By Dan Fine, Sales Manager at Hive Business.

I was listening to a Tim Ferriss podcast on a long car journey the other day — check it out by the way, he’s very good at taking a forensic look at the habits behind his guests’ success — and the TV presenter Mike Rowe said something that made me chuckle and then think. He said: “Advice is something that you ask for when you already know the answer but you wish you didn’t.” How often does this ring true for you? Usually the answer to what you desire is simple, but the problem is that it is not easy.

Consider weight loss and being healthy. Most of us at some point or other have needed to shift a few pounds. The way to do it is pretty straightforward; eat less, move more. Simple right? So why do we have such a huge obesity problem? It is because the solution, although simple, is not easy. The reality of putting this principle of eating less and moving more into practice is actually tough, and there are considerably better and worse ways of doing it. The problem is that people do not want to hear that getting healthy means a lifestyle overhaul, reigning in their appetites and exercising at least three times a week. Instead, they want to hear about other options that are less painful and mean they don’t really have to change.

This cognitive trick of knowing the truth, not liking the truth, and then wanting the truth to change has given birth to a multi-billion pound industry that offers shortcuts to your desired physique. Slimming World has a huge following because it allows users to keep their lifestyle and still lose weight. All it is really doing is encouraging users to continue eating unhealthy foods but in smaller portions (eating less) or eat reduced calorie versions. This might work in the short term, but over a longer period it can’t instil the discipline required for sustained healthy living. Rather than address your inner cravings it pacifies them for a while until they inevitably raise their ugly heads in the future.

There are similarities between this and growing a business like a dental practice. How you grow a practice is pretty simple, you get more patients. However, doing this requires discipline to take on complex problems, and discipline feels uncomfortable at first. Meanwhile, just like in the weight loss world there is a queue of suppliers keen to turn a profit by offering you easy answers to complex questions. How many times have you been offered new software that is all you need to achieve your practice growth dreams, with no need for additional labour or thought? As the more battle worn of you out there will understand, there is no golden ticket, no plug and play solution to business success. Who is to say if the people proclaiming these solutions believe them or not; did the snake oil salesmen of the old West believe in their products? Who knows? Who cares? It doesn’t matter. A product won’t bring meaningful change in isolation.

The reality of running a successful dental practice is not down to the software, products or gimmicks you employ. These are useful and important tools to aid you, but they are just tools. A Ferrari may be one of the highest performance cars in the world, but driven by me it may as well be a 1991 Vauxhall Nova. Building and running a high performance dental practice is hard, it requires discipline, investment, flexibility, learning. I think we all know this deep down. Nothing great was ever created without effort. Why would your practice be any different?

At Hive we love working with dentists who relish this challenge. If you’re looking for a Slimming World-type atmosphere, we can’t help. If you’re looking for a partner to help you confront the simple but hard truths of business and deliver your objectives, please give me a call on 01872 300232 or email us at hello@hivebusiness.co.uk.