Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Jan 27, 2012, 11:43 pm
"Watch your thoughts, they become words. Watch your words, they become actions. Watch your actions, they become habits. Watch your habits, they become your character. Watch your character, it becomes your destiny."   ~Unknown~ Sometimes we're careless; and we tell ourselves it's no big ...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Dec 13, 2011, 7:36 am
Today's blog is about anything but dentistry.  You may have noticed that I've been pretty slack about writing this blog in the last year.  I haven't been lazy though, I've been bombarded.  So indulge me, this is a tribute to a very special man. At this point I am in the end stages of ...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Nov 27, 2011, 9:08 am
I had posted an article a while ago about the patient care coordinator position.  A reader asked me to give some information about how I present the treatment plan.   First things first, understand your patient.  What do they want? What do they care about?  Is it the perception other...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Nov 5, 2011, 2:49 pm
Ok, so it's been a while, right?  Well, we're short-staffed right now, so that means I'm working harder.  Actually, we all are.  The last thing I wrote on here was the question, "Who steals your peace?"  Well, one of my answers would have been, "People who resign with little notice, especially a...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Sep 18, 2011, 8:22 am
Yesterday I asked you to think about what you resent related to your practice.  It seems that a lot of people, myself included, have things they really resent, but they don't think they can do anything about it.  We have things that happen that make us seethe, and we just think that next time, we'...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Sep 16, 2011, 6:51 am
A little something to think about so we can discuss it later: What do you resent? What makes you seethe on a daily basis? Who steals your peace? How much pleasure does that take away from your day? I think we can change that, but first, really think about it. You can even email me about it so I'll u...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Sep 11, 2011, 10:33 am
"God bless every soul that was lost. God bless everyone who has to endure that loss. And God guide us to our reunion in heaven. God bless America." ~Rudy Guiliani on the 10th Anniversary of the 9-11 tragedy.
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Sep 11, 2011, 10:28 am
  "What's money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do."   ~Bob Dylan~   We've been talking about what we need to be ok, but what do we need to be a success?  Does having enough make us...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Sep 10, 2011, 7:38 am
In my last post I asked you to think about what makes life good when things are going good, and what makes it good when things are hard.  I'll bet that when things are going good, the things that seem to make you happy are the things that are so easily lost and that are dependant on the whims of fo...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Sep 5, 2011, 2:42 pm
Yesterday I asked you to think about what you truly need, want, and what you could do without.  I also asked you if you could do with a little less, if you could help someone else survive.  What I'm talking about is this:  what does it mean to you to prosper?  The dictionary defines prosper as: ...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Sep 4, 2011, 1:42 pm
Is the economy as bad as it sounds?  Maybe.  Actually, probably.  Well, really, yes it is.  But…it is what it is.  You can make it better for yourself, or worse.  Victor Frankl faced one of the worst trials in human history, the concentration camps, and he discovered something that enabled h...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Jul 27, 2011, 9:34 pm
Have you ever tried to talk to someone and thought it would be just an average, everyday conversation, and found yourself in the middle of an argument or drama?  You  walk away stunned, wondering what is wrong with the other person?  You really don't even consider wondering if it had anything to ...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Jul 27, 2011, 7:02 am
"No one ever gossips about anyone's secret virtues.". -Bertrand Russell- Gossip is such a weird thing. On the one hand we feel uncomfortable with it because of how it makes us feel. If we listen to gossip we feel guilty, maybe a little trapped and we may even wonder if the pe...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Jul 15, 2011, 8:13 pm
This is hysterical. Take the time to read it, and don't be offended by some of the cuss words. The story demands them. http://thedentalwarrior.com/2011/07/15/vestigial-organs-by-i-p-freely-2/#more-1496
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Jun 12, 2011, 9:05 pm
"Minimalism breeds mediocrity.  It is the destroyer of passion.  Minimalism is one of the great character destroyers of our time.  It is the enemy of excellence and a cancer on society.  The problem is, culturally we encourage minimalism."        ~Matthew Kelly - The Rhythm of Life &...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - May 29, 2011, 10:03 am
"Joy is the fruit of appreciation."  ~Matthew Kelly~ Sounds like a no-brainer, doesn't it.  If you are appreciated, you feel joyful.  It sounds simple, but it doesn't stop there.  You could also say, if you show appreciation for someone, their pleasure will make you feel joyful, as w...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Apr 18, 2011, 2:04 pm
When it all comes right down to it, dental practices are basically comprised of phone answerers and money handlers, spit suckers, tooth scrapers, and hole drillers.  Don't go crazy, I said basically.  If you don't go beyond the basics, that's pretty much true.  It's what you do beyond the basic d...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Apr 13, 2011, 8:34 pm
"Be gentle with all.  Try to see the heart I see, to know the pain and difficulty of the other life, that I know.  Try, before you speak to anyone, to ask me to act as the interpreter between you two."     ~God Calling~   This quote is from a devotional titled God Callin...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Mar 30, 2011, 5:41 pm
We all want our staff to work together in harmony, to overlook small slights and mistakes, and to see the good in each other, don't we?  What percentage of each day can you say you see that happening?  In our office I'd say that on any given day it happens at least 98% of the time.  I'm not kiddi...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Mar 29, 2011, 10:31 am
"If there is no gardener, there is no garden."~Steven Covey - First Things First~ As a manager, I can't tell you how many times I've been frustrated, or disappointed about something a team member has done.  I'll even admit to self-pity, now and then.  I wonder sometimes, "Why can't the...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Mar 28, 2011, 5:42 am
"Go out into the world today and love the people you meet. Let your presence light new light in the hearts of people."   ~Mother Theresa I remember reading a book by Dr. Paddi Lund, a dentist in Australia.  He says that he and his staff begin each day with a hug.  We tease one of the ...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Mar 27, 2011, 3:01 pm
"You are not here merely to make a living.  You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement.  You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand."    ~Woodrow Wilson~  ...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Feb 27, 2011, 8:49 pm
"Most men lead lives of quiet desperation, and go to the grave with the song still in them."   ~Henry David Thoreau~ Can you relate to this quote?  I think that many dentists have fallen into lives of quietly and quite desperately wishing that they could have the practice they want.  ...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Feb 20, 2011, 4:23 pm
How do you get an amazing staff?  You grow it yourself.  I think it's very unusual for a great staff to just assemble in one practice without a concentrated effort that starts with the dentist and manager and grows with each staff member as they are initiated into the integrity of the culture of t...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Feb 20, 2011, 6:21 am
I love experiencing great customer service.  I was shopping at Williams Sonoma with a friend today and the entire experience was a Wow!  We were greeted warmly as soon as we walked in.  My friend raved about some of their simmering sauces, so I ended up picking up three jars of sauce (word of mou...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Feb 7, 2011, 8:54 pm
I was driving home the other day and saw a man and his wife walking their dog.  Usually, if it was any other couple, I would just wave and think no more of it.  The husband in this couple made it different.  He used to own a small business in town where I shopped occasionally and he was known for...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Jan 11, 2011, 9:14 pm
Isn't it great when you see a staff member go above and beyond?  We've had a good bit of snow here in NC, and it doesn't take much to shut everything down.  We were closed yesterday and planned to close today.  About halfway through the morning I realized that we actually could have gone in for t...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Jan 9, 2011, 11:55 am
"Ethics is all about spiritually healthy people in socially harmonious relationships."  ~Tom Morris~   When I read Tom's definition of ethics I can't help but think that we can't have one without the other.  A spiritually healthy person will quickly reject and leave a soci...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Jan 3, 2011, 9:38 pm
Just a quickie. I'm going to start posting great attitude moments whenever I catch someone on our staff being particularly wonderful. This morning I noticed that our new young front desk assistant has some pretty funky nail polish on. We're pretty conservative about staff appe...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Dec 28, 2010, 10:31 am
Well, I was wrong, I took a long time to get back with this post.  But here we go, let's talk about Beauty - the Aesthetic dimension. "Business should be viewed as a performance art.  We all have a deep need to feel that we are performance artists - to experience active as well as pass...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Dec 12, 2010, 12:21 pm
"All men seek happiness.  This is without exception.  Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end.  The cause of some going to war, and of others avoiding it, is the same desire in both, attended with different views.  The will never takes the least step but to this object. Â...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Dec 11, 2010, 10:16 pm
People don't always do what we expect them to do.  Sometimes we think things are pretty clear and then we get surprised.  Often, another person has no idea of what we were expecting and was just acting in a way that made sense to them.   Let's think of a situation in which a patient i...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Nov 3, 2010, 7:02 pm
Ok, let's get back to our staff meeting on If Aristotle Ran General Motors.  As I said, there are four dimensions of human experience: Truth, Beauty, Goodness and Unity.  What you and your staff will discover is this: if you don't consciously think about things like what makes us happy,or even wha...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Nov 2, 2010, 7:58 pm
Let's depart from staff meetings for a day.  I was talking to one of our hygienists today about the ways patients are reacting to the economy.  It seems to be different in every office.  It's not only state to state, one town or another, it's different in the office down the street, too.  We've ...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Nov 1, 2010, 8:30 pm
I told you I'd go over some staff meetings that we've done, so I'm going to start at the beginning.  My first really effective staff meeting was based on Tom Morris' book, If Aristotle Ran General Motors.  This was my first major staff meeting after becoming office manager.  My boss had given me ...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Oct 31, 2010, 7:54 pm
I just returned from visiting my brother Charlie in Pennsylvania.  Charlie is my big brother and he's fighting his sixth bout with cancer.  He started his fight when he was in his early 20's.  That was back when they didn't know much about how to use radiation so they gave a lot of it.  As a res...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Oct 17, 2010, 12:09 pm
When you hear the words "Staff meeting today", what comes to mind?  "Ugh, another boring hour to sit through."?  "Yay, if he finishes early we'll get a longer lunch!"?  Or maybe, if you're leading the meeting, "Oh, this is agony.  They all just sit there while I talk."  Well, here's the good ne...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Oct 1, 2010, 7:21 am
Be patient with me. I haven't been posting much lately because I'm dealing with some stress in my life. I'm down, but not out. If you want to be sure to catch posts, you can subscribe so that new posts will go right to your email. Sorry for the sporadic posting, but we'll get back to normal soon.
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Sep 27, 2010, 1:31 pm
How do you talk about dental insurance in your practice?  Does everyone in your office understand how you handle insurance?  Do your patients?  A good description of the way your practice handles dental insurance should be covered in your practice's financial policy brochure.  When new patients ...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Sep 26, 2010, 3:50 pm
When you think about your job as a manager, do you think that you have to have all the answers and fix all the problems?  If you do, you may be more trouble to yourself than you need to be.  If you want to be a really good manager, you have to learn to lead others to learn how to think and act for...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Sep 21, 2010, 8:58 pm
What is it about being in a position for 6 months that makes some people think they've got it for life?  I think it's unfortunate for everyone when an employee gets too comfortable in their progress once they hit 6 months.  I guess that they feel like they know enough to get through the day pretty...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Sep 19, 2010, 8:29 pm
"What we must decide is perhaps how we are valuable rather than how valuable we are."   ~Edgar Z. Friedenberg~ The days of an employee in a dental practice being more valuable than another, just because they have certain credentials are coming to an end.  In this new, challenging economy, it bec...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Sep 12, 2010, 9:11 am
"I made it a rule to forbear all direct contradiction to the sentiments of others, and all positive assertion of my own. ...I  soon found the advantage of this change in my manner; the conversations I engaged in went on more pleasantly.  The modest way in which I proposed my opinions procured them...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Sep 9, 2010, 4:04 pm
 You know me, when I like something I let you know.  Our staff and I just spent the day in training and it flew by.  Never thought I'd say that about OSHA and HIPPA training.  Casey Morris from Total Medical Compliance (TMC)did a fantastic job making what can be a boring subject, interesting.  ...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Sep 6, 2010, 12:18 pm
"It is impossible to enjoy idling thoroughly unless one has plenty of work to do."            ~Jerome K. Jerome~ Happy Labor Day, I hope you're getting a chance to relax.  I want to ask you something;  When you think about what you do for a living do you think of it as a job, or a profes...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Aug 30, 2010, 10:13 pm
"You must be the change you want to see in the world."                                     ~Mahatma Ghandi~ What are things like in your world these days?  Are you and your family feeling an economic pinch?  I read an article the other day that said if you're hurting b...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Aug 15, 2010, 12:05 pm
The internet has had an impact on just about everyone's life by now and on every business in some way or another.  I kept thinking that jobs in our town must be really scarce due to the economy and then I realized that just because there are no jobs in the paper, doesn't mean there are no jobs.  T...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Aug 13, 2010, 6:09 am
If you watched the video above, you see what can happen when people say no instead of yes. You can be sure that anyone from United Airlines that was involved in this case, wishes that they had chosen a different path. Some mistakes can't be fixed and the repercussions can be ...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Aug 9, 2010, 9:54 pm
"It takes two to speak the truth – one to speak and another to hear. "                                                                             –Henry David Thoreau How many times have you been in a conversation wi...
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Linda Z. posted an article on Exceptional Dental Practice Management - Aug 7, 2010, 4:57 pm
"When I start to be too impressed with myself, I think, "So what?"  When I start to be too impressed with someone else, I think, "So What?"  ~Father Nick~ I was in church the other day and those were the sentences Father Nick started his sermon with.  What he was saying was, "What's the importan...
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