The Missing Ingredient in Leadership

Episode #367 with Fred Joyal

It takes boldness to do all the things you need to do in dentistry. And if you want to thrive — not just in dentistry, but in life, being bold is a prerequisite. So, to teach you how to take the first step, Kirk Behrendt brings in Fred Joyal, co-founder of 1-800-DENTIST, to share how he found the secret ingredient for a better, successful life. In his new book, Superbold, he gives you a step-by-step process to help you achieve the level of confidence you need. Boldness can be taught — it’s up to you to want to learn! To make boldness your new superpower, listen to Episode 367 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways:

Boldness is a superpower.

Hesitation is an opportunity killer.

Learn to reject rejection.

Embrace that people don't care.

All the good stuff happens in your discomfort zone.

Quotes:

“I would see bold people and go, ‘Why are they like this? Why are they doing this? Why aren't they afraid of rejection or embarrassment or anything? They're just speaking up and they're doing all this stuff. They must be born that way.’ And I realized, gradually, that they weren't, because there were times when I made a bold move, and it made all the difference in my life. Starting 1-800-DENTIST was a bold move. It was crazy. You start any business, you've got to be half nuts, to invent a business from scratch. But I couldn't do it consistently, so I worked at it and worked at it.” (6:14—6:52)

“Boldness is a superpower. Everything flows from this. If you master this, if you are confident in action — because confidence is how you feel; boldness is how you act and how you get stuff done.” (6:56—7:12)

“I was shy. Now, what I learned is, my behavior was shy. I wasn't always shy. It wasn’t genetically true. I mean, I am this height. I am not 6’8”. I'm never going to play in the NBA because I am not tall. But I behave shyly — I did behave shyly. I hesitated. These were all actions. These were all behaviors that I decided to change and be uncomfortable.” (8:15—8:49)

“I made the choice to be uncomfortable because I started to learn what was on the other side, because every bold action I took was rewarding, and every time I hesitated was a punishment — I missed out on a girlfriend. I missed out on a job. I missed out on a raise. The list goes on. And the same thing is true for a dentist. You've been beaten down for four years in dental school by these professors, and you're out there, and you're supposed to come out and interact with patients and run a team. This all requires boldness. It takes boldness to ask for a referral from a patient. They go, ‘I don't like to do that.’ Who cares if you don't like it? If you want to build a practice, you have to get comfortable doing it.” (8:50—9:41)

“You've got to do a tremendous amount wrong to fail as a dentist. But to thrive as a dentist, to have a fantastic life and give the patients the treatment they deserve — I mean, if somebody needs $40,000 worth of dentistry to get their optimum health back, you can't present $3,000 worth of dentistry and be afraid to say, ‘That's going to be $40,000.’ That's a bold thing to do, but it’s also your professional responsibility. Now, they may have trouble getting around the cost of that. But that's not the issue. The issue is, are you comfortable telling them that they need $40,000 worth of dentistry, and it’s one of the best investments they're ever going to make in their whole life?” (11:13—11:57)

“You have to learn to reject rejection. Rejection has nothing to do with you. When somebody says no, they mean “not yet,” most of the time — in business. If it’s a guy picking up a girl and she says no, she means no. Right? She doesn't mean “not yet.” But most of the time, rejection, you...