The Savvy Dentist – Details, episodes & analysis

If you’ve ever felt like there’s simply not enough time in the day, this episode is going to change your thinking. Productivity expert, business coach, and author Ari Meisel joins Dr. Jesse Green to explore how entrepreneurs and executives can optimise, automate, and outsource their way to greater efficiency and impact.

Ari is the founder of Less Doing and the author of books like The Replaceable Founder. His work has transformed how leaders manage time, delegate effectively, and scale without burning out. In this conversation, Ari shares the systems, strategies, and mindset shifts that allow high performers to achieve more by doing less, without sacrificing quality or control.

You’ll walk away with practical tools to streamline your workload, create more freedom, and focus only on the things that truly move the needle.

In this episode, Ari and Jesse discuss:

• [03:45] Why “doing less” doesn’t mean underachieving
• [07:12] The decision-making framework to work out the right thing to do
• [11:05] How to identify and eliminate unnecessary tasks
• [14:28] The role of delegation in scaling your business
• [17:52] Common myths about productivity that hold leaders back
• [21:16] The mindset shift from being “irreplaceable” to “replaceable” as a founder
• [30:10] How to start doing less—today—without guilt or fear.

Links and Resources:

• Ari Meisel website
• Less Doing website
• Connect with Ari on LinkedIn

• Join the free Savvy Dentist Facebook Group
• Follow Dr Jesse Green on LinkedIn
• Visit Savvy Dentist website

Mentioned in this episode:

Savvy Dentist Team Training Bundle

If your practice can’t run without you, it’s time for systems - not more theory. That’s why we created the Savvy Dentist Team Training Bundle - five powerful, system-driven programs including Front Desk All Stars, the Million Dollar Dentist, Practice Manager Masterclass, Advanced Treatment Coordinator Training, and High-Performance Hygiene. Each course delivers practical, step-by-step systems your team can use every day to build accountability and create a self-managing practice. Save $2,000 for a limited time — visit savvydentist.com/team-training.

Team Training Bundle 2025

In this solo episode, Jesse Green unpacks what truly separates the top 1% of dental practice owners from the rest. Drawing on decades of coaching, conversations, and lived experience, he reveals the six internal traits that drive external results.

If you’ve been chasing better KPIs, more profit, or faster growth, this is your reminder that the real breakthroughs start within.

In this episode:

• [03:09] The one inner quality that keeps top owners in the game
• [07:19] A trait more important than talent or intelligence and why it's a non-negotiable for long-term success
• [10:15] The mindset shift that turns stuckness into momentum (and how most owners get it wrong)
• [13:36] Why your success may have more to do with who you're around than what you're doing
• [15:42] The hidden growth habit elite owners practice daily and why surface-level skimming won’t cut it
• [18:14] How the clearest thinkers create unstoppable teams, motivation, and focus.

Resources and Links:

The Man in the Arena by Theodore Roosevelt

Grit by Angela Duckworth

Follow Dr Jesse Green on LinkedIn

Visit Savvy Dentist website

Mentioned in this episode:

Savvy Dentist Team Training Bundle

If your practice can’t run without you, it’s time for systems - not more theory. That’s why we created the Savvy Dentist Team Training Bundle - five powerful, system-driven programs including Front Desk All Stars, the Million Dollar Dentist, Practice Manager Masterclass, Advanced Treatment Coordinator Training, and High-Performance Hygiene. Each course delivers practical, step-by-step systems your team can use every day to build accountability and create a self-managing practice. Save $2,000 for a limited time — visit savvydentist.com/team-training.

Team Training Bundle 2025

Welcome to The Savvy Dentist Podcast with Dr. Jesse Green, where we explore the intersection of dentistry, business, and personal growth to help you create a practice and a life you love.

Whether you’re an ambitious practice owner, an entrepreneurial spirit, or just someone striving for personal excellence, you’re in the right place.

In this episode of The Savvy Dentist Podcast, Dr. Jesse Green dives into a conversation with Layne Beachley AO, whose story transcends sport and speaks directly to the heart of human resilience and authenticity.

Layne Beachley AO is a seven-time world surfing champion, Layne is not only an icon in the world of surfing, but also a powerful advocate for mental wellness. Her journey from battling self-doubt, chronic fatigue, and injuries to becoming one of the most decorated surfers of all time is nothing short of extraordinary.

But Layne's achievements go far beyond the waves. Through her platform, Awake Academy, she’s helping people dive deep into self-discovery, tap into mental resilience, and navigate life’s challenges with purpose and clarity. Layne understands that true success isn’t just about trophies and titles ... it’s about knowing who you are, owning your story, and rising strong through adversity.

In this episode, Dr. Jesse Green and Layne explore what it takes to cultivate a champion’s mindset, how to navigate fear, overcome setbacks, and develop the kind of determination that not only builds world-class athletes but world-class humans.

Whether you’re running a dental practice, leading a team, or navigating your own personal journey, there’s something in Layne’s story that will speak to you.

So grab a coffee, find a comfy chair, and get ready for an inspiring, energising, and deeply insightful chat with the one and only Layne Beachley.

Books - penguin.com.au/authors/layne-beachley

Awake Academy - awakeacademy.com.au

1. [02:17] - Competing in the sport world as a woman in the 1990’s. The unwelcoming, hostile, misogynistic and sexist environment helped shape Layne’s competitiveness.
2. [08:21] - How to find your inner strength.
3. [10:39] - Going from the hunter … to the hunted. The transition we must all make as our businesses succeed.
4. [18:46] - The magic happens when we don’t focus on the outcome …
5. [24:44] - One’s life is too short for di**heads.
6. [28:56] - Don’t rob yourself of joy. It WILL affect your business.
7. [32:43] - The Awake Academy - check it out!
8. [33:56] - How your success can cast a shadow.

Mentioned in this episode:

Savvy Dentist Team Training Bundle

If your practice can’t run without you, it’s time for systems - not more theory. That’s why we created the Savvy Dentist Team Training Bundle - five powerful, system-driven programs including Front Desk All Stars, the Million Dollar Dentist, Practice Manager Masterclass, Advanced Treatment Coordinator Training, and High-Performance Hygiene. Each course delivers practical, step-by-step systems your team can use every day to build accountability and create a self-managing practice. Save $2,000 for a limited time — visit savvydentist.com/team-training.

Team Training Bundle 2025

• [11:38] - We are social beings … understanding how the brain works allows us to understand the external world regarding human behavior. 
• [19:24] -  The hardest thing about running your business … is people. How do we strike that right balance between being an effective leader and achieving goals, while also managing our team dynamics well enough to feel like we are caring, empathetic and supportive?
• [25:17] - One of the good things about being a highly sensitive leader … is intuition. When you can feel things that perhaps others can't feel. So what is the role of that ‘intuition’ in leadership. 
• [39:08] - Why is common sense so uncommon? Is there a neuroscience explanation of common sense? 
• [43:41] - Some of your team are more creative than others … Is creativity a skill that can be taught?

• [08:32] - How to make your plan to become a millionaire, and create a plan to execute your plan. 
• [10:15] - What does the decision mean, when you choose to become a millionaire?
• [21:08] - What is money? And what does it truly mean to you?
• [24:24] - How to become a millionaire internally … before becoming one externally.
• [32:16] - How to become a dreamer. (if you're not already one)
• [38:05] - What are the steps to transform your life from a financial perspective?

• [4:20] - Re-engineer your business and create a business that you love.
• [5:38] - Who to hire, and when!
• [6:22] - Internal training vs. external training. The pros and cons. Which works best and creates the most profit.
• [15:23] - If you want to free up your clinical time, hire an associate dentist, or a dental hygienist or therapist.
• [18:08] - How to continue to grow your revenue within your practice.

• [14:18] - How is your relationship with uncertainty? Do you ever feel afraid when making a decision or when having to step into something unknown? 
• [22:32] - People like to think that we're operating in some kind of order. Uncertainty scares most people because they don't like to know that no one really knows what's going to happen and that there's a whole lot of randomness in the world.
• [25:44] - So how do we make decisions in what is predominantly an uncertain world?
• [33:05] - Your relationship with uncertainty affects how you perceive Success … and Failure. Unless something works out to the letter, exactly as the plan predicted, then some people see that as failure. How you see ‘success’ can be directly related to you becoming more comfortable with your relationship with uncertainty. 
• [39:11] - Have a healthy and enlightened relationship with failure and not getting what we want straight away. You need to be extremely tenacious because when things are a numbers game, your numbers might not come up straight away, so you need to keep rolling the dice. 

• [06:17] - Most people know what to do, but they don’t always do what they know is best. Why? The biggest factor is ‘their values’. How much value we might place on something. So if somebody places a lot of value on their dental hygiene, they're going to put in the effort to floss their teeth and brush twice a day, but if they value something like their time more, they don't value their dental hygiene as much.
• [08:12] - What is the difference between a habit, and a behaviour? Because they are very different!
• [13:20] - The secret sauce to creating a habit that sticks and creates lasting change is consistency. Dr Cleo explains how this happens.
• [17:43] - Our brain is only capable of making up to three changes at one time. However the research suggests it is more productive for creating change and forming a new habit to simply focus on one thing at a time. High achievers struggle to focus on one habit forming thing at a time as they generally feel it is tedious and not enough of a challenge.
• [20:53] - What's the relationship between habit and addiction?
• [25:00] - If we want to install organisational habits, and we've got a team of five or 10 or 50 or a hundred people. How do we get all our team onto the same page?
• [28:47] - We need to be behaviorally flexible, your team will respond really differently to different styles of communication. It’s important to understand your team and understand how they're going to respond to the way that you speak to them. If you automate the way that you interact with your staff, it's not going to work.

• [6:17] - When your team starts asking for reviews and referrals at the right time in the patient journey … you will start filling your chairs and your practice with patients who come in already trusting you because they've been referred or recommended by a personal friend.
• [19:26] - When you have people calling in because they were referred by a friend or family, they've already made the decision in their mind. That's the first soft sell. They've taken action and it's so much easier when they're in the chair to get the next level of Yes.
• [24:18] - How to coach your team with specific examples of what to say and how and when to say it. (pens and paper out!)
• [29:15] - Referrals are 93% more effective than any other form of marketing. The number one thing is getting your team on board with this because they're the ones who are constantly interacting with the patients. Lynn explains how you can do this effectively. 

• [6:48] - You can generally feel confident about your skills and abilities within the four walls of your dental surgery. We've spent many years practicing those things. Then all of a sudden we go, you know what, I'm gonna open a business. How hard can it be?  And it turns out it can be pretty tricky, right? There's no learning around business, there's no learning about leadership, there's no learning about people development. Where does leadership come unstuck? Where do people typically stumble? What are the common pitfalls or mishaps?
• [12:38] - What sort of practices and skills need to be developed as we figure out our way on this leadership pathway?
• [24:52] - How do we lead ourselves so that we can be that example for others? 
• [31:30] - The power of ‘thinking time’. Taking time-out regularly to look and think about your people and business, is the single most important thing you can do. It’s what all top leaders schedule into each day.
• [36:47] - Creating a great culture within your practice is critical. “Great culture eats strategy for breakfast”. So what ways can you work on developing an engaged and enthusiastic team?