About a month ago during a routine exam, my dentist found some decay under a crown on an x-ray.  So we scheduled an appointment to remove the crown, drill out the cavity, and put on a new crown.  A fairly substantial and unpleasant procedure.

When I got there, I had more anxiety than usual, and little things were bugging me. For starters, one of the arm rests was broken, so I had one arm propped up and the other down at my side.  Under most circumstances, like a routine teeth cleaning, it wouldn’t have bothered me. But now I was stressed about the thought of having my arms catawampus while the dentist was drilling and working on me for an hour and a half.

So I asked the hygienist if we could find another chair. Not an option, she said. So she looked around and found a pillow to prop up my one sagging arm, which helped a lot.   

After the dentist finished and left, I asked her how much they use that chair. All the time, she said. So I suggested until they get the chair repaired or replaced, she could tell patients about the broken armrest, and ask them if they would like a pillow to prop up their arm. Even if they don’t want it, I said, they will appreciate that you cared about their comfort. She really liked the idea, thanked me, and said she would do it.

Now, I don’t have a clue if she will, but here’s the deal.  When it comes to making improvements, it doesn’t always take a lot of money, effort or ingenuity.  All it takes is awareness of the countless little things that can be done to make things work better than before. 

Since people are creatures of habit, it’s hard to be constantly aware of all the things that aren’t working the best they can – or think about how to fix them. That’s because people are focused on doing the work that’s right in front of them. And that’s why organizations need systematic processes and tools for creating an intentional habit for improvement to break the default habit of doing things over and over again the same way.

If my dental office had a process for getting their team together on a routine basis solely for the purpose of identifying improvements to make things a little bit better, I guarantee someone would have suggested a way to deal with the broken armrest. It's simpler than pulling teeth.

If you’d like to learn about a proven process to get YOUR team tuned in and turned on to systematic continuous improvement as a routine part of their day-to-day work, click on the link below, and set up a time to talk.

6-Week Program for Systematic Continuous Improvement

“Great is the enemy of better”

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