Water boils at sea level at 212 degrees Fahrenheit. If water only reaches 211 degrees, the result is hot water, but not steam. That is the one percent solution. One degree makes all the difference.
The Industrial Revolution started in the 18th century when human beings learned to harness the power of steam. By the 19th century, the railroad industry was born, factories began mass production, and ships plied rivers and oceans in then record-breaking time. The lives of millions were improved due to steam powered machinery.
In any business, including dentistry, that one extra degree of effort is the dividing line between modest success and impressive growth. Think of the difference in your practice if you increased your case acceptance rate by one percent, reduced your overhead by one percent, or if you attracted just one additional new patient per month. Imagine the cumulative time savings if each incoming and outgoing phone call in your office were just one minute shorter. Consider the profound benefits of solving just one nagging problem in your office that has been holding you back.
When you realize that you are only degree, one percent, one patient, one countable metric from a breakthrough, you will be motivated to stoke the fires of the practice, so to speak.
Challenge your team not to just get the job done, but to give that extra one percent effort to elevate the practice from good to great. You and your team are the energy in your practice. It’s up to you to lead, to take the next step that is at once incremental and transformational. Your motto should be, “full steam ahead.”