Thriving Dentist Show with Gary Takacs

It has become an annual tradition here at the Thriving Dentist Show to publish a Thanksgiving Show that highlights significant episodes over the past year. Welcome to our 5th annual Thanksgiving Show! Below are links to the specific episodes that Gary highlights in the Show:

It's important for every practice to have a B.H.A.G (Big Hairy Audacious Goal). Gary Kadi's B.H.A.G. is to help 30 Million people become healthier by 2020 and he's well on his way to achieving this dream. In this Thriving Dentist Show Gary and Gary discuss; Why every practice and Dentist should have a B.H.A.G., the Complete Health Dental Practice Model, the five elements that are part of complete health dentistry, the acronym C.A.R.E. and why this is so important, the difference between content and context, the Healthy Mouth Baseline, how to talk to your existing patients about complete health dentistry and why the Complete Health Dental Practice Model is such an effective positioning strategy for your practice. Stay tuned to the end of the episode for an exciting announcement about a 'Race & Learn' Course coming in 2017 featuring Gary Kadi & Gary Takacs! Gary's website: www.nextlevelpractice.com NOTE: Gary's new book, Next Level Way is available for free on the website!

If you are a regular listener to the Thriving Dentist Show you likely know that Gary is a big advocate of a relationship-driven practice. Recently, Dr. Paul Henny visited Gary at LifeSmiles to brainstorm about the relationship-driven practice model and how to adapt these concepts to 2016 and beyond. In this interview Paul and Gary discuss; Why the relationship-driven model is a pathway to joy and satisfaction for Dentists, the importance of developing a practice culture, elements of the LifeSmiles practice culture, what Leadership looks like in a relationship-driven practice, the concept of 'Seek first to understand before trying to be understood', why these concepts are more important than ever today given the changes in the dental profession and the interview concludes with a cool discussion about the community that Paul has created on Facebook (Bob Barkley Study Club) to share the concepts of the relationship-driven practice model. You'll enjoy this interview and Paul's passion for this style of practice.

Recently, Gary received an email from a Thriving Dentist Show listener asking about the benefits of Pension Plans for Dentists. Gary thought this would be of interest to all Thriving Dentist Show listeners so he interviewed his friend Reese Harper on 'everything you need to know about pension plans'. In this Show Gary and Reese discuss; The various types of pension plans available to Dentists, how to determine which type of plan is best for you, tax considerations and how to use a pension plan for tax advantages, appropriate investments within your pension plan, the three-factor model of investing developed by Eugene Fama and Kenneth French, reporting and administrative responsibilities when you have a pension plan and how a pension plan can be an important part of your path to financial independence. This interview provides great information that any Dentist considering a pension plan needs to know.

There are some so called experts that will tell you that it is no longer possible to open a dental practice from scratch. However, our guest on this Thriving Dentist Show has helped hundreds of Dentists successfully open a dental practice from scratch and these Dentists have discovered that a startup was their best path to practice ownership. In this interview Gary and Jayme discuss; Why Dentists should consider a startup, how to evaluate your risk in starting a practice from scratch, the exact formula you can use to determine if you can afford a startup, how to determine if you are better suited to a startup or an acquisition, the first steps you should take when considering a startup and how to choose the right practice location. You will love Jayme's knowledge and passion for helping Dentists become practice owners via the startup process!

Great communication is a necessary element of a thriving practice. In this Thriving Dentist Show, Gary has invited his friend Katherine Eitel to share her thoughts on the power of unscripted communication. Katherine is an incredible communications skills coach and an absolute master of effective communication. In this interview, Gary and Katherine discuss; The importance of congruence in your communication, why scripted conversations are often not very effective, why 93% of communication is non-verbal, communication tips for handling conflict, how to have a critical conversation with an under-performing team member and where to start if you'd like to become a more effective communicator. This is such an important topic and you will LOVE Katherine's wisdom and passion for the topic!

Statistically, somewhere between 10-20% of Dentists will experience an issue with substance abuse at some point in their career. In this Thriving Dentist Show, Gary interviews his friend Dr. Brett Kessler on the topic of avoiding the risks of substance abuse. Brett is a practicing Dentist in Colorado, a past President of the Colorado Dental Association, President-Elect of the Colorado Prosthodontic Society and a Consultant to the ADA Dental Well Being Advisory Committee. While these are impressive credentials, perhaps Brett's ultimate credentials on this topic is that he is a recovering substance abuse addict himself. In this interview, Brett shares his personal story of addiction, recovery and life after recovery. In addition to his personal story, Brett and Gary discuss; the stressors that can lead to addiction, warning signs of addiction, the possible consequences of substance abuse to your career, how to get help, why substance abuse is a disease and not just a weakness, why the success rate in treatment via a Health Professionals Treatment Program is 70-90% and the interview concludes with a discussion of how to help a colleague in trouble. This is a very important topic and the content of this powerful interview with Brett might just save someone's life.

Photos are a very important element of your marketing plan. In this Thriving Show Gary interviews his friend Janice Hurley on the types of photos you need on your website, social media sites and throughout your marketing materials. Janice is known as 'The Image Expert' and also is a very accomplished photographer. In this interview, Gary and Janice discuss; How to take the best possible photo of your team, things to think about for the Dr. bio photo, why you should hire a professional photographer and how to make the most out of your photo shoot, the role of candid photos in your marketing materials, why patient attraction and retention is like dating and the interview concludes with a discussion of how Janice is helping her clients present their best possible image. This is a fun interview filled with information you can use NOW!

Leadership is a necessary element of a thriving practice. In this Thriving Dentist Show Gary interviews his friend Bob Spiel on the subject of Leadership and why upside-down leadership leads to increased performance and profit. In this interview Gary and Bob discuss; Why Leadership is necessary to achieve your full potential, the upside-down leadership model, the powerful story of the 2008 Hillcrest Varsity Football Team and how this applies to dentistry, why a team cannot run faster than its formal leader, tips to master the people side of dentistry and why Leadership is more important than ever given the changes taking place in the dental profession today. This is such an important topic and you will LOVE Bob's wisdom and passion for helping Dentists Master Leadership!

Many Dentists are not aware that then can successfully negotiate their fee schedule with the insurance companies. In this Thriving Dentist Show, Gary interviews his friend Ben Tuinei on this very important topic. Ben is an authority on negotiating with 3rd party payers and to-date has worked with over 5,000 Dentists resulting in over a billion dollars of newly negotiated revenue for his clients. In this powerful interview Gary and Ben discuss: How Ben got started in the dental profession, why be built a business focusing on negotiating fee schedules with insurance companies, specific strategies for successfully negotiating with insurance companies, the one question you MUST ask when starting the negotiation process with insurance companies, who should be the one negotiating with the insurance companies and the show concludes with a great discussion from Ben on his views on the future of dental insurance.

If you are a regular listener to the Thriving Dentist Show you have heard Gary say that dentistry can truly provide you with an amazing career. Our guest on this Show is a shining example of how our incredible profession leads to fulfillment. Dr. Todd Snyder is a cosmetic dentist, best-selling author, international lecturer, researcher and instructor at a number of postgraduate teaching facilities. In addition to his dental activities, Todd is also a professional race car driver! In this Thriving Dentist Show, Gary and Todd discuss; How racing cars provides many lessons to dentists, things dentists can do early in their career to accelerate their progress, marketing activities to attract quality new patients in the new digital world, and clinical tips that lead to higher quality and greater efficiency. You will LOVE Todd's passion for dentistry and the great life that dentistry can provide!

Developing an in-office membership plan can be like harnessing the benefits of your own Amazon Prime program! In this Thriving Dentist Show, Gary interviews his friend Jordon Comstock on all of the details about creating your own in-office membership program for your patients. In this Show Gary and Jordon discuss; What exactly is a membership plan and why it is so useful for many patients in your practice and in your community, how to market your membership program, the legal pitfalls to avoid, how a membership plan can be a powerful growth opportunity of your practice, how to automate your membership program and how to avoid the common mistakes with your membership program. As a fun side note, you'll also learn about Jordon's connection to our outro song, Dream Big from Ryan Shupe and the Rubber Band!

If you like neuroscience you are going to LOVE this Thriving Dentist Show interview. Let's face it, the most complex, unpredictable and unreliable part of dentistry is the patient! In this Show, Gary interviews Jim Poole on the science behind an all-natural, drug-free stress intervention solution for patients that improves clinical outcomes and can be an outstanding practice builder. In this interview Gary and Jim discuss; the neuroscience of reducing stress, how NuCalm was developed and how it works, the four elements of NuCalm, how reducing stress in your patients creates better clinical outcomes, how athletes are using this technology to improve performance and how this technology can be an excellent practice builder.

Sadly, too many Dentists are working late in their careers because they have to, not because they want to. Let's face it, Dentists face massive financial pressures. Dental School is very costly and investing in your practice and keeping current with all the great technology available today is expensive. In this Thriving Dentist Show, Gary invited his friend Reese Harper to share his wisdom on how to achieve financial independence so you can work because you want to, not because you have to! In this Show, Gary and Reese discuss; The Elements System for building wealth, how to avoid mistakes building your net worth, how to calculate exactly when you can retire, why it is such a mistake to base your retirement on the sale of your house and the sale of your practice, how to determine the appropriate savings rate at every stage of your career and most importantly, how to achieve financial peace of mind. This is important information for all Dentists!

Recently, Gary had the privilege of meeting Karen Jacobsen, the Australian voice of Siri. Karen is a best selling author, singer, voice-over artist and brilliant keynote speaker. Karen is also known as 'the gps girl' and is the speaking voice in over 100 million gps devices and over 400 million smartphone devices worldwide. In this Thriving Dentist Show, Gary and Karen discuss the concept of how to 'Recalculate' to navigate change and drive results. In this Show, Gary and Karen discuss; what does it mean to recalculate, when you will know if it's time to recalculate, the 5 specific directions for recalculating, the benefits of recalculating and what to do when you find yourself stuck. It's likely that we will all need to recalculate at one time or another in our lives and you will enjoy Karen's recommendations for what to do when things don't go as planned.