The holidays are here — and for most people, that means slowing down.
But for top-performing practice owners, this is the time to finish strong.
In this week’s Private Practice Playbook, Jay shares how to turn year-end fatigue into fuel for growth — with three actionable steps every doctor should take before December 31.
00:00:00 --> 00:00:03 Welcome back to the Private Practice Playbook. Emily Restrepo here,
00:00:03 --> 00:00:07 and before we jump in, I wanna set the stage for today's episode because the
00:00:07 --> 00:00:09 timing of this one really matters.
00:00:09 --> 00:00:13 This time of year can feel like a lot. Busy schedules, holiday distractions,
00:00:14 --> 00:00:16 end of year pressure, all of it.
00:00:16 --> 00:00:17 But Jay always reminds us that this
00:00:17 --> 00:00:21 season is actually one of the biggest opportunities for practice owners.
00:00:21 --> 00:00:26 It's the stretch that separates the practices that get ahead from the ones that wind down.
00:00:26 --> 00:00:30 In today's episode, Jay will walk you through exactly how to take advantage of that.
00:00:30 --> 00:00:35 He's covering three practical moves you can make right now to finish the year
00:00:35 --> 00:00:40 strong, how to make smart, strategic year-end investments that actually grow your practice,
00:00:40 --> 00:00:43 how to keep your team focused and intentional during the holiday chaos,
00:00:44 --> 00:00:48 and how to front load next year so that you start with real momentum.
00:00:48 --> 00:00:52 It's timely, it's actionable, and honestly, it's the kind of guidance most owners
00:00:52 --> 00:00:54 never get. Let's get into it.
00:01:08 --> 00:01:11 Welcome. So what an exciting time of year.
00:01:12 --> 00:01:16 You know, we're sitting here, there's college footballs getting excited.
00:01:17 --> 00:01:20 Seasons are changing. Some of you are going to have snow before you know it.
00:01:21 --> 00:01:26 And so, you know, they also say that this is one of the most stressful times of year for people.
00:01:26 --> 00:01:31 And so today I want to talk a little bit about, and I think we've done a few
00:01:31 --> 00:01:37 episodes on this, but this idea of how you run counter to the culture.
00:01:37 --> 00:01:41 And I want to talk about three really critical things that as a practitioner
00:01:41 --> 00:01:47 that, you know, you've got to do right now and how to help you reframe,
00:01:47 --> 00:01:52 you know, how do I turn the most stressful time for most people into the most
00:01:52 --> 00:01:55 exciting time for me? and how do I take advantage of this?
00:01:55 --> 00:01:59 And how do I, you know, how do you ask yourself the right questions?
00:02:00 --> 00:02:03 That's one of the things, you know, coaching people for as long as I have.
00:02:04 --> 00:02:07 All about the questions that I ask them.
00:02:07 --> 00:02:13 And it's about the repetition of that and the nuancing of that.
00:02:13 --> 00:02:16 And as you progress through another year, you know, it's kind of like,
00:02:17 --> 00:02:21 if you think about, I was this morning, somebody was thanking me for a birthday acknowledgement.
00:02:22 --> 00:02:27 And, and I thought, you know, I was thinking the sign off should always be,
00:02:27 --> 00:02:33 you know, at your birthday, you should be so excited about being a year better.
00:02:34 --> 00:02:38 In other words, you've lived another year of your life. You have a new set of
00:02:38 --> 00:02:41 experiences, which every year is a new set of experiences.
00:02:41 --> 00:02:45 You have a new set of knowledge and you have a new perspective.
00:02:45 --> 00:02:50 But no, people have to turn it into, oh, I'm getting older, I'm getting older, here's what I can't do.
00:02:51 --> 00:02:55 And so So it is asking yourself the right questions.
00:02:55 --> 00:02:59 And so I want to go through three particular things.
00:02:59 --> 00:03:02 And, you know, I could talk about this for hours. We'll try,
00:03:03 --> 00:03:05 obviously, to not go crazy on this.
00:03:05 --> 00:03:09 But so we'll talk about three specific things. And so these,
00:03:09 --> 00:03:14 you know, you could think of them as sort of three major focuses.
00:03:15 --> 00:03:21 And these are, again, you want to eventually make these rituals and they want
00:03:21 --> 00:03:24 to be sort of innate, kind of like, you know, if you're a dentist,
00:03:25 --> 00:03:29 I mean, I doubt you think about brushing and flossing. It just happens naturally.
00:03:29 --> 00:03:33 I don't think you, you know, you have to remind yourself, you know,
00:03:33 --> 00:03:36 kind of like you have to remind the patients that they're not flossing, right?
00:03:37 --> 00:03:40 You just floss. And so, okay.
00:03:40 --> 00:03:45 So the natural issue for people at the end of the year is fatigue.
00:03:45 --> 00:03:49 It's kind of like in sports or in anything at the end, people fatigue.
00:03:49 --> 00:03:52 And what you're really supposed to do is get stronger and stronger.
00:03:53 --> 00:03:58 So the first thing we have to look at is what are the maybe the last quarter
00:03:58 --> 00:04:01 of the year, the last month of the year,
00:04:01 --> 00:04:10 the most important tax strategies and really investment strategies for your practice.
00:04:10 --> 00:04:15 And I think that a lot of people, what they do is they will go to their accountant
00:04:15 --> 00:04:21 and their accountant will say, hey, if you would just buy this equipment,
00:04:21 --> 00:04:22 you know, we can get rid of your tax bill.
00:04:23 --> 00:04:25 And people just do that over and over and over again.
00:04:25 --> 00:04:30 And listen, I'm not saying that's not a great move, but you got to be really
00:04:30 --> 00:04:35 careful about every year financing a bunch of equipment because the problem
00:04:35 --> 00:04:37 with that and a problem with, you know,
00:04:37 --> 00:04:43 equipment, I mean, you need it, but the truth is it doesn't always translate into growth.
00:04:43 --> 00:04:50 And so the really smart people understand that at this time of the year,
00:04:50 --> 00:04:55 we have to figure out how to reinvest in your practice,
00:04:56 --> 00:05:02 meaning how do we make investments that we can make tax-free that are going
00:05:02 --> 00:05:05 to cause the next year to be greater?
00:05:05 --> 00:05:11 And these are really pretty specific. So for me, one of the things I always
00:05:11 --> 00:05:13 do is I always look at my self-development.
00:05:14 --> 00:05:20 And I make decisions not in March or April, but I'm making them now.
00:05:21 --> 00:05:26 So do I need to, you know, what, where, where do I need to be?
00:05:26 --> 00:05:29 Who's going to hold me accountable next year?
00:05:29 --> 00:05:32 What's that going to look like? And for any of you that are living sort of a,
00:05:32 --> 00:05:37 what we call a non-accountable life, I mean, you have to snap out of it and
00:05:37 --> 00:05:42 realize that, you know, everyone thinks there's these secrets to life.
00:05:42 --> 00:05:47 I mean, the biggest secret to life is forcing yourself to be accountable and
00:05:47 --> 00:05:52 putting yourself in a position where you're going to be asked the important
00:05:52 --> 00:05:55 questions, where somebody can kind of call your BS.
00:05:55 --> 00:05:59 And a lot of people don't realize they end up creating a life where,
00:05:59 --> 00:06:04 you know, they're, you know, nobody says anything to them. Nobody's truthful with them.
00:06:04 --> 00:06:09 Then they actually kind of believe it themselves. So what is it that you need to do?
00:06:09 --> 00:06:12 So this is an important time. You know, I always tell people,
00:06:13 --> 00:06:15 you know, this is the time of the year to commit to something.
00:06:15 --> 00:06:20 So like, you know, I have a January coaching class coming up. You can call my office.
00:06:20 --> 00:06:24 You commit to coaching for a year. I mean, you know, then you see,
00:06:24 --> 00:06:26 oh, is it different? Well, yeah, you'll see it's different.
00:06:27 --> 00:06:34 We also want to look at what we can do if your tax calendar is such that it's
00:06:34 --> 00:06:38 a December 31 date, and what do we need to do? We have to kind of drain the
00:06:38 --> 00:06:39 money out of these accounts.
00:06:39 --> 00:06:45 So do we prepay rent in January? What are some of the things we do so that also,
00:06:45 --> 00:06:48 I think, really important, retention?
00:06:48 --> 00:06:53 I mean, this is the time of year I'll take and ask for what everybody made,
00:06:53 --> 00:06:57 what they earned and any incentive pay and to get to their total pay.
00:06:57 --> 00:07:02 And I usually go down that list and there's two or three people that I think
00:07:02 --> 00:07:05 people on my team didn't pay them enough.
00:07:05 --> 00:07:08 And I might throw them a little extra money at the end of the year, that kind of thing.
00:07:09 --> 00:07:14 But to me, that's an investment, right? I mean, if I were to find a person and
00:07:14 --> 00:07:19 give them an extra thousand or if you were to find a key person and you said,
00:07:19 --> 00:07:23 hey, I'd like to give you a thousand dollars and I think you had a great year
00:07:23 --> 00:07:25 with us and it's a one-time bonus.
00:07:26 --> 00:07:30 You have to see that as a retention investment, right?
00:07:30 --> 00:07:37 I mean, some of you probably have lost really good people because you just let the exchange get out.
00:07:37 --> 00:07:41 You know, you kind of like could have thrown them that extra money,
00:07:41 --> 00:07:45 but instead you bought some new equipment and all of a sudden you lose a key
00:07:45 --> 00:07:49 person and they're never going to tell you, you know, the reason you lost me
00:07:49 --> 00:07:53 was because, you know, had you just given me a $2 end of the year bonus.
00:07:53 --> 00:07:58 And remember, I'm not talking about breaking the bank. I'm saying go down the
00:07:58 --> 00:08:02 list of your employees and figure out who you don't want to lose.
00:08:02 --> 00:08:07 And remember, a one-time payment, you know, it requires the cash.
00:08:09 --> 00:08:11 Raises require paid over time.
00:08:11 --> 00:08:14 So we, you know, sometimes even you say to people, look, would you...
00:08:15 --> 00:08:18 Would you prefer $1 now or would you prefer $1 raise next year?
00:08:18 --> 00:08:24 I mean, I sometimes will ask people that, but that to me is an investment, right?
00:08:24 --> 00:08:30 Just like if you commit to showing up somewhere different, like if your whole
00:08:30 --> 00:08:35 year last year, you know, a lot of you, this problem of continuing education,
00:08:35 --> 00:08:37 it's like you need it, but it's not giving you what you need.
00:08:38 --> 00:08:41 I mean, most people don't go, you know, I went to continuing education and my
00:08:41 --> 00:08:47 practice quadrupled, right? So the truth is they get very mired in the detail
00:08:47 --> 00:08:50 of delivery and not what they need to do to grow.
00:08:51 --> 00:08:55 So what are the investments that need to be made?
00:08:55 --> 00:08:59 What are the tax plays that need to be made correctly?
00:09:00 --> 00:09:04 And by the way, that one of, you know, buy a bunch of stuff at the end of the
00:09:04 --> 00:09:07 year and finance it is not the greatest move.
00:09:07 --> 00:09:11 Sometimes you'd be better off just to pay the tax bill because it doesn't,
00:09:11 --> 00:09:14 you know, mean interest to everything. So figure out what that's going to be.
00:09:14 --> 00:09:19 And then really managing cash on hand through the end of the year.
00:09:19 --> 00:09:22 And then really up to almost the last day of the year, trying to sort of say,
00:09:22 --> 00:09:24 hey, here, where are we going to put cash?
00:09:25 --> 00:09:30 I also like at the end of the year to make commitments. So I'm usually,
00:09:30 --> 00:09:33 by this time, I mean, I've made a lot of commitments, right?
00:09:33 --> 00:09:34 And we'll get into those. Okay.
00:09:34 --> 00:09:42 So number two is how do you and your team block out the world?
00:09:42 --> 00:09:48 Meaning that, you know, we now know from studies that there's this dopamine fix, right?
00:09:48 --> 00:09:52 That's occurring in our society. And you see it if you go out to dinner and
00:09:52 --> 00:09:56 you'll see a young kid and they're just, they got their little iPad and they're
00:09:56 --> 00:09:58 just mesmerized by the iPad.
00:09:58 --> 00:10:01 I mean, they just always have to have the technology.
00:10:01 --> 00:10:08 And it's like this weirdly unfulfilling, you know, it's sort of the why TikTok
00:10:08 --> 00:10:12 and everything is so addictive to people is that it is literally addictive,
00:10:12 --> 00:10:15 but it is literally not productive.
00:10:16 --> 00:10:20 I mean, I know it's like, and again, I'm not, I look, I'm not denying the fact
00:10:20 --> 00:10:21 that people love an escape.
00:10:22 --> 00:10:26 I mean, it's why people watch too much TV or they drink too much or they do drugs.
00:10:26 --> 00:10:32 There's all kinds of, but, but the point is what you have to do is at the turn of the year.
00:10:32 --> 00:10:36 And I want to talk particularly about this holiday creep.
00:10:36 --> 00:10:40 And so I worked for a guy for many years and he was always very good about this.
00:10:41 --> 00:10:42 And let me share a little bit about what he said.
00:10:43 --> 00:10:49 He said, Jay, this time of year, we're not competing. We don't have any competitors.
00:10:50 --> 00:10:53 We're, he used to always say, we're, this was many years ago.
00:10:53 --> 00:10:58 He'd say, we're competing with Thanksgiving and Santa Claus. Right.
00:10:59 --> 00:11:02 So I guess you, you know, you go, you say to that, you're like,
00:11:02 --> 00:11:05 well, what, what are you talking about? Well, this is an example. Okay.
00:11:06 --> 00:11:11 If a team is left to their own devices, what they're going to do is they will
00:11:11 --> 00:11:17 start to drift into their personal activities, planning for the holidays,
00:11:17 --> 00:11:20 talking about the holidays, wearing Christmas sweaters.
00:11:20 --> 00:11:24 I mean, and the next thing you know, you're running a Christmas shop or whatever,
00:11:24 --> 00:11:29 or a Hanukkah shop or, you know, whatever, whatever you're, you know, whatever you do.
00:11:29 --> 00:11:33 And what you don't, what you don't realize is that that takes the focus away
00:11:33 --> 00:11:36 from the customer. What does the customer want? What does the patient want?
00:11:36 --> 00:11:39 Takes the focus away from their job performance.
00:11:39 --> 00:11:44 And, you know, I, I, I, so I've toyed with this for many, many years and And
00:11:44 --> 00:11:47 we don't want, this is real.
00:11:47 --> 00:11:53 People have things to do. But I think what's important is how you help people
00:11:53 --> 00:11:58 to realize that we don't want to make the business a Christmas tree store.
00:11:58 --> 00:12:03 You know, we, the business, you got to remember that the patients have a lot
00:12:03 --> 00:12:05 going on. They want to get a lot done.
00:12:05 --> 00:12:08 They want to get into the doctor by the end of the year. And so this is our
00:12:08 --> 00:12:12 opportunity to really crank it out, you know, and our opportunity to serve and
00:12:12 --> 00:12:13 be available to the customers.
00:12:13 --> 00:12:17 And so in order to do that, what we've got to do is we've got to just be a little
00:12:17 --> 00:12:23 tighter in our thinking and a little tighter in what we do and work really hard.
00:12:23 --> 00:12:27 And then when you are off, you know, go do the things you need to do at full
00:12:27 --> 00:12:30 tilt, but let's not blend them all together.
00:12:30 --> 00:12:34 I mean, I don't want your team sitting at their Thanksgiving dinner.
00:12:34 --> 00:12:37 Saying, you know, and they go around and say, what are you thankful for?
00:12:37 --> 00:12:42 You know, you're not on the list, right? I mean, you want them to say like, I'm thankful for my job.
00:12:42 --> 00:12:46 I'm thankful for the people I get to work with. I'm thankful for what we do.
00:12:47 --> 00:12:52 And, but just like when they're at work, they have to think about work.
00:12:52 --> 00:12:58 I mean, that's for all of us, right? And so this time of year is an opportunity to do some things.
00:12:59 --> 00:13:01 Maybe you need to increase the meetings.
00:13:02 --> 00:13:04 Maybe you need to run an end-of-the-year contest.
00:13:05 --> 00:13:10 Maybe you just need to have a group chat about this.
00:13:11 --> 00:13:17 And maybe you need to look at everybody's schedules and make sure that we have
00:13:17 --> 00:13:20 a good plan. We know when we're going to be there.
00:13:20 --> 00:13:26 We've communicated it. We know when people are off and we're fully supportive
00:13:26 --> 00:13:27 of whatever that's going to be.
00:13:28 --> 00:13:31 I mean, I think that's a critical thing that you've got to do this time of year. and
00:13:31 --> 00:13:34 the the more it is planned out the
00:13:34 --> 00:13:38 more it is turned into something fun you
00:13:38 --> 00:13:42 know hey finish strong contest guys
00:13:42 --> 00:13:47 there's going to be you know if we hit this mark everyone gets a gift card for
00:13:47 --> 00:13:55 x right you have to create something that is going to feed them to be focused
00:13:55 --> 00:13:58 and these are really these are basic, but yet very powerful.
00:13:58 --> 00:14:02 Who's manning the phones when? What's that going to look like? Right.
00:14:02 --> 00:14:09 How do we not get, and again, the laziness can turn into like when the patient
00:14:09 --> 00:14:12 calls, they can just hear the complacency, right?
00:14:12 --> 00:14:18 They can hear the team member that's really thinking about what their vacation is going to be like or,
00:14:19 --> 00:14:25 what they need to buy for Christmas gifts or their lack of resources that are
00:14:25 --> 00:14:30 stressing them out or the fact that they're married to somebody who drinks too much.
00:14:30 --> 00:14:32 I mean, I, you know, all the stuff of life. Right.
00:14:32 --> 00:14:39 And so you need to be that beacon of like, let's be organized. Let's be intentional.
00:14:40 --> 00:14:45 Let's appreciate that we got to finish the year strong and we're going to have
00:14:45 --> 00:14:47 some time off and what that's going to look like.
00:14:47 --> 00:14:53 So, and please, I know this may sound counterintuitive, like it's none of your
00:14:53 --> 00:14:56 business, but that's just wrong.
00:14:56 --> 00:15:02 Your job, and we have to do this, is like seasonal aspiration.
00:15:02 --> 00:15:07 And there is a particular thing that needs to be done this time of year,
00:15:07 --> 00:15:09 which is finishing strong.
00:15:09 --> 00:15:14 And that always helps to set up next year. And I won't go into next year because
00:15:14 --> 00:15:15 we'll do that on another episode.
00:15:16 --> 00:15:20 But, you know, you have to think about it. When that calendar flips and people
00:15:20 --> 00:15:24 come back to work after the first of the year, we have a 12-month run to go through.
00:15:25 --> 00:15:30 So the key, you know, people tend to sort of finish week.
00:15:30 --> 00:15:33 And we don't want to do that. And when people do finish week,
00:15:33 --> 00:15:38 it's always a byproduct of not following this ritual of how do I,
00:15:38 --> 00:15:42 how do I ward off them being distracted?
00:15:42 --> 00:15:45 And again, you know, you have to remember that now more than ever,
00:15:46 --> 00:15:49 you know, they're just constantly distracted by what's on their phones.
00:15:49 --> 00:16:00 And so also this idea of, hey, you know, don't be afraid to remind your team, not like curmudgeon-y.
00:16:01 --> 00:16:04 You can't say, you know, phones are stupid.
00:16:04 --> 00:16:07 That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the, like,
00:16:07 --> 00:16:11 for instance, if we want to reduce stress in someone's life,
00:16:12 --> 00:16:15 they're going to reduce social media.
00:16:15 --> 00:16:21 There is no, every study clearly says that social media actually creates enormous
00:16:21 --> 00:16:22 stress in people's lives.
00:16:23 --> 00:16:27 And look, we all need to be reminded of that. And by the way,
00:16:27 --> 00:16:29 I'm reminding you of that right now.
00:16:29 --> 00:16:36 So, you know, looking at pictures of other people doing things is not a strategy.
00:16:36 --> 00:16:38 It's an escape behavior.
00:16:38 --> 00:16:44 And yes, it's fun. And yes, it's you're curious, but we're talking about specific action.
00:16:45 --> 00:16:50 So rally the troops, discuss this, get comfortable with it.
00:16:50 --> 00:16:55 I mean, that's what I do. and just remind them. And it's a helpful reminder
00:16:55 --> 00:16:58 to help the team realize they need to maybe do a little better.
00:16:58 --> 00:17:02 Plan your weekends to get the stuff done you need to get done so that you can
00:17:02 --> 00:17:06 be present at work and make good use of whatever the time is after work.
00:17:07 --> 00:17:10 But let's not, you know, let's not try to do our online Christmas shopping while
00:17:10 --> 00:17:11 we're looking at a patient, right?
00:17:12 --> 00:17:16 You didn't go to school just to become an employee. You became a doctor to own
00:17:16 --> 00:17:19 something, to build something, and to make it as valuable as possible so that
00:17:19 --> 00:17:25 if you ever chose to sell, you get maximum value for the business you worked so hard to create.
00:17:25 --> 00:17:30 At the Practice Growth Institute, we've spent over two decades helping practice owners do exactly that.
00:17:30 --> 00:17:36 Growing revenue, multiplying value, and creating real autonomy without giving up equity.
00:17:36 --> 00:17:41 Ready to take the next step? Visit mypgi.com and apply for coaching today.
00:17:42 --> 00:17:47 So how do we make, look at where you are, look at what you, how you want to finish?
00:17:47 --> 00:17:51 Like, is it a number of new patients, which is always a great challenge?
00:17:51 --> 00:17:55 I mean, you guys got to remember that the new patient number is all,
00:17:56 --> 00:17:57 I think it's the greatest, like.
00:17:58 --> 00:18:03 Cultural, you know, if you want to know what's happening in your business,
00:18:03 --> 00:18:05 it's that new patient number, right?
00:18:05 --> 00:18:08 Like when it starts to die down, you know, when it goes up.
00:18:09 --> 00:18:12 So find a statistic that is important.
00:18:12 --> 00:18:17 Are we promoting that patients that have not had their second visit?
00:18:18 --> 00:18:20 I mean, one of the easiest campaigns to run if you're,
00:18:21 --> 00:18:27 if you need more business is the campaign to invite or send a letter to every
00:18:27 --> 00:18:33 patient of record that hasn't been in for their second visit and to say, we can get you in.
00:18:33 --> 00:18:40 You know, I mean, that is a huge, huge annual opportunity that is missed by most people.
00:18:41 --> 00:18:43 Okay, so number three.
00:18:43 --> 00:18:49 Number three is this concept of front loading next year.
00:18:49 --> 00:18:53 So if I were to be with you and we were to look at my calendar,
00:18:54 --> 00:18:59 Yeah, I've got a little bit of time off over the holidays and I want to be intentional with that.
00:18:59 --> 00:19:04 But the minute I get back, I mean, it is like, bam, bam, bam.
00:19:05 --> 00:19:10 I mean, and in the month of December, I will have done a lot to plan what's
00:19:10 --> 00:19:12 going to happen in January. So for instance.
00:19:13 --> 00:19:18 Now, in January, you might be back to getting that first appointment scheduled, right?
00:19:18 --> 00:19:21 Whatever it might be, or unfinished treatment or whatever you want to do.
00:19:21 --> 00:19:26 But like, you got to kind of, I don't know, let's see, let's think of an analogy.
00:19:27 --> 00:19:34 It's pre-loading it, right? Like, so do we have some kind of a campaign schedule?
00:19:34 --> 00:19:39 Do we have some kind of, you know, are we going to launch a new service to patients?
00:19:39 --> 00:19:43 Like, what do we have that in January is meaningful, right?
00:19:43 --> 00:19:48 It's like, like I put my first, so for instance, I have a new coaching class
00:19:48 --> 00:19:53 starting early in January and then January and February, I have all my coaching
00:19:53 --> 00:19:54 clients come in for two days.
00:19:54 --> 00:19:59 And, and so the fact that they're going to show up is part of that preloading,
00:19:59 --> 00:20:00 right? They're going to be here.
00:20:00 --> 00:20:06 They're going to get engaged and whatever, you know, that's not a literal hangover,
00:20:06 --> 00:20:07 but a hangover from the holidays.
00:20:07 --> 00:20:10 We kind of get back in the business. so this
00:20:10 --> 00:20:14 is looking at your calendar this is
00:20:14 --> 00:20:17 planning your team experiences for
00:20:17 --> 00:20:20 the next year so for instance a lot of you maybe
00:20:20 --> 00:20:23 you don't have a kickoff meeting right kickoff meetings are
00:20:23 --> 00:20:26 wonderful you don't have to be really complex but
00:20:26 --> 00:20:31 you got to get that on the calendar now so like we're going to come back and
00:20:31 --> 00:20:35 we're going to have a meeting and we're going to recap what happened last year
00:20:35 --> 00:20:39 and we're talking about what's going to happen this year like it's really important
00:20:39 --> 00:20:45 that As you turn that calendar year that you're just this is ritualistic, right?
00:20:45 --> 00:20:49 And so you got to get the team back in the business come January.
00:20:49 --> 00:20:54 So now is the time, right? So some people, you know, you might even be trying
00:20:54 --> 00:20:59 to pre-book patients that don't want to come in December, getting them pre-booked for January.
00:21:00 --> 00:21:06 Okay. Look at every patient of record. How many of them have scheduled appointments for next year?
00:21:06 --> 00:21:08 Well, this is the kind of thing we want to attack.
00:21:09 --> 00:21:14 So as we're finishing up this year, we're also trying to figure out what are
00:21:14 --> 00:21:21 the things I want pre-scheduled for early next year that cause us to have a great year.
00:21:21 --> 00:21:27 And look, obviously we ask our clients to be pretty sophisticated in this.
00:21:27 --> 00:21:33 We are usually publishing an all-team calendar that's actually pretty sophisticated
00:21:33 --> 00:21:40 so that each employee or each team member knows when the entire company is going
00:21:40 --> 00:21:46 to be coming together so that they can plan vacation time or free time off.
00:21:46 --> 00:21:50 And, you know, I don't want to make you feel bad, but like the difference between
00:21:50 --> 00:21:53 somebody who's been a coaching client with me for a bunch of years and the normal
00:21:53 --> 00:21:56 doctor, I mean, there's a day and night situation.
00:21:56 --> 00:21:59 Most doctors are ad-libbing a lot of the scheduling.
00:22:00 --> 00:22:04 It's a real almost like a disrespect to your team and that which,
00:22:04 --> 00:22:07 of course, they they like to make the excuse that they're not organized,
00:22:07 --> 00:22:10 which is really invalid. You know, there's no real excuse for that.
00:22:10 --> 00:22:13 It's it's really just an insensitivity.
00:22:13 --> 00:22:17 And so if we think about how do you respect a team member, right?
00:22:17 --> 00:22:21 Well, you know, one of the things that I think is really important,
00:22:21 --> 00:22:24 and I've studied this a lot, is to publish.
00:22:24 --> 00:22:29 So every date, I mean, I'm sitting in, you know, I usually publish those in November.
00:22:30 --> 00:22:35 So in November, I'm publishing all the critical dates for next year,
00:22:35 --> 00:22:40 if not sooner, for my team so that they can, again, they can do their own life planning around that.
00:22:40 --> 00:22:44 You know, if they're going to book a wedding, ideally, maybe you,
00:22:44 --> 00:22:47 you know, I can't, I'm going to say that they always can't avoid these dates.
00:22:48 --> 00:22:50 You know, sometimes you have a family, have a family member as a wedding,
00:22:50 --> 00:22:54 it's going to be, but, but in general, your team will try to respect those boundaries
00:22:54 --> 00:22:56 if you give them the opportunity.
00:22:57 --> 00:23:02 So what is on the calendar? Like, what are you excited about for next year? Right?
00:23:04 --> 00:23:10 So populating this is really about, have you rallied the, do you have any kind of a leadership group.
00:23:11 --> 00:23:16 And we want to go into the year with that leadership group.
00:23:16 --> 00:23:19 You know, you can't own everything. This is a big mistake.
00:23:19 --> 00:23:24 So this is, you know, right now I am literally going from person to person,
00:23:24 --> 00:23:28 a person, department, department, department, asking for goals for next year.
00:23:28 --> 00:23:33 And not only do I want those goals, but I want them to have plans that are commensurate
00:23:33 --> 00:23:39 with those goals. And I want them to be in reality on that. And I really want them to own it.
00:23:39 --> 00:23:45 I do not want and you do not want to be constantly pestering people to do better.
00:23:45 --> 00:23:48 You want to give them the framework for doing well.
00:23:49 --> 00:23:54 So like December 5th in Atlanta, I'm hosting an event on how to have the best year ever.
00:23:54 --> 00:24:00 And listen, this tradition, you know, sort of like ritualizing these,
00:24:00 --> 00:24:05 you know, there are things I do every November, every December.
00:24:05 --> 00:24:07 Every January, every February.
00:24:07 --> 00:24:12 And is like, they're what makes you do better.
00:24:12 --> 00:24:17 And I think what's scary is there's a lot of people who just get trapped in
00:24:17 --> 00:24:23 thinking that treating more patients and learning a new technique and being
00:24:23 --> 00:24:27 a better dentist or a better doctor or whatever kind of doctor you are is the key to success.
00:24:27 --> 00:24:33 That is absolutely necessary, but not the key to success, right?
00:24:33 --> 00:24:38 The key to success is to be able to think Think and look at things in a way
00:24:38 --> 00:24:44 that actually creates a greater scale in your business and to really,
00:24:45 --> 00:24:49 really be intentional about how you build what you think of as a dream team.
00:24:49 --> 00:24:51 You know, that's a good question you should ask yourself.
00:24:51 --> 00:24:56 Do you currently have a dream team? And listen, if you do, some of these actions
00:24:56 --> 00:25:02 are so critical because dream teams don't like when their leader gets distracted.
00:25:02 --> 00:25:06 You know, it's the same thing. You we talk about these last couple of months.
00:25:06 --> 00:25:09 If you're a distracted leader, that's a problem.
00:25:09 --> 00:25:14 If you get distracted, right? If you get too busy with thinking about if you're
00:25:14 --> 00:25:18 going to go to a holiday party or have a holiday party, or if you're going to, whatever it is.
00:25:18 --> 00:25:27 So the invitation for you is to elevate the way you think about your impact.
00:25:27 --> 00:25:31 And I just want to say to you that, you know, and maybe nobody says it,
00:25:31 --> 00:25:38 and I'll just kind of end on this, that your ability to truly,
00:25:38 --> 00:25:41 truly recognize that you are the leader.
00:25:42 --> 00:25:46 And I know a lot of you don't want to be the leader. You just wanted to be a
00:25:46 --> 00:25:48 doctor and all you're like, wow, how did I end up being the leader?
00:25:49 --> 00:25:52 Well, that you just, it is what it is. I can't take that away.
00:25:52 --> 00:26:00 And that the words and the gestures and the comments and the affirmations and
00:26:00 --> 00:26:08 the positivity and the experiences and the intention that comes out of you, those are super,
00:26:08 --> 00:26:14 super meaningful to all of the people who choose to work for you and for all
00:26:14 --> 00:26:17 of the people that choose to do business with you.
00:26:17 --> 00:26:20 And so they got to come out of your mouth, right?
00:26:20 --> 00:26:26 I mean, you can't roll, you can't curl up and hide and you can't say,
00:26:26 --> 00:26:29 well, I'm an introvert and I don't like to do this or I don't know how to.
00:26:29 --> 00:26:35 And I know it's counterintuitive, but trust my advice that the words that come
00:26:35 --> 00:26:41 out of your mouth that you need to be intentional about have a tremendous impact
00:26:41 --> 00:26:42 on everyone who works for you.
00:26:43 --> 00:26:45 It'll be the difference between them staying or leaving.
00:26:45 --> 00:26:52 It'll be the difference between them putting it all on the line for you or becoming very complacent.
00:26:52 --> 00:26:56 So embrace this and finish this year strong.
00:26:57 --> 00:27:02 And if you want, if it's finally the time for you to get some professional help.
00:27:03 --> 00:27:06 Feel free to apply for coaching at the end of the year. I mean,
00:27:06 --> 00:27:08 you want to be excited. That would do it.
00:27:08 --> 00:27:13 All right, I'm out of here. I know you can do this. Have a great week.
00:27:13 --> 00:27:17 Thanks for listening today. I hope something Jay shared gives you a clear action
00:27:17 --> 00:27:21 to take this week. This is a time of year to make smart moves.
00:27:21 --> 00:27:25 As Jay said, one of the best end-of-year strategies is taking money out of the
00:27:25 --> 00:27:30 business and reinvesting it back into the practice, into the things that actually drive growth.
00:27:30 --> 00:27:36 Coaching, leadership, accountability, team development, those are the investments that pay off.
00:27:36 --> 00:27:43 So if you're ready to put that strategy to work, give us a call at 770-518-3806
00:27:43 --> 00:27:46 or go to mypgi.com to get started today.
00:27:46 --> 00:27:50 Be sure to follow, rate, and share this episode with another growth-minded doc
00:27:50 --> 00:27:52 in your circle, and we'll see you in the next one.