No matter how talented you are or how many hours you spend in your practice, you will never reach the pinnacle of practice success if you are suffering from any of these afflictions:
- Super Inflated Ego. Being enamoured of your own self-importance and advertising your dental “Superman” skills at every opportunity does not build relationships with patients and staff. Nobody loves a guy who thinks he can walk on water.
- Greed. If you’re living with the impression that a dental degree is a license print money, dentistry will not be a rewarding career and eventually you will grow to hate your chosen profession. When your treatment planning is driven by greed, you will lose not only patients by the truckload, but also the respect of your staff. Your only legacy will be a bad reputation.
- Lost passion. According Rod Stewart, everybody needs passion, and I agree with him. When your passion for golf or breeding Arabian horses exceeds your passion for your career, then your future will become shaky and unpredictable. You will end up marking time in the office, with little time or energy for staff and patients, keeping your continuing education efforts to the absolute minimum required.
- Roving Eye. Starting an extramarital relationship with your assistant is like a ticking bomb. It is only a matter of time before it explodes, and the casualties will be your marriage, possibly the relationship with your kids, staff morale and ultimately the success of your practice. All that will be left are the smoking remnants of your retirement nest egg, and the obligation for sizable support payments. Don’t be led into temptation, hire employees based on their skills and not other more obvious attributes.
