I posted the following quote onto my personal Facebook page last year.
I’ve checked to see who wrote it, as it seems well quoted. As far as I can see it was written by that great philosopher Anonymous.
I wouldn’t have the gall to claim it as my own.
Yet just this week I saw one writer do just this thing with another article about secrets every dentist needs to know. When I dug deep I saw the so called secrets were principles lifted from a thirty three year old [non dental] classic best seller that had been published in over thirty languages and sold over thirty million copies….
Which meant they were thirty-year-old secrets. Hardly really “Secrets” at all….
I’ve always said that whenever you choose to follow a leader, first make sure they are headed in the right direction.
This is because if they are not, you can end up in a completely different place than where you thought you were going to go.
Along this line, then it is true that it is sometimes better to go it alone than to be in the company of the wrong people.
I’ve seen people take advice from the wrong people.
At times I’ve taken advice from the wrong people.
And regretted taking that advice.
I’ve seen people ask the advice of their friend, their spouse, and the unqualified.
About investment, about finance, about a business, only to regret taking the advice that was given.
Because the person they asked was only a pair of ears.
And not a sage.
So why not seek advice from the right people?
I came across a chat forum this week where some dentists were moaning about a run of cancellations in their schedules.
And of course they started blaming.
Blaming the month.
Blaming the patients.
And seeming happy that they all had the problem. And because of the commonality, it must not have been them that was the cause of the problem…
But when we point the finger of blame away from ourselves there’s always three more fingers pointing right back at the true problem.
And it’s us.
The reason patients cancel is they are unsure and not clear about why they actually have to come in, and if they have that doubt it is because our office has not given them, the patient, enough information, enough concern, enough worry about why they absolutely need to be having that treatment when we say they have to get it done.
Because concerned patients who understand keep their appointments.
And the concern and clarity about what is next has to begin with the doctor and then be carried forward by the team.
And the team must be with the programme.
And even if the team are with the programme but do not know what to do, and the doctor does not know what to do then they all need to be taught by people who can help them.
Rather than communally blame the month.
Or the lousy patients…
You see, it’s not the movies.
You just don’t wake up with magical powers and new skills.
You need to go and be taught those new skills.
And you need to take action on those skills.
Not put the lessons on a bookshelf and hope by some magical power the knowledge is teleported from the notebook into the brains of the people who need it…
But there’s always people who are unqualified who will have an opinion, often wrong, about things…
Free advice from the unqualified is worth every penny you pay for it.
Often the opinionated are not wise.
They’re just loud.
Who better to teach you golf?
A golf pro, who makes a living from the game, and can perform at the higher levels?
Or take advice from your playing partners, who chop it around once a week, if that, and have never broken 100, let alone 80?
Speaking of golf clubs, there’s never ever a shortage of members who know how to grow grass better than the course’s head green keeper.
But ask those members to look after one hundred acres of manicured fairways and you’ll see them dissolve into a puddle of indescribable goop right before your eyes.
Beware of opinion laced with Tall Poppy Syndrome.
Runs on the board do count.
Opinions?
Opinions are like tailbones.
Everybody has one.
Like I said, whenever you choose to follow a leader, first make sure they are headed in the right direction.
And make sure that they’ve been there and done that…
******
“It Is Better To Be Alone, Than In The Wrong Company.”
Tell me who your best friends are, and I will tell you who you are.
If you run with wolves, you will learn how to howl.
But, if you associate with eagles, you will learn how to soar to great heights.
“A mirror reflects a man’s face, but what he is really like is shown by the kind of friends he chooses.”
The simple but true fact of life is that you become like those with whom you closely associate – for the good and the bad.
The less you associate with some people, the more your life will improve.
Any time you tolerate mediocrity in others, it increases your mediocrity.
An important attribute in successful people is their impatience with negative thinking and negative acting people.
As you grow, your associates will change. Some of your friends will not want you to go on.
They will want you to stay where they are.
Friends that don’t help you climb will want you to crawl.
Your friends will stretch your vision or choke your dream.
Those that don’t increase you will eventually decrease you.
Consider this:
Never receive counsel from unproductive people.
Never discuss your problems with someone incapable of contributing to the solution, because those who never succeed themselves are always the first to tell you how.
Not everyone has a right to speak into your life. You are certain to get the worst of the bargain when you exchange ideas with the wrong person.
Don’t follow anyone who’s not going anywhere. With some people you spend an evening: with others you invest it.
Be careful where you stop to inquire for directions along the road of life.
Wise is the person who fortifies his life with the right friendships.“
Anonymous
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*****
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*****
The Ultimate Patient Experience is a simple to build complete Customer Service system in itself that I developed that allowed me to create an extraordinary dental office in an ordinary Sydney suburb. If you’d like to know more, ask me about my free special report.
Email me at david@theupe.com
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