At first glance, the prospective reader of this book may wonder what the 13th-century Mongol leader has to do with managing a dental practice at all. The author points out that succeeding takes not just sheer luck, but meticulous preparation, planning, and knowledge of the business of dentistry.
Structure
The book is aimed at any member of the dental team, and is split into well-organised, structured sections and the overall style is one of short paragraphs and concise bullet points. This allows the reader to dip in and out of the book at will; without doubt a conscious effort from the author to avoid a very wordy text.
What the book isn’t is a long, drawn out ‘Bible’ of how to run/operate a practice, something I feel the book benefits from as the intrinsic nature of the subject would make it a very dull read.
However, as this was published in 2010, there is no mention of CQC, and audit and clinical governance are covered only very briefly. While whole manuals are written on these topics alone, I would have liked further mention as these subjects tend to occupy more and more of practice owners’ time.
Been there, done that
What every reader must bear in mind when reading books on this topic is that, although factual issues such as employment law and the like are covered very well here, books such as these are merely opinions of the author.
However, in days such as these, when dentists can pick up any journal, Twitter feed or advert in the press from so-called coaches and advisors and ask themselves: ‘If you are so good at it, why aren’t you doing it?’ It is refreshing to know that this author has done it and the basis of this book is his wealth of experience.
In that respect, this book is an excellent addition to any practice’s bookshelf and should serve as a valuable resource for a long time.
Managing a Dental Practice the Genghis Khan Way by Michael R Young (Radcliffe Publishing) was crowned the winner with the majority share of an online vote at www.thebookseller.com.
