Like, why does it make a difference that where we live?

Absolutely.

Also quick nerd alert.

Five years in Toastmasters.

Yeah.

I think when we talk about, you know, things not being cookie cutter and knowing your demographic marketing, especially, especially if we're talking community outreach is a huge place to be in.

You know, your demographic, this isn't even where I'm like, okay, doctor, sit down and like, think about your patients.

And that's when those floodgates open, in my opinion.

Yeah.

Um, do you participate in Teacher Appreciation Week? Like, what does your outreach look like in those areas? Because not just for the teachers, who deserve the world, uh, of course, but also that's when they talk to parents, right? Or the parents that come and see who's taking care of their teachers as well.

You're building that not just relationship, but that reputation, and that's what really drives those referrals, that culture, that everything we talk about.

Now, maybe if you're a very specialized, I don't know, periodontist-

Mm

... um, sponsoring Teacher Appreciation Day might not yield the same results, right? So this is where we say, like, know your area, know your demographic.

Um, every city has a chamber of commerce, right? Um, the action level and what you kind of get for that membership varies everywhere.

But if you look into it and it responds well with your culture and what you're driven, especially if you're very community-focused and they do a lot of those opportunities, reach out, right? You know, sign up.

I love, you know, I, I love listening to Andrew Huberman, right? And there's so many different things that even in those-

I just wanna ask you, what if running a practice could be easy? What if profitability wasn't just possible, but easy? What if your team was fully engaged, bought in, and motivated? What if developing leaders in your practice felt effortless? What if living life on your terms wasn't a dream but was your actual reality? At Dental A Team, we make all this possible and easy.

Truly, with expert consulting, proven strategies, and real-world support, we transform your practice and your life, and it's not just something that we think about, it's something that we've done and done successfully for hundreds of offices, and I'd love to invite you to be an office that can transform and change this year.

Let's make this a reality.

I want you to book your free practice assessment with the Dental A Team today at the dentalateam.com, and let's see what's possible for you and your practice.

What if all of this really could be easy? Let's stop wondering.

Let's take action.

Oh

So you might not have that full leadership team, but how are these people countable, right? How are you counting on them and how can you share that culture and that experience and ideas with them?

Yeah.

Well, and I think a key thing that we forget a lot, especially as leaders in a practice, sometimes our systems are created or adapted because of an outlying thing going on in the practice.

We're short-staffed.

Someone's out on leave, right? These things that are going on.

But a lot of times we get ourselves in the habit of never shifting back or never reevaluating.

So when we get really stuck in those weeds, I think what happens is that allows us to have these not bad systems, but just they're not efficient, right? They're the things that really bog us down or make us feel really exhausted at the end of the day.

other podcasts are so applicable to business, to relationships, to dentistry, making sure that we figure out what is our style, what is our culture and what are the expectations and then setting those with people, I think make a massive difference, Nikki.

in comparison to quarter one and also in comparison to the projections that we made with them earlier this year so as we're prepping for that and as we're getting ready to have those conversations with our clients nikki what are some of the key indicators the kpis that you have always loved watching for your practices um in consulting in managing in working within the dsl world all of your different spaces what are the ones that you really like to take a look at in july

So for me, I mean, production is the obvious one, right? Like we never really take our eye off of production ever.

Q1, 2, 3, 4, always.

But I think deeper than just production, it's looking at those metrics that drive production, especially that we started the year with the intention of of working on so a lot of my offices this year it's case acceptance like 2026 is all about case acceptance and so for me at this halfway point that's where i'm really like digging into that number so what does the percentage look like and there's metrics right and there's ranges and there's healthy offices and things like that but like i tell my teams a lot when we first start The biggest thing I'm looking at is just where are we? So like January, if we've been together for a while, where our starting point is, your percentage now is what I care about.

And then how are we going to increase it? So hopefully by July, we've seen some movement in that number and production would reflect it.

But if we don't understand how we're driving that production, How do we keep doing it or make those changes? Like we said, going into Q3 that we meet.

So I would say case acceptance is a huge one.

Head on over to thedentalaidteam.com and let's get you truly living your best life.

sense, Nikki? It does.

Yep.

100%.

And I think this is where, hopefully I'm not jumping ahead.

This is where systems come into play.

Yeah, look.

If you've listened to a podcast, you've heard us talk about systems, right? But this is why systems are so important.

Where do you see those frustrations the most frequently? Yeah.

sense, Nikki? It does.

Yep.

100%.

And I think this is where, hopefully I'm not jumping ahead.

This is where systems come into play.

Yeah, look.

If you've listened to a podcast, you've heard us talk about systems, right? But this is why systems are so important.

Where do you see those frustrations the most frequently? Yeah.

Head on over to thedentalaidteam.com and let's get you truly living your best life.

Well, and it's funny you mentioned how you do get to that point where you're like, why are we doing this? You have to revisit it.

So I think the same way that we talk about doctors and practice owners being clear with themselves before they hit the team, you also have to revisit it as a team.

So one of the things I've suggested in my coaching before is like about quarterly or at least twice a year.

In our team meetings, we're readdressing that why and our mission, our values, so that the team is clear.

Because the day-to-day in a dental office is a whirlwind, right? And talk about routine and repetition.

Sometimes it can be a grind.

served that and taught them to go back and see, okay, is this working to progress towards what our goals are for our vision and our practice goals, or is it detracting us?

And with your experience, the things that you've done and the coaching you do now, how do you help doctors to really, or practice owners, to really take that vision and create it to be something that a team can move forward with?

with?Well, and I think a big part of it really stems from that leadership piece and having a team that values you and believes in you as a leader, and then the vision just supports that.

Um, but you kind of hit on it.

You have to believe it, too.

If I'm the doctor or the practice owner and I'm unclear on my vision, uh, how can I expect my team to understand it or follow it? Now, you'll always have those employees that just value you and will lead wherever you go, right? "Oh, Doc, we're going to B? I'm on it." But some need to know why we're going there.

They'll do what you need, but why are we doing it? So my first step with a team or a doctor is usually what really is your vision, not what you think your vision is.

Let's talk about what is your vision and how do we use that to get ourself where we wanna be.

Mm