Making Goals, Not Statements For 2021

Unlike previous years, everyone will be walking into 2021 as cautiously as possible because of the way 2020 has been, and how it forced a lot of people and businesses outside their comfort zones. However, the world has slowly adjusted to this “new normal,” and many businesses are now setting their goals for 2021. How would a business set their goals in a world that’s still waking up to a pandemic? How do we apply the lessons we learned in 2020 going to the new year?

Today, I share how my team and I are setting our goals and plans for 2021 - not just in spite of the pandemic, but also around it. I discuss my thoughts on the past year and when I think things will go back to normal. I describe our practice’s SMART system for goal setting and explain the key differences between goals and statements. I also share what it means to schedule intentionally, why I don’t like big waiting rooms, and how keeping score on your team members’ day-to-day can improve business efficiency.

"Just because the calendar turns 2021 doesn't mean the challenges we've been dealing with are going to go away."

This week on T-Bone Speaks Dentistry Podcast:

• My thoughts on 2020 and when we'll see "normalcy" in 2021.
• How fatigue and burnout contributed to the stress of being in a pandemic.
• Giving ourselves a mental break from work and what happened in 2020.
• The SMART system for goals and how we apply it to our practice.
• The difference between goals and statements.
• What I want our practice to do and achieve this year.
• What it means to schedule intentionally.
• Why it's really good to have no one in the waiting room.
• Carrying the flexibility we applied in 2020 to 2021 and beyond.
• How in-team scoreboards can keep your team members engaged and motivated.

Our Favorite Quotes:

• "At any given point, we shouldn't have more than three goals."- Tarun Agarwal
• "We need to go deep with individual things and not go wide and cast a big net."- Tarun Agarwal
• "You should schedule to hit your production goal in 75% of your available time."- Tarun Agarwal
• "'New patients' should be one of the action items within a goal."- Tarun Agarwal
• "Having less people puts less distractions, less pressure, and it's patient-convenient." - Tarun Agarwal
• "More photos, more diagnoses. More diagnoses, more case acceptance." - Tarun Agarwal

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