Episode : If You Want to Change the World, Have a Morning Huddle

Podcast Description

This episode is all about the simple power of a morning huddle. Tiff and Tricia talk about the why behind these daily meetings, including what to include versus not include, how to look for opportunities in the schedule, why everything goes a lot smoother with a bit of communication.

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Transcript:

The Dental A Team (00:00)

Hello, Dental A Team listeners. We are back at you again. We’ve got another fun topic today. This is one, honestly, we talk about these a lot. We talk about morning huddles. That’s what we’re gonna do, spoiler alert, morning huddles. We talk about these a lot, but I feel like we have not had an awesome recording, an awesome podcast recording on this in quite a little while. So I’m actually super excited for what’s to come. And I’ve got Ms. here with me today.

cleared her calendar for some podcasting time with me today, which I always appreciate and adore. And we’re actually, we pre-record these, you guys know this, so I’m just gonna drop this now. It kind of makes it a little funky, because this may be the end of March. I’m not sure where you’re gonna get this, where this drops, so enjoy. But we’re getting ready for our in-person mastermind. We’ll be having another one in September, so that’s why I don’t mind talking about it. It’s the end of February now, recording for March. But we’re getting ready for our in-person event.

Literally two days from now. I can’t believe that I moved podcasting here, but Trish I think we were I was at least sick I had to reschedule everybody’s been sick, but holy cow what an amazing week I feel like the energy and the team is is crazy We’ve got a slew of doctors and office managers coming to Phoenix tomorrow ⁓ At the airport is gonna be wild and I’m excited to see everybody in person Trish. How are you? How excited are you for this mastermind?

Tricia Lee Ackerman (01:26)

so jazzed. They’ve just been so fun. It’s one, it’s always just neat to actually be able to like touch the people that we work with, hug the people that we work with, shake hands with the clients, with the new clients, and just on site is always just really, really, really fun. So I am very, excited for this and our weather is perfect for the people that are coming from the cold. So they’ll be very happy. The spouses that are attending will really be enjoying the pool. It’s just going to be a great, a great experience for everybody.

The Dental A Team (01:43)

I agree.

I agree. think end of February in Phoenix has to be one of the best ideas we’ve ever had. I remember a couple years ago I have a practice out in Georgia and she and her girlfriends do, they do trips every year and it’s this girls trip and it’s so cute and it’s so fun and they came out here and it was, it would have been like two weeks ago our time now so beginning of February which is always, February in Phoenix is, I think it’s the best time.

of the year to be in Phoenix. Hands down, February in Phoenix is my favorite month. And it poured. And it was freezing. And she’s like, girl, we came here because it was snowing at home. And I was like, I they went to Sedona and it was freezing. And I was like, ⁓ dang it. But now, fast forward, this weekend ⁓ is literally the best time of the year to be here. And when we go in person, the reason this is super relevant is we do

Tricia Lee Ackerman (02:34)

I bet.

The Dental A Team (02:51)

Morning huddles we implement with all of our practices. We strongly believe in them. We will tell you why. When we come in person to you, we get this really cool energy. And gosh, we love being boots on the ground in offices, seeing where you guys work, seeing how you work together, getting that intel and that information. And it’s just, I think all consultants can say, sets us on fire. Having you guys all come to us is just like heartwarming in a way.

It touches our souls that you want to be here with us and it’s just a different, it’s a different energy, a different vibration and having so many really cool brains and minds melding together to help one another and seeing the community and the camaraderie is just so cool. And I just, I’m so excited. So we’re, we’re stoked. The next one’s in September. If you’re not coming to this one or you’re not, by the time you listen to this, you’re not reminiscing on how cool it was.

You better be here in September. [email protected]. That’s how you’re going to get your ticket. You tell us you want to be here, we’ll figure out a way. with that, we won’t be talking about morning huddles this week because we do them as consultants. But Trish, morning huddles, I know, are super important. think every consultant probably on Earth right now is like, you should be doing morning huddles, especially Dental A Team consultants. What is your why behind a morning huddle?

How do you explain the practices? How do we convince the people here that are like, we don’t need morning huddle. What’s your why?

Tricia Lee Ackerman (04:28)

My why is because number one, communication to me is always like, you’re never going to lose from communicating. When you have everybody on the same page in the morning to kind of start to direct the show for the day, it prepares you for those hiccups that can actually come up. There’s this, I might have shared this with you, Tiff, there’s this, and I don’t remember the name of it, but it’s a Navy SEAL video. And basically the title of it is like, if you want to change the world, make your bed every morning.

The Dental A Team (04:55)

Yes.

Tricia Lee Ackerman (04:58)

When I watched that, was like, making the bed every morning, that’s the morning huddle for the dental teams. And what he shares is like, if you can’t do a simple task, like make your bed in the morning, how are you supposed to be prepared as your day goes on to face something more challenging? Because that’s a simple task. The morning huddle is also, it’s a pretty simple task, but it’s kind of a big one because you get to look at this. Yes, you get to look at the schedule as a team.

We don’t need to go patient by patient by patient. Everybody can see that they’re on the schedule. What we’re looking for is our opportunities and to celebrate a win. Like do we have a win from yesterday? That will certainly get the team charged up. But what is happening today? Who’s coming in and where are the opportunities, especially like say from the hygiene department, who’s coming in on the hygiene schedule today with an existing treatment need? It’s clear it’s there because they didn’t do it last time.

We talk to them about it. when can we collaborate real quick on what are we going to do differently today? Do we need new photography? Like what’s the story with that patient? But it’s to align us as a team, note, like find our places. Like this would be a good place for an emergency. And, and again, just create clarity and accountability on what that day looks like right now. We know the dentistry changes many times and can throughout a day.

However, again, when we orchestrate together as a team in the morning and we start to direct the show, those days will, it’s almost like it’s guaranteed they’re going to flow easier. They just are.

The Dental A Team (06:38)

Yeah,

in compare to pull out your, your Navy SEAL video and like really combine those pieces. What you, what you said in there was preparing for preparing for the day. If you can do this task, like when something more difficult comes along. So it made me think as you’re speaking there, you’re saying, talk about the unscheduled treatment and what are we going to do differently? Because what I, what that said to me that I smashed those two things together in my brain. And I thought, well, if I’m the

hygienist or dental assistant and then I’m like, okay doc, what do you want to do? One, efficiency is my jam. One, that is a waste of time. If I’ve got the patient there but I have to wait for the doctor to come in to have a conversation about the treatment that was on there, we’re losing time, we’re losing trust, we’re losing an opportunity. And then two, if I have to troubleshoot those all day, we haven’t already troubleshot them, I’m troubleshooting those all day.

and my mill breaks, my mill, my crown broke in the mill. And now I’m troubleshooting that. Plus I’ve got another patient coming in that has unscheduled treatment that I’m responsible for that I have to get scheduled and I have to get their re-care. But this thing just over here, and now the ultrasonic is spilling water all over the floor. Like if I could have gotten all of those other small, like making the bed style stresses out in the morning with my team informed plans, this broken crown.

The ultrasonic, the phones went down, the internet isn’t working today. My car broke and I can’t get to my appointment. All of these things, these happen every day, every single day. So I think Trish, you’d like, I talk about morning huddles all the time, you guys, but you just changed it. You just even changed the small perspective for me just now and got me lit up of how can I help practices reduce small variable stresses.

so that those big stresses have space to live.

Tricia Lee Ackerman (08:37)

Right. Yep. That’s exactly it. And if the doctor, you know, let’s say there is a nine o’clock patient coming in that has unscheduled treatment from the last visit, but the doctor is now, like his time has now been used up with an emergency and his other patient has three composites that are trying to That’s how he’s fun. Now, hygienist is always already prepared because we talked about it this morning. We know new photography is going to be necessary and ask the right question. The doctor may not even need to go in there.

The Dental A Team (08:55)

Yeah.

Tricia Lee Ackerman (09:07)

during that particular time. So it’s just the organization of those what ifs that can happen throughout the day. Many teams, what do they usually tell us Tiff? Our huddles aren’t productive and we’ll go what? Because they literally just sit there and review the schedule. We don’t need to. Yeah, I know me too. I’m like, well, no wonder it’s boring. That’s 15 minutes of your life that you could have slept in 15 more minutes. But when they do just kind of just pull out the meat and potatoes.

The Dental A Team (09:08)

Yeah.

Yeah.

And drive’s been crazy.

Seriously.

Tricia Lee Ackerman (09:36)

Where do we have opportunities on the schedule today? If that, nine o’clock hygiene patient does have existing treatment needs, are we able to slide them over and say, 10, can we make some other things work? And when they do it more like that, when they look at it more as like they’re trying to design the business for the day versus just review who’s coming in for the day, then they do find them way more productive.

The Dental A Team (10:02)

Yeah, I completely agree. I thought, Trish, as you were talking there too, I thought how many doctors complain, how many team members are listening today and you can hear your doctor say, how do you not have an x-ray? Or they come in the room or how many hygienists, I know even as a dental assistant, I get so frustrated if he walked in the room and he’s like, I need an x-ray. And I’m like, ⁓ I could have had that for him. Like I could have been prepared. I want to be a step ahead.

so that we’re saving those spaces. And you mentioned like doing the treatment today, same day treatment. If we’ve already talked about it as a dental assistant, I’ve preset a tray, not opened, right? But I’ve got everything that I need that I can throw in a room for when that patient says yes, because we already talked about it. But being a dental assistant, and I speak from the dental assistant space, because I was a dental assistant for a really long time, and I loved it. And being the dental assistant, it would drive me nuts when I didn’t have

the space, the capacity or the forethought. I didn’t know something was coming. And then the hygienist comes at me frantic and rushed because she’s like, my gosh, he wants to do this now. And he said it and I didn’t, and I’m like, okay, like I’m taking on your energy. And I’m like, my gosh, like now everybody’s frantic. And now the feeling goes wrong. And what should have been 30 minutes just took an hour and a half. And the patient that should have been fine, that had a scheduled appointment is now waiting because we just, we weren’t prepared.

And then I think I offended an office once I didn’t mean to but I think I did because they’re they loved the doctors loved to go through every single appointment and literally to the point of like 20 modl and I’m like, are we talking about it because it should be a crown? No, that’s what we’re doing And so I told them like you’re just basically telling your team that you can’t they can’t read a schedule

Tricia Lee Ackerman (11:48)

I’m not wearing glasses.

That’s exactly it.

The Dental A Team (11:57)

you should

have already done this. Everyone should have already looked at the schedule and if you want to meet with your dental assistants and powwow for every single appointment that way, by all means, but your hygienist in your front office, they were checked out 20 minutes ago. They’re out. I think I slightly offended them, but they changed it and they left it. It was fine. Sometimes that’s my job, right? It’s like, sometimes we have to say the things you don’t want to hear and move forward with grace. So we did it.

And then you you mentioned well when you mentioned a lot of practices are like they’re not productive. I agree. So Trish agrees Sometimes they’re not productive. So we come in and we help you make them productive another thing that I hear that I’ve had to troubleshoot with some offices and I know you have as well is We can’t all be there early enough right maybe I have some doctors right I have some moms that drop their kids off in the morning and so they’re really kind of skating in or some hygienists that are kind of skating in and

Or they’ve got split shifts. So they’ve got so many people that they’ve got multiple, you know, shifts coming in. And I’ve got some things that I’ve trouble shot, but what do you, how do you help them navigate that as well Trish to still get the prep and we call it like winning your day. Like how are we, how are we going to win today?

Tricia Lee Ackerman (13:11)

That is a common one, especially for like the larger practices. You know, I have a doctor, I have a practice that there’s five doctors, everybody’s coming in at different times. So what we have done with that team is they just have, have like mini huddles with their OM. So before, you know, if the, let’s say one group comes in at eight, next group comes in at nine, that group comes in at 8.45 and they meet with the OM. So the OM sometimes it’s like on some days does depend. She’s having three separate huddles.

but she’s running them just as efficiently as if it was an entire group. So those team members that are coming in at the later shifts, their focus is on like their columns, their hygienists that they’re working with that day and the doctor. But as far as like getting out of it, there’s always a solution to have a huddle, like always. Some teams will say like, well, we could do the end of the day. I never, ever, ever, ever recommend that.

The Dental A Team (13:59)

always.

Tricia Lee Ackerman (14:09)

People want to go home. Dentistry is hard. It takes a lot out of us. And if you expect a team to want to sit with you at 4 p.m. or 4 30 p.m. to review tomorrow, it’s probably going to land on deaf ears. But those other split shifts, that’s the way it’s handled. So you have your key people. They meet with the O.M. that is, you know, that was present for the main, the big morning. It’s just delivered in a smaller group, but the alignment gets to stay the same.

The Dental A Team (14:30)

All the other ones.

Yeah.

Yeah, it’s like you’re running it like there, you have so many doctors. So you’re running it, those doctors are essentially working as an office, right? So you’re running them as an office rather than like the full office because you’re doing that doctor, their assistants, their hygienist and the crew that will be together. So I love that. I’ve also had a, I’ve had a doctor, he was, he was a really funny guy, is Louisiana. ⁓

Tricia Lee Ackerman (14:46)

Exactly. Yeah.

The Dental A Team (15:04)

And so he just, he was just a funny guy, you know, and he was like, well, me and my truck, right? Like he’s coming in with his big dually from an hour away because he lives on a farm. And he’s like, I can’t, I can’t leave any earlier. And I was like, that’s fine. You’ve got speakerphone in your, your truck. It’s going to be surround sound. You’re there with them on surround sound in your truck. And he was like, you’re right. And I’m like, there’s no excuse. You’re not doing anything else. You’re just driving. So.

Tricia Lee Ackerman (15:29)

Okay.

Yes.

The Dental A Team (15:33)

get there and he actually ended up more often than not getting there on time to do the huddle because he was intentional about it. was just, you just have to, you have to get through the block. You know, you have to see that there is a way around and normally you’re gonna accomplish what it is that you’re trying to do. I also have another office, both of us have been into this office together. We’ve done them together and they are really good at

Blocks, very good at blocks and they have a lot of blocks, a lot of blockers for huddle because they just, they just, they do. The timing is just not right for 90 % of the team. And that’s really, that’s really hard. And it’s kind of, it was kind of defeating almost to them. Like, this is something that I’m hearing you, we should do this, but like, can’t, you know, and it was defeating for them. And I was like, cool, do it at lunch.

So what they do is they’ll do a 15 minute huddle at the end of their lunch hour. So they go to lunch a little early, you know, they kind of adjusted their schedule there and they’ll huddle for the next 24 hours. So they do this afternoon and tomorrow morning and then look at tomorrow afternoon, but then split the day. So they’re kind of adjusted it a little bit, but they’re still meeting. And what you said in the beginning Trish was communication. And for most of my practices, and I think

We all experience this, Trish. Doctors come in and they’re like, we need systems and our communication sucks. I’m like, well, you have systems and your communication is because you’re not talking to each other. And so they’re all in their own little worlds. They’re in their own lanes. And what happens is we get this idea of what we want it to be in our lane. know my patients. I’m handling my patients. You do you. And we get siloed. And this and handoffs force communication.

Tricia Lee Ackerman (17:10)

Yes.

The Dental A Team (17:33)

so that the team is a team. We can’t be a team without actually talking to one another and it forces that. And so even for the practices that have to do splits, but they’re talking to their OM, their OM is the glue, which actually Trish, what you did there and what they’ve done is solidify even more that the office manager is the glue of the practice because she’s the one that they rely on.

Tricia Lee Ackerman (17:58)

the heart of cell.

The Dental A Team (18:02)

to ensure that they’re communicating correctly. it doesn’t, morning huddle, nothing we do. Nothing we do has to be exactly the same as the way somebody else did it. And I think that’s the beauty of our consulting and the way that we work with our clients is that we are going to take the system and the idea that we know works and we’re tailor it around what’s going to work for you. So it’s not a one size fits all. It’s not an everyday at 7.45, everyone in the country.

is meeting for a morning huddle. It’s just not. And I have other practices that will do it by video, by Slack. So they’ll record the morning huddle, and then the office manager is responsible for meeting with them, and they watch the video together. And kind of very similar, but they’ve got the video, so they’ve got the input from the first team, because the doctors and the assistants do kind of mingle a little bit more. ⁓ So it’s kind of stacking communication throughout the day.

But I think the biggest piece there is it’s, yeah.

Tricia Lee Ackerman (19:01)

That’s another good one. That is a good

one. I personally have not had to roll it out, but I’ve worked with some practices that have done that. And I mean, there was no complaints and I was on a call with Kiera and ⁓ she was talking to a practice about doing that. So mean, there’s always a way. There’s always a way. It would just be 15 minutes to look at today and maybe even tomorrow, depending on the size of the team. today, today is really the most important. If we can get 15 minutes.

The Dental A Team (19:17)

Yes. Yes.

Tricia Lee Ackerman (19:30)

somehow, someway, everybody seeing the plan for the day, then it’s probably going to be a much better day than it could have been if you didn’t have the 15 minutes set aside for this.

The Dental A Team (19:41)

I agree.

I agree. All right, Trish. So thank you. I really wanted this to be on the go. A why on morning huddles? Because we’ve talked about morning huddles so much before. And most of our practices, at least, are doing them. I think our action items should be, if you are not doing a huddle, what are the top three things, Trish, that you would tell the doctors and practice managers out there to implement tomorrow if they are not doing morning huddle already?

Tricia Lee Ackerman (20:10)

and not even considering it like they’re not gonna have it. Okay, then they’ve got to do, then they’ve got to have some form of like say a shared Google Doc where there’s the schedule and they can put notes. Somebody’s gotta have, they’ve got to have a view of the day with some kind of commentary that they can go in and I mean, Slack there’s that, but maybe just the Google Drive, the schedule’s there, they add their commentary, it’s reviewed.

The Dental A Team (20:13)

Yep.

Tricia Lee Ackerman (20:38)

They may be even initial so that they’ve read it. They can add more commentary, but something with this day in the office has got to be reviewed by the key team members for sure. And if that is something that they do, via a shared document, then that’s what they do. it’s got, like it’s kind of a non-negotiable. It’s got to happen. They’re going to run into chaos. It’s not fair to them.

and to have just something at a glance, that wouldn’t even take 15 minutes. That’d probably be more, maybe even like five if they were doing it individually. But each provider does need to have a key team member with them. They need to review the day and add commentary and read any other commentary that was placed there.

The Dental A Team (21:26)

Awesome. Thank you. Thank you. Perfect. All right, guys, go take a look at what you’re doing. If you’re doing morning huddle, phenomenal. Thank you so much. Drop a five-star review below and let us know what you’re doing for your huddle because the ideas will flow. People will read those and they will see what you’re doing as well. If you’re not doing huddle, if you don’t want to do huddle, you’re still like, guys, don’t believe you. Do what Trish just said. I think that is a beautiful idea. If you’re ready to implement huddle and you don’t know how or you don’t

Want to get too crazy with it? Number one, reach out to us, [email protected]. We will send you documents, we will send you information, we will help you. Number two, review your numbers, review your schedule for opportunities, meaning unscheduled treatment, unscheduled re-care, and time for limited emergency exams, and prep for how you’re gonna win. What is something that went really well, and how can we make today an even better day than yesterday was?

So go do the things Trish. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you for sharing all of your tips and your tricks and all of your freaking almost had patience, but your practices. Like you share your practices. Guys, if you are Trish’s client, you are flying high and we get to hear about you all the time because Trish just loves you guys to pieces and raves. So thank you Trish. Yeah. All right, everyone drop us a five star review below. Let us know how you’re doing, your huddles. Let us know how you enjoyed this podcast and hello.

Tricia Lee Ackerman (22:44)

Thanks, Tim.

The Dental A Team (22:54)

[email protected] and also don’t forget to ask us how you can be part of September. Okay, bye guys.