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Your team is not ignoring you. They just do not know what you actually expect.

In this episode, Dr. Kyle Stanley and Dr. Martin Mendelson dig into one of the most common frustrations in dental practice management: building SOPs that sit in a binder and never get followed. Martin’s client had it all documented. The team still was not doing it. Why? Because it was never on a daily checklist, never in anyone’s face, and never tied to accountability.

Kyle walks through his Four Ds system. Define the expectations through job descriptions and a practice handbook. Do the work through simple, role-specific daily checklists. Discuss through regular quarterly reviews tied directly to checklist performance. Delegate by building in backup assignments so when Susie calls in sick, John knows he is next in line.

The checklist argument gets strong here. Surgeons with 30 years of experience still run a pre-op timeout in the OR. Airline captains with thousands of hours still run a pre-flight checklist. That is not about skill. That is about the way the human brain actually works. Your dental team is not the exception.

Martin adds the detail that makes it stick: a checklist only works if it contains the next actionable step. Not “hire hygienist.” Write the job description. Not “clean up desk.” Clear the physical mail pile. Specificity kills overwhelm.

Build it once. Then let it run.

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