Creating a vision for you and your dental business may at first glance seem a little fanciful, or even irrelevant. But have you ever considered what having a vision truly means or why it is important for you?
A vision is a picture of the future for you and your dental business, a picture which captures your future clearly, a picture which represents the next level of who you are being and what you want your dental business to be.
Why is it important you ‘paint your picture’ you may ask. Well essentially you’ve got two choices, either go on working as you are and leave your future to chance, or design how you would like your future to be.
It stands to reason that you’re less likely to achieve your goals if you leave the future to chance. So to achieve your goals you need to take control of your future. Your vision provides that control.
Setting your vision
Here’s my tried and tested process for setting and pursuing a vision:
Define your core purpose – what you feel you have been put on this earth to achieve or contribute.
Define your personal goals – what you want now and in the future for you and your family.
Incorporate these two points into a vision for your dental business (you can Your vision get help on this step if you need it).
Break down your vision to effectively put it into action. Here’s my process for breaking down your vision so you can pursue it steadily and effectively:
Create a monthly one page business plan.This document captures the key measurements you need to monitor (financial and non financial) to achieve your vision. It does what it says on the tin, because it fits onto one page and you update it on a monthly basis. A one page business plan includes measurements which are specific to your vision. For a dentist, these can include key marketing metrics relating to your ‘ideal patient’ and how well you do in generating them. Also, the number, value and type of dental treatments you want to be doing.Get the right team withthe right core values. Your team will eitherhelp you or hinder you in achieving your vision. So make sure you deal with any ongoing team issues which continue to take up unnecessary time and headspace. Define your ideal organisation structure, one which best satisfies the needs of your business, and get the right people in the right roles. You can use personality profiling to help you in this process and be sure to share your core values for the business with you team, so they appreciate and take these on board. Once you have got the right team in place, share your vision with them – with enthusiasm and passion – and work with them to monitor your progress.
Keeping to your vision
You are obliged to make decisions for your business and your life at breakneck speed every day. When you have a vision it makes decisionmaking easier, almost ‘systematic’. Your decision-making ‘system’ becomes two questions: Does it achieve your vision?
Is there a business case?
If you can answer yes to both those questions when considering the decision in front of you, then you go ahead. If the answer to one or both is
no, your decision is no.
The three thirds
In my experience, dentists are similar to other business owners when it comes to changing their lives and their futures with a vision. There are three thirds:
The first third never change. Never set a vision.
The second third say they want a vision and to design and change their future – but they don’t do it.
The final third want to pursue a vision and change their future and they do it, often with some help (successful sports and business people all have a coach or mentor), but they make their picture of the future a reality.
Which third are you in?