Retiring Early? Better Prepare Now
Dentist's Money Digest

Ed Rabinowitz

Partners are among the most important people in our lives. Writer Ed Rabinowitz describes why this is true for dentists, orthodontists, and other medical specialists, who must count on someone buying into their practice and keeping it going in order to realize the final fruits of their labor. Rabinowitz interviewed David Gage for the article because for ten years Gage has been helping doctors decide if there is a good fit between their respective personalities and personal values. “To get the most value, they need to find a good dentist to eventually take over the practice and retain the patients and staff. Bringing in the wrong person can sour a perfectly good practice“, according to Gage.

He points out that there are numerous drawbacks to trying to figure out if a candidate is a good fit without some outside assistance. What-you-see is not always what-you-get. Also, not everyone is a team player, which is what you want. An assessment by a psychologist can offer an extra measure of safety when the stakes are very high.

What to Look for When Opening the Door to a Partnership
Washington Post

Marianne Kyriakos

Diving into business partnership without carefully considering all of the things that can go wrong gets a lot of people in trouble. Washington Post business writer, Marianne Kyriakos interviewed a number of experts on partners to come up with a few key suggestions for people considering joining forces. Kyriakos quoted David Gage as saying “Partnerships often form for all the wrong reasons.“ “They often come together simply because people have money, and that's understandable. But it is not the way you want to form a partnership, which is very much like a marriage, because of the amount of time spent together and the cooperation necessary to make it work, Gage said.“

Use Caution When Selecting a Partner
Denver Post

Jane Applegate

“It's much easier for partners to work on a business plan or a marketing plan than to sort out how they're going to treat each other,“ says David Gage in this look at some questions small business owners should ask themselves before taking on a partner.

Choosing the Right Partner
Journal of Clinical Orthodontics

David Gage

Dr. Howard Iba, an editor of the highly regarded Journal of Clinical Orthodontics, wrote by way of introduction that professionals who are considering taking on a partner “may find that taking the extra step of hiring an experienced psychologist will increase your chances of a successful outcome.“ Dr. Gage wrote that the essential elements of a successful partnership are:

• A good fit between the personalities
• Similar values
• The ability to be team players
• Compatible goals
• Mutual trust

“Carefully assessing these critical relationship elements, especially the first two-personalities and values-gives a practice owner a tremendous advantage when selecting a partner.“ This article describes how psychologists can evaluate these variables and how medical professionals can benefit from discovering the results.

Change Your Practice Successfully
Canterbury Press

Martin L. Schulman

Link: Canterburypress.com