Pride concepts: Part 6 of 6--exceeding the goals

When the dentist realized in the final quarter that the total of hygiene and doctor production for the year was definitely going to reach or exceed the goal set in the annual plan, the question arose: Should the office strive for an even greater goal? The practice decided to strive for loftier goals and the "Practice Olympics" was born. It had two levels: the Silver Medal for hitting the original production goal of the annual plan and the Gold Medal for exceeding that goal. The Gold Medal was based on a higher goal set by annualizing the first 10 months of production to calculate the goal the practice would hit if it continued at the current pace. The practice finished the year with $582,000 in total office production, up by $100,000, or 20%, from the prior year. Collections were 97%, one point shy of the goal. Hygiene production was 14% over goal, and doctor production was 5% under goal. By the end of the first year of improvement, the dentist had worked 108 fewer patient-care hours. His total office-related expenses had dropped from 61% to 58%. His pretax earnings increased by 18%, and he fully funded his pension.