Top 10 Ways To Never Work Again…(yet still have money)

By: Ray Caruso, CEO, Lone Peak Dental Group

We’ve all heard the statement, “If you love what you do, you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” Here are the top 10 ways to love what you do!

1. Hire and retain the BEST People. We are fortunate to have careers during two major work-force shifts – a millennial shift and a pandemic shift. The millennial shift was hard to adapt for Gen X&Y folks like myself because it was viewed as lazy and selfish. On the contrary, Millennials focus on life-work balance instead of work-life balance. Once that was understood, managers adapted to attract the best talent from that generation. You most immediately solve for what candidates are asking for today so you can attract the best talent.
2. Implement Processes. Processes are a series of steps in a particular order that create a predictable outcome. They are tools to streamline workflow and create efficiency. Tasks without processes are concepts which are hard to understand and even harder to train. Processes are easily trained, easily measured, and easily held accountable. 
3. Plan your day. Do you strategize your day, or do you let things come to you? When I was a new regional manager, I was great at solving problems and putting out fires. Unfortunately, that’s all I got done. Start by planning your week. Keep it simple. Accomplish one or two items completely by breaking them into manageable chunks. 
4. Set goals. I write my annual goals on my office window so I can see them every day. Whether personal, or professional, you’re more likely to reach your goals if you write them down and review them daily. Consider these questions: Why is it important? How can I break it into manageable parts? When will it be accomplished? How will it be measured?
5. Show passion in your work. When I ask team members what they love about their job, it’s always patients, doctors, and co-workers. Never is it sterilizing instruments. I liked being a hygienist, but I loved how I helped patients. It was about the “Why”, not the task. My passion for people led to a passion for leadership which keeps me going daily!
6. Inspire others. To motivate others, start with the basics. Be available. Be truthful. Be helpful. Share why you do what you do. Then, you can paint the ideal outcome and how it benefits them. 
7. Build lasting relationships.  Time and shared experiences build relationships. Show interest in others. Take time to talk about their weekend, their kids, and what they like to do outside of work. Listen to enjoy their joy. It’ll show you care more about them than an agenda.  
8. Hold healthy meetings. Earlier this year, I started working with an executive coach. Feedback from my team was our meetings lacked depth. They were right. I was not holding and facilitating effective meetings. Great meetings…
   1. Have purpose
   2. Follow rules of engagement
   3. Have relevant agendas
   4. Stay on track
9. Always keep learning. I had some pretty good leaders throughout my career. What became clear to me is the good ones never took credit for success and took responsibility for failures. Why? Because you can learn from them.
   1. Watch others – do the things great leaders do and don’t do the things poor leaders do
   2. Invest in yourself – Read. Listen to books and podcasts. 
   3. Be okay with feedback – in fact, ask for it! 
10. Enjoy the journey. We’re all so busy trying to get where we want to go that we lose out on the joy. Sometimes the car ride to the destination is the most memorable part of the trip. 

We may still have to work, but we can love what we do!