Interview with My Mentor
Diane Lyons, RDH

My capstone experience has given me the opportunity to understand the leadership and management skills associated with the role of dental practice management consulting. Two of my contacts referred me to Laura Jamison, a Tampa Dental Consultant, CEO and President of Jamison Consulting, Inc. Laura agreed to mentor me in accomplishing three important learning objectives that I sought to understand and exercise in some of her daily business activities. Her sincere and genuine interest clearly demonstrates the desire for me to understand visionary concepts, the planning and goal setting skills and the effectiveness of implementing systems to manage numerous details in a dental office. I have also learned from Laura the value of teaching techniques and the practical application of learning, the value of being flexible and resourceful, the value of utilizing diagnostic trend indicators and the value of leadership focusing. The ultimate lesson I learned, from Laura, in being a successful dental practice management consultant, is the behavioral element of knowing one’s self and the strategies to effect the situation, whether it is with client relationships or team building.

Laura's Vision

Laura’s vision developed early in her career, with the help of two dentists guiding her passion for dental practice management consulting. Hired as an appointment coordinator then a financial coordinator, Laura’s abilities and knowledge of dental practicing grew, as the doctors’ interest in continuing education grew. Seeing a consultant’s presentation at the Florida National Dental Congress convinced Laura she could be a consultant as well. With the doctor’s desire and commitment to the dental practice philosophy to continually advance their education and practice management skills, they chose Pride Institute to be the teaching organization. Laura attended their seminars and later joined Pride Institute.

Laura described the training program at Pride Institute as intensive. She spent two weeks working for the company living in San Francisco learning the Pride office systems. Upon return, Laura was to present a 30-minute lecture, as portion of a seminar, in front of 200 people. From there she spent most of her workdays traveling with her mentor who lived in Tampa. Going from office to office, Laura would observe her mentor’s technique, learning how to collect numbers and interpreting the data so she could make her own training presentation based on the diagnosis of the reports and observations.

Several years later Pride Institute transitioned into a group-training program. It became necessary for Laura to learn how to facilitate creative training techniques in large groups. Encouraged to take the Dale Carnegie Sales Course to sell the services, Laura then led the growth of the eastern territory (six states), doubling revenue in the first year. Recognized for her talents, Laura was one of the few consultants at Pride Institute to train newly hired consultants. Her abilities to contribute and teach seminars, afforded her the opportunity to teach the notable Dentist as Entrepreneur seminar for three consecutive years. Opportunities furthered Laura’s experiences as she lectured with Dr. Pride on the seminar entitled Leadership in the United States and Sweden. To Laura’s credit, she worked with Peter Dawson’s Perfect Byte, NCR and Meer Dental to incorporate practice trend indicators into their software programs before opening her own business.

Laura Credits

Laura credits Pride institute for building her strengths in teaching and leadership skills, professional appearance, social skills, personal value and self-esteem to just name a few. Her extensive and diversified education begins with Lakeland Community College, Kirtland, Ohio and continues with related courses that are creditable to mention here. They are Dale Carnegie® Sales Course, Blair/McGill and Co. Profit Plus©, Frank Spear, D.D.S Practice of Excellence©, Pankey Institute Excellence in Anterior Guidance and Esthetics©, Peter E. Dawson, D.D.S., The Concept of Complete Dentistry© and How to Put your Practice in the Top 10%©, T.H.E. Office Design, Inscape Leadership, C.A.R.E®, DiSC® and Adventures in Attitudes®, and Creative Training Techniques©.

Laura stays current in her industry by continuing to attend all things related to clinical courses, especially when invited by a client. She takes at least one or two creative training technique courses a year and attends the annual meeting of the Academy of Dental Management Consultants.

Observations

I observed that Laura has a strong background and knowledge of the dental industry. Her expertise is in exercising her consulting style technique, capitalizing on her knowledge and experience, making it her most valuable commodity. Thus, Laura’s most rewarding part of her position is being valued for her advice. She has been giving advisory business services for over twenty years, coaching dentist and team members to excel in communication skills, systems, leadership abilities.

Jamison Consulting

Laura has been CEO and President of Jamison Consulting, Inc, for the past fifteen years. As a successful business manager and owner, Laura has many roles including active consultant, meeting planner, business planner, marketing planner.

Her responsibilities encompass advising dentists on how best to develop a business plan to increase revenue and profitability and continue with the plan’s major components. Some of the components are computer systems, team management, facility decisions and fees. Laura’s responsibilities also include developing a marketing plan for her clients geared to the practice’s specific needs. Laura furthers her efforts in coordinating, implementing and tracking the results of the plan. Marketing plans are important for her business (Jamison Consulting, Inc.) also, to facilitate increases in advertising and referrals.

Additional Marketing Efforts

An additional marketing effort by Laura is to offer different types of seminars that are fun and informative several times per year generating clients for her business. She has skillfully developed her own AGD continuing education and Pace approved CE Credit seminars. The seminars descriptions on her website are compliments to her professional communication abilities as are her professional materials that are extensive in her seminar. The seminar topics focus on Teambuilding, Exceeding Patient Expectations and learning Beyond Your Bottom Line, to name a few. (Jamison, n.d.).

Laura enjoys several aspects of consulting with her clients. Her favorite areas include building relationships, witnessing the business results from the client’s efforts and discovering for the client the workable solutions that has eluded them. Laura’s favorite occurrences are the successful times when she sees her clients’ proud reactions, as they reflect back on difficult exercises, knowing they had to be pushed past their comfort zones.

The challenges and least favorite aspects of her responsibilities are computer tasks and dealing with technical malfunctions, marketing and soliciting new business that face every consultant operating an entrepreneurial business.

When consulting, Laura says, “human behavior can be an obstacle,” in this position. Her management style, she says, “needs to be direct and empathetic, which comes from experience.” Laura sited the following case in points of those challenging circumstances. The doctors (clients) have resisted something good for themselves because they do not want to change. The doctors (clients) have decided the need to change but the team resents it. The team has resentments when the doctor does not acknowledge their ideas and only listens to the consultant. The doctor wants to hire a consultant to fix the team but the doctor will not accept any personal responsibilities. ” These circumstances require Laura’s expertise in consulting, while skillfully and tactfully communicating resolution for the conflicting confrontations between the doctor and team members, in order to grow forward.

Laura's Focus

Laura stays focused and follows her own motto offered in her seminars to provide exceptional client service. She continues to learn what is required to fulfill that vision. If I were to become a consultant, Laura advises me to identify what I am good at teaching. Find out what you know that others do not. Offer seminars over dinner for free to study clubs to get your name identified with what you want to do. Submit articles to notable magazines. Become a credible source and build a referral base. Consider joining a group that is looking for specialty consultants to make it easier. Laura adds, it is a tough business, where you need to be your own best cheerleader.

Overall Impression

My overall impression of my mentor’s position is one of challenge, just by the shear number of details to manage, the expertise level one needs to achieve in the different arenas of practice management, the human behavior element and the demands of the public forum. Laura is fortunate to have the opportunity to have access to an established set of professional business systems. This format allows for an organized and efficient manageability of the accumulated detail, allowing for an accurate assessment and monitoring. I see them as necessary building business blocks to bridge the gaps of operation. Laura consults with an open, warm and empathic understanding. Her keen listening and communication skills add that personal touch. It qualifies her for implementing an approachable team-building plan and client customizing of the visionary portion of the business plan. With such focused involvement, I can understand why Laura recommends the need for clients to have a long-term contract.

The insight to this area of practice management, as a potential role for hygienist is intriguing, for one seeking an entrepreneurial opportunity. Networking and referring plays major roles in this type of business. The area of practice management is a competitive market. The distribution of information is gaining attention, especially through e-mail notification, teleconferencing, webinars and CDs for in-office team meetings. This method of learning fills the gaps for dental business owners wanting to keep up with latest resolution with the added benefit of reduced expenses. I see this as a passive and short-term approach for addressing practice management issues. After observing how Laura conducts business from a visionary direction, setting goals and plans to achieve them, it teaches clients how to fish, which is something substantial for life.

Interview Questions

1. What is the scope and position of your business?
2. How did you know that practice consulting was of interest to you?
3. How would you describe Pride’s training program?
4. What strengths did Pride Institute help you build?
5. What is your educational background?
6. How do you stay current in your field?
7. What would you describe as the most rewarding part of your position?
8. What title do you hold at Jamison Consultant, Inc.?
9. What is your role in that company?
10. What are your responsibilities in your consulting business?
11. What is your most favorite part of your work?
12. What is your least favorite part of your responsibilities?
13. What would you describe is the most challenging aspects?
14. What can be the obstacles in your position and your addressing leadership/management style?
15. What advice or direction would you give me as an aspiring mentor in a similar situation?

E-mail: jamisonconsulting@verizon.net