Progress Forward … Through Decision Making

Executive Editor Daniel Alter, MSc, MDT, CDT | daniel.alter@broadcastmed.com

Making decisions can be a daunting task, and those needing to make those decisions often may tend to shy away from or procrastinate for a multitude of reasons; however, progress is only made when decisions are made in a timely fashion to facilitate the business's advancements with a keen focus on achieving goals for the dental laboratory. Decision makers should contemplate all the information available at hand, which leads to making a decision that will always be based on good and sound information. On the contrary, nevertheless, indecision is in fact a decision in itself—many times, it is a decision against progress and growth. Regardless of the size of the laboratory, the process of making decisions is equally important and should be a function of careful introspection and thoughtfulness with input from trusted associates. Who are the decision makers in your dental laboratory? It may be the dental laboratory owner(s), the executive management team, or a corporate board. Whatever your organizational process is, uninterrupted scheduled time should be set aside for discussions and perspectives that will ultimately lead to a decision toward progress.

So, what kind of mechanism would work best for you and your laboratory? If you are a dental laboratory owner who struggles with making decisions, recognizing that is a huge step in the right direction. It would be wise to create mechanisms where decisions are made available for the owner's or stakeholder's approval, or where a conscious resolution is made to work steadily through the process of making decisions. Delegating day-to-day decisions to trusted individuals within the organization is a mechanism that works for many, whereby decisions that pertain to the day-to-day operations and daily or even monthly goals are made locally, or departmentally, and subsequently the aggregate of those decisions is overseen by the owner(s), executives, or board who make decisions for the entirety of the organization. In other words, delegating the micro decision making and leaving the macro decision making to ownership and/or stakeholders could be a mechanism that works for your dental laboratory. If you are a smaller dental laboratory whose owner(s) wear multiple hats, work life can get very busy. Make sure to set aside dedicated time in your schedule to sit and contemplate business matters, and make sure to uphold that time, because many would argue that practice is the most important aspect of running a successful dental laboratory.

Ultimately, keep in mind that decisions and their outcomes are never written in stone and a dental laboratory may choose to pivot if the decisions they make do not garner the outcomes they desire; however, if no decision is made, there is no progress or advancements, which oftentimes means the laboratory is moving backward, simply because the rest of the world is constantly striving and moving forward. So, what will be your decision?

It is my great pride and honor to elevate and inspire with knowledge.