Thoughts of Home

As the earth awakens from its winter's sleep and families unite to celebrate Easter, I can't help but think of the countless men and women who have sacrificed and sacrifice so that we can live in this country of freedom and liberty. Thank you for your sacrifice.

Embracing Our Differences

I am pleased to feature Mary Kay Milewski as a guest blogger. I recently attended a social media seminar with Mary Kay and another guest blogger Al Mendez. Experience as both a Human Resource Manager, Executive Training Manager, as well a Dental Practice Administrator, has uniquely positioned Mary Kay Milewski to understand the complex challenges of practicing dentistry in times of exponential change. As an instructor in the Workforce Development Department of the University of Akron, Mary Kay teaches management skills to a wide variety of business including manufacturing, healthcare and service organizations. Her realistic, refreshing approach to areas such as Leadership, Communications, Conflict Resolution and Change Management have given her clients hands on tools to improve the bottom line of their company and to develop their most important asset – their people.

I live in two worlds. I manage my husband’s dental practice in North Eastern Ohio, but I am also a contract trainer for a local university which sends me into a wide a variety of companies to do management training. The management problems we face in dentistry today are really no different than those I see all over the manufacturing and service sectors of our economy. People are people no matter what their profession.

One problem I hear over and over again is how to manage the challenge of generational differences in the workplace. Specifically, managers and supervisors ask me why the “twenty something kids” don’t want to work. And expect to be made a manager during their first week of employment. And leave each day at 4:00 pm on the dot. The younger members of their workforce roll their eyes and ask me why the shall we say “more seasoned” coworkers still can’t figure out how to put an attachment into an email, and why it is such a big deal for “old people” to try something new.

Generational Differences are as old as time. I am sure somewhere deep in a cave somewhere is a hieroglyphic that says “What is with these young kids today?” Each generation has a natural desire to break with the past, to push boundaries, to try to do things differently. I grew up in the 1960’s near Kent State University…generational differences were very alive and well. And while we wrote music and books on our view of the world, once in the workforce, our generations blended together well.

So what’s different now? One of the biggest culprits is the pace of change. Generations used to be divided into periods of twenty to thirty years. A recent New York Times article cited research being done that pointed to technological changes so profound as to dramatically change how young people communicate…every three to five years. Think about it…an eight year old has been raised reading books, but your toddler will view a book as something you download. An eighteen year old will not answer an email or “shudder” an archaic voicemail but send them a text and you get instant response. But their twenty five or thirty year old sibling will be much more open to using email because texting wasn’t part of their adolescence. We’ve created profound intra-generational shifts that will inevitably impact how younger generations communicate and interact with an increasingly complex world.

So what to do? As with all things, first take a deep breath and realize that you cannot stop the change that is coming at us like a runaway train. Stop trying to pound a square peg into a round hole and embrace these generational differences. Accept that a different view is not necessarily a bad thing, but rather that a gift that can help you consider new ways to solve old problems. Embrace these differences instead of trying to make everyone think like you. And get used to change. It’s here to stay.

What Ever It Takes

I am pleased to present my guest blogger, Dr. Al Mendez. Albert Mendez is a practicing dentist in SE Kansas. He is married and the proud father of 5—four college age and one in high school. He attended Brigham Young University in Provo, UT. He received his Doctor of Dental Surgery Degree at the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Dentistry in Lincoln, NE. He enjoys walking, snow skiing and riding his Harley Davidson Heritage Classic. He has recently been elected to his local school board.

I know what I am about to say just might sound ironic. I write a blog and I Facebook, and yet I consider myself a somewhat private person. How is that possible? I suppose I consider myself private because I do not "confess" past or current "sin and shortcomings" in public. I grew up the son of a hardworking steelworker in a middle class community in the south suburbs of Chicago. It was not uncommon for Dad to work 12-16 hours per day. Throughout my growing up years, Mom was a stay at home mom. She ran a very tight ship. I admire my parents for all they did for my siblings and me. I am the person I am today mostly because of their attitude and teachings. Do whatever it takes!!!

My common, everyday life was never much to talk about; after all every one lived that way, right? It was nothing to be ashamed of, nor was it much to brag about. Recently I was talking with one of my team members about working my way through college and dental school. I told her about how I worked in a meat processing plant moving product from storage to the processing floor and back. I helped in the "ground beef" room--pushing the meat into the grinders, extruding it into one to ten pound chubs, boxing the chubs, etc. On occasion I would drive a refrigerated flat truck to pick up or deliver the meat all over Nebraska, Iowa, and even Minnesota.

I also mentioned doing custodial work. I had a couple of different custodial jobs. One required me to keep tiled floors and stairways clean. I was responsible for sweeping, mopping and stripping and waxing these floors. Yet another job consisted of pulling trash and vacuuming carpets in office buildings around Lincoln, NE. She was amazed at the things I did. It was neither glamorous nor demeaning work. It just needed to be done!

As I reflect on my past, I am reminded of my attitude then. The things I did were neither demeaning nor degrading; they just needed to be done. Do I still have that same attitude? No matter what your current circumstances, do you have this same attitude? Are you willing to do whatever it takes?

This applies to all parts of our lives. Professionally, have we developed a "that's not in my job description" attitude? In our family relationships, do we think "Why should I even try, when I know they aren't?" Do we shun doing the chores we may think are "beneath us" for fear of what others may think?

Take time think about the things that are important to you. Are you willing to do whatever it takes?

How Much is That $23.50 Worth

Case #1
I recently received a bill from a health care provider that included $0.68 interest because I was charged interest on my balance while the office waited for my insurance to pay their portion. While the small interest charge certainly was not worth getting too worked up over, none the less it was irritating since I had offered to pay my portion at the end of the visit.

Case #2
A patient recently visited a dental office with a toothache. The tooth required a root canal, a build up and a crown. Since the office doesn't do root canals, she was referred to a local endodontist. As the patient left the operatory she mentioned that her husband is in need of dental work so she would "get him in."

Later that afternoon the patient called the office to explain that she was able to schedule an appointment with the endodontist for the next morning and wanted to take a copy of the x-ray with her. Unfortunately the policy was that if the x-rays were mailed, there would be no charge but if they were given to the patient there would be a duplication charge. Understandably the patient was unhappy. The husband, the potential patient, was noting less that "hot." The patient returned the next day for the x-ray, after a lengthy discussion, paid the $23.50 duplication fee and left. With her she took the revenue of the build up, crown and her husband's potential dental work. In financial terms, what would the return on investment have been on $23.50?

My father gave me good counsel, "Be careful not to trip over dollar bills to pick up dimes." Sometimes, I am afraid that as dentists we miss the big picture and trip over dimes at the cost of thousands of dollars.

Are your office policies customer friendly? Sometimes a fresh pair of eyes, can save you thousands. Call Dr. Brad Larsen, Vancouver/Portland consultant at DentistCEO for a free consultation today.