Joe Blaes, DDS
Editor
e-mail: [email protected]
I have just returned from two solid weeks on the road again. The trip began at the annual Chicago Midwinter meeting sponsored by the Chicago Dental Society. It was another great meeting accompanied by the most pleasant weather that I have ever experienced during February in Chicago. I was rushing for my early morning plane to Chicago and left without my topcoat. I discovered this five minutes from the house and promptly turned around and went back for the coat (I mean, who would go to Chicago in February without a warm coat?). The 10 minutes that I lost was enough to make me miss my plane! I haven`t done that in a long time. During the whole time I was in Chicago, the coat hung in the closet!
The meeting itself was well planned and well attended. I lectured to full rooms at seminars on Friday and Saturday. I ran into many old friends and also made many new friends. Thanks to Drs. Al Bean, Jerry Hoffman, and all the members of the Chicago Dental Society for another extraordinary meeting.
The special forum that was sponsored by Ivoclar North America and Dental Economics was a great success. The auditorium was full for the live broadcast. An overflow group watched on closed circuit TV, while the rest of the world listened in on the Internet. It went off without a hitch, and the result was very worthwhile. Everyone seemed to enjoy the wonderful gala after the forum! Our thanks to Ivoclar for asking us to participate with them to co-sponsor this prestigious event.
The next stop was the Ritz-Carlton at Amelia Island where the weather was warm and sunny. This fine resort property is located in Florida near the Georgia border. It was the site for the annual meeting of the American Academy of Dental Practice Administration (AADPA). If you want to get some tips on service for your office, stay at the Ritz-Carlton for a few days and experience the Ritz service. Sue and I were there for a week and the service was outstanding! Ask an employee for the Ritz-Carlton`s guidelines for employee service. You will be amazed at the completeness of what they hand you. It contains a credo, the "employee promise," and the 20 basic guidelines for service in the hotel.
It was interesting to watch small groups of employees gather at different places in the hotel for their "morning huddle." The general manager of the hotel spoke to us during the meeting and said that his greatest challenge was to stay out of employees` way and let the process work. Good advice for our dental offices as well.
The AADPA meeting itself was awesome, offering a great mix of practice management, clinical dentistry, motivational, and personal growth speakers. Two big changes are planned for next year`s annual meeting. The meeting moves to the Westin LaCantera resort in San Antonio. Secondly, it will be an open meeting, meaning that guests will not need to be sponsored by an AADPA member. The program promises to be an exciting one, and I hope you will mark February 28 to March 4, 2001, on your calendar and come to the very best meeting for you and your team.
Please notice some exciting things in this month`s issue! We have our first winner in the Dental Office Design of the Year contest. There were more than 140 entries in the contest, and the judges had a difficult time picking a winner. We have covered the overall winner in this month`s issue and will subsequently cover the offices that won in the other categories that were listed in the article on page 64.
Don`t miss Dr. Roger Levin`s excellent article about the dental management pyramid that starts on page 98. Dr. Michael Miller`s column on cosmetic materials and techniques has returned, and I know you will enjoy what he has to say this month. And finally, don`t miss reading the information about pensions by Dr. Jim Pride and Brian Hufford. Brian manages my money and has been doing a fantastic job - I may even be able to retire some day!
