Articles The Way I See It

Don't Channel Steve Jobs

Like most of you, I did not have any kind of formal management training. Instead, my route to figuring out how to do it right was fraught with twists and turns, leaving my early-career staff members confused and unhappy. At one point back then, I tried mimicking my boss since everyone responded quickly...

We All Scream . . . Because We Can: a Different Kind of Journalism

Just about every online news story enables readers to add comments at the end of the coverage. It's really wonderful to have this means of voicing our opinions and reactions to things that go on around us. It enhances our desire to belong, feel connected and—most importantly—help one another....

They Want What You've Got . . . and They Need It, Too

What’s the number one thing most “singles” want in a potential date? Nice teeth.

Love, Loss and the Need For Change

> LMT's home is Newtown, Connecticut. Several of us live here, too. When I heard David Wheeler, the father of 6-year-old Sandy Hook shooting victim, Ben, speak last month, I felt his words needed to most urgently be broadcast across our United States. He said: "My wife and I have spent the last month...

Passion Fuels the Future Too

> Since everyone's been expressing concern about what will happen to our field when thousands of Boomers retire, we've been taking a hard look at the new generation of dental technology leaders to get a handle on what will become of our community. As you can tell from this month's cover feature--40...

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Tax: a 'Four-Letter Word' . . . With a Deficit

It would be downright silly to suggest anyone actually likes taxes so it’s no surprise that a coalition of 400 medical device manufacturers voiced its opposition to the 2.3% excise tax on medical devices slated to go into effect January 1, 2013.

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Who Says You Can't Do It All?

How about a round of applause for one- to three-person laboratory owners? With almost another decade to go before many of these operators feel "the calling" to retire, they are still very much engaged in the here and now and are clearly living the well-disciplined, well-balanced life. Bravo. The results...

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The Sky is Falling . . . Not

We hear that things "out there" could be a lot better: many laboratories are hurting, business is spotty, dentists are slow and, worst of all, we see that price competition has gotten downright ugly. Times are tough. It seems like this is "pay-attention-and-think-as-clearly-as-you-can time": time...

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Hanging On and Holding Tight

During the "boom" years of the late 1990s-2008, lab fees made significant gains; in a number of cases, they caught up with or even exceeded the Consumer Price Index. It's not like the lab community has ever measured its fees against cost of living increases but, for the sake of observation, when LMT...

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Business Boosters Inside LMT

Many of LMT's articles stem from things we experience here. When the editorial team cooked up the theme for this month's issue, for example, you might say we were all "steamed up." We, too, have business problems that need to be solved. In fact, the last quarter of 2011 was a whopper that tested...

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The Reinvention Convention

Instead of merely staying the course, laboratory owners are more engaged than ever in finding new ways to, as Steve Jobs coined it: "Think Different." Better yet, you are doing it—which is exactly what needs to happen! I'm freshly back from LAB DAY Chicago thoroughly impressed with the level of...

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Among LAB DAY® Vendors, Competitive Fervor Intensifies

For me, one of the greatest highs of our LAB DAY shows is returning home afterwards, brim-full of new ideas, juiced with the energy and creative strategies I pick up from you—our participants and clinicians—when I hear your presentations or we meet on the show floor. One thing I noticed...

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Exhausting, But Oh So Enriching

Every now and then, LMT has the opportunity to shine a light on those who go the extra mile to bring sunshine into someone else's life. In this issue, we get to do it three times. Click the links below to read about Technicians on a Mission—three groups of people in different sections of our country—who...

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American Greed: Rethinking the 'Boom' in Boomers

In sheer numbers alone, the blame lies squarely with us—with our generation—and with the generation immediately before and after us.

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Everything is New Under the Sun

I had the great privilege of being just the right age in the late 1960s . . . but this new digital world is so phenomenal, it trumps the 60s ten-fold.

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The Educated Patient

I took off my "somewhat dentally educated" hat and did what any self-respecting fully educated member of the dental industry would do: I called My Cousin Vinni.

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The Way to Go

"The best way to avoid additional hardship and emotional distress for your family is to prepare for the "what ifs.""

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Take It—It's Yours!

Through the awesome inter-connectivity capabilities of the Internet, LMT built a system that keeps you abreast of what’s happening in our industry any time, anywhere.

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Whistle While You Work

"…this crazy world of business is being turned upside down. The work environment we boomers inherited in the late 60s is being discarded by the youngest generation of workers."

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A Pat On the Back

I have always admired how self-assured he is. It's a quality we find inviting and comforting as in,"He'll know the answer, let's go ask him what we should we do."

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Exits and Entrances: Keeping An Eye On Our Numbers

There's nothing more reassuring or energizing than being able to keep abreast of our market's fluctuations and know where you stand.

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This We Know

There's more crossover in the dental field than ever before and this makes us somewhat unique. What continues to remain blurry is who does what with whom...

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The Family Circle Circa 2011

Like me, I'm sure you have become painfully aware of how dependent we now are on engineering expertise. It's not just for streamlining our company operations; it permeates all facets of our lives...

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Time to Grow

"Work for us is often fun. We think it's contagious. We like to think it is, anyway...It keeps all of us vibrant and growing."