Case Studies

Case Study One

Meet John, dentist and man of 1000 hats.

At 44, John is considered by most people to be successful: a happy marriage, three children, beautiful home, a lakeside get-away, active in the community, and a very lucrative dental practice. He’s worked hard to have it all. John has a life most would envy. So, what’s the problem?

John says he feels overwhelmed by the daily chores of seeing patients, keeping his wife and staff happy, feeling pulled in a thousand directions at one time. It’s gotten to the point that he just isn’t enjoying life anymore, and he’s concerned about thoughts he has been privately having – thoughts he doesn’t dare share with anyone. He’s feeling anxious, depressed, restless, and he doesn’t have the energy to get up and face another day, much less another 20 years. He knows he can regain control of his life and start enjoying it again, but he just doesn’t know where to start. He would love to spend more time with his family, but his practice is requiring more and more of him, physically, mentally, and emotionally. Staff members come and go, he feels stressed by the economy, and he feels challenged and confused by all of the practice management advice he reads. By the time he gets home each day, he’s exhausted, and wants to be left alone. What he really values and how he would prefer to spend his time has gotten lost in the flurry of daily activity, responsibility, and challenges.

His coach helped him step back and see the big picture. He was able to see where the roadblocks to his happiness were and how to remove them. He was also able to easily identify alternative paths to that happiness. Best of all, John’s coach helped him come to these solutions on his own — a strategy that John will now be able to use over his lifetime to continue creating happiness in the years ahead.

Case Study Two

Meet Brian, a successful lecturer, consultant, and clinician.

Brian is a dentist who has traveled all over the country for the past 20 years, regularly speaking at dental conferences, all while maintaining a busy dental practice. But Brian is frustrated and burned out. He’s been teaching so much and working so hard, that he’s not sure if he’s coming OR going, and he’s concerned that he’s lost his focus. He’s tired and drained, and isn’t sure he can keep up the pace he’s set for himself.

Brian is a good clinician, and well-respected in the dental community, but he feels he’s lost his edge. What concerns him even more is that he’s teaching and working, but not growing and changing, and he’s worried that his teaching and consulting business – in addition to his dental practice – will start declining, and that somehow, it will all crumble before his eyes.

We began by looking at those parts of Brian’s teaching business and clinical practice that weren’t working, and began to collaborate on ways to solve those issues. For one, Brian readily identified his weariness of having to always be “the answer man.” To start, we began by honing Brian’s communication and relationship skills. The results? Already Brian doesn’t feel like he has to come up with all the answers anymore, and he’s becoming very adept and skilled at facilitating and advising, rather than consulting. Instead of teaching all the time, he’s now learning more than ever! And he loves it. Furthermore, the doctors and staff he works with in his clinical practice, too, love to see Brian now, and are eager for his ideas, suggestions, and collaborations. Brian enjoys relationships more than ever and has discovered new-found energy and excitement for his work. He realizes that he doesn’t have to manufacture the personal energy to solve everyone’s problems. And, as a bonus, he’s now able to develop other parts of his life, enjoy what he’s worked so hard to achieve much more, and is available and responsive to his family, friends, and business acquaintances in ways not possible before.