Wisdom from Warren

In the spirit of seeking out good mentors, I spent the better part of my day at the feet of Warren Buffet and Charlie Munger (right) and to the side of Bill Gates in Omaha, NE today. The insights could fill volumes, but here is one that may surprise you.

If there were one aspect of managing a business that the world’s most brilliant investor dislikes, what would you guess that it is? It is, in fact, one of the same things that most leaders, and most dentists dislike; having to let someone go.

Finding good managers is one of Warren Buffet and Charlie Munger’s strong suits. Having to let one of those people go is what they detest most. In fact, the two openly admitted to keeping the CEO of one of their major holdings on a year longer than they should have just because they liked him so much and had a hard time telling him that is was time to move one. It inspired me to know that if managing people for results is the toughest part of being the richest man in the world then we all have something in common! Even the best leaders struggle with similar issues. If Warren Buffest struggles with it and has to work on it, then the rest of us have that much more work to do.

Leadership skills can be learned. Sure, there are some things that come naturally to some people. But we all have things to improve. There is one leadership principle that is for sure, however. And that is that any organization will ultimately succeed only to the extent that its leader has the ability to lead it.

So what are you doing to continually improve your leadership ability? Leading a top team requires top leadership. It’s leadership that can be learned and acquired.

Recommit today to immerse yourself in the critical lessons of leadership. In the case of most dentists, your practice is only going to grow as fast as you do. To that end, make sure to place the ToPS “Leading a ToPS Team” course as one of your highest priorities. One course will not necessarily make you a better leader overnight, but it will put you on a better course to be a ToP leader!

Call our team at 1-877-399-8677 for dates, availability and course requirements. Take the next step to the ToP by learning the skills you need to Lead a ToPS Team.