Author: Jody

Travel is a big part of being a consultant. Luckily, Jody Catalanello loves to travel and she relishes new experiences. She’s been traveling around the world with her parents since she was a child when her father—a now retired professor of management—took the family on extensive international trips for his career. These family trips inspired Jody to enjoy what the world has to offer. And she still loves to travel with her parents (now in their 70’s) whenever she gets the chance. One of Jody’s favorite parts of traveling is being introduced to regional delicacies. She grew up in the cornfields of the Midwest and knows good sweet corn. Some of her fondest experiences with clients include feasting on fried Mississippi catfish, crabbing in Alaska, greek salads in Detroit, green chili stew in Pueblo Colorado, 5-way chili in Cincinnati and provel cheese from St. Louis. Of course Chicago is a world-class city and there is nothing like being home and enjoying all an urban metropolis has to offer. Jody has more than 20 years’ experience in business management and dental practice management consulting. She is also a member of the Academy of Dental Management Consultants, a prestigious cadre of consultants with high standards for membership. She is focused, practical, and task-oriented. In any given situation, she looks for solutions to problems and this helps her to find the most efficient way to accomplish goals for herself and her clients. She knows your greatest strength can be your greatest weakness. A drawback to being pragmatic is being perceived as less sensitive to personal feelings involved in a situation. This is why she and Linda make such a dynamic team. Her ability to focus on solutions and Linda’s ability to enroll the team, ensure successful implementation. In her personal life, Jody has Kevin—her significant other—he counterbalances her goal-driven nature and encourages her to enjoy life in the moment. A graduate of the University of Iowa, Jody spent time as an international business management consultant prior to embarking on her dental practice management career. Since 1988 Jody has specialized in the business of dentistry, where she enjoys: * providing personalized in-office consulting to dental practices. * coaching doctors and team members to new levels of success. * presenting motivational programs to study clubs and dental societies. Jody loves to learn and believes that one of the best ways to become open to new ideas and to challenge herself is to read as much as she can. This practice keeps her in a state of constant growth both personally and professionally. You can check out the Resource Store in the main menu of this website to see some of the books she finds most inspirational. And she also takes guilty pleasure in trashy beach reads and the escapism of fiction. Additionally, Jody loves dental office design and has had the honor of being one of the judges for the Annual Competition for Dental Office Design of the Year, sponsored by Dental Economics. Jody appreciates the joys and the challenges of working with a team. She believes teamwork is the foundation for practice success. She also knows it takes courage to work on relationships and to work on one’s self. This reinforces how important, and critical, coaching is for greater success in life.

External Practice Management Software

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It is more important now than ever before to have the ability to stay connected to your patients. More and more patients rely on their computers and smart phone technology to plan their days and communicate with others. In order to take advantage of these technology advances, it is important for the dental practice to upgrade to practice software that will contact patients on these devices. If you have not already purchased an external practice management system to run your recall system, email and text your patient’s, reactivate patients and do marketing for you, now is the time to seriously consider this type of software. Assign someone on your team (not the dentist) to research the ins and outs of what these software programs can do for you. Set preferences properly and create a plan to take advantage of the inexpensive web and direct mail marketing available with many systems.

Managerial Courage

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This is a term I ran across recently and I really like it. It is a leadership trait. Without it a practice will suffer with teamwork issues or general malaise. Without teamwork and high positive energy, practices produce less.

Let’s look at the characteristics present when you do not have managerial courage.
• Unwilling to take a strong stand when one is required
• Reluctant to deal with difficult issues regarding teamwork
• Can’t give tough feedback, and would prefer someone else do it
• Wants to believe if you ignore the bad behavior, it will go away
• Meetings are few and far between and conflict is avoided
• Allows others to take the lead with the hope that they will not be challenged
• Believes they are suffering because of the stupidity of others
• Blames themselves and decides “it’s all my fault, if only I were a better leader”

Does this sound like anyone you know?

Managerial courage is what you need to get you through the day with integrity and honesty. Unfortunately, we have heard too many stories about how doctors hid out in their offices in turtle mode, and stopped talking when they should have started. We believe you can be reflexive in your thinking about a teamwork frustration or reflective. If you are hostile, indignant, resentful, depressed, or feeling hopeless, you are reacting to the situation in a reflexive, or people focused, way. We suggest focusing on determining the reason for the behavior of the others, be curious, be concerned. Open a dialog and search for a solution. Managerial courage looks for solutions not destruction.

Here are some steps you can take the next time you need managerial courage:
• Express your appreciation for the relationship you have. You would not waste the time talking about it if you did not value the team member in some way. This is not appreciating the tasks they do as part of their job description. It sounds something like: “We work closely together, our relationship is important to me and I know honesty and trust is vital to both of us, that’s why I thought it was important to have this talk.”
• State facts not your interpretation or assumption about the behavior. “I noticed … or I saw…”
• Ask the person for help in understanding their behavior
• Move to the future (sometimes people get stuck endlessly talking about the behavior) and state what you would like to see differently.
• Negotiate to solve the problem or state the consequences.

Since some conflicts and frustrations may have “gotten your goat”, make sure you are in the right frame of mind to have this discussion. While not all behavior is innocent, many conflicts are caused by misunderstandings or problems with systems, roles, or inadequate information. The lack of skill, insight, or courage can all be resolved. An exercise to do to get yourself in the right frame of mind is to finish the following phrase 3 times: “Well at least it is not …”

Work on your managerial courage for the betterment of your practice and for the betterment of your home life. When issues are not resolved they go home with you. We believe your family and your outside personal life deserve unencumbered time. What is the first step you could take to improve your managerial courage?

Tips for 2011

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One of the first tips for improving your practice in 2011 is to upgrade your practice management software system AND plan to take time to train your team on all your software can do for you.  Don’t believe that the training you had years ago when you bought the system is enough.  Most practices only utilize a small fraction of their software capabilities.  Make the most of your system and invest time in training.

Dental Assistant Recognition Week

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March 6-12, 2011 has been designated Dental Assistant Recognition Week by the American Dental Assistants Association, the American Dental Association, the Canadian Dental Association, and the Canadian Dental Assistants Association. This is the perfect time to recognize and acknowledge the contribution this valuable team member makes to your practice. In every practice we work with there are versatile, willing, customer service oriented team members. Many times it is the assistant that goes the extra distance to make the day work out or the patient feel special. During this week plan a celebration for and about your great assisting team members. Let them know what they do for you, the practice and your patients. Remember; what gets rewarded, gets done.

Onset – a new anesthetic

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On Thurs. February 24, Onset, a revolutionary new buffering system for anesthetic, makes its official ‘debut’ at Booth 4860 (OnPharma) at the Chicago Midwinter Meeting. Onset greatly minimizes the potential for a painful injection, and it allows you to begin treatment immediately. This can help with practice efficiency and gives a story for patients to tell their friends and family. Check it out if you are at the MidWinter Meeting. While there, visit MOSAIC at Booth — 1537, we look forward to seeing you!!

Dentists exempt from Red Flag Rule

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FYI:
Dentists exempt from Red Flags Rule
ADA is pleased to announce that dentists will be exempt from the Federal Trade Commission’s Red Flags Rule that goes into effect Jan. 1, 2011.
President Obama signed into law the Red Flag Program Clarification Act of 2010, which clarifies and narrows the definition of a “creditor” and thereby excludes dentists and other small businesses.

Work Together to get Free Publicity

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One of the best ways to attract new patients, and to remind patients of your practice (especially those who might not have been in for awhile), is for the Doctor to be included in and submit articles to local newspapers, magazines, local or cable TV and radio stations. These opportunities to increase visibility highlight the practice’s expertise and makes the practice more credible in the eyes of the public. To tap into the media, make your Doctor a familiar, reliable and available “expert” resource to your local writers and editors. Continue reading “Work Together to get Free Publicity” →

Become your Team’s Dream Manager

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We have all heard the saying “A practice’s greatest asset is its people”. We propose for 2010 that you understand your team from the perspective of their dreams. What are they hoping and saving for? Team members lose focus and disengage from their jobs when they do not see how their job connects to the things they have a passion for or contributes to their goals. Reignite the enthusiasm of those you lead by understanding their dreams. Whether it is to save for a down payment for a house, pay for their son’s travel hockey team membership, plan for a special vacation, or get out of debt, by understanding each team member’s individual personal goals and helping them plan to achieve the goals, you create a bond to your team member and a compelling reason for their work in your practice.

What will your first step be toward understanding their dreams and participating as a dream manager in your practice?