Episode #503: 10 Steps to better Implementation, with Dr. John Cranham & Lee Culp

You have a ton of great ideas, and you're excited about all of them. But how do you put them into play? If you're struggling with implementation, don't miss today’s episode! Kirk Behrendt brings back Dr. John Cranham and Lee Culp, founders of Cranham Culp Digital Dental, with 10 steps to help you create a process for better implementation. Don't let your vision go to waste! To learn how to overcome the challenges of implementing your ideas, listen to Episode 503 of The Best Practices Show!

Episode Resources:

• Dr. Cranham’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/john.c.cranham
• Dr. Cranham’s social media: @johnccranhamdds
• Lee’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lee.culp.cdt
• Lee’s social media: @leeculpcdt
• Cranham Culp Digital Dental: www.ccdigitaldental.com
• Subscribe to the Best Practices Show Podcast
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Links Mentioned in This Episode:

Episode 372 of The Best Practices Show with Dr. John Cranham: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V89AbeNNJHY

Kolbe: https://www.kolbe.com

DiSC: https://www.thediscpersonalitytest.com

Main Takeaways:

First, formulate your vision.

Sell your vision to your team.

Identify key players in your practice.

Block out enough time to train your team.

Always have open lines of communication.

Set benchmarks so the team can self-assess.

Encourage continuous, never-ending improvement.

Quotes:

“Every doctor that is trying to be better has to hone this skill. They’ve got to be able to decide they want to do something, get excited about it, and then have some steps that they can follow. And understand that whatever you're doing, whether you're learning scanning, or you've gone and taken a class from Frank Spear and you're changing your prep design, whatever it is, you have to go through this process. And there are going to be some bumps and bruises and a little bit of frustration. And the last thing that's really important is you can't go it alone. You've got to get the people around you excited about it and make them feel that they're a part of it.” (6:49—7:26) -Dr. Cranham

“Getting excited is one thing . . . But then, it’s really committing to, ‘Is this what you want to do?’ That's the first question you've got to ask yourself, ‘Is this really what you want to do?’ Understand the responsibility that you're putting onto yourself to do it, and then go do it.” (11:20—11:40) -Lee

“Step one is, you have to formulate a vision, a really specific vision, about what it is you're going to do. And the thing that I always asked myself was, if I wanted to implement a scanner, or I'm implementing a new protocol, or whatever it is, I want to know specifically, regarding predictability, efficiency, and profitability, ‘How is my practice going to be different at the end?’” (13:57—14:23) -Dr. Cranham

“I think that for most people, the difference between excitement and really having a vision is that excitement sort of wanes.” (14:47—14:56) -Dr. Cranham

“When you're implementing something new, you have to think less about the ROI and more about what it’s going to be like when you reach that destination, because the ROI will come then.” (15:48—15:58) -Dr. Cranham

“[Step] number two is to share. And I would even say sell the vision to the team. And what I didn't do for a long time is I never really — I would say, ‘This is what we’re doing.’ And that certainly works if you're authoritarian. But what works better is if you can share or sell the vision to the team and really explain to them what is in it for them, whether it’s a time-saving thing or something that's more profitable that can lead to bonuses. Whatever it is, you have to get them to understand that this culture of growth, this culture of implementation, this culture of continuing and never-ending improving, is going to be something that is good for them.” (18:56—19:44) -Dr. Cranham

“[If you don't sell your vision to your team,] it’s very easy for them to just say, ‘So, I've got to now do something else in front of a patient for the first time, and I'm going to feel awkward and stupid, and they're not going to like it.’ And that's what goes through their heads. That's real. That's real the first time they do those things. And so, scanning is a great example because, initially, it’s kind of like, ‘Why? We get good impressions this way.’ But then, if you can imagine selling them on what it could be, there's no question the experience is better for the patient. They like it better, it’s faster, all those things. But if you can first get really clear in your brain and get excited about it, and then have the ability to sell it to the team, I think there's another part of that in the process of being prepared to share and sell the vision to the team. I think it further solidifies the vision into your brain too, because now you're pulling other people along with you that if you're having a little bit of a down day, they're going to be the ones to say, ‘Hey, we said this. This is what we’re doing.’ There needs to be a level of accountability for the culture of the organization.” (19:45—20:56) -Dr. Cranham

“I like to lump [steps] three and four together. Three is, identify the key players in the practice. But also, in my mind, I'm thinking about, ‘Where am I going to get the best information, or what's the person out there that's getting the results that I would like that I can copy that can potentially be a trainer?’ And the reason I like to do that is because I want to make sure that the people that I'm thinking about also are going to fit with who I think is going to be training.” (23:17—23:48) -Dr. Cranham

“People under 35, they get digital. Like, they think digital. A lot of us old guys, we learned analog, so it’s kind of like learning a new language where you're thinking analog. You're looking at digital but translating back to what you know — analog. And so, sometimes, if you're implementing digital, maybe the most experienced person on your staff isn't the best person. They may really struggle digitally. There might be a younger person in your practice that potentially could grab a hold of this and become a star. So, that's one of the things I was going to say, is that my strategy would be to find the trainer, maybe talk to the trainer and get opinions from them about who I should be looking at as a key player, depending on what it is.” (24:11—25:05) -Dr. Cranham

“You've got to identify those key players. And then, at the same time, you also have to be thinking about, ‘Where am I going to get the best information?’ I found out a long time ago, it doesn't make sense to just recreate the wheel. The best way to get good at something is to find somebody who’s getting the results that you want, and then copy that behavior. That's why I hung out with Lee when I went down this road.” (25:18—25:41) -Dr. Cranham

“When we get to [steps] five and six, now we’re starting to execute. And this is where I stumble a lot because I'm more of a visionary. I like coming up with the idea. I get excited about it. I can see crystal clear where I'm going. And I don't always think about all the little baby steps. I just want it to happen. And so, that's why these are the important steps, for me, to really make sure I set it up so that we can block that training time.” (26:53—27:29) -Dr. Cranham

“As we train, [make] sure that we’re not going to just dive into it. We’ve got to get the front desk involved so that when we start scheduling procedures for the first time that they understand, ‘We’re going to need a little more time. As we start doing this on live patients, we’re going to need a little more time.’ Because the last thing you want to do is throw it in there, not have enough time, and create tons of stress on the person that's doing it, and maybe get a bad scan that the lab has got to kick back. So, [steps] five and six become extremely important, blocking the time for training, and then also when you start bringing it in, making sure you've got a little more time.” (27:31—28:13) -Dr. Cranham

“What's interesting about the team we have here at the laboratory is most of them are a whole lot smarter than I am. So, it’s kind of fun to, ‘Here’s the vision.’ Implementation is just me pushing. But I tend to hand off the responsibility of, a lot of times, figuring out how to do it because they know how to do it better than I do.” (28:28—28:55) -Lee

“It becomes a little bit more freeing when you have some people that understand that that's their job. When I hit about 40 and it started to become where I couldn't keep it all in my head, I went through a very stressful time until I started to put some layer in place that could help me with that. And you need that as a businessperson, for sure.” (32:00—32:22) -Dr. Cranham

“[Sometimes, my team is] worried about disappointing me. And culturally, we have to understand, as doctors, we may have that effect on people. And if they're implementing something new and they don't feel comfortable telling you that they're not comfortable, that's a problem. They have to be able to talk about that they're struggling with this. And so, that's why [steps] seven and eight become important.” (33:47—34:13) -Dr. Cranham

“[Step] eight is you establish benchmarks to assess success. And it might be time, it might be quality, it might be the outcome or results. But if you can establish, like if you're scanning, ‘All right. We should be able to scan an upper arch at the end of this month in about two minutes. We ought to be able to do a two-minute scan. We ought to be able to get the palate,’ just have some basic benchmarks so that they can self-assess what they're doing. And they need to understand that if they're not able to do that, nobody is in trouble. Let's just figure out why.” (34:14—34:48) -Dr. Cranham

“[Steps] seven, eight, and nine really go together, establishing those open lines of communication so the team can tell you what's going on, having those benchmarks to self-assess success. And then, based on those two things, knowing that there's going to be some additional training and follow-up so that they don't feel like they have to do it perfect. And again, if you think about implementation, most dental practices, it’s more like you get the scanner, the dude comes one day, and they go, ‘Okay, have at it.’ That's it. And then, the dentist is yelling if something is getting kicked back from the lab. I mean, it’s just not that simple. You've got to have this process that they know, as the leader, you're going to be supporting them to be successful.” (35:02—35:48) -Dr. Cranham

“If you look at this list and you can practice implementing something and going through those nine steps, you're going to find the first time, it’s kind of difficult. But then, the second time, if you follow this programmed approach, it’s not going to be quite as difficult, and the team will be a little more trusting that they're not going to be left off on an island somewhere to figure this stuff out.” (39:17—39:41) -Dr. Cranham

“Putting a procedure in place for implementation will become, I think, a defining cultural thing for your practice, if you do it. Because the best practices are always getting better.” (40:10—40:23) -Dr. Cranham

“I would hate dentistry, I think, if it wasn't for the ability to continue to learn. And learning can be extremely fun and rewarding if you have a process in place where you have help.” (41:23—41:37) -Dr. Cranham

“Continuous improvement is something I base my life around. I mean, it’s everything we do.” (41:54—42:00) -Lee

“My job is to make the person’s life that's next in line easier. He is my customer. So, whoever is doing anything in our business, in our lab, in our practice, if it affects another person or a group of people, your job is to make them happy, no matter what it takes. And their job is to make the next person in line happy.” (42:52—43:19) -Lee

“We tend to think of each other in our business, in our laboratory, as we are customers of each other. How do we make the next person happy and have their job easier? So, if we think like that, if you think of your team like that and we’re not separate, we’ve got a vision — my vision is not always shared. They have no problem telling me it’s a bad idea. I'm like, ‘Oh. Okay.’ But at least we've got a shared vision and we’re trying to keep our internal customers, which is our team, happy with what everybody else is doing.” (43:28—44:06) -Lee

“If you can commit to developing a process and surrounding yourself with great people that want to help you, part of this process, and Lee said it, is helping them succeed with what they're doing. And when you do that, it lightens the load tremendously and it makes the implementation process fun and not stressful.” (44:55—45:17) -Dr. Cranham

“Let everybody know what we’re going to do and figure out what they need to be able to do it so they're comfortable.” (46:01—46:05) -Lee

Snippets:

0:00 Introduction.

3:01 Dr. Cranham and Lee’s backgrounds.

4:58 Why implementation is a big challenge in dentistry.

8:04 Lee’s “why” for implementation.

11:59 Step one: formulate a vision.

18:22 Step two: share your vision with your team.

23:09 Steps three and four: identify key players in the practice.

26:36 Steps five and six: block time for training.

29:53 You can't have two visionaries.

32:54 Steps seven, eight, and nine: have benchmarks and open lines of communication.  

39:02 Step ten: encourage continuous and never-ending improvement.

44:07 Last thoughts on implementation.

46:20 More about Cranham Culp Digital Dental and how to get involved.

Dr. John Cranham Bio:

Dr. John C. Cranham is a highly respected and renowned dentist in Chesapeake, Virginia. At his state-of-the-art office, he delivers unsurpassed general dentistry, cosmetic dentistry, and restorative dentistry, including TMJ THERAPY and DENTAL IMPLANT SERVICES. He uses his vast experience and expansive knowledge to create healthy, natural-looking smiles. 

Dr. Cranham was an honors graduate of the Medical College of Virginia in 1988. He’s an internationally recognized speaker on the esthetic principles of smile design, contemporary occlusal concepts, treatment planning, restoration selection, digital photography, laboratory communication, and happiness and fulfillment in dentistry. 

Dr. Cranham founded Cranham Dental Seminars, which provides lectures, mobile programs, and intensive hands-on experiences to dentists around the world. In 2008, Cranham Dental Seminars merged with THE DAWSON ACADEMY, a world-famous continuing education facility based in St. Petersburg, Florida. 

As The Dawson Academy’s acting Clinical Director, Dr. Cranham is involved with many of the courses and provides continuing education to dental professionals across the globe. He spends approximately two-thirds of his time in private practice and the other third as an educator. He believes this balance keeps him on the leading edge of both disciplines. 

A published author, Dr. Cranham is committed to providing the highest quality patient care, as well as developing sound educational programs that exceed the needs of today’s dental professional. 

Dr. Cranham is an active member of numerous professional organizations, including the American Dental Association, American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, American Academy of Fixed Prosthodontics, and American Equilibration Society. 

Lee Culp, CDT Bio:

Lee Culp, CDT, is the CEO of Sculpture Studios, a dental laboratory, education, and research and product development center for new and innovative digital dental technologies and their applied applications to diagnostic, restorative, and surgical dentistry. He is a pioneer in digital dentistry and a leading resource/inventor for many of the materials, products, and techniques used in dentistry today, and holds numerous patents for his ideas and products. Lee writes many articles per year, and his writing, photography, and teaching style have brought him international recognition as one of today’s most exciting lecturers and innovative artisans in the specialty of digital dentistry, dental ceramics, and functional esthetics.

Lee is the 2007 recipient of the Kenneth Rudd Award from the American Society of Prosthodontics, the 2007 recipient of the AACD Presidents Award for Excellence in Dental Education, the 2003 recipient of the National Association of Dental Laboratories, Excellence in Education Award, the 2013 American College of Prosthodontics-Dental Technician Leadership Award, the 2014 Spectrum Publishing-Lifetime Achievement award, and the Dr. Peter Dawson-Dawson Academy 2016 – Dentistry Distinguished Service Award.