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Dino Watt is one of the most famous voices in the orthodontic industry. He’s a father, author, consultant, and CEO on a mission to save audiences from boring speakers. Dino is known for business relationship training and his best-selling book, The Practice Rx. His presentations are one of the few standing-room-only in the industry.

1. What advice would you give yourself now if you were coming into the industry today?
    
   I never thought I’d be in orthodontics.  Zero projection whatsoever.  I would have doubled down on content giving.  COVID changed my perspective - if I could provide content like this years ago, I would.  I’d fully dive in.  Remember, I barely graduated from high school.  When I entered this industry, I doubted people would listen to me business-wise.  I had horrible imposter syndrome, but I also knew I was very much a blue ocean.  I would tell my younger self to double down, not worry about what people think, and focus on serving, serving, serving!  I would also ask for more help.  I’m terrible at asking for help.  I’m the third child, so I did everything myself.  Everything was a hand-me-down. Learning to ask for help was hard for me.   I would tell myself to get help earlier than I did.

2. What book, or books, do you give the most as a gift?
    
   The Road Less Stupid by Keith Cunningham. I recommend it because he’s a fantastic leader who had a real estate worth, at one point, north of $150m, and he lost all, plus another $150m. That’s an exceptional club. He’s the “Rich Dad” model for the famous book Rich Dad, Poor Dad. One of the quotes I use of his is with employees: “Listen, you don’t have to beg me every two weeks for a paycheck; so I should not have to beg you every two weeks to do your job.” When it comes to raises, just because we’ve been breathing the same air for the last twelve months doesn’t guarantee raises. Raises are based on merit. Another is Who Not How by Dr. Benjamin Hardy and Dan Sullivan. Ben is an organizational psychologist. If you can understand more about yourself and how you look at something, it’ll change how you do business. The Gap and The Gain is my last one. Either you are in the “gap” of your life, looking back and seeing all the things you don’t have, or you’re looking at the “gain”, all the things you do have. One is going create misery, and one is going bring you hope and connection. There are a lot of doctors who could use this for team members and also their personal lives. This goes to every part of my life: my wife, kids, and business.
     

3. What’s the best value for $100 someone could spend at their practice?
   
   Easy. Less than $100? Invest in thank you cards you write for your patients and team members. The amount of credit and goodwill a thank you card gives is enormous. A friend mentioned that she went to a banquet where every employee and their spouses had a personal thank you card from the company. The company wrote every employee a personal thank you card. That’s huge. It's way better than a gift card. And yet, people overlook it. The best retaining tool ever is just writing thank you. If you habitually do this quarterly, people will fight to stay with your practice. People will never forget the unexpected, personified, and unique things.
    

4. You get to put up a billboard that everyone in the industry sees on their way to work tomorrow - what’s on it?  

    

   Nothing will ruin a great employee faster than watching you tolerate a bad one.

    

   Mediocrity becomes the standard when lousy behavior gets a pass. I know everyone is doing their best; I’m not condemning anyone. And I know we are at a time when it’s hard to let people go. But if you only knew the damage you cause to your great employees by allowing bad behavior to happen, by letting that person stay, who’s always calling off Monday morning? Especially if that person has good technical skills. I quote Jim Collins: “Even if you have all A+ players, and you bring in one C+ player, it drops everyone to C+ players.” They’re going to resent you. Why are you bringing in these players? 

    

5. What if someone says, “I can’t lose anyone?” What do you say back?

    

   First, you hired incorrectly and likely started the relationship off wrong. I’m still shocked that people do 2-3 interviews before getting a job offer. There are easier ways to go through the interview process. The second reason is that they’re not always hiring. I have a rule: Always be hiring! It would be best never to take your foot off the gas for hire. It would be best if you had an ad out there constantly. Always be looking for great talent. Give a referral fee. Have a flyer on our desk. Always be hiring! You should also train your team members to look for new hires. 

    

6. What is the best investment you made in your career? 

    

   Masterminds. Outside of our industry, I’m always looking for masterminds. I think nothing has helped me more than sitting in a room with people who are way more successful than me. One of the challenges is that many doctors get into study clubs, but they're still in the same world as you. Get outside. Talk to marketing professionals. There’s a provider in Florida. She is one of the most successful providers because she has focused so much on learning from marketing masterminds. She goes to all these different masterminds, and her success has skyrocketed. Masterminds are by far the best investment you can make.

    

7.  What’s an unusual habit you credit to your success?

    

   My dancing. It’s my active meditation. I played guitar and piano. Both have helped me become more creative. There’s a book, So Good They Can’t Ignore You by Cal Newport. In that book, they talk about how if you want to grow your business and see it in a different light, find a hobby that doesn’t have anything to do with it. So, even if you’re a doctor, go dancing because it makes your brain see problems and challenges in a different light. You’ll be a better employee and a better entrepreneur.

    

8. What’s a bad recommendation that’s touted as “best practice” in the industry?  
    
   Delivery to dentists for delivery's sake. I think we get twisted. Talk to me about your marketing. Marketing is how you find new people to say, “I love these guys; these guys are awesome!”  What we’re doing is subtle bribes. I think there’s a brighter, better way to do it. Be unique, personalized, and unexpected. When it’s national donut day, and every freaking doctor is passing around donuts, that’s a bad habit. 

    

9. What new beliefs have you adopted in the industry over the past five years?

    

   Everyone talks about how the demise of most businesses is “that’s the way we’ve always done it.” With me, it’s about finding another way you can do it. Speaking at orthodontic events, there’s another way we can do this to be more engaging and more fun. I won’t pay to talk. I think we’re getting to a place where we’re not honoring content. We’re just filling space. I want to create space in our industry where people honor the skill, captivate the audience, and help people have an experience – not just get more information. That’s been a significant evolution for me.

    

10. When you visit a practice, you can’t leave until they agree to….?

     

    Their core values. Every problem in practice can be solved with the correct core values. Every major company has specific written values like honesty, integrity, and a great team. I’m like, “That’s not a core value! That’s the cost of doing business!” I used to do this test with team members and doctors. I’d say, “Hey, do me a favor; whether you have them written or not, do you have core values? Raise your hand if you agree that your core value is honesty. How about integrity? How about great customer service?” I can never leave an office until they swear they have 6-8 core values like “We guarantee radical transparency with every patient.” “We’re dedicated to only having good days or great days.” “We promise to be the best part of the patient's day.” “We are only focused on profit-generating activities.” That says something.

     

    Bonus: What’s your advice for anyone in the industry over the next five years? 

     

    No one wants better. They want something different. No one buys better. Be different. Be unique. Even if you think you’re the same. How are you separating yourself? How we look at your mouth may be completely different. Don’t worry about being better; focus on being different. I’m not better than anyone on stage; I’m different.

My Take: Dino hits a trifecta most can’t: He’s a successful author, speaker, and one of the most generous individuals you’ll meet. I asked Dino a question once, and he sent me a 9-minute video reply. That’s the kind of generosity Dino brings to each encounter. My big takeaway in this interview was Dino’s life advice on living your life in the gap or gain. In an industry rampant in success, how many of us still live in the gap of what we don’t have…. instead of the gain of what we do?

To connect further with Dino, email him at: [email protected]