The time to participate in this year's Dental Economics/Levin Group Annual Practice Survey is quickly coming to an end.

Remember, it only takes a few minutes... and it gives you an opportunity to look at your practice objectively.

Survey closes on June 30. Don't delay. Click here to take the Survey.

I recently spoke in Copenhagen, Denmark. What an incredible experience! It was exciting to tour this Old World city where Hans Christian Andersen lived and wrote. At the two seminars I presented for the Danish Dental Association, the audience was very interested in hearing what Levin Group teaches its clients, especially how effective practice systems are critical to increasing production.

Despite some differences, such as children being covered 100% by the government for dental care until age 18, Danish dentists have many of the same challenges that we face in the United States. Overall, their production was down 3% the year before and there was a strong interest in reversing this trend through effective practice management.

While they aren't necessarily feeling the same economic strain as the United States, there has definitely been an effect. The interest, questions, curiosity and discussions were invigorating. I enjoyed every moment of my visit. It's inspiring to see the state of dentistry alive and well in different parts of the world.

The time to participate in this year's Dental Economics/Levin Group Annual Practice Survey is quickly coming to an end.

This is the dental profession’s most important annual check-up, with thousands of your colleagues speaking out on:

• The state of their practices
• Important trends
• What they think the future holds

I strongly urge you to spend a few moments to fill out this year’s survey. By adding your voice, the report’s value will be increased for all of your colleagues.

Recently, I attended a leadership course at a notable business school that featured many case studies. It was interesting that each executive in the program perceived the case studies very differently. One executive looked at a case study and saw one thing. Others saw something else.

I realized how typical this behavior was in all walks of life and how important it is to understand the perspectives of different people before acting or making a decision. This can be referred to as the beach ball concept.

A beach ball has different colors. From a certain angle, we may only see one color predominantly on the beach ball. I look at it and see mostly blue while someone standing elsewhere looks at it and sees mostly green. This is exactly what happened during the leadership program when each team came back with a different perspective on the case study. We all had the exact same information but came up with different insights and conclusions.

Obviously, people don't all think alike. However, problems arise when we can't understand why someone has a different perspective or sees a different color on the beach ball. As doctors and leaders, we have an obligation to try to see all of the colors.

The next time you are talking to a staff member and wondering why she did something in a manner that you don't prefer, ask yourself, "Am I only seeing blue and she is seeing green?"