by Leadership, team, culture, and marketing the main topics of the recent 2021 DEO Virtual Summer Summit: By Laura Bowles
It was an amazing time of connections and sharing ideas with over 400 attendees at The 2021 DEO Virtual Summer Summit, “Dental Group Growth Through You, Team and Business” on June 11-12. It’s the premier annual event, where the best in group dentistry, budding dental-entrepreneurs, and DSO leaders gather and gain actionable intel. The Summit included four panels, six ask-the-expert sessions, three peer topic discussions, seven speakers and more!
Gary Vaynerchuk: “Everything is marketing”
The Summit kicked off with gut-punching inspiration and motivation from the one and only serial entrepreneur, Gary Vaynerchuk, CEO of VaynerMedia. Speaking to dentist entrepreneurs for the first time, he challenged everyone to truly think outside the box and not let fear get in the way. Here’s just some of what Gary shared with attendees: “Don’t just play defense. Social media is word of mouth on steroids. Hire fast, fire faster, promote fastest! Give, give, give, and karma will kick in. Humility is the key to scale. Everything is marketing; there is nothing else.” His session was a great launching pad for the rest of the value-packed Summit!
Concrete strategies for growth
Industry speaker breakouts offered a lot of concrete strategies for growth. Jodi Evans, Founder of Revolutionary Tribes, went deep in “Leveling up Your Team” and offered lots of powerful approaches like the Alignment Triangle. Dr. Yahya Mansour, Co-Founder, and Chief Dental Officer, Rodeo Dental & Orthodontics (32+ locations) gave attendees lots of amazing ideas for optimizing company culture. Discussing the winning mix of accountability and KPIs, Dee Fischer, CEO of Fischer Professional Group, was equally inspiring.
Attendees also appreciated the panel “Key Metrics for Evaluating Acquisitions” with Kevin Rogus, Vice President, Mergers & Acquisitions at Smile Brands Inc. (450+ locations), and Rondi Michaux, Director of Corporate Development at 42 North Dental (81+ locations). Rondi and Kevin reminded attendees to slow down, and keep in mind partnerships aren’t just with the doctor, but also with the staff, patients, and community.
The three different dentist-entrepreneurs panels offered some of the best content of The Summit. Real nuts and bolts intel was shared on systems, revenue cycle management, centralization, and more, not to mention leadership and vision philosophies. Dr. Victor J.R. Grazina, Owner / Orthodontist, Bach Grazina Orthodontics (two locations); Dr. Justin Pearson, Owner, City Center Dental Group (two locations); Dr. Whitney Weiner, Founder, and CEO, Whole Dental Wellness (three locations); Dr. Toussaint Crawford, DDS Owner, Fenton Family Dental (three locations); Elliot Zibel, CEO, Select Dental Management (eight locations); and Dr. Beau Beecher, Founder and CEO, Kimball and Beecher Family Dentistry (six locations) shared their growth journeys with authenticity.
Josh Gwinn, CEO of Hero Practices (75+ locations) presented “Leading Through Growth and Change with Culture,” discussing how he has spearheaded Hero’s amazing culture. He shared how they address rumors, how to always keep in mind that patients are the true bosses, and more.
A pattern emerges
Through The Summit presentations and discussions a pattern emerged, focused on leadership, people, team, culture, core values, and marketing.
Emmet Scott, CEO of Community Dental Partners (90+ locations), and Jake Puhl, CEO of The DEO, discussed how The DEO’s proprietary Dental Organization Growth Model™ can help dentist-entrepreneurs achieve their visions and scale. They reviewed the macro and micro issues to scale, how crucial it is to surround yourself with an abundance-minded network of people, how the industry is changing and maturing, why clarity is key for the entrepreneur mindset, and more.
The “Ask The Expert” sessions featuring The Summit’s generous sponsors offered tools, technology, and services to level up for growth. There were many concrete takeaways on tech, systems, AI, DSO law, HR, air quality, finance, and more.”
Radical Candor
Another challenging and inspirational presentation was by Kim Scott, co-founder of Radical Candor, LLC. Attendees found her incredibly impactful. Illustrating the “Radical Candor” framework, Kim shared many popular quips including: “Love your colleagues; but love is not all you need; challenge directly, also. Radical Candor should not be like a root canal, it should be like brushing and flossing. Eliminate ‘don’t take it personally’ from your vocabulary. Ask team members: ‘What do you want to tell me but don’t feel like you can?’” Attendees took away valuable information to reassess their leadership and communication with their teams.
The “Ask The Expert” sessions featuring The Summit’s generous sponsors offered tools, technology, and services to level up for growth. There were many concrete takeaways on tech, systems, AI, DSO law, HR, air quality, systems, finance, and more.
“Sharing Aspen’s most current numbers – nearly 900 locations, 43 states, 16,000 new patient inquiries a day, and 2,700 clinicians – he emphasized the importance of strong connections between patients, providers, team, and culture for growth.”
Examining good brands
The Summit capped off the day with industry titan Bob Fontana, CEO, and Founder of Aspen Dental Management Inc. He discussed Aspen’s organic growth, their patient-centered model’s intersection between consumerism and retail, and much more. Sharing Aspen’s most current numbers – nearly 900 locations, 43 states, 16,000 new patient inquiries a day, and 2,700 clinicians – he emphasized the importance of strong connections between patients, providers, team, and culture for growth.
Here’s some of what Bob said that really stood out to attendees: “If you want better healthcare, you have to do what’s best for the patient … and the provider. Lead with passionate discontent. Go look at good brands and what they do. Let them inspire you. Fail fast and don’t take yourself too seriously.”
The reviews are in – attendees left feeling armed and inspired to achieve their visions!
The 2021 DEO Fall Summit
Did you miss The Summer Summit? Well, don’t miss The LIVE 2021 DEO Fall Summit: “Doubling Dental”, November 11-13 in Orlando. At The Fall Summit, plan to double your learnings! Attendees can plan to learn how to DOUBLE the profit, revenue, locations, and overall growth; learn how to DOUBLE patient reach through teledentistry, mobile dentistry, and more; learn how to DOUBLE patient leads by ramping up and adopting innovative marketing; and much, much more!
Plus attendees can CHOOSE to either: Attend LIVE in Orlando, FL OR attend virtually!
Here are the slated speakers so far: Geoff Ligibel, President and CEO at 42 North Dental (formerly Gentle Dental Partners) (75+ Locations); Dr. AJ Acierno, CEO and Founder at DecisionOne Dental (32+ locations); Vince Dilley, Founder and CEO of Platinum Dental Services (22+ Locations); Josalyn (Josey) Sewell, Certified EOS Implementer®, and Founder, JoyFULL People; Dr. Michael Riccobene, DDS: Founder and CEO, Riccobene Associates (36+ locations); Justin Jory: Founder and CEO, Light Wave Dental (48+ locations); Ken Kaufman, CFO of Community Dental Partners (90+ locations) and Nathan Chitty, CFO and Director of Business Development, Operation Dental.
To reserve your spot, use the code DGP for $100 off registration. Plus get free replays for a limited time. See you in Orlando! Grab your ticket here: https://deodentalgroup.com/summit-fall.
