's almost coming up on three years of the podcast since we created it and I never would have thought that the podcast could connect me with such cool people so one thank you for being a podcast listener and two things are just being a rad person I I liked the podcast has become a fun passion project for me to meet people to hear their stories   So I kind of alluded to it. You're also doing something similar to Dr. Dave Mogadon, who was on the podcast about those chart ⁓ mergers and buyouts that's kind of helped with your growth, but kind of just tell the listeners like how you even got into dentistry and kind of what your growth trajectory has been, just so they kind of know as a background to today's podcast.   speaker-1 (02:28) Yeah, I'll try not to ramble too much about it. yeah, I went to always wanted to do something in healthcare. My grandfather was a public health physician is a big inspiration for me. So kind of I think it's midway through college decided dentistry is gonna be a really good fit, you know, for a number of reasons. Went to University of Maryland for dental school, loved it decided to stay in general dentistry for   you know, all the variety of what we do. was on a Navy scholarship, so I was able to spend the first four years as a practicing dentist in the Navy. ⁓ Two years I was on a ship as the only dentist. So it was a really good, didn't realize like how helpful an experience that was for like running us an organization, even though it was an organization of three.   speaker-0 (03:14) Yeah, but I also feel like let's just talk about the Navy real fast because I didn't know this about you and my husband and I were literally talking probably two days ago and he said I don't think I ever could do the Navy like put me on a ship with these people for so long and dump me in the middle of the ocean like nowhere to go no hiking like what do you even do? How how was that? feel like more than anything it would teach you mental stamina is what I think I would learn from being on the Navy. But how was it for you? Maybe maybe you guys go swimming every day. I don't know like what do you do all day?   speaker-1 (03:43) Definitely not at all. it was, the two years on the ship was very, it's a super unique experience. And we were a small ship, 400 sailors. We transported Marines. So I was responsible for pretty much 400 patients. had, it was me, I had an administrative assistant and I had two dental technicians that could do some basic hygiene, not a hygienist, but it was me. ⁓   So having to learn like managing supplies and, know, managing appointments and all of that stuff. But the unique thing as a, as a dentist, and mean, this is one year out of a, you know, my GPR. still I was safe, but didn't really know necessarily all what I was doing, but I love to get myself out of jams because middle of the ocean, like. Mid procedure. I'm not going to be the guy calling a helicopter, you know, you got to work through it. So.   speaker-0 (04:40) They're like awesome because it's gonna push your limits and you've got to just figure it out Which I think so many dentists when they do own they don't learn that stamina that stress like hey, it's you figure it out But you're like the odds are even stacked more you're in the middle of the ocean and I mean it would been a pretty cool story for me maybe not for you to hear like a helicopter to come get a patient because you botched a root canal or something like you'd have to figure that out, but that that doesn't definitely up your odds of intensity   for sure being out there and nobody else is there to help you. You're the man. You got to figure it all out.   speaker-1 (05:13) Yeah. And I think it's, while it would have been nice to, you know, if I'd had a situation like, know, where I had a mentor, another dentist I was working with, you know, to be able to bail out, like it have been helpful, but it really, it did, it gave me a lot of, a lot of confidence, um, you know, early on for like, can work my way through this. And then also like what things I don't want to do. Cause I don't want to get stuck in that position again. Yeah. And it was, and yeah, while I didn't have to helicopter anybody out, one of the things I did do, and I don't think at the time, nobody had ever really.   speaker-0 (05:34) True.   speaker-1 (05:42) done it from a small ship or the even smaller ships around us that there were two times where people had some dental emergencies that I was able to fly out to their ship and take care of them.   speaker-0 (05:52) No way. Well, you do have like built in planes. You travel anywhere. So it's like quick, like fly you in, but that's crazy. Cause you ma I can't even imagine the stress that those poor other dentists were feeling of like we're in the middle of here. Like what am I supposed to do? ⁓ I guess call someone else. So, I mean, we talk about dentistry and I've said this so many times, like, feel like dental practices are like these solo islands out there. All y'all just kind of hang in your own area. You literally were in the middle of the ocean flying solo.   speaker-1 (06:22) Yeah. That's crazy. It was fun. There wasn't a ton of dentistry to do. I, know, cool thing with the Navy, they give you other jobs. So I became an air traffic controller. So I was in charge of, you know, all of the flight operations on the ship. so between that and dentistry, it me pretty busy. And then I played a of video games, you know,   speaker-0 (06:41) I'm like, I would be pulling pranks. mean, just throughout COVID, my husband, he makes fun of me. I feel like a roaming tiger in these four walls of our house. Like sometimes I'm like, just let me out of here. Like I can't even handle it. I'm like, I gotta go for a run. I gotta go for a hike that I can't even imagine being on a ship. would be like, I know I'd be pulling pranks on every single person on that ship and just like running for my life. Cause I probably would torment everybody, but air traffic control that like you really went for all the things, Nate, dentistry and air traffic controller.   What don't they say those are the top two suicide jobs? Like you really went for the whole extreme there. Nice job.   speaker-1 (07:15) Well, that's that's like when they selected me to go to the school for our traffic control. What are you guys trying to tell me? You already know I'm a dentist.   speaker-0 (07:23) Gosh, that's crazy. So you were in the Navy and then you went, got out of the Navy. Did you go straight to private practice? Did you go in and be an associate?   speaker-1 (07:32) So I was an associate for a year, still in the Virginia Beach area and then moved to Rhode Island. My wife is, we met in college, I'm two years older, so she was awesome for following me around. then, ⁓ so when she was done with her residency, she's from New England, so we kinda, that's where we looked up here. And I'll tell you, Virginia Beach area, super easy to get a job as an associate, tons of positions around, I figured it'd be the same thing coming up here and there was nothing.   speaker-0 (08:00) mean,   Rhode Island is like the size of a dot on a map. I mean, it's itty bitty, which I makes you a celebrity just because you live there. Like, not many people even live there, so.   speaker-1 (08:11) Yeah, it's in and it's there's there's a number of dentists, but it's it's all solo guys and it's tough like restricted covenants. You know you get a two mile radius. That's the whole state.   speaker-0 (08:21) Exactly   exactly that is you definitely have to look at your associate ships of their contracts really closely Otherwise, you might be booting out of that state just because like you said two mile radius is not far in Rhode Island   speaker-1 (08:34) Not at all. So I ended up having an opportunity to a it's like a four operatory practice, like three, I think two and a half, three days a week. The guy was definitely like on the decline of practice. So jumped into that, had no idea what I was doing. And then six months later, was approached by another dentist who was moving from the area. I think it was a family thing too. And he was having trouble getting somebody to buy   his practice Rhode Island. It's not many dentists moved to the state for a number of reasons. So again, I was still trying to figure out how I was paying my initial loan and how I was running this practice or whatever. the opportunity to buy, to merge this, the patient base. So I did that and it was definitely the best thing I did because it brought in a whole new group of patients. I was able to go from like two and a half days a week to four days a week.   I was able to add another hygienist at the time. so it wasn't super intentional, but the growth was happening. just kind of fell in my lap. I'm like, I'll do this. And looking back, it is where I realized what a good thing it was.   speaker-0 (09:48) For sure. And I hope people listening, ⁓ I am a firm believer that opportunity doesn't always knock on the door and say, I'm opportunity. Sometimes it looks like pure chaos. Sometimes it's stretching you beyond. Sometimes it's really just showing up. I remember the day that I was asked to work with DSI as a consultant. Guys, I had one consulting client before Mark asked me to be a consultant. And overnight, I had 45 clients in my lab. I didn't know what the heck I was doing. But I people listening realize like,   For you, you're struggling. just bought your practice. Don't know what you're doing. Yes, you've had quite a bit of experience, but at the same time, running a practice is very different than being an associate or I'm sure even in the Navy. And so now, and then, hey, by the way, there's all this other patient base wanting to come in. And I love that you just, jumped, you took that opportunity. And I think again, so many times in life, opportunities show up. It's just a matter of, we willing to take them and figure it out or are we too scared and just let them pass by? ⁓   You brought those patients in and you were mentioning pre record that adding in patients from other practices has really been a great way for you to get new patients. ⁓ which people are constantly looking for new patients. was just talking to, there's a guy out here. He's a pathiatrist guys. I'm like, I don't know. I just can't help myself, but help business owners. Like I love it. Podiatry is not that much different than dentistry. Y'all see patients like dentistry, we work on the mouth, but I treat work on the foot. Like   Basically, it's kind of like pediatric. You go to your surgery centers, they come in, you see these patients for their adjustments. But I was talking to him and he's a solo podiatrist and there are two podiatry offices around him that have just shut down doors. So he's like, yeah, it's just great. Like people are finding us and I'm like, did you call those people and ask them for their charts, buy those charts? that is two practices worth of patients that you're just hoping maybe one day will Google you when they're seriously sitting right in front of you. So   I'm super curious. I love this topic. know Dave's talked about it as well, but Nate, how do you buy charts successfully? How do you make that transition? Like Dave was talking about buying so many charts, but kind of from your experience, how do you buy these charts? How do you merge these patients in successfully? And other than just good luck and being in the right place at the right time, finding more of these opportunities. I'm super curious.   speaker-1 (12:04) Yeah, yeah. So for this one, know, having no idea what I was doing, I did have some, think, good advice from a transition attorney that I worked with. initially, the guy that was selling his charts, wanted X number of dollars for his, I think he said, 1,000 active records.   speaker-0 (12:26) And what's like X number of dollars like just give me a ballpark you don't have to say the exact amount but I'm like is it five dollars a chart ten dollars a chart thirty dollars a chart like what   speaker-1 (12:35) If I remember, this was probably 10 years ago, so I believe it was 60 a chart is what he wanted. So I think he wanted 60 million, right? And, you know, I, again, not knowing too much, I definitely knew that those 1,000 people were not gonna come over, right? So I was worried about like, what's the risk? Like, are 10 people gonna come or are 800 gonna come? I have no idea.   Yeah. So the attorney I was talking to, he said, he'd never done it this way. said, but maybe what you want to do is offer a little bit more per record, but only for like a small percentage at first. And then keep track of it over time. And that's what I think I did. It was either a hundred or 120 a chart. And I prepaid for like 300. But then for the next year, I kept track of all the, like once I got above that 300, I kept track of it.   So the nice thing is it limited my, it limited my risk. It put more, I guess, importance or motivation on the seller to really like push his patients to come. Cause the more you make more, the more people that came to see me. So it was a win-win that way. And it also, it let me kind of control that the influx too, because I think if all of sudden I was getting, you know, 800 patients calling all at once, it'd be a little bit trickier to merge this all in.   So that worked out really well.   speaker-0 (14:00) And I'm just curious on that, because this is something else I've been really wondering. After talking to Dave, now meeting this podiatrist, guys, I just love this type of stuff. This is cool business stuff that I feel a lot of people don't talk about. I'm curious, how long was the arrangement? Was it for a year that you would pay him? Was it for five years you'd pay the selling doctor? Because I'm curious, how is the motivation? for me as a business owner, I wouldn't want this to go on forever. I'd want an end date of when I don't have to pay you $120 per patient.   So how is that kind of arrangement set up?   speaker-1 (14:32) It actually, was nine months is what we had set. And I think it could work either, but I certainly wouldn't go more than a year, because it is, it becomes a major pain. And then, honestly for me, as I got close to that nine months, we sort of started slowing down. We strategically scheduled those last few patients in the nine months, but I still had all the records.   speaker-0 (14:54) That's what curious. So did you get all the records? So like you paid this, all the charts come to you, and then the other dentist has good faith that you're going to be honest? Or do they get access to it? Was that what it was?   speaker-1 (15:04) He could have like, had it written. If you wanted to send somebody to audit it, like absolutely. He had access to do that. He just never did. and yeah, we had an initial wave of a lot of people and then it slowed down a bit. And you know, it's, um, I think, I think it ended up, maybe we got 450 out of that thousand. Um, and it and it was close and it was close to that nine months. You know, we were getting close to like 400 and again, I just.   We slowed down a little bit, ⁓ just whatever. But as soon as that nine months hit, then we started re-marketing to the people we hadn't seen.   speaker-0 (15:43) 100   % because then it's like you've got basically 400 patients on recall that haven't been in and so did you guys win it happened and of course you might say things you'd do differently or whatnot but did you have that selling doctor send a letter to all of his patients like hey I'm no longer seeing it come see Nate like he's fantastic or did you guys just pick up the phone and start calling these people what was kind of the strategy of the how-to for you?   speaker-1 (16:07) So he, so he wrote, we both wrote a joint letter, which was good. And then I was able, I actually brought on his, he didn't have an office manager, but it was like his lead front desk and scheduler. So we brought her on. She wasn't a, she wasn't a great, perfect culture fit, but she knew the patients. So that worked. I think she was with us for probably about the nine months.   speaker-0 (16:26) Exactly.   Cause in my mind I was thinking like, that's genius. Maybe you can do like a little like sweetheart deal where it's like, Hey, I'm buying your charts and also your scheduler upfront. Can I just have them like help me call these patients? I'll pay them for a couple of months or whatnot. I don't know. Like there's a piece of me that's like, I could see the pros and the cons of that, but you're right. It's me calling that person who's known these patients for years calling to get them scheduled and help out with that. That's probably again, even if it wasn't a great culture fit, it probably did get more patients in your door.   speaker-1 (16:59) For that initial, yeah, absolutely for the initial. Because they already had the patients pre-scheduled, so they were able, and they know them, it was really helpful having that familiar voice.   speaker-0 (17:09) Totally. Yeah. Clever. Okay. So you went higher than what they're doing, ⁓ which I tell everybody, I'm like these people who are shutting their doors, pretty much any offer you give them is, mean, don't be like a low ball and completely have it feel ridiculous, but they, have no option to sell. There are no options for them to sell. They're not going to make any money. Like that's gotta be a hard reality for that selling doctor to realize like, Hey, I built this business up, but it's not even a sellable product.   So I have no asset anymore. So I'm like, honestly, any money that they can get for these charts, I do think is a good deal and something great for the selling doctor as well. So I don't think it's a ⁓ vicious, like you're taking advantage. I just think again, opportunity shows up in different ways. And I think for the selling doctor, it also was an opportunity that they got probably way more than they were expecting to get when they closed the doors of their practice.   speaker-1 (18:02) Yeah. Cause honestly, it hadn't been for new, he'd been trying actively to sell it somewhere. And I was like, I think I was like the last person, you know, had I not been able to step up and, and, work something out, it would have just been all those patients out into the ether. And, know, probably who knows how many of those, you know, 450 would have shown up with us anyway. But it's, it's, know, again, being younger, not knowing what I was doing, like it was intimidating for me. But as I look back, like he'd never done that either.   speaker-0 (18:22) Yeah   speaker-1 (18:30) You know, so was all, it was new for both of   speaker-0 (18:33) Well, and also thinking about, I'm sure some listeners might think like, Nate, that's a bad deal, though, spending $120 per patient chart. And if you are a wise business owner and you know the cost of acquisition of a new patient, yes, I would say that that probably is on the higher end of a patient. However, I think the perk of this is these are most likely patients who have been active patients in a dental practice that are going to be good patients that are coming. And odds are they also might be, I call them sleeping.   patients in the fact that this dentist was on the retiring side, odds are that dentist was just slowing down with dentistry. Every dentist will have this happen to where odds are these patients actually have a lot more treatment available since their selling doctor was slowing down in their career. while it might be more expensive, you're probably also paying for it with the dentistry available with an older doctor selling. So got it. Okay.   speaker-1 (19:22) Yeah. Yeah.   And then yeah, like, and then fast forward, you know, another five years or so from then, it's not five, about five years ago. I had a dentist moonlighting with me who was in the Navy. It was getting out, wanted to stay in the area. Awesome, awesome dentist, really good friend of mine now. And he wanted to stay, but again, at that point I wasn't busy enough to really support another.   an associate and I'd never really never had an associate either. And again, opportunity I had, was having, it was like a county dental society meeting. I was talking to a friend of mine as well, who was a little bit older dentist and she was like, I'm thinking about slowing down. maybe this guy could work for you for a couple of days a week and me a couple of days a week. And kind of light bulb went off my head. I was like, or I could buy your practice if you're open to it. And then you can slow down whatever you want. ⁓   be an associate with me and he could work at the two. I kind of saw the writing, like the potential if he did that, what happens if now he wants to buy that practice and then it's, you know, so that actually.   speaker-0 (20:29) You would be training up your competition. So good job on seeing that and not letting that happen.   speaker-1 (20:35) Yeah. And, uh, and it worked and that worked out great around the, again, just weird timing around the same as I was closing on that deal. One town over those, dentist who unfortunately had a terminal, uh, terminal cancer and was looking for somebody to help take over his practice. So I was able to take over his patient base, which another bonus of being able to help, you know, get this new associate, you know, even busier.   speaker-0 (21:01) So really your practice is a makeup of four practices. Did I count my?   speaker-1 (21:06) And then I had one more a little bit later. There's like five, five, nine into two locations now. So yeah. Yeah. And with that one, was the, um, I was able to bring one of the hygienists on board. Um, which again, that familiar, familiar face, familiar voice, um, was a big, was big and she's still with us and she's awesome. So, um, so that's been, that's been really good.   speaker-0 (21:07) Okay, so   Clever. love it.   awesome.   Have you guys heard? But like really have you heard? And are you the type of person that loves to take massive action? Well, if you are, I would love to invite you to Dental A Team's Virtual Summit, April 22nd through 23rd. And yes, right now guys, it's early bird. That means it's $200 off the normal ticket price. You guys are going to learn how to optimize your practice this year. We know it's been a rough year. People have quit. We've had COVID, we've had changes. So we want to teach you guys how to optimize within your practice now and execute.   Friday is full team, Saturday is all things leadership. So bring your team, get some CE, take massive action, head on over to TheDentalATeam.com. Coupon code is summit early bird, and it's valid until March 31st. That's summit early bird, all one word, and it's valid until March 31st. So guys, head on over. I can't wait to have you take massive action, optimize your practice, and execute. Let's make 2022 your best year. I love it.   I love how much you have, ⁓ I think if anything I'm taking is don't be afraid to take those risks, don't be afraid to look at opportunities and also I think you just kind of have also positioned yourself to be well known within your community and I feel like so many dentists, like yes even within big cities like New York, Denver, guess what? People are always retiring. I just had a student from Midwestern reach out to me and was mentioning how like.   Hey, care, do you know of anybody to buy a practice? And I'm like, what is going on? I don't know all the details, but I'm like, this is somebody who's been graduating for maybe a couple of years looking to sell a practice. so I think it's just important to get to know the doctors around you to build those friendships. Because when I think it's often like you're putting yourself in a position to be ready for that opportunity, it's kind of like right now they say have a lot of cash on hand. We know something's going to be shifting in the economy.   So just be ready for when opportunities there. And I think getting to know your neighbors, getting to know those dentists, hey, great, you also as a dentist might need them as a resource in the future as well. So I think it can go both ways, but I love that you've done that. So now I'm curious, Nate, because I selfishly want to talk to you about this. You've got these two practices, you've got these dentists.   Who knows, you're gonna like probably add on like four more practices of charts in the next five years. I mean, based on your record, like let's just start piling them all on. You'll be the only dentist in Rhode Island. You're just gonna last. But I know culture is something you and I off air. Nate is one of my favorite clients. I don't even come to your practice, Nate, and you and I will just chat business, talk shop. You are somebody that I will say publicly is someone who's just been.   a really great influence in my life. Periodically, you will just send me a random text of like, just tell me that we're doing a good thing. And I will say, and you know, as an owner, those kudos and those like good vibes, they don't happen as often because you're the one who's giving all that out to your team and to your clients and to your patients. And so Nate, I will say publicly, like how much you've just been an influence in my life as well. Something I just have appreciated with you as a client, as a friend, as a mentor. So I'm excited to chat. You've got all these things going.   I know culture has been a piece that you and I both have been talking about of developing this culture. So kind of what spurred you into realizing you wanted to shift your culture of your practice. And then let's talk about the nitty gritty, but like how did you as a business owner know you needed to do a shift within your culture? Because I think that that's humility. And I'm just curious, like what tipped you off? How are you able as a dentist to own that, that you wanted to shift that?   speaker-1 (25:03) Yeah, I mean, I think for me it was noticing, you know, sort of the patterns over the years of the just the ups and downs of culture, you know, and it's, you know, whether you call it the vibe or how everybody's getting along. ⁓ And there, I mean, it's over the years, like we've had some pretty painful, painful times and times where it's like, nobody likes being here. That's way better, you know, in the last few years and it had been in the past, but.   It's, I was realizing I didn't really know how to, I didn't realize I had, that I could have influence on, on how to change that. It's, you know, some of it, I'm not a confrontational person. I'm pretty laid back and I want every, you know, I want to be the one that's liked. I want to be everybody's friend. And it's hard. It's, mean, whatever 13 years into practice ownership. And I still, you know, struggle with that.   kind of not being able to be everybody's best friend. Like I actually own the boss and like I have to own that. So it's, know, again, I finally got like just really got so exhausting of the ups and downs of like, is this going to be a good month or is this going to be a good week or who's going to be upset and all that. that it's like, you know, it's not just on me, but it's like, creating that environment that people, you know, that people want to be here. You know, people are happy people.   playing well together and trying to manage all that. it's, you know, it's certainly I haven't figured it out completely, but it's, you know, just trying to work on little things.   speaker-0 (26:41) Yeah, well and I love that you said that because incidentally I'm like, ⁓ Nate, why didn't I even think about this? I know why you and I are good friends. We're eyes on the disc profile. We both love to be liked. We're both very outgoing. We're like, you know life at the party have a good time. We're also okay to like let other people be the life of the party, but just really that and I do think a lot of dentists have that personality. ⁓ I was thinking about dentists last night actually while I was falling asleep and I'm like gosh you guys have to charm and dazzle and wow all day long.   Like you walk in and you have to make friends quickly and it's in an uncomfortable like, hey, let me like get real up and close and personal, like look in your mouth. And I got to like win you over and make you like me. I want to say yes to treat Mike. That's a lot of output of energy all day long for you guys. And so for you to realize that you also have to be a boss, I think one takes humility and two, also is ownership. And I would agree. I think it's like you get to a spot where I'm like, all right, being friends is fun.   But we got to have this like even kill because this up and down is just causing me to feel like I'm in whiplash all day long. So what were some of the things that you started to shift again? You and I chatted in December and I know we both like I've taken this from our conversation of culture is a slow burn. It is not something that happens overnight. It is not something that is instantaneous and I am an instantaneous person. Like I will figure it out. I will come up with it like we will find the solution and culture is like, all right.   Cool, I'm here for the journey. So what were some of the things you started to shift that you've been able to see? know Tiffanie's been helping you guys in your practice quite a bit as well, but I think ultimately at the end of the day, consultants can only help as far as the leaders are willing to go. And so for you to be willing to shift and change is why your team's been shifting and changing too. So what were some of those specifics?   speaker-1 (28:26) One of the, I would say the hardest thing for me and I still like, it still gives me anxiety and trouble is having difficult conversations. And while, you know, it's   you wouldn't think it would necessarily play toward helping with culture, having difficult conversations. I think it really does because I think it resets some of that, ⁓ like where the expectations are, what kind of the clarity on what needs to be done. But I think that's part of, on my ups and downs, I, again, wanting to be agreeable and being pretty laid back, if there was some...   trouble happening or there's some conflict between the team. Like a lot of my default for years was, it'll just blow over. Like, let's it work itself out. And it would work itself out by exploding after a drink or two. And then everybody would hug it out after a drink or two, and then we're fine for a while. But like, was no way to operate, right? So for me, getting over my fear and my anxiety of having those hard conversations, you know, and that's actually, that's one of the things that Tiffanie has been super helpful.   with on helping me through some of those. And I think one of the biggest skills that I've gotten with working with the Dental A Team is that, to have those conversations. They're not fun. People don't like them. I don't like them. But I think it makes a big difference and means a lot once people, like once you get through that.   speaker-0 (30:02) For sure. And you're lucky to have Tiff. think Tiff is one of the best at it. Tiffanie is very masterful on being able to, I say word ninja it. She's also just very direct, which is odd because she's so lovable and so nice. But something her and I have chatted a lot. And to your exact point, when team members have those uncomfortable conversations and they know their employer is willing to do it, everybody actually feels safe.   and that safety can create stability, which also creates like easiness. So my husband and I felt like I used to be a people pleaser with him. And just this week, he and I had a really big decision, a really awesome opportunity, and we ended up turning it down. And I was so frustrated. Like, I'm such a like driver and doer and like, this is an opportunity. We've been working for five years for this and we're just gonna like walk away from it. And I was not my most polished Kiera. ⁓   Thankfully, I would never do this with my team, but my husband, was just like full on expressive on like, and not anger at him, just the frustration of the situation. Like we've worked for this for five years and we're still not going to go through with it. And he made a comment to me, said, Kiera, I love that we've worked on our relationship so much to where you can feel comfortable and confident to have this conversation, to express your true feelings and we can work through it and find a solution. And I use that example because I feel like it's very similar with teams with   bosses that are willing to have these uncomfortable conversations because there's a there's a trust and a confidence that I can come to you. I know we can go toe to toe. I know we can work through this even though it's not fun in the moment per se. There's so much beauty and ease and flow that happens because we're not just always like holding it inside trying to like charm everybody else around us.   speaker-1 (31:47) Yeah. And what I have sort of seen ⁓ as I'm doing that more often and as I'm getting more comfortable with it, I'm seeing my team do the same thing with each other, in a, you know, in a respectful way. And they're confronting things before they become like these underlying deep seated issues. So yeah. So that's been good. ⁓ Working on gratitude is another, is another big one. Yeah. It's funny. It's, it's, ⁓   That's been, that's taken me a little bit to get used to and kind of coming up with a pattern of how to do it because it doesn't necessarily come naturally to me. You know, I think it all the time in my head, you know, how appreciative I am, but it's expressing it is what's hard and finding the way that resonates because everybody's different. What, you know, what lights everybody up is different. So it's trying to, I'm still trying to figure that out for everybody individually.   speaker-0 (32:42) But I think it's awesome that you're taking that on and like you said and I will say kudos to male doctors that are willing to share their appreciation because I'm not a male, but I have heard from several male colleagues that it's very uncomfortable. They're like, I'm just not somebody like you said, I think it, but I don't necessarily say it I don't know how to say it and sometimes it's an awkward thing. But I will say as a team member, I worked only with male doctors, except for one time I had a female doctor. But most of the time males were the doctors I would work with.   And as a team member, especially a female team member, it meant the world to me when they would share that appreciation. it just would, most women are very much ⁓ people who love those words of affirmation that are genuine and sincere. And so I think that that's a great thing that you've taken on. And I know that that's shifting because you shifting that way is shifting your entire team as well. Very cool. Okay. I just want like a quick highlight list as we wrap up, Nate, I appreciate you so much. What are some of the things working with Tiffanie that you've   that you guys have implemented in your practice or some things that you've seen, like we've talked about chart mergers, which gosh, it's just so fun. And we talked about culture shifts, but what are some of the things over the last year? I think you guys are just wrapping up your heading into year two. What are some of the things you guys have implemented with her this last year that were really just impactful for you?   speaker-1 (33:59) Yeah, it's, it's, it's, it's a, we've done a bunch of like small things, you know, and, and, that's what I think has been great is like they, they're easy concepts, but communicating ⁓ better handoffs from front to back and committing to that. ⁓ It's, one of the first things that she introduced with us. And, you know, it seemed like such a simple thing, but it's made a huge difference in. ⁓   and just having consistency of communication and then also it helps the teamwork. ⁓ That's been really good. She's helped a lot with trying to ⁓ have us have a better of sense and strategy around our revenue cycle. Just little things that we didn't necessarily know that we weren't doing, you know, as efficiently as we could. But what I love the most is the process and the accountability part that's put in. ⁓   there, you know, I, in previous years, you know, I've worked with other coaches and consultants and things. Um, and it's always been like a kind of a cookie cutter type thing. And it's, you know, it has been helpful, but what I really love about Dental A Team is how. Yeah. She's able to look and see exactly what it is that we do and how we do it and tailor those systems to us. Um, uh, but also that holding us like holding us accountable to do it. Like we had a, we had a call.   this week, I think it was. we've been looking at outsourcing things for, and I think we've probably been talking about it for a month, two months or so. And it was kind of funny because she has, she's like the sweetest person in world, but she was like, all right guys, I'm tired of talking about this. You're going to buy the end of it. And we're going to, we're going to make a decision on this in my head. This is on Tuesday. I was like, all right, by the end of Thursday, we'll have this done. She's like today, like today that you've done this and tell me who you're going with. And I was like, all right.   But sometimes that's what we need, know, cause we were stuck in this little cycle. So she, you she's good with that. And then sort of same thing with, you know, those are one of the difficult kinds of conversations I needed to have, but was Tuesday was funny. She was, she like really lit a fire under us. Cause like three or four things are like, you're getting this stuff done today and it's happening. that's the push we need, but there's other, know, there's, it's not always that intense. You know, there's also, ⁓ you know, if we need a little help with, you know, with things and,   It's process. She's there each step of the way.   speaker-0 (36:25) awesome. I love it. Well, I think that other no, go ahead.   speaker-1 (36:28) Sorry, it's   been really, it's been really good that I haven't seen with anybody else I've worked with before is she's totally accessible to my team. And I have a couple of the people on my team who are like very growth mindset, growth oriented with us. And, know, they, I think they talked to her more than I realized. And it's, it's one of like, felt initially like when she, you know, gave everybody her contact information, she like, I don't know, I hope that doesn't get abused. And she's like, I love it. That's what I'm here for.   and not knowing the specifics of what she's helping some people with. Like I've had a couple of people on my team, they're like, is so great to be able to reach out to Tiffanie and get this advice on this. And she's helping them just as much as she's helping me. That's awesome.   speaker-0 (37:09) That's huge and I appreciate that Nate because one it's fun to hear how our consultants are doing and I love like a few pieces you said which makes me happy because like as an owner and I'm sure as dentists we have this great vision of what we want our company to be what we want our practice to be and then to hear a patient experience to hear a client experience I'm like we will never be cookie cutter I refuse like forever because no practice is cookie cutter so to hear that it's systems that are customized to you guys where it's what's gonna work with you and also like you said   that accountability. Tiff and I, will say kudos to Tiff because at first, you know, we were like, how do you consult offices? And most of time we'll just kind of go through with you holding you accountable. But there are times when we will need to like laser in, lay it down and be like, guys, here's the reality. Just like a coach at the gym. I'm like, I don't want you like high five. I mean, that was a great workout when my squats look terrible. Like tell me to get my booty down, get my back out. Like   make sure I'm actually doing the work if I'm going to put in the work. And so I love that she did that. And like you said, that is something that we are so pro having those team members elevate rising them around you. That's something like we have kind of, I have a three prong approach and it's making sure you are profitable as a business. Cause if we're not profitable, fantastic. And to hear that TIF is helping you guys with that revenue cycle, making sure that's there at the handoffs, but then also growing people themselves.   You with those hard conversations, you making sure, I mean, we were just talking, you're having time off and your whole team is like killing it and you're not even there, which is awesome. ⁓ Also elevating team members. So it's not just the dentists themselves, but the team and then putting in those systems and team development top to bottom. So to hear it from a client experience, and we didn't even rehearse this prior to it, but to really hear the, and I didn't even prep you Nate. I didn't tell you to like, Hey, think of the last year and the highlights before we get on it. And I purposely did that because I wanted to hear.   what really stood out to you over this last year? What were the things that, because sure, you could go back and reread the emails and prep for it, but I'm like, that doesn't actually matter. What matters is what sticks in the moment. And so I just appreciate that. I love you as a client. know Tiff loves you as a client. You're just a, you're a great example of execution, of humility, of seeing opportunities and executing on them. And I hope people realize that success in my opinion doesn't just happen by chance. It is methodical. is...   Executed on sometimes you get sprinkled with that good luck charm But I also think that good luck charm is only good luck if you actually execute on it So Nate, you're just a dream. I love it. I love what you've done. I appreciate you being on the podcast you're just such a happy human and You're you're a great person who's doing great things in this world and your team's super lucky to get to work with you and learn from you as well   speaker-1 (39:48) Oh, thank you so much. And I feel so, you know, so lucky to have come to come across the Dental A Team, you know, three years ago and, and, and gotten to know you, gotten to know your team and all of you thought, you know, to me, my team and my life, it's awesome.   speaker-0 (40:00) Totally.   Well, it's, you know, we said yes, because you're in Rhode Island first. That was the first like initial yes. then you know, so but no, I appreciate it, Nate. So guys, if you if you have questions on mergers, or how to buy these charts, like please reach out, we'll connect you in with Nate. And if his story and the successes he's had resonate with you, email us, we'd love to chat with you. Hello@TheDentalATeam.com. And Nate, thanks for being here today. Thanks for just being a good human in this world that we need more people like you. So thanks for being here today.   Thank you. Awesome, guys. All right. As always, thank you all for listening, and I'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team Podcast.   wraps it up for another episode of the Dental A Team Podcast. Thank you so much for listening and we'll talk to you next time.  

Joining us for today's episode of Living Off Rentals is someone who specializes in historic preservation projects that many investors overlook, but can be transformed into high-performing rental assets. Kevin Kreger is Kirby Atwell's longtime friend and a construction expert. He is the founder of On Point Construction and Fiddle Leaf Development. He breaks down how he transitioned into design-build work and eventually into restoring historic downtown buildings with serious cash-flow potential. Listen as they dive deep into why historic properties aren't as intimidating as they seem, how to uncover hidden square footage, and why cities are often willing to offer grants and incentives to make these projects pencil. This episode will completely change how you see opportunity. Enjoy the show!   Key Takeaways: [00:00] Introducing Kevin Kreger and his background [03:22] From high school football to entrepreneurship [05:18] Starting On Point Construction in 2016 and how it evolved from management into full design-build work [08:55] How early exposure to historic homes sparked Kevin's interest in preservation [10:17] How to make a historic property profitable? [13:14] Ways to identify grants, incentives, and funding that a city is offering [15:30] How reimbursement-based grants and TIF-style programs work [18:32] Why walking downtown and looking up is one of the best deal-finding strategies [20:07] Managing higher construction costs in older buildings [23:34] A real-world breakdown of Kevin's Frankfurt redevelopment project [25:52] Combining retail tenants with short-term rentals for stability and upside [28:10] Real numbers: acquisition costs, rehab budgets, and performance [34:00] Connect with Kevin Kreger   Guest Links: Website: https://www.fiddleleafdevelopment.com/   Show Links: Living Off Rentals YouTube Channel – youtube.com/c/LivingOffRentals Living Off Rentals YouTube Podcast Channel - youtube.com/c/LivingOffRentalsPodcast Living Off Rentals Facebook Group – facebook.com/groups/livingoffrentals Living Off Rentals Website – https://www.livingoffrentals.com/ Living Off Rentals Instagram – instagram.com/livingoffrentals Living Off Rentals TikTok – tiktok.com/@livingoffrentals

In this episode of ITR Live, Chris Hagenow and John Hendrickson look ahead to the coming Iowa legislative session, where property taxes are already shaping up as the dominant issue. As lawmakers, interest groups, and local officials ramp up pre-session conversations, the hosts break down what's being discussed publicly—and what still lacks concrete detail. While nearly everyone agrees property taxes are a problem, Chris and John note that no comprehensive plan has yet emerged.A significant portion of the discussion focuses on proposals to freeze property taxes for seniors, an idea that resurfaces regularly due to its political appeal. While acknowledging the realities of fixed incomes, the hosts question whether carving out special treatment for one group of taxpayers ultimately creates fairness problems and unintended consequences—particularly in smaller, aging communities. They argue that broad-based relief, rather than targeted exemptions, is the sounder approach.The conversation then turns to tax increment financing (TIF) and renewed interest among lawmakers in reforming how it is used. Chris and John walk through how TIF was originally intended to address blight and infrastructure needs, but has since expanded into a catch-all subsidy tool—even in some of the most valuable commercial real estate markets in Iowa. With few guardrails and no firm time limits, they argue TIF often serves to pad private balance sheets rather than deliver real taxpayer value.Finally, the hosts zoom out to connect these local policy choices to a broader pattern: governments at all levels repeatedly claim subsidies and incentives are the only path to growth. Whether it's sports stadiums, mall redevelopments, or corporate relocations, Chris and John argue that the real winners are rarely taxpayers footing the bill. The episode closes with a reminder that sustainable growth comes from lower taxes and disciplined spending, not endless incentive chasing—along with a Christmas-season sign-off.

The “reformers” tag team with the Bright One to keep TIF money out of our schools. Ben riffs. Mueze Bawany delivers his takes on Mayors Mamdani and Johnson. Why Trump likes one but not the other. Hint…it's cause one is a “model minority” and the other is not. Trump's anti-Blackness. A close-out riff on the Bears, including a bold prediction for Sunday's Packers game. Mueze is an activist, high school teacher, football coach and proud union man. As in the CTU.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

David Stokes, Elias Tsapelas, and Avery Frank join host Zach Lawhorn to outline what a responsible plan to eliminate Missouri's income tax should include, from revenue triggers and spending restraint to rethinking other taxes. They also break down St. Louis County's Bill 182 expanding prevailing wage and DBE mandates, Independence's proposed TIF package for a new Wally's gas station and what it says about corporate welfare, Missouri's early literacy crisis and reforms like a universal third grade reading screener, mandatory retention, and banning three cueing, and what they are watching next on prefiled tax bills, data center policy, and rising property tax bills across the state. Produced by Show-Me Opportunity

Featured on WGN Radio's “Home Sweet Home Chicago” on Nov. 22, 2025: Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas joins the show to break down the latest property tax bills, explain rising costs tied to tax increment financing (TIF) districts, and remind homeowners they can check exemptions, download bills and view payment options at cookcountytreasurer.com.

Today from SDPB - Incumbent Gov. Larry Rhoden announces a run to keep his seat in Pierre, the Oglala Sioux Tribe pulls out of two organizations citing they are no longer advocating for OST's interests and a look at a TIF district that's sparking debate.

Marc Cox and Dan Buck talk with David Stokes from the Show-Me Institute to discuss St. Louis County Bill 182 and its expansion of minority hiring and contracting requirements. They examine the broader impact of government regulations and red tape on local developers and builders, as well as the role of tax incentives and subsidies like TIF financing. The conversation also covers union influence in county legislation, concerns over potential fraud and complexity in minority contracting programs, and questions about legal authority between county, state, and federal levels. Stokes warns that these policies could drive developers away from St. Louis County.

In this week's episode of Kankakee Podcast News, Drew Raisor recaps the top local headlines from around Kankakee County. The popular New York City Deli is expanding to a second location in downtown Kankakee, with plans to open in spring 2026 following a $345,000 renovation supported by a city TIF incentive. Kankakee Community College announced its upcoming “Explore KCC Day,” inviting prospective students to learn about academic programs, financial aid, and campus life. In Bourbonnais, village trustees approved the purchase of a 2.19-acre parcel from Olivet Nazarene University to further development plans near The Grove. Manteno officials are weighing a proposal to apply the village's 5% hotel tax to short-term rentals like Airbnb and Vrbo, potentially generating new tourism revenue. And finally, the March 2026 primary ballot is taking shape, with multiple contested county board races and a challenge to County Clerk Dan Hendrickson for the first time since 2018.Send us a textSupport the show

Cuando todo se desmorona y no hay forma de mantenerlo en pie. ECDQEMSD podcast episodio 6169 Familias en Demolición Conducen: El Pirata y El Sr. Lagartija https://canaltrans.com Noticias del Mundo: Acoso a Claudia Sheinbaum - Malas noticias para Trump - Zohran Mamdani alcalde de NY - Culpa de los demócratas - Tifón en Filipinas - El debate continúa con el Profesor Monk Reynolds - Lamelas con Milei - Ni molletes ni gollete Historias Desintegradas: Me separé - La ruptura imposible - De la psicóloga al psiquiatra - Organización y caprichos - La Justicia - Mi familia - Me estafaron - Me engañó el abogado - Diferentes percepciones - Andando la ciudad - La escuela - Maestros padres - Banderas del mundo - La de Brasil es más cara - Un negocio trunco - Falta de apoyo institucional - El saxo del Sax - De Parker a Coltrane - Pura sensualidad y más... En Caso De Que El Mundo Se Desintegre - Podcast no tiene publicidad, sponsors ni organizaciones que aporten para mantenerlo al aire. Solo el sistema cooperativo de los que aportan a través de las suscripciones hacen posible que todo esto siga siendo una realidad. Gracias Dragones Dorados!! NO AI: ECDQEMSD Podcast no utiliza ninguna inteligencia artificial de manera directa para su realización. Diseño, guionado, música, edición y voces son de  nuestra completa intervención humana.

Tiff and Kristy provide guidance on how to assess your practice's financial health as 2025 begins to wrap up (and what to start thinking about for 2026). They touch on… Reviewing those P&Ls monthly Aligning spending habits Keeping emotions in check And more! Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review The Dental A Team (00:01) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. I am so excited to be here with you today. I truly love this portion of what we get to do in our worlds and getting to get you so much valuable information out to the masses is something that Dental A Team has worked and strived just so hard to achieve in our.   consulting world of just getting you all this information and I have with me today one of my faves. I seriously, I have the most amazing consulting team and if you guys haven't heard from all of them yet, you soon will and if you don't know them personally yet, they're not your consultants. I hope that you get to meet every single one of us even if you're just coming to the events, however it is, but I...   have a personal favorite here for recording podcasts with. She calms me, she just keeps the energy light and fresh and I love any time that we get together. Kristy, thank you so much for being here today. How are you doing? The weather is like weird today. I always tell everybody about the Arizona weather and it's so much fun to have everybody here in the same place. We all live in Arizona in the Phoenix area. Jane is down in the Tucson area, but.   We really love it. And Kristy, how's your world over there? You're just in the beautiful little pocket of Phoenix. And how is it?   DAT Kristy (01:23) Yeah, it's awesome. I love that you say that because we do pride ourselves on the weather here, right? But even with that, this weekend we got a lot of rain, what they say the most in like seven years. Yet all of us, even as close as we are, we experience it so different, right? Like some places flooded. I didn't get flooding, thank goodness, but it downpoured. It was fun and it's made it for cool mornings. So we're taking it.   The Dental A Team (01:42) Yeah.   I agree. I agree that humidity is hitting us hard. So we're not super used to that, but it is making for some, some really beautiful mornings. totally agree. And yes, Britt and I were actually in Reno at our quarterly in-person traction event where we have a, implementer who comes in and leads it for us. And he helps us to build out the company structure and,   teaches and trains us on how to run large meetings like that. So it's always super cool. But we were up in Reno with Britt and or with Kiera Shelbi and Britt and I actually got stuck. Jenna got out. She got back to Denver, which is crazy because Denver always shuts down. And so she got back to Denver. But ⁓ we got stuck until Saturday because the airport was shut down. And then there was a storm in Vegas because we thought, OK, well, we'll fly to Vegas because it's only a five and a half hour drive from there and we'll still get home. And then ⁓   that flight got canceled too. So it was wild. was meant to be, got more time in Reno and got to spend a little bit more time with Kiera. So that was great, but it was kind of crazy. It's not usually Phoenix that disrupts the flight patterns. And it was a hundred percent Phoenix. There were so many flights canceled because so many planes were stuck here and other planes couldn't get in. So it was wild, Kristy. It was wild to watch it from afar. We just got like TikTok notifications and you know, news articles are like, my gosh, all the Waymo's stuck in the puddles and things like that. So.   DAT Kristy (03:15) Yeah,   they just stopped in the middle of the road like what the heck.   The Dental A Team (03:18) Yeah,   that's why whenever somebody says, you use the way most? I'm like, heck no, I have seen them stuck in the middle of intersections far too many times. I'm sure one day it's going to be fantastic, but I haven't built that trust muscle just yet.   DAT Kristy (03:30) Yeah, agree. Well, I'm glad you made it home safe. And ⁓ yeah, the humidity is odd for us too.   The Dental A Team (03:34) Thank you.   Yeah,   yeah, it totally is. And my son was like, Oh, you go to the East Coast enough, Mom, you're fine. Stop complaining. And I was like, Yeah, that's fair. That's fair. But but in the spirit of planning, we we truly had an amazing time really just one getting the time together as a leadership team and then to really looking and projecting like where are we at? What's Q4 going to look like? And then also kind of prepping and planning for 2026. So super relevant in this conversation here.   today and really looking at ⁓ practice health from a financial standpoint. And this is something that your CPAs and your financial advisors and all of those professionals should be looking at with you as well. This is the time of the year that we're really looking at what is this last year? Because we get to Q4 and it's like, well, it's kind of like the end of your senior year, right? You get to the end of your senior year of high school or college and you're like, well, everything's kind of basically submitted. So from here,   It's really just like, let's do our best and make sure that we really cross that finish line strong, but there's not a ton of pivots to be made to really change the game. So kind of prepping and planning. And I think looking ahead at 2026, putting in some really solid ways of checking in on that financial health, something that I've seen that, Kristy, I know you do this as well, but something I've seen a lot of clients really ramp up is a monthly pulse and even like,   weekly sometimes pulse on what the financials of a practice actually look like has really been beneficial in helping them to really reach those goals. And Kristy, you are really fantastic at figuring those financial goals out and then like backtracking them to see, okay, well, what do we need to do to get there? And how do you help practices really keep that financial pulse top of mind and that   running that way so that they're constantly looking at those numbers without feeling overwhelmed and also without losing sight of it. Because you know sometimes you do something too often, you start glazing over it. What's that fine balance that some some tactical tips that you have that you and your practices are working on right now?   DAT Kristy (05:52) Yeah, well, first and foremost, I believe that you have to be getting your P &Ls from your accountant monthly, right? We can't be waiting. I have seen some clients where they're begging for them for three months ago, you know, and it makes it really hard to stay on top of it if we're not getting them monthly. So first and foremost, make sure you're getting them from them monthly so that we can take a look at them and evaluate. And I like what you said, Tiff. ⁓   you can be, you can go over the top. It's a fine line, right? So I love looking at them every month and I'm not going to freak out if something's out of whack one month, but certainly let's look at the quarter, right? And make sure that those metrics are in alignment for the quarter. And to your point, I always like to speak in terms of like, we're going to crawl before we walk and we're going to walk before we run. Like,   In the crawling stage, let's just make sure where's your overhead, right? What percentage are we at there and what is our profit or EBITDA, so to speak, right? Where are we ranging there? That would be my first little steps to take and start looking at it.   The Dental A Team (07:10) Yeah, yeah, I totally agree. And I think what time of the month do you usually push for those PNLs to be received? I have my judgments, but what are yours?   DAT Kristy (07:21) like to say by the 15th. I'll give you a little grace and give you by the 20th, but the 15th is my ideal target.   The Dental A Team (07:28) Yeah, yeah. I think I'm a little stricter. If I don't have those CPAs reaching out to us by like the eighth to the 10th, I'm like, my gosh, how are we supposed to work with this? There's a lot of, and I ask that because there's a lot of clients out there that are getting them like the first week of the next, next month. And so maybe December, we're finally looking at October.   DAT Kristy (07:35) Thank   The Dental A Team (07:53) And that is like, gosh, such a lag that we've got these questions floating around of like, where's my cashflow TIF and how do I fix this, Kristy? And it's like, I don't know, because I don't have eyes on what's happening. The P &Ls should be much quicker and much cleaner than that. And realistically, it's just it's the bookkeeper going in and allocating the certain expenses to the category that they should be in. So it's time consuming.   but it shouldn't be too crazy. And if yours is too crazy, then we probably need to look at your spending. Do we need to dial back the number of orders that you're placing every month? Do we need to make sure that things are a little bit more simple on that side, that it can be done quicker? Because we wanna be able to make real-time adjustments as quickly as we can. If we're on a two-month lag.   then we're adjusting for two months ago, it could look totally different. And then next month we get two months ago and it's like, it was totally different. We didn't need to change it. And so we're just constantly spinning our wheels in that way if we're not getting the data fast enough. And that is, in my opinion, one of the easiest ways to ensure that you're financially healthy is really just ensuring, like you said, Kristy, that on an overtime basis, things are consistent and they're clear, that they make sense.   DAT Kristy (09:08) 100%. I like that you said push to the 10th, because obviously if, you know, in the walk or crawling stage, we're just learning, right? We have a little bit of buffer, but as we get to the top of our game, it should be more. And if everything is electronically done, it really is in there already. It's just a matter of organizing it, right?   The Dental A Team (09:30) Yeah, and I like to give myself the grace because I know or give them the grace. I typically know if we ask for it by the 10th, we're getting it by the 15th to the 20th. If I give them that leeway, they'll take it. And we know that's just how it works in that world. That's fine. We work with what we've got and figure it out. And I think it's a massive place to start, Kristy, is those P &Ls. And I think the P &Ls really outline   DAT Kristy (09:39) Thank   The Dental A Team (09:56) the financial health in so many different areas because it gives us insight to what is actually happening. Having those categories split out, we've talked about that a ton, we've done a ton of webinars on it and if you need help with that, reach out. We've got really simple sheets and documents that you can even send over to your bookkeepers and your CPAs that kind of outlines what we like it to look like so that it's simple to review.   But being able to see those over time is huge. I know I have a client that like one month was 48 % overhead and that's before Dr. Pay, that's before loans, right? And it's like, holy cow, we killed it. But then it's like, okay, but hold on, because the next month was 64%. So taking an average there because likely something got shifted, payments got posted, or I don't know, I've had some clients that's like, my gosh, I forgot to pay Henry Schein for two months. So then it's like that third month had this massive Henry Schein payment.   but over the quarter, it wasn't that bad. So making sure that we're looking at it month by month and over the quarter is huge. ⁓ Something that we've done, that we've ramped up ourselves and that we do ramp up with a lot of clients is really looking at our bank accounts constantly. And I know that Kiera and our financial team, they look at our bank accounts weekly on a weekly basis to make sure that everything makes sense, that things are.   where they're supposed to be that, you know, that we're not getting charged for things we shouldn't have been, et cetera, but then also that we're staying in alignment with the budget that we had set. And those budgets come from those P &Ls and those total numbers. Kristy, something I've realized recently in the recent years is while I was in practice, I would build our budgets for our spending. like our...   you know, five to 8 % for supplies or what have you or ortho budget, things like that. I would build it based off of our collections, air quotes on that word, and it would be our collections from Dendrix. I'd pull the collections for the last month. I'd build that budget based on the collections. And then Doc would be like, where's all the money? Like, well, I don't know, it should be there. But there's such caveats to what's been posted in Dendrix or your operating software.   compared to what's actually in QuickBooks, I found that I was running this like ragged race of trying to play catch up all the time with like even just the percentages for credit card fees and third party financing being taken out of our payments, just those simple tweaks make a massive difference. So building those budgets, Kristy, off of our actual P &L numbers, our actual QuickBooks collections has...   made a massive difference, I know, for a lot of my clients. How do you see that working for clients? And also, how do you see that working with a leadership team that maybe doesn't have access to or not looking at those P &Ls together? How do you suggest for financial stability and health in the practice, they really get that information down to the people that need it?   DAT Kristy (13:08) Yeah, absolutely. One of the things, ⁓ well, there's a couple things. We at Dental A Team keep scorecards for our clients and it could be as simple as adding that line in there and having the doctor put that dollar amount and having the budget calculate right there. Everybody can see it. They know what to spend. The other thing to that point Tiff is,   You know, a lot of times we look at the practice management, we see our collections, but how many times do we reconcile it with our QuickBooks? Like, really look at that and see. And obviously, just like you said, it could be a matter of when something was posted or when it came in, right, to the bank account. But I think that's an area that sometimes is overlooked. You know, there can be variance in there, obviously, for when things post, but...   what is that variance and how consistent are we having that variance? again, depending on which method you're using, if you're using the collections from your PMS or the collections that are posted in the P &L, we better be clear what that difference is and ⁓ account for it for sure. Right.   The Dental A Team (14:25) Totally agree.   And you actually reminded me just last week, I was in an office and I was like, what is happening here? I was going through their P and L and I'm like, okay, we've got, we've had some changes in the office. We've got some places that it was decreasing. Some places we spent more, some places we actively spent more on purpose. Like, but things just weren't adding up with what was coming through from the software. And I realized after an hour and a half of digging, I'm like, why is...   I put a line items, I updated the scorecard and I put a line item for like QuickBooks collections and then the PMS collections. And in comparison, I had it subtract and like tell me the difference in numbers. And there were months that were coming up $30,000 different that it looked like we collected $30,000 more in their software than what QuickBooks was showing us. Luckily, I know this office manager very well personally, like familiarly.   And I'm like, I know there's no conclusion to jump to here. Like something is not reporting correctly. And what I realized is they specifically use Dentrix. Dentrix will allocate any positive write-off or adjustment. if there's an adjustment that's adding money, it'll allocate it to production. If there's an adjustment that's removing money, it automatically adds it to collections.   So when you pull up the adjustment space in Dentrix, it'll show all positive production, all negative collections. So it was showing drastic differences. And so I was like, gosh, I totally forgot about this space in Dentrix that it does this. It's just, I call them the Dentrix-isms. It's just a Dentrix thing. It's very frustrating, but it just is what it is. So when I went through, I reallocated where the write-offs should be coming from. Now, caveat, messes up.   production collections for forever because it's now correcting it. So what you thought you had done, you didn't, and it fixes it. So the new numbers are more accurate, but you're going to be frustrated because it's different. But what it did when I did that and re-put in the collections numbers is that it brought that $30,000 difference down to a more manageable $1,200 to $3,000 difference, which is what we tend to see with the   care credit fees and all those different credit card processing fees, we typically see, I say like 5,000 or less, I'm not going to freak out about too much as long as it's inconsistent. I don't want to see consistency. I want to see really low numbers. And then again, sometimes some of that money is going to be pushed over to the next month. So quarterly, it made sense. Quarterly, it was beautiful. Month by month, it was a little wonky, but just making that   change because we were checking the financial health of the practice because things didn't feel like they were making sense. So we, the office manager and I pulled the full year's PNL and we did line item by line item comparison 2024 to 2025 percentage change on each space, went through and figured out where the spending was, went through and line itemed everything and then added it like you said to the scorecard to see those differences, massive.   massive improvements where the docs were feeling like cashflow was like, ⁓ we were freaking out. And it was like, well, these are the areas where you intentionally spent money and were actually only a 16 % difference overall year to year. And they were like, ⁓ so we didn't increase enough, but their spending was purposeful for taxes. We just didn't look that way yet on paper.   Regarding financial health of the practice, that was exactly what we did, but adding it, like you said, to the scorecard and looking at, I think the scorecard's just really cool because it allows you to see over time. Whereas a new sheet is I'm only dealing with today. So I'm only looking at today. I might look at it and say, oh my gosh, my employee percentage was 42%. That's real life, I've seen that in an office. It was 42 % this month, and you're like, cut hours. But over the quarter, it was,   30 % or 31%. We had a spike because we had a collections dip or whatever. So I think adding it where you're seeing that kind of comparison allows you to see what is the trend here or is this an abnormality? Does this level itself out? Am I on track for over time or do I need to jump and hot fire? And Kristy with that said, like, you think, as I'm saying that I'm thinking,   Is that a space where we could even tame our emotions around finances? Because we're seeing so much data in a bigger spectrum where we can see trends, uptrends or downtrends, rather than this like, my gosh, payroll was so high, I've got to tackle that. It's allowing us to see a broader picture. Do you think that helps reduce some of the emotional, like just quick fixes?   DAT Kristy (19:34) Absolutely. And we don't want to react, right? Many times we go to that mindset of cut, cut, cut. you, and you know, one of the things that I learned a long time ago is you can't focus on the opposite. So if we're focused on cutting, then we're not focused on producing, right? And so yeah, you're 100 % right, Tiff. I think it does calm the reactionary, right? It's good to know, notice, but then look at the bigger picture.   The Dental A Team (19:48) Yeah.   Mmm.   Yeah, gorgeous. As I was talking like, my gosh, Kristy, that's why you do so well with coaching in my opinion, because you are very, very good at being data and results driven, acknowledging the emotional aspect and not discrediting that by any means, but being able to focus back to what the drivers are and then being able to acknowledge and address any emotions that are still present. But you do well removing that because   we're looking at data and data is non-emotional. You can come up with something and there's been so many times where I could think of so many offhand where I've data-drivenly discussed something with a client and they're like, ⁓ and the emotion kind of disintegrates, it dissipates because it was attached to what they thought to be true. And when they saw the reality, there was no need for that emotion anymore.   DAT Kristy (20:59) Exactly. Well, and to be honest with you, it goes both ways, right? It's the same thing as if we're only looking at the practice numbers, sometimes they think they're doing very well or not doing well, either one. And then once we look at the overhead numbers, it's like, actually, you're here, you know? So ⁓ it goes hand in hand both ways. I always like to say, you know, if I had a pizza business and I was going to sell pizzas,   The Dental A Team (21:18) Yeah. Yeah.   I love that.   DAT Kristy (21:29) I need to break it down and figure out what it cost me to make the pizza, then I can go sell the pizza. But so many times we don't do that and we just put it out in front of us, right? And then on the back end of it, we do have to measure how many pizzas did we sell and how much did we actually spend. Sometimes we forget to go back and look at the cost too.   The Dental A Team (21:34) Yup.   Yeah, wow, that's a very good point. Very good point, which is where the P &Ls come in handy and the line items. And I think the P &Ls will group it and lump it into categories, but every now and again, maybe like once a quarter or so, really looking at what are they putting in those categories so that one, you're making sure they're still super accurate from the bookkeeper and two, that you're not like Amazon spending. There was a couple clients that I saw.   DAT Kristy (21:56) Mm-hmm.   The Dental A Team (22:19) I'm like, what is going on? Why is this category so jumpy? One month it's massive, another month it's not, and they get lumped into office supplies and front office supplies, and all of a sudden it's $3,000 when realistically budgeting-wise it should be $1,200. I'm like, what is in here? And they're like, Amazon goes in there. Every time we want something or Doc says something, we just press the order. And I was like, ⁓   Got it, we need some systems around Amazon or Walmart. I've seen like, I just run to Walmart and I grab what we need every week. And I'm like, my gosh, there's weekly ordering will hurt you every single time. Any kind of weekly ordering. If you can't budget the ordering in a monthly fashion or maybe twice a month, I'll give leniency on twice a month, then we need to talk. Cause that weekly ordering will hurt you every single time.   I think this is all really good, Kristy. I love this. I love this. And I go ahead.   DAT Kristy (23:16) Yeah. I was   to say, I agree with you. mean, we can liken it to our own space if we go to the grocery store with a list or without a list. What is our end result when we pay? You know, so I'm with you. I'm with you. I'm like for dental supplies, we can go to twice a month, but have it fixed and then make sure you're staying within the confines of the budget.   The Dental A Team (23:27) Yeah.   Yes, yeah, that's actually brilliant. Yeah.   Yeah, I agree. And I think that was that was a super great thought process there. Because if you're not planning even your dinners, right, I'll plan my dinners for the week. So then I know what ingredients I need and what ingredients if I know what ingredients I need for specific dinners, I know what I can reuse as well. Otherwise, I'm going to the grocery store just kind of getting random things that I think I can make into something. And I'm ending up at the grocery store a couple times a week to replenish or, you know, supply those missing pieces.   And so if you know what your schedule is, if you know on average how many crowns you're doing, how many fillings you're doing, how many implants you're doing, you can have an average guesstimate of how much of each supply you need to keep on hand, which is then going into your budget for your ordering. So that was beautiful. Yeah, good job. All right, guys, financial health is massive. And it's something that I think all of us, Kristy,   Trish, Monica, Dana, myself, we all just work really, really hard to ensure that it's top of mind for all of our clients. But if you're here listening and you're not yet a client of ours and you're a Dental A Team podcast listener for life, we love you and we wanna make sure you have this information too. please, by all means, somewhere around the 10th of the month, because we know it's probably gonna go longer, make sure you've got those panels in there. Talk to your bookkeeper. If you are the bookkeeper, I have a couple clients like that.   Put it your calendar, you guys. If you are your own bookkeeper, that's fine. I'm not gonna judge you. I think it is a task that you can easily pay for, but I'm not here for that. If you are your bookkeeper, put it in your calendar and you should have that sucker done by like the fifth or the eighth of the month because everything should be closed out. Review your PNLs monthly and quarterly and yearly. Review your spending habits constantly. I have a lot of practices that'll look weekly.   I have a lot of practices that'll look monthly, whichever works best for you. Just make sure you're reviewing those spending habits and then budget for your team. So your supplies ordering, your front office, those are the easiest places to budget. Make sure that you've got an ortho budget added in there. If you have ortho fees and ortho costs that are outside of like Invisalign, things like that. I have a lot of practices that do bracket style ortho and they need a lot of supplies that has to be separated out.   Those are your pieces, you guys. Those are the easiest ways that you can tackle real life, real life, in time, financial health. And we want you to go do that. Kristy, thank you so much for your insight. You truly do so well with your clients and we get to see their progress constantly and those needles are always moving. And I know that it's because you can take that black and white results driven perspective. So thank you for everything you do for your clients and everything that you bring to Dental A Team every day.   DAT Kristy (26:33) Thank you, it's fun.   The Dental A Team (26:35) I know,   I know, I love watching you do it. You really do love it. And it makes me really happy. All right, guys, that's a wrap for today. Go leave us a five star review. Let us know what was super helpful. Maybe there's some tips and tricks you've got that you can share with the world. I'm telling you, people really do go read those. So if you have things in there, they will see them. You can drop us an email, Hello@TheDentalATeam.com. We'll be happy to get you over any documents that might help. We do have some.   budgeting information, we do have some overhead spreadsheets, things like that. If you need help with that, just reach out and we'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team podcast. Thanks guys!

 Looking for a real plan for Multifamily Investing in 2025? Investor and operator Kent Ritter breaks down what's working now—Midwest focus, public-private partnerships, and bringing management in-house. In this episode, Kent explains how operators are adapting Multifamily Investing in 2025 to tighter debt markets and slower deal flow. We dive into why he pivoted from C-class value-add to newer assets and development, how TIF bonds and city partnerships can make construction pencil, and why centralizing leasing and operations boosts profit-per-unit. You'll hear lessons from a successful 80-unit ground-up project in Indiana, actionable hiring frameworks (yes, the “video interview” filter), and why the Midwest's fundamentals—job growth, steady rent gains, and shorter drive radiuses—are compelling. If you're refining your buy box, debating self-management, or exploring 55+ housing, this conversation gives you practical playbooks you can use. Multifamily Investing in 2025 rewards great operators—here's how to become one.Connect with Kent Ritter: RitterOnRealEstate.com • HudsonInvesting.com  Chapters:00:00 – Introduction 02:30 – Market shift since 2023: from C-class value-add to newer assets & development 11:03 – Systems > heroics: scaling and bringing property management in-house 21:21 – Development playbook: site control, bids, contingencies & partnerships 32:25 – The “why” of self-management: cost control, core values & all-star hiring We're here to help create multifamily entrepreneurs... Here's how: Brand New? Start Here: https://jakeandgino.mykajabi.com/free-wheelbarrowprofits Want To Get Into Multifamily Real Estate Or Scale Your Current Portfolio Faster? Apply to join our PREMIER MULTIFAMILY INVESTING COMMUNITY & MENTORSHIP PROGRAM. (*Note: Our community is not for beginner investors)

In this episode, Fran Spielman invites Chicago City Council veterans Matt O'Shea and Scott Waguespack to discuss Mayor Brandon Johnson's recently unveiled $16.6 billion budget proposal aimed at addressing a $1.15 billion shortfall. The proposed budget includes significant tax and fee increases targeted at businesses and wealthier residents, a controversial head tax, and a $1 billion tax increment financing (TIF) surplus. The discussion covers the potential consequences of these measures for Chicago's economy and residents, challenges posed by the council's resistance, and the lack of communication and transparency from the mayor's administration. 

Ben and Dr D confront a week's worth of lunacy. Starting with…reporters giving grief to Mayor Johnson for spending property tax dollars on schools. Silly mayor, don't you know that TIF money—which are property tax dollars— are for rich guys? Updates on the ICE invasion. Will any of the mayoral wannabes criticize Trump? Or will they pretend he doesn't exist? And Governor Pritzker wins $1.4 million at a Vegas blackjack table. Proving, among other things, that life isn't fair. Also, a shout out to Chickenman. He's everywhere, he's everywhere!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Did you know: Each position in your practice should contribute toward the practice's goals? Tiff and Kristy break down why each position should have a vision and specific metrics (starting at the job description), and how together, alongside all the other positions, they work toward the greater good of the practice. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript The Dental A Team (00:00) Hello Dental A Team listeners. I am so excited to be here today. I am always excited to be here today you guys I love podcasting I really really do and I love podcasting with other people more than solo and I get to pull consultants in and Britt from HR Headquarters over there HQ and Eve from marketing like I get to pull in just the most fun people from our team to Just double up and get some time with Kristy   I've got you today and this is like our special time together and I just love it. So, and Kristy, I put you specifically at the end of my podcasting day. I hope you noticed that not just because of timing, but because you bring a sense of calm to my life and podcasting with you, not to say that it's not easy with anyone else on our team, but you really like, it's just so easy. You bring a sense of calm and ease. And I was like, that's what I want to end my day with. So thank you for.   opening up your schedule to me and for being here today, Kristy, how are you?   DAT Kristy (00:59) Good, absolutely. I love it too. I mean, we were just talking the other day because we don't get much time together and so I know we look forward to this time. now that I know you put me at the end of the day on purpose, I love it. I love it. I love it. Yeah, it's a good way to end the day.   The Dental A Team (01:13) Surprise!   Good. Well, I'm glad. know Mondays are busy for you. Our team does, we do meeting Mondays and so it gets a little jam packed, but it's nice because we get it. I feel like we get all of that admin stuff out of the way and we get aligned on actions we need to take for the week kind of all together on the same day. And then we just spearhead our week ready to go. Well, Kristy, ⁓ today is exciting. I   I'm gonna actually pull in what we were just talking about. you guys, you guys know, avid listeners, you guys have been here. We've been doing this podcast for a really long time, you guys, and if you have ideas on things that you want to hear, please send them in because our little brains over here are just thinking of all of these things. Sometimes they feel like, did we just record this? It's like this content sounds so similar to something else we've talked about. And so I don't know how to label this one.   But I want you guys to know we are going to chat today a little bit about job descriptions. And this is something that we find incredibly important. So we talk about it a lot. So I want to drive that home. They are so important. And Kristy, something that I recently recorded a podcast with Brittany. And something we talked about, part of that leadership skill, was being able to give direction to the team to execute decisions.   as a leader, being able to execute decisions, being decisive and having execution as leadership, but also gifting that to the team. And we talked about the vision of the practice, kind of where the company's going and the leader, the owner, being able to utilize that for the culture of the company. But I kind of think right now, these job descriptions are the vision per position.   It gives us our heading so that within my position in the practice or the organization, I can say yes, no, maybe, yes, this is the right decision right now for the company. And it brings about some clarity for everyone. Kristy, you, what do you think?   DAT Kristy (03:28) Yeah, I love that you mentioned that because for so long, think we've all understood that job descriptions should have duties, right? I truly am a fan of duties versus titles, but also I think honing in on the other aspect of, think the duties, let me step back. The duties tell us what we're responsible for, but I think bringing in the other aspect   tells us how the person should behave. And so I think they go hand in hand. And I think oftentimes we miss that other piece of it and then we get frustrated when we don't hire that person.   The Dental A Team (04:11) Yeah, I agree.   in ⁓ a layer on top of that, you mentioned job duties and kind of how to behave. But even within that ⁓ what piece, the job duties, the clarification on the job duties, if I know that my job, my goal of my position is to have the schedule full, maybe I'm a schedule coordinator, and my number one metric is 90 % full on hygiene for the next five days,   80 % full doctor, like whatever that metric is. If I know that's my metric, then I think, my gosh, this one patient, my how-to says confirmations. And step one is text message, email, text message, email, but I know this person is 85 years old and they're not getting these text messages. I don't have to question, do I call this patient? My job, my goal is to get that patient here for that appointment, no matter what that means looks like.   So I think that vision and that ⁓ very clear cut, this is what the metric is of your position. I sitting in that scheduling coordinator position can say, Julie, at 85, I'm just gonna call her. I'm not gonna mess with the text messages and wait until three days before if I know she needs a call and we need to confirm her right. Like I have this information, but we often get asked, Kristy, I think.   by different team members that they're like, well, can I do this? I'm like, well, does it get you to your goal? Is it a part of what gets the practice to our goals? Heck yeah, I think that's a great idea. It gives you the space to be creative, to get to the results that you need to get to, that are set as parameters because you know what you're driving towards.   DAT Kristy (05:58) Yeah, you said that so well. So again, I'm with you. It's not just the duties and how we behave and perform them. But like you said, then we can tie it to what metrics am I responsible for? And one other piece behind that is painting the clarity. If it's 90 % reappointment rate or, you know, whatever metric I am responsible for. Now, what system   comes behind that metric if it's not where I want it to be, right? So then I can pull up the system and say, hey, am I not working the system properly or do I need to find a new system because our system's not working any longer to get the result we want?   The Dental A Team (06:45) for sure and that's where teams come to us, or office managers, and they're like, my team has no accountability, how do I hold them accountable? Or how do I get my team to hold themselves accountable? How do I get them to own their jobs? It's really hard to own something if you don't have complete clarity around that goal that you're working towards. And so having those smart goals with those metrics tied to them, Kristy, like you just said, allows that person then, like you've said, to work backwards from the result to see   What did I do that got the result? Because anything you do, I literally just said it this morning, I say it all the time, even consistently being inconsistent is going to get you a result. Consistently doing anything will get you the result. And if your consistency lies in inconsistently, I'm always inconsistent, you're going to get a result. So knowing what your target result is in comparison to the result that you got allows you to backtrack and say,   DAT Kristy (07:25) Yeah.   The Dental A Team (07:41) Was I inconsistent in my utilization of my systems? Or is the system just flawed and I need to reinvent that wheel? Totally fine too, but it allows the space for that. And Kristy, the way you said it was it allows the person holding that metric to see it themselves and can to it, which takes training and it takes consistency from leadership to constantly point back to the metrics, to constantly be like, okay, ⁓ what   what is your metric, your standard, and then what did you reach? And when there's questions that come up like, Kristy, like, do I call this lady? You're like, well, what is your metric? Does it get you there? And I think that consistency is that accountability piece that people are lacking.   DAT Kristy (08:27) Yeah, I agree with you. ⁓ Just like you said, it's very easy once we've painted that clarity and we have understanding also for the team to report back to you. You shouldn't have to ask. But I also would say don't just report back. Report back and let them know your trend because maybe it is 90 % reappointment rate that we're looking at. ⁓ Literally, I was just on with an office that was   It's almost embarrassing to say they haven't looked at their rates for reappointment. She's like 50 some percent and I'm like, yeah, that could be a problem, right? ⁓ Yeah, let's not focus on 50. Let's talk that the goal is 90 and let's start talking about your trend, right? So even if I'm reporting it talk about your trend where were you and where are we going? And then I also like to say with that TIF is recognize what's working well and   reinforce the good. gets reinforced gets repeated, right? And then get team talking about what they will do to overcome any opportunities if we're not at the mark we want.   The Dental A Team (09:36) Yeah, I love that. I love that so much. you just, you saying that about the practice, I'm like, my gosh, that's fantastic. Like 50%, that's not fantastic, but look at how much space there is to create something different. Like that's really freaking cool because practices come in and they're like, I don't know what to do. And I don't know why it's this way. And I just need this. And it's like, this is so cool because there are spaces.   that are really, really simple to tackle that you just didn't uncover yet. And we get to come in and help uncover those. So it's like 50 % reappointment rate. That's fantastic because now we can implement two to three daily actions that severely change the projection in a company that you may have come to us thinking, and I don't know this client, I don't know what she or he was thinking like, but they may have been thinking like, my hands are tied, what do I do?   how do I get more patients? I need more new patients. I hear that all the time and I'm like, well, what about the patients we have? It's so cool. So you just got me really excited about that. So I'm like, holy cow, I can't wait to hear these results. It's gonna be fantastic. But that's case in point. There's a couple of people that probably need that metric, right? A hygienist, hygiene team and scheduling coordinators, like they need these metrics because now they understand what their purpose is in the company and how they can contribute to the overall goals.   DAT Kristy (10:40) Yeah.   Yeah.   The Dental A Team (11:02) Many doctors, I think Kristy, you and I both come across this, many doctors are really afraid, or business owners in general, to talk goals. And I think the piece that gets missed is that goals drive the courage to push forward in life. Without a goal, without a drive, we're just complacent. And so not talking about them and not talking about how   each position can contribute towards those goals, I think is actually a disservice and holding people back.   DAT Kristy (11:39) Yeah, I agree with you, Tiff. think a lot of times people get stuck because goals are related to a lot of times in dentistry, monetary amounts, right? But truly, it's no different than us at home. We have a checkbook and we have a bank account and we have standard bills that we have to pay. And it's not that we have to get nitty gritty on that stuff, but we all have to understand there's a cost of doing business unless we're a   not-for-profit organization, you know? And so again, I love ⁓ how you and Kiera talk about the metrics aren't to beat ourselves up, right? It's not a stick to beat ourselves up with. It truly is just a measure of how healthy we're getting our patients. And the minute that we really get transparent about the numbers and what they mean and relate it to just like patient health and practice health, I mean, we always talk about getting our patients healthy.   What about talking about a healthy practice too, right? And we need to let team know just because, I mean, we hear it every day as consultants, a practice could do $6 million and I could have another practice that does a million and the 6 million inevitably people might think is more healthy than a million and truly that's not the case. So we need to educate our teams and let them know those numbers mean more.   And ⁓ truly it's a reflection of how healthy our patients are and how healthy the practice is.   The Dental A Team (13:14) Yeah, I totally agree. I totally agree. And your individual metrics then add up to those results. So those of you who are building out the job descriptions, like yes, you need like a how-to, we need to know what those systems and protocols are. But separate from that, they need a heading. They need to know how do I show up? It's like, what are our core values? How do I show up in this position? If we've got, I don't know, a check-in spot, right? We've got a patient coordinator who's at check-in.   DAT Kristy (13:19) Thank you.   The Dental A Team (13:40) and her job description does not say you sit up straight, you smile, and you greet patients with eye contact as soon as they walk in, you can't complain when she's got her head down on the computer or she's got her cell phone and patients are walking in and they're not being greeted. So get nitty gritty on those spaces because that's easy to achieve, right? If she reads that or he reads that, it's like, ⁓ that's the expectation, that's how I'll show up. And then now that feeds into your reschedule rate.   DAT Kristy (13:49) I can't.   The Dental A Team (14:09) Right? Patients are like, heck yeah, I'm coming back. I love seeing Sonia up front. Like it just all feeds into one another. So I think breaking that down into what is this position accomplishing for my practice within the goals that we have set. So if this is my vision, why do I have this position? Why do I have a scheduling coordinator? Why do I have a dental assistant? And then some pieces I think that I promised Kristy we would talk about some positions that you don't always think about. Right? So like sterile tech.   come on guys, there are so many sterile technicians running around that don't know what the heck they're supposed to be doing, there's no job description for a sterile tech and we just kind of run in the mill, let them figure it out, that's the dental way. So like sterile tech or, Kristy, one I know is really big right now is virtual assistants and I have a client who has an entire team of virtual assistants and Kristy, how important is it for the metrics?   the job description ⁓ just in the VA space, so for the VAs, but how important is it for the team to have that VA job description too and know what they can count on those people for?   DAT Kristy (15:21) ⁓ 100%. ⁓ The cool part with it too, Tiff, I mean, yeah, they need to know the expectations of what's being handled so they can hold them accountable just as any other team member, right? But also, I love, especially ⁓ offices where we're looking to develop leadership, when you have in an OM or a practice administrator, if you have a virtual assistant, what if...   great opportunity for them to work with somebody to develop them, right? And you're literally paying them to be there and do a service, but yet your leadership team or developing leadership team can help them be accountable to the metrics, right, that the virtual assistant is there for.   The Dental A Team (16:09) Yeah.   Yeah, absolutely agree. I have a practice that was like, well, like, I know they're doing insurance verification. I'm like, cool. Well, one, how far out are they supposed to be? Like, what's the volume of insurance verifications they're doing? Because we've got some shifts in the front office. Could they take on calling on unpaid insurance claims? And they were like, I don't know. haven't. I have no idea what their time is like. And I haven't talked to them in weeks. I was like, ⁓ hold the phone. I'm going to I got to pick myself up off the floor real quick.   Who's holding these people accountable? You've got to treat them just the same as you would if they were in your practice. And I think that's multifaceted. I have a practice who does really, really well with a couple of each spectrum. But one in particular does really well with virtual assistants because they create them to be part of the team. The virtual assistants do so much as to even show up for Daily Huddle. They're there with them. We have virtual assistants that show up for Daily Huddle. We know our VAs.   practices that it's just like, they're doing this thing and they think of them as a separate entity. I think the VAs get lost. I think the sterile techs get lost. The sterile techs of the world are just lost in our dental field. And they're looking for that direction and they're looking for that drive. I think our VA, right, we've got a newly onboarded one as well, but our VA who just celebrated six months with us, I found out, he has incredible direction in his position.   And I see that he finds fulfillment in the things that he does for our company. And that's really cool to watch and to see. I know we get fulfillment. It's very easy to get fulfillment as a consultant. Like we get to work hands-on with the clients every day. Same as a dental practice, you guys get to see the changes you're making in the patient's mouths, right? And in their daily lives, you know? So then to find metrics where it's like, no, even as a virtual assistant, even as an onboarded,   outsourced billing company, like these are the metrics that are going to show us that you're actually adding incredible value to our team. And how cool is that to have that heading to be like, I get to go to work every day and I get to help this team do better for their community. And that's the piece that I just feel like is missing in a lot of different spaces.   DAT Kristy (18:15) Yeah.   Yeah, I love that you say that, Tiff, because a lot of, I mean, we're familiar, probably the most popular one is in the insurance realm, right? And so I know even a lot of the virtual companies will set up time to meet with the offices weekly, right? And so again, for the OM or the practice administrator, I'm like, how often are you on those? Not very often. I'm like, man, what a missed opportunity, right? Again, to develop your leadership and share with them.   What's your expectations? We want zero claims over 90 days. And again, the metrics aren't to beat ourselves up. If it's not there, how fun to celebrate when, just like the re-care, right? When they hit 60%, we're gonna be celebrating because one little change, right? But painting that clarity, where are we going? What's my expectation? And then getting the team's commitment into how can we...   The Dental A Team (19:17) massive.   DAT Kristy (19:27) improve this, right? But I think you also mentioned something earlier, even outside of the virtual assistant realm, but all of our team members, how often are we meeting with them? And how often are we ⁓ taking the time away from the business to grow and develop them? Right? And review their metrics. Yeah.   The Dental A Team (19:45) Yeah, massive.   Yeah, and how do you do that if you don't know what you're reviewing? Like, how do you do that if you don't know what their accountabilities are? And how do you help grow someone? know one of the big pieces of leadership that we train on is being able to develop people and giving them a growth plan. And I remember being asked, oh my gosh, I don't even know. I was probably like 28, I don't know, 27. I might.   boss, my office manager pulls me into the office for my one-on-one and she's like, well, where do you see yourself in five years? And I was like, I don't know. Like I think my only, that could be your position. Like what, I don't know what, I don't know what that means, right? Because in those positions in the practice, they don't know. They don't know what's possible, right? Unless they've been there before.   There may be somebody who's maybe worked in another practice and she managed or worked in another practice and he saw this great manager he aspires to be, but most of the time we don't know. And so providing that growth plan, even within the job description of these are the metrics that I get to help grow those. So I can find growth and fulfillment within my own position because I'm growing the practice and growing these metrics. I don't need to take your job.   DAT Kristy (20:45) Mm-hmm.   The Dental A Team (21:03) I can be happy and satisfied in my own because it's written out for me and we're talking about it in the one-on-ones. We're seeing how, you know, where's my goal and how far away am I? Just the same as we're seeing the trends and everything else. So Kristy, I totally agree. Really my 28 year old brain would have been like, this is amazing if it had been like, here's some things that I see, you know? And otherwise I'm like, I don't know. Like how do I answer that? You know?   DAT Kristy (21:29) Yeah. Well,   and to your point, Tiff, with that being said, don't forget to rope in your virtual assistants and have those conversations with them too. Because I think, like you mentioned earlier, the practices that we see ⁓ truly utilizing virtual assistants well are incorporating them, right? They're sharing the expectation, but they're also giving them that feedback and they're treating them like a team member, you know? So if you guys are doing   a bonus system, don't forget your virtual assistants or your sterile techs, right? Include them. They're a huge part of the practice. So.   The Dental A Team (22:08) Yeah, yeah, and to your point, the team that I referenced that does really well with the virtual assistants, the virtual assistant that now does a lot of their scheduling started as insurance verifications and they grew her and she learned the schedule, she listened to the team on calls, they groomed her into that position so that she could take it on because she wanted growth. So I agree, I agree. So gosh, Kristy, this one became really, really fun. Thank you.   for that and taking that journey. And you guys, hope that there are some amazing tidbits that you're able to pick up from here. The biggest one is know your vision, know your goals. Like where is your practice heading so that you can then dial in where is each position heading within those goals. That's gonna be massive. So job descriptions, yes, we can talk about job descriptions all the time. Go Google it on our page, like search it. You're gonna find a million of them. The big point today is the metrics. Like what are these jobs providing?   towards your goal, what's inspiring them to do their work every day, and how are you talking about it and communicating it with them. So, Kristy, thank you so much. I love taking these journeys, and you made this really fun. I appreciate you today, and always every day. Yeah.   DAT Kristy (23:20) Thank you. Thank   you. Always back at you.   The Dental A Team (23:24) Thank   you, thank you. you guys, Kristy's always here for the fun, just expanding on what we're even talking about stuff.   for her name on these podcasts. You will never be disappointed. You're always gonna love them. And as always, leave us a five star review. We'd love to hear what you think and we'd love to hear anything that you guys have in addition to what we talked about. We know we don't know it all. Hello@TheDentalATeam.com.   You can reach us there and we cannot wait to hear from you guys until next time  

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Tiff and Kristy break down the concept of work-life balance, and why so many people can't seem to acquire it. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:00) Hello Dental A Team listeners. I am back today and you know, this is me Spiffy Tiffy I never say my name and I just assume everyone knows me. I actually this is a funny story. I actually had ⁓ Someone the other day it was a child was like, ⁓ you record podcasts you you're on a podcast Are you famous and I said well maybe in the dental world like for ⁓   small, tiny percentage, people might know who I am. So, it's Spiffy Tiffy, Tiffanie, I'm here, I've been here for a while, and I'm just super excited to bring so much fun and joy, and one of our core values is fun, and it has been Kiera and I's core value since the day we met, and that is one that I have refused to get rid of, even though every year we update our core values and they shift and change a little bit, fun has stayed there. The definition of fun has evolved and been   tailored down to what we want it to be, but it has remained and I think we have some fun. So I hope you guys have fun on this podcast. I hope you enjoy it. I have Kristy here with me today and she is ready to rock out some fun, you guys. And I, you know, we've already recorded one this morning and Kristy, you said it perfectly. I was going deep and I don't know. It's a feeling today. We got a lot of leadership stuff we're chatting about and I feel like goodness gracious, Kristy, you're my gal. You keep me centered. You keep me calm.   DAT Kristy (01:07) Thank   The Dental A Team (01:21) and you allow me the space to go deep. So thank you for being here. Thank you for recording so many podcasts with me and just for being you, Kristy. How are you?   DAT Kristy (01:30) Good, thank you. I'm excited to be here. It's always a good time when we can get together and help with anything ⁓ with our doctors, hopefully up and coming doctors, new to dental aging doctors. Yeah.   The Dental A Team (01:42) Yeah. Yes. Right? Yes.   I agree. I totally agree. And I love that you said that because there are so many listeners here. I think sometimes I forget, we get a lot of clients that have listened to our podcast in the past and that's how they found us. And it's just such an incredible resource to be able to get information to people and a tool to be able to reach so many new dentists. And then Kristy, I think I forget when they come,   from the podcast, right? Or they've listened to the podcast in the past and came from, I don't know, Zenist advisors. They maybe said, hey, talk to these ladies, they're great. Whomever, wherever, however they found us, I forget that they still listen. And then I'll have a client that's like, I get texts sometimes that's like, Tiff, I'm listening to this one, and you just said this, or Kristy said this, Trish, and I get these texts from clients that I've had for years. And I'm like, my gosh, that's funny. I didn't even consider the fact that you   You were still here. So repeat offenders. Thank you so much for being here. We love you guys. So like Kristy said, clients who are here. Hello. Um, those of you who are listeners and maybe you're just like, no, Tiff, I am a listener. I'm a diehard listener and I will be here for that. Hello. And if you're a listener who's like, gosh, I just keep thinking about it. I keep considering and this information is great. And these ladies sound amazing, but today's not about it's and, and, and.   DAT Kristy (02:43) you   The Dental A Team (03:10) I'm gonna call them because whether you say yes to success and you're our newest client or you say this is incredible information, I'm gonna implement some of these tools that you just gave me and we'll talk again soon. We're here for it. I want you guys to understand that we are not the company that you call and it's like, if you don't say yes, we never talk to you again. No, you say yes and, right? Yes, this was great information.   and I'm ready to start. Yes, this is great information and I'm gonna go implement it I'll talk to you soon. Okay, pressure's off. So just call us. That was great, Kristy. I think that was a wonderful reminder to everyone. There's literally no pressure. Gosh, Kristy, I love you for so many things and today I am just loving on you for leadership communication, conversations and just like effective balance, right?   We have a fun topic here, and I told you I have some tangents on it, and I think you do too, and I think we align pretty well on this topic. We really wanted to chat, and there's a newsletter. If you're subscribed to our newsletters, you should be getting a newsletter as well that will have similar, probably very different conversations in it, but make sure you're signed up for our newsletters that you're getting that as well. So today's topic, this moment's topic, is work-life balance. And I...   get asked this by a multitude of professionals, whether they are team members, leaders, managers, owners, doctors, dentists, I don't know, and financial advisors, like anyone under the sun who does a job, I have heard, I want work-life balance, TIF, how do I have work-life balance? And I think it's a really tricky statement, and I think it's overused and misunderstood. And I think you just need   balance. My opinion is by separating, Kristy, tell me if I'm crazy. By separating and saying I want work-life balance. It's like saying I have a life and I have work. For me, I have a life and I work within that life. I don't have my work-life that is like, in your brain, it just creates these two separate entities that then you're trying to smash together. It's like saying I'm a dentist.   and I'm a chiropractor and I want to do both out of my office. So I want to, while I'm drilling and doing this crown, I also want to be cracking their neck. You can't do that. It's literally impossible. So I think saying I want balance in my life is more clear and more understood than I want work life balance, which confuses it and makes it feel impossible. It feels literally difficult when I say I want work life balance.   it in my body feels difficult. It feels hard. But when I say I want balance, that feels achievable. That is like graspable. can see it. I know what it feels like to have balance. So I can emanate it. I can mimic the feeling in my body and I can find it. And I just think people just misunderstand that. But Kristy.   What are your thoughts on it? How do you feel about the term work-life balance? And then we'll get into, I promise you we'll get into how to achieve some of this balance. But Kristy, first, think definitions are always most important. So tell me your thoughts.   DAT Kristy (06:39) I know we never want to go like political or anything like that in that realm, but listening to you takes me back to growing up and hearing how moms entering the workforce and how can they work and be a mom. And so it just, kind of makes me laugh. And honestly, what you said is spot on. I don't, I don't know how you can do both at the same time, but   The Dental A Team (06:52) Yeah.   DAT Kristy (07:06) but I do think you can be wear many hats. It's just how do we devote our time to it? So identifying, honestly going back to the results, what are we looking for in the first place? So when you say work-life balance, tell me more about that. What does that mean? What does that mean to you? Because it may mean something different to somebody else. I for one get,   a lot of gratification from my work and purpose from it. So it brings a lot to my life. So to separate, yeah, I can't. But to devote certain amount of time to certain things, I can grasp that 100%.   The Dental A Team (07:51) Yeah, I love that clarity that you brought even to maybe like potentially realizing where the term comes from, because I agree with you. think that that is a huge space and a huge learning curve for everyone. And we're still kind of in it. think we're, I think we're still so much in that world. It's 2025, but we are still so much in that world of moms and not even just moms, but   primary caretakers coming into the workforce or primary caretakers also working. And it's like that, I think you're right. I think that is a confusing factor. And I love what you said that work gives you, it provides something positive to your life. So to keep those separate feels wrong. And I think so many of our leaders and our dentists feel that same way, which also confuses it. And you said,   tell me more, tell me what that looks like. And I know I've asked the question before and I've had a doctor be like, that means I'm home before 5.30 so that I can cook dinner for my family. I'm like, that's easy. Like, what's keeping you at the office? Like, why are you there? Right? Like, let's remove some obstacles. And I've had doctors that are like, well, I have a doctor that was like, Tiff, I wanna work three and a half days a week and I wanna make a million dollars in collections a year. Cool.   He's like, then I can be home. I be with my kids. I can do all the things. And he does, he does that. That's his work life balance. And, and that's his balance, right? His balance is being able to target and hit all of this areas of his life that are important. And Kristy, it makes me think of, ⁓ in March, we did our in-person event with so many of our amazing platinum doctors came out to visit us and their office managers. And we did a blocked scheduling, ⁓ exercise for.   personal life and like for our ourselves and for crowns, root canals, etc. So by personal life, mean like ourselves and what we did it was super cool of really looking at the like six areas of our lives six to eight areas of our lives that are truly valuable and important that we want to contribute to so, you know your relationships your marriage your work ⁓   DAT Kristy (09:52) Hahaha!   The Dental A Team (10:13) Right? Remember in Summit, I forgot to add work in there. ⁓ If you were there for Summit, you guys are laughing. But all those different areas that make us who we are and where we want to show up in life, and then time blocking and saying, this is how much time, like you said, time, this is how much time I want to dedicate to this area for it to feel valuable and balanced, because it's not all going to be equal.   I'm not gonna spend as much time maybe going on dates with my boyfriend and having one-on-one time as I am recording podcasts and showing up for my clients. That doesn't mean it's imbalanced. That would be wild. He would go crazy if I were spending that much time like, we're going on a date or we're going on a river cruise. I don't even know what we would do with that amount of time. Couple times a year for our long vacations, we do that and it balances.   When we say work-life balance, it almost sounds and feels like we're looking for equality between the time spent. And that's just, it's just not realistic. There are a lot of people who have more time outside of work that they're doing other things with their life. And then there are other people who are like, no, I'm passionate about my job and I want to pour into it. That's their balance. And I think you nailed it, Kristy, by really   keying in on that time and saying how valuable it is to consider that there's even more than just work and quote unquote life. Like there are attributes to your life that need that value and that time consideration.   DAT Kristy (11:53) I almost wonder Tiff, like listening to you talk, we almost have to identify, like the first question should be what's missing, right? Because really why is that even a term, work-life balance? Wouldn't you agree it's likely there's something missing in that equation, so how can we do more of it? And the other part that...   The Dental A Team (12:03) Yeah. Yeah.   Totally agree.   DAT Kristy (12:22) Again, you know me, queen of analogies, but it's like people come in to the office and they go into hygiene and they're like, are you flossing your teeth? No, I hate flossing my teeth. Well, you need to be flossing every day. Why do we go from zero to a hundred? Like, can we maybe start with, how about flossing Monday, Wednesday, Friday instead of all or nothing, right? So I almost feel like that question, work-life balance needs to start with what's missing that I need more of.   The Dental A Team (12:35) Yeah.   Yes.   I love that because there's a gap we're not seeing and we feel out of alignment and we're not taking the time to step back and see it. And I think you're spot on because there's an area of life, the six to eight components, how many ever there are, there's an area that's out of alignment with the definition of balance for you. Kristy, I think what you're really good at and what you said even earlier was, well, what does that mean? Right? You're really good at   speaking to your clients in a clear and kind way and asking questions that evoke thought and results. So when you ask those kinds of questions to your clients, I've seen them, I've watched them, I join all of our consultants' calls at some point or another. So I've seen this happen live. They are able to give themselves the space to find it because you interrupted their thought pattern with something different so that they could   think of it from a different point of view. And I think it's just really, really something that is missed in a lot of consulting that's just systems focused, right? Like we are systems focused, we do provide systems, but we're people focused first because without this, without these kinds of definitions, your systems aren't, they're not gonna stick. I promise you, they're just not gonna stick, okay? We've seen it. So Kristy, something you do really well with your clients is,   DAT Kristy (14:09) Thank   The Dental A Team (14:16) keying into those definitions and then asking the thought provoking questions, you might even already have the answer, right? You are like, I know exactly, but if you tell the person, right, they're like, maybe, but if you evoke the thought process, interrupt those thought patterns and get them shifted onto a different, it's kind of, makes me think of when you're driving along, driving along and you're like, shoot, there's a detour.   And then you like scooch over to the next road. It's detouring you on and you're like, wow, these are beautiful houses. Like I've never been down this road and I've lived on this street for 20 years, right? But your pattern was disrupted and you were able to see something new and beautiful and fresh. And, or sometimes you're like, wow, this is ugly. I can't believe I live this close to this street or this, like sometimes you go down and you're like, what is this building? Like this looks horrible.   DAT Kristy (14:58) Mm-hmm.   The Dental A Team (15:11) Right, so sometimes you open a door and you're like, wow, that is really ugly and I have got to spend some attention there. Doesn't mean every time we open a door, it's gonna be like rainbows and butterflies, right? But sometimes we open a door that's like, I need to sprinkle some magic fairy dust in here because this is a space that needs some attention. And Kristy, I think you truly do open those doors for clients. And my question in that, ⁓   What do you think that opens up for them? So you open those doors, you get their thinking differently, but then how does that process change their business ownership and their, literally their profitability? Like these pieces that we work on with our clients, how do you see it totally improve the reasons that they come to us, right? They say systems, profitability, we want to pay our team more, we want a more engaged team.   that system change, that thought process change, how do you see that positively affecting those things that they've come to us for?   DAT Kristy (16:15) Yeah, well, to back up one notch, Tiff, even finding out like their why, once we get there, I think it's also asking one more question of, okay, wonderful, that's what you want, right? We've identified that. ⁓ What will it give you? And it's usually something emotional, right? So then when we're doing the hard work, we can remind them back to that this is what you were looking for.   And again, it's if we're off track, did your vision of what we want change or are we still going for this? Okay, great, we're still going for this and that helps them get the momentum back for getting there. will ⁓ you repeat your question for me, sorry.   The Dental A Team (17:00) Yeah.   No, I talked a lot. Thank you. ⁓ My question was, when we do get these definitions in place and figure out what does balance mean? Why are we doing this? And I think you're right. When we know that why, then the balance is easier to find because we know what's going to support the why. So once that's discovered, which you do very quickly for your clients, I again have watched it happen.   What do you see the positive impacts on the business, the leadership? Because they come to us, right? And they say, I want systems, I want profitability, want a happy team. Like, how do you see those things improve by defining these and really improving their personal selves and finding that balance?   DAT Kristy (17:41) Yeah, so I believe that when we identify it and we start working toward it, they do start to feel a sense of balance. And so when they are back in the rut of things or in the weeds of things, they approach it more refreshed. They have a different outlook. It's not a drain on them. And so literally, it's the same thing as like when we start coaching, all ask clients, know, how much time are you spending working on your business? How many team meetings are you having?   Well, we used to, but we don't. And I'm just a firm believer that the time we spend working on the business, you will achieve outcome because you're in a sense creating that balance to then when you are in the business, you're a lot more effective. I've seen it time and time again, you know, even to the point where... ⁓   I have one client that literally she takes off two more weeks a year, but she's producing the same this year on trajectory to make more. literally the first year she took those extra two weeks off, she's making just as much as she did the year prior, but she gained time, right? So when she achieved that balance of the goal to be able to take time to do X, Y, Z, she identified it. Then when she's there,   The Dental A Team (18:47) Yeah.   them. Yeah.   DAT Kristy (19:05) She's way more productive and focused on what she's doing. Yeah.   The Dental A Team (19:10) I agree. And   I've seen that with your clients, I've seen that with mine, I've seen it with Monica's, Trish's, Dana's, everybody's clients. I've seen that exact thing happen where you're just, when you have that balance, you have a better sense of ease in life. I think when you're misbalanced, when you're out of alignment, I know I have a doctor that we've worked with that, this doctor is an amazing human being and showed up.   and was just like, I have to work, I have to do this, I have to grind, I'm the only one that can. And I think we hear that a lot. And so then they almost get to the point where they don't know how to not do that and feel successful, first of all. And then they don't know how to, then they don't know how, they start resenting their work. And when you resent your work, you're slower, you're less detailed, you really care less, so your diagnosis goes down.   acceptance goes down, your schedule starts falling apart, because the universe is like, oh, you don't really like this, let me take it away from you. Hygiene falls apart, team members start quitting, and it's typically because, again, like my example earlier, I had a doctor that was like, I just want to be home by 530. Then do it. Typically, it's because we're there till six, seven, eight o'clock at night, because we think we're the only ones who can. It's so out of alignment that everything else just sucks, and we start to hate it.   DAT Kristy (20:26) Yep.   The Dental A Team (20:32) But when we can find that balance and even just defining it brings the balance to center stage and it's much easier, that I totally agree with you. That's when we're intentional with our time. And when we're intentional with our time at work, we bust through things quicker, we enjoy it, we diagnose better, we are more invested in our patients than the outcome. And so case acceptance naturally increases. And we've seen like, we've seen huge.   huge profitability increases, 30 % within three months I've seen because they were intentional, they did the things they had to do and they listened, they implemented really freaking well and they were like, all right, Kristy, I believe you, I trust you, that's why I hired you, I'm gonna do this and we're gonna celebrate at the end. And we've seen it, we've seen so much happen in such a short amount of time with that kind of mindset.   I totally, I totally agree with you. think this is, I hope this is really, really valuable to even people who are showing up as amazing leaders. It's still very easy to get caught in the trap of ego filled. I have to. And I've seen incredible leaders be the ones that, that ego, it sneaks in there. It has to be there on some level. Always our ego has to be there. You can't totally get rid of it. It's, it's a good.   but it needs a balance. And sometimes that ego, when we're busy, starts to creep up and starts to get louder. And we start to get to the point where we think, this is all on me. I have to do it. No, Tiff, you don't understand. I have to be here till seven. And Kristy, I think that's the space where you're able to come in as a consultant and really say, but do you really have to? Is there not a way out? Let's explore that together.   you do that by asking those questions. And Kristy, I've watched you do it and I think it's incredible.   DAT Kristy (22:33) Thanks. Yeah, I'm hearing you say delegation and honestly, know, again, flipping it, we have to take ourselves out of the equation. I think, again, we see it every day. We're in our own way. And so when we approach something and take ourselves out of the equation, just even with the delegation part of it, when you are able to flip that, then you can see by not delegating,   you're hindering your team's growth. And that's a different perspective than my team won't rise up to the occasion, right? I'm part of that equation. So yeah, I love it.   The Dental A Team (23:14) Yeah, amazing. Amazing. And you pulled out a great word and action item there. think delegation is key. So I think a couple of takeaways are action items that you guys have. giving you, I'm gifting you those today is number one is to really, think Kristy, you said like, look at your why. Why are you doing this? And then where are you out of balance that is making you feel like you have no work life balance? So what is, what does the terminology actually mean to you? What is your why? How can you get there?   when you get to these points and you need help, please reach out, Hello@TheDentalATeam.com You can reach us on our website. You can reach us with a review below, like however you need to find us and get to us, Instagram, Facebook, I don't care, reach out. We're here to help you through it. So go figure out what's your why. If you know your why, figure out how are you out of balance on getting there. And then Kristy, I think your word delegation, like find something, even if it's one thing today that is on your plate that you can successfully delegate to someone else.   And as an example, I was on a marketing call with an office manager with an outside marketing company. This is first time I've ever met them. she was great. The gal was great. And she said, no one's responding to your social media interactions, right? There's no engagement responses. So we've got TikTok and a massive amount of great social media following, but there's no responses happening. And she's like, we don't have to figure it out today, but I'm just.   I'm letting you know and the manager was just like, okay, I'll figure it out. I'll get on it. And I looked at the manager and I said, well, your new patient advocate who's only seeing new patients, who's not getting enough new patients in her, we're not seeing enough new patients. That's one of our issues. Why doesn't she do it? Like her job is to ensure that start to finish, new patients get the experience. This is the very baby start is engagement. And she sat back, you could see she relaxed and she was just like,   my God, you're right. And so my point of that story is sometimes it's something so simple. And I said, you're investing in her and you're telling her that she is worthy and value valuable enough to take a task like this on. That's really cool. And I think it's going to inspire her, encourage her and give her just so much strength in her position. You're actually helping her be better.   by giving her a task that was going to, you were gonna resent, you were gonna hate that task. So my point of that story, doctors, leaders, team members, look at your balance and say, what's keeping me out of balance? And is there something as simple as social media engagement, whatever it is, that I can pass on to someone that it makes more sense for them to do it? And it may make them feel better about their job. Go do those things. What's your why? What's keeping you from getting there? What's got you out of balance?   And what's one thing you can delegate to someone else to help inspire them in their career? Kristy, this was super fun. Thank you so much for taking the rides with me. And just you have incredible input. And I really appreciate you, Kristy. Thank you.   DAT Kristy (26:22) Thank you and just a little tip for somebody if they want to go do some research go look at the Eisenhower Matrix and Start to put your things in there. You'll see very clearly What can be delegated and ⁓ even things that maybe you thought were important that no longer will be important So little tip there for the end ⁓   The Dental A Team (26:43) That was great. Thank you, Kristy. All right,   guys, you heard it straight from us. Go do the things. If you've been here for a long time, you know doing the things is worth it. If you're just here, trust and you will reap rewards. I promise you. So as always, you guys, we are here to help on your journey wherever you're at. Please reach out. I've told you a million times how to get there. Hello@TheDentalATeam.com. You can go to our website, TheDentalATeam.com. There are ways that you can schedule calls with us. There are ways that you can reach out to us by   Text you guys Instagram Facebook email review below five stars are fantastic and I appreciate them However, you can get to us. I don't know a smoke signal like just reach out to us We are here to help you and we want to be that support for you Hello at the only team calm you guys we will catch you next time. Thanks for sticking it out with us  

2026 might still seem like a ways off, but now is the time to start chipping away at preparation. Tiff and Kristy walk practices through what to do to be ready for a fresh start come January 1. They talk about lag and lead measures, what to put on your calendar now, fee schedules, and a ton more. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:01) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. I am back at you today, Miss Tiffanie, Spiffy Tiffy. No one's called me that in a while. I have not recorded with Kiera in a hot minute. That's how I know I have not recorded with Kiera, because I haven't been called Spiffy Tiffy in a minute. ⁓ We're here today. I have Miss Kristy with me today. She has just done a slew of recordings with me. We blocked out two hours today, and we said, you know what? We're just going to bust out a bunch, and we are doing it. Summertime gets a little wild.   and it gets hard to schedule these suckers in there. So Kristy, thank you for being here with me today. Thank you for scheduling this in your schedule and making sure that we could get this done. How are you?   DAT Kristy (00:39) It's always fun spending time with you. We don't get to do this all the time.   The Dental A Team (00:44) I agree. We really don't. And I started doing ⁓ for you specifically because I'm like, gosh, we really don't. I still get like so much time with Trish, Monica is in, you know, we're doing so much onboarding. ⁓ And so I was like, no, we need, I need Kristy, like just touch base, check in one on one time. Like I need that outside of our monthly one on one. So I agree. And I'm excited to be here today. I think we both have animals at home and it's funny. We like   go a certain amount of time and then they've hit their limits. And I don't know, I've got a cat that's running around just screaming right now. I don't think you guys can hear it, I hope. But I think what happens is she's just like, okay, I'm tired of hearing your voice. Even when I'm on coaching calls, like maybe my inflection is different or I don't know. There's something about podcasting that she hits her limit at about an hour in, hour and a half. She's like, I'm done. I'm either podcasting with you or you're being forced to turn it off.   Yeah, anyways, animals are wild. ⁓ They are. my gosh, they are like kids. They're exhausting. Yeah, they are like, because I think they're worse than kids. You know, when I was little, they used to say, I don't know if people still say this or not, but they used to say, when you think you're ready for kids, get a dog. And I used to be like, that's easy, right? And I'm like, actually, I find that my animals are way more work than my son is. they just require so much of me at   DAT Kristy (01:43) I like kids.   The Dental A Team (02:10) their own discretion. Like it's just, it's when they want it. And I have, I have two cats and a dog and the dog is much chiller, but even puppies, I'm like, puppies are hard. Puppies are not like a newborn. I does not, in my opinion, the same apples to apples, but maybe that's why they say that because you get exhausted by the puppy and you're like, I can't, I can't do this right now. So who knows, but we're not here to talk about dogs or cats. We are here.   We're here today because we are rounding out the year you guys. August is always like such a weird time ⁓ for me because it's like the beginning and the end. It's the beginning, like we're not even too fall yet for Arizona. It feels like fall. We don't really get a fall so we start in August. ⁓ But it feels like we're coming up on the end, but we just started. We get to August so quickly and so.   With that, a lot of times we can kind of forget to prep for the upcoming year until it gets to the last minute because we're like, gosh, it's so early, Tiff. Like, Kristy, we've still got so much of our goal left. We're still working on these things. How am I supposed to think past that? But we really truly do have to prepare in a lot of different ways to ensure that we're ready when January hits. I don't know about you, Kristy, but I know in my practice, I think the   before I was office manager, my office manager and my doctor probably sat down and like did some goals, right? They knew what they were doing. But we didn't know until the end of January when we had our team meeting what those new year's goals were. And that was really hard because I'm like, well, shoot, we're already behind because like, what are we doing here? We had no idea that we had increased our goals because we're still working off of old goals. And I think that that likely happens more often than not.   Because we want a fresh start. We want our January kickoff and it's like if we're not doing January kickoff on January 2nd It's not a kickoff anymore. I guess now we're playing catch-up So a lot of practices really need to start doing this in December November even but December really talking about what next year is going to look like with your teams ⁓ Kristy do you feel that that kind of we talked about this a lot today? Like what was it like back went back in the day when we were in office But did you feel like you kind of ran that same?   trajectory that same calendar year advice.   DAT Kristy (04:31) Yeah, 100%. I think ⁓ in dentistry, we get so focused on lag measures. And I don't know that we ever intentionally focused. It's just the way it's always been. And so you and I talked about this before. We just do it because that's how somebody else did it. And we think it's the way to do it. But I think, again, when you know better, you do better. And we always need to look at the lag measures. looking at lead measures and starting literally now,   The Dental A Team (04:38) Yeah.   Bye.   DAT Kristy (05:01) is a great practice and and to be honest the ones that I see hitting goals for my teams ⁓ we look at them early and we set the tone early. Yeah.   The Dental A Team (05:11) Yeah, yeah,   it does a great point. You hit the nail on the head. We really do focus so much on lag measures, which are a lot of my lag measures will feed into our lead measures. So totally. But I do think that dentistry as a whole misses the mark on lead measures. Even like I had a client the other day that said, Oh, I died, because he died. She's   DAT Kristy (05:35) you   The Dental A Team (05:36) She said, yeah, my CPA, I'm just not too sure about them. They said that not to get too crazy about it, but that I would get my PNLs by the 28th every month. And I about fell out of my chair, because I was like, what the heck? That is a two-month lag measure at this point, because by the time we're reviewing them, we're into two months later from those statistics, those overhead stats. And how are we supposed to make adjustments and change? So you're telling me,   that we are gonna have potentially two bad months because we didn't know it was a bad month until we're at the third month. And I was just like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. If that's the case, if that's their standard, it doesn't fit our standards. This is not going to work. We have to have better, quicker lag measures so that we can change the lead measures. And I think what you just said plays right into that. Because to them, that CPA, it was like totally natural and normal. It was like, yeah, fine, we'll get them to you.   You can see them, but they're not using them to tell you how to change your business. Some CPAs are, work one-on-one with a couple of different CPAs for my clients and with my clients that are doing that. They're fantastic, they're giving them information and advice every month based off of what they're seeing. That's massive. It's very uncommon also. CPAs at the end of the year would be like, well, this year you overspent in this category, so drop this.   ⁓ for the love, could I not have seen that earlier and made adjustments so that I didn't overspend for an entire year and then could have changed this entire P &L? That's what we do. We look at the P &L with you and we dive into it. And like I said, I do have a couple of CPAs that dive into that with me with clients or sometimes I'll have questions and I'm like, hey, I'll shoot over an email and like, what is this? What are you seeing? And they'll give me the answer. And I'm like, fantastic. Thank you. Those are   freaking phenomenal. Those are clients that I can really dive into numbers and be like, let's change this. Let's turn the dial on this. Because at the end of the year when they're like, next year you can't. I don't want to ever tell you that. Next year you can't. No, next year you can because we adjusted things on the lead measures, meaning what's to come because we were able to see your lag measures. So Kristy, that was brilliant. That was a massive tangent, but that was brilliant.   And I think it really flows into all of those because if you're year to date at August and you don't know those numbers, you haven't looked at them with someone with a CPA, a coach, a consultant, get on that. Do that because what's gonna happen is November, your CPA is gonna be like, let me tell you all the things you shouldn't have done this year. I don't want that to happen. Get on it today. Hello@TheDentalATeam.com if you want advice, if you need help, if you want to one-on-one coach with us, we can help you dive through it.   We are here for it. We have had plenty of clients that have seen incredible profit year over year because of the consulting that they've received, because of the directions that we've been able to push them that they weren't able to see. Again, focusing on the the log measures to push the lead measures. Now, other things, I really wanted this to be like a let's prep for the next year, which I don't know when you're listening to this, but right now it's August, 2025. So we are prepping for...   2026, which is crazy to me. I told, actually I told Kira this morning, my son, started senior year today as I took his little picture and I'm just like, my gosh, and he graduates, you know, 2026. And I'm like, I knew this day would come, but it always felt so far. Like this is, I think when I was a kid, I thought we'd be flying around in cars by now, which I think we're actually really close, which is crazy. But.   To me, like 2026 felt so far away when I was a kid, I thought we're gonna be the Jetsons by then. So again, I think we're actually really close. But it's crazy to think we're prepping for 2026. You guys, we gotta round out 2025 and really be able to project into 2026. And there's some simple things, you guys, we have checklists for this too. So reach out, Hello@TheDentalATeam.com. We can pop you over some checklists, but there are some really simple things. Kristy, like.   I want you to go through, like you were talking earlier on another podcast we recorded about really scheduling some things out. So what are some things that can be done next year that should be in the schedule? And then we'll kind of dive into the goals and stuff that they're going to have to do before we get to the 2026.   DAT Kristy (10:11) Well again, we're all about projecting forward right because you touched on not saying no and part of saying no Maybe adding things so we can say yes, right? So looking at the schedule putting in your HIPAA your OSHA any training CPR, right? ⁓ Is there CE we're planning on let's research it. Let's figure out how much it's gonna cost Are we taking team not taking team? What's the what's the average?   cost because all of that can be factored into our lead measures right and and what is what do we have to make in order to have that happen is it a year for raises have we done fee valuations for the upcoming year a lot of offices don't look at that yearly and I encourage my offices to because here's the thing especially if you're a high PPO you never get to go to the insurance companies and say   hey, I haven't raised my fees in five years, so now I'm gonna make this big jump. They don't let you. So doing those incremental jumps every year, ⁓ another area where people fail to ⁓ evaluate is if you're selling products. Have you looked at the invoices to see what you're paying? And nowadays, that's a big thing, right? Adding in the tariffs and different things that are affecting what we're paying for. Have you adjusted it? Because a lot of my practices charge just what they're paying for it, and then   The Dental A Team (11:15) Yeah.   DAT Kristy (11:40) we look at it and go, my gosh, we're in the hole because we've never adjusted the fees. ⁓ getting your new fee schedules, right? If there's any negotiations that need to happen, I would add that to the list too.   The Dental A Team (11:45) Yeah.   Yeah, and now is the time to do that to start negotiating it so that you can have it for that new year. That was massive because that hits both making sure it's scheduled out to update your fees, but then also right now sending in the request for increased fees to be updated. So that was a twofer right there in my opinion. So good job. Yeah. I also remember earlier you said the PCI compliance. So making sure all of those PCI OSHA HIPAA   all of those training CPR, everybody's up to date and checking all of those. Like when was the last time anyone, that any one individual did those pieces and are there people that need them updated? I know there's a lot of, gosh, specialty practices that will offer for GP practices, the CPR training. We used to do that through the orthodontist we worked hand in hand with. He would just, I mean, it was a referral, a referral mechanism for them, right? It's marketing for them, but they would hire the CPR trainer and then they would invite   dental offices to come get the CPR training for their team. So it's free for us and that orthodontist paid for it. So check with those things as well, but making sure those things are scheduled out. And that's something doctors that your office manager should have that kind of a yearly checklist to make sure that they're going through those. Another thing that you kind of touched on there was like maintenance of different. ⁓   everything right you've got all of your everything needs maintenance so what does your practice look like what are your compressors looking like do they need to be maintenance your ultrasonics like really just diving in and every year it should be that fresh start and looking at what are we going to do now Kristy you mentioned which i love because it goes hand in hand with that too of really budgeting that so budgeting your ce's i had a practice this year they're like help me   our cash flow, what is going on? When we delve into it, there were a ton of ⁓ auxiliary necessary purchases and updates that were made to the practice, to the ⁓ exterior of the practice. So these things were necessary, but they were unplanned for that.   I think you can look at and probably project towards the end of the year to really build out a budget and a percentage and a bucket within your 2026 goals because you guys, it's really easy. If you know it's going to be X amount of money, divide it out over the 12 months and say, great, how am I going to make that up in production and collections to get that money so it's not costing you? It's coming out of the profit for that year, which is what happened with this other practice. We just thought there'd be more profit, but that profit then   went towards, you know, the renovations, excuse me, that needed to be done, but we could have built it in a little bit better had we known they were coming.   So that leads into our goals and really looking at what would a 7 to 10 % increase. Those are the numbers I typically go with increasing from this year 7 to 10 % next year, 7 % for inflation you guys, 10 % because why not be profitable on top of inflation? So you can do 7 % and kind of call it status quo. 10 % is gonna be that growth space that you hopefully and probably are desiring. And really when you look at it 10 % over the course of the year,   is really a drop in the bucket. Kristy, have you found that same thing where that 10 % is like a couple hundred thousand over the course of the year split up over the month is realistically not that much? Kristy, do you see that same thing?   DAT Kristy (15:27) 100 % TIF, I think the problem we get into is we wait till the last minute and then we're trying to crunch it in that short amount of time. But when we look forward and we have the whole year, guys, it can be as simple as one more crown a week, you know, or one more crown a month, depending on where you're lying. and when we break it down like that for teams, it makes it so digestible and and it helps fire us up when we make it that simple. Nine times out of 10.   The Dental A Team (15:41) Yep.   DAT Kristy (15:57) I see them even going further because it's like wow it was so easy right and it never I mean Think about it in our field and we all know this to be true I don't none of my doctors are immune from this but November and December are crazy months. Why do we do it to ourselves? Let's start now   The Dental A Team (16:11) Yeah. Yep. Yep. Yeah, I agree. And that makes me think of   a practice I went into one time, and we did their goals. And I said, Okay, well, in order to finish the year where we want to, we need to ⁓ increase your daily goal by $2,000 across for hygiene to doctors, right? $2,000. They were like, you're crazy. And I'm like, No, I'm not.   This is how much it is per provider. And they were like, Tiff, we love you. We love your training. And we think you're crazy. going to put it on there. We're going to try our hardest. And we're going let you know. The next day, they went above and beyond that $11,000 goal by almost $2,000. The next day, they hit the goal consistently. After setting that goal, they hit it.   and they were like, Tiff, I was getting texts from the team members for days. Like, I can't believe we're doing this. We didn't think it was possible, but actually it was right there, because it was all within the scheduling, right? How are we scheduling things? What are we prioritizing? How are we looking at the structure of our schedule and still serving our patients? So I totally agree. The increase is easy.   as long as it's broken down in a digestible amount. The full yearly amount, you're like, all right, guys, we did 1 million, we're gonna do 1.2 this year. And they're like, my gosh, like, when is it enough? But if you're like, 1.2 is X amount per month, X amount per day.   They're like, okay, we can hit that. We can figure that out. And you're like 30 % from hygiene, 70 % from doctor or 25 % from hygiene, 75 % from doctor. Like figure out the numbers and then figure out daily goals for everyone so that it is digestible, because that's much easier to work with.   ⁓ Another thing to be really, really prepped for is, ⁓ what did we say? We said, updating the paperwork, you said, Kristy. So making sure we know what next year needs to look like. We just did a podcast on OSHA and HIPAA compliance, so making sure you're scheduling that out, but then also making sure that your HIPAA paperwork is updated, is gonna be massive, your health history.   If you are taking CEs, does that need to be updated on your health history? Do you need to ask sleep apnea questions or Botox questions or implant questions? Like, do you need to update that at the beginning of the year and making sure you have all of your patients' data? Kristy, I know you talked about too, you have some clients that just don't have everyone's emails. This day and age, most of our communication is going out by emails. I know most of my clients are sending statements by text and email. There's really not a lot of paper. So making sure   updating those as well. And then Kristy, I don't want to glaze over those you guys, practice software updates too, but I kind of do because I kind of want to talk a little bit very quickly though.   As we're adding goals, Kristy, I you do this a lot. You help practices project what their profitability point is, which is also like your BAM, your bare ace minimum, right? Same thing, different words. How do you also help them project? Do they have enough people? So as they grow their goal, they need to potentially increase staffing and making sure they have the right seat. How do you help them see that when you're helping clients build out those goals?   DAT Kristy (19:36) Yeah.   think that's an important piece of it. Running some reports in your software is going to be helpful. Look at your active patient base. Has it grown? If it's not growing, why not? Are we missing working re-care? And again, lag and lead, guys. I have a lot of practices where maybe capacity, they're booked out, and so they don't work re-care, and those people are falling through the cracks. I would challenge you, even though you are booked out, to still work that re-care.   because every day we wait, they're getting pushed out that much further, right? And it's nothing that we have to shy away from, but again, it's like, man, our hygienist are in high demand. Let's get you scheduled, right? And bring that information. You guys need to look at that. our next new patient openings, when can we schedule for perio maintenance? When can we schedule for root scaling? We need to look at our procedure counts and add in maybe extra blocks.   The Dental A Team (20:40) Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.   I totally agree and making sure at the same time then that we have enough team to accommodate those patients that act as patient based how many patients can one hygienist see in a year? How many hygienists do you have compared to your doctor time? How many assistants do you have compared to the columns of treatment that you're working with? And then one piece I think gets missed, Kristy, in that conversation too is front office team. So like how many back office team members do you have in comparison to your front office team?   I usually like to use an easy ratio of like the number of dental assistants it takes. I should have front office as well to kind of duplicate that to make it super simple. But you're right, pulling those simple reports from the system to ensure we're doing everything we can to get those patients in. But what is that active patient count? Because that's gonna tell a really big story on how much growth we can sustain on the size and the capacity that we have now and the team that we have. So, beautiful. Thank you, Kristy. ⁓   you guys this wraps up a ton for 2026. hope you're feverishly taking notes if you are not driving. If you are driving, re-listen. But as always, Hello@TheDentalATeam.com. We can shoot you over some really easy end of the year, beginning of the year prep checklists ⁓ for office managers, doctors, whomever. And just make sure you guys that you're pre-scheduling things. And I would even pre-schedule this time of year, next year, start prepping for this stuff. Put it in your calendars as an office manager. I had everything in my calendar this time of the year. I was starting to   for the following years, so 2026 goals, but I was also...   ⁓ requesting fee increases. I was sending out end of year letters, right? Like get your treatment done because what happens is we tend to wait till October and that's why November, December is crazy. If you send them now, you can fill September, which we also call September. Start reaching out to those people now and get September filled, October filled and don't make your life too hectic November and December. You can even those out. So you guys go do these things. They're not hard. They're actually really easy and they can be really fun.   Hello@TheDentalATeam.com we can send you over this information and you guys, have so many consultants on our team, Kristy, Trish, Monica, Dana, they are here helping clients every single day to work through these things and so much more. We would love the opportunity to chat one on one with you to see what we can do to help you as well. Hello@TheDentalATeam.com, you guys, we'll catch you next time. Thanks so much.