How to make life more difficult

Quite some time ago I was talking to a group about the idea of using kits to speed set-up for procedures.

For example, if you're going to do a root filling and you have everything you need beautifully arranged in one box, then all you have to do is open the box and you're ready to go. This is hugely more time efficient than taking 10 minutes to manually set up each time.

I showed a picture of the box I used about 15 years ago to do this.

Instead of being excited by the idea and thinking of ways to make it work for them the group's reaction surprised me. All they could think of were reasons why it wouldn't work. Evidently the infection control regulation are different than they were 15 years ago.

Which leads on to the point of today's article. Whenever someone in the office – dentist, hygienist or team member – comes up with an idea you have two choices.

Firstly, you can think of a dozen reasons why it won't work and kill the idea. Secondly, you can consider the potential benefits and then discover ways to make it work.

If you choose the first option it's very unfortunate.

You're stuck doing the same things over and over, never improving. Also, the team will stop putting forward ideas because they know they always get rejected. I personally know dentists who still practice exactly as they did 20 years ago. Such a tragedy for them and their patients.

In my practice I used to try out ideas that the team proposed even when I didn't think they would work.

Sometimes I was surprised and they did work. But even when they didn't the fact I was prepared to give it a go empowered them to come up with more ideas.

So, whenever a new idea comes up see the positives first, not the negatives.