The Practice Performance Blueprint

Being an excellent clinician inspires confidence. Being well liked earns you a pleasant office. Neither one, on its own, keeps a practice alive. That requires leadership. And it’s time to step up.

In the past 20 years, private practice ownership has dropped by 14%.¹ The dental practices disappearing from the landscape today are not, by and large, failing because of bad dentistry - they're being absorbed, consolidated, or quietly wound down because the owner never built the systems that let a business run on more than the doctor's personal energy.

Your clinical ability and personal charm might keep both your patients and your employees smiling, but only leadership - the deliberate work of defining a vision, building culture, installing operational systems, and knowing your numbers - can create a business that is durable and dependable with the ability to grow.

The joint ADA HPI / ADHA / DANB report on dental workforce shortages² identified the chronic, non-pandemic drivers of hygienist departure as negative workplace culture, insufficient compensation, lack of growth opportunity, inadequate benefits, feeling overworked, and communication failures in the practice environment - and note that four of those six are directly within a practice leader's control. In any given month, four out of ten dental practices are trying to hire dental assistants or dental hygienists³.

The practices that thrive in the next decade will be the ones run by dentists who made the mental shift from "I own a job" to "I lead a company." That shift is not a personality trait. It's a set of learnable systems - and it starts with leading yourself first.

Julie Koljonen is a successful dental entrepreneur with over 40 years of experience in the field.  Her work started as a hygienist, then a Patterson sales rep, and now she thrives as a co-owner and manager of several dental offices.  Her varied experiences provide insight into all aspects of Dental Practice Management, and created The Practice Performance Blueprint to guide dentists at all stages of their careers toward success and fulfilment. According to Julie “Successful practices aren’t built by working harder. They’re built by creating systems, developing people, and making decisions based on facts- not emotions.”

Our long weekend program will combine 8 hours of continuing education with Brilliant Dental Continuing Education’s bespoke experience in Porto, Portugal. Mornings are for learning, and in our afternoons and free day we’ll be experiencing the best of the city with private tours, a feast of Portuguese food culture, and a day trip to the Douro Valley for a wine experience. Relax at your 5 star accommodation in the city center and let us show you the best of Portugal’s beloved Norte region.