My evening with a CEO

I am taking a departure from my usual MBA Blog to write about an amazing evening I had recently, in the company of perhaps one of the most successful CEOs in the field of horology there has ever been. What’s horology you ask? Well it’s all to do with watches. Watches are big business, a big multi-billion dollar business.

About a month ago, I was asked if I would like to attend an event organised by Hublot, to have dinner with a man named Mr Jean Claude Biver. Now, you probably haven’t heard of him, so let me give you a brief biography. He is kind of a big deal in the world of watches.

Jean Claude Biver was born in 1949 in Luxembourg and in 1981 he bought the rights to a failed watch company known as Blancpain. He bought the rights for around $25,000, and in 1992 sold them for $43 million. He then joined Omega, secured placement of Omega watches in the James Bond movies, and signed Cindy Crawford, Michael Schumacher, Pierce Brosnan, as well as NASA, to the brand. In 10 years he tripled their sales.

He then joined Hublot, at the time a poorly performing watch company, and in three years increased their sales by a factor of five. Subsequently Hublot was bought by Louis-Vuitton-Moet-Hennessy for a very large sum, making Jean Claude’s minority stake worth tens of millions. In summary, the man is a genius, and there is so much to be learnt from just sitting next to him and having a conversation about his attitudes towards business.

Fortunately, that’s exactly what I did, and I think a lot of what I learnt from him can be applied to anything. One of the key things to being successful, he told me, was PASSION. Some people are born with passion, and with passion comes CURIOSITY. Without these things, one cannot be successful. If you are in a job that does not spark passion in your soul, then you are in the wrong job. I have been thinking about this and comparing it to the dentists I know. Some are happy to turn up nine to five, do their job, and leave. To them it’s just a job, not a passion. But, then there are those who are passionate about their work, they become totally immersed in it, and as a result, usually become very successful.

I asked Jean Claude how he felt when Hublot was sold to LVMH and his percentage stake became worth millions. His interesting reply was: “Nilesh, I was disappointed, I didn’t want the money, what do I do with more money? If you give me a hammer or the money for the hammer, I will choose the hammer. I am a tool-man. Why? Because, with a hammer I can work and make more money. When you have the money it’s hard to use it to make you more money, a hammer is much better.”

So I suppose it’s a bit like education really? Do we qualify, and start working flat out straightaway, making money. Or should we invest something in ourselves and start to learn new skills and techniques, perhaps even going down a path of post-graduate education. In essence, we are acquiring more hammers!

About the author

Dr Nilesh R. Parmar BDS (Lond) MSc (ProsthDent) MSc (ImpDent) Cert.Ortho was voted Young Dentist of the Year at the 2014 Dental Awards and Best Young Dentist in the East of England in 2009 at the Dentistry Awards. He is also voted 18 in this year’s Dentistry Top 50. He was shortlisted at the Private Dentistry Awards in the category of Outstanding Individual 2011 and received Highly Commended for Best Dentist South at the 2013 Dental Awards. 

Nilesh has a master’s degree in Prosthetic Dentistry from the Eastman Dental Institute and a master’s degree in Clinical Implantology from King’s College London. He is one of the few dentists in the UK to have a degree from all three London Dental Schools and has recently obtained his Certificate in Orthodontics from Warwick University. His main area of interest is in dental implants and CEREC CAD/CAM technology.

Currently studying for his MBA at Imperial College, London, Nilesh runs a successful seven-surgery practice close to London and is a visiting implant dentist to two central London practices. Nilesh has a never-ending passion for his work and is famed for his attention to detail and his belief that every patient he sees should become a patient for life. He offers training and mentoring to dentists starting out in implant dentistry, more information can be found on his website www.drnileshparmar.com.

Twitter: @NileshRParmar

Facebook: DR NILESH R. PARMAR

As he prepares to return to study for his MBA after his Summer break, Nilesh Parmar reflects on the last few months of his time at Imperial College and all that he has learnt about running a business!

The entire dental team is continuously facing new challenges, from regulations and managing patient expectations, to keeping up-to-date with the latest techniques and product developments.  Additionally, many forget that the dental practice is a business and like any other business it needs to be well managed. However, after dental school, we leave with no formal training in business or economics, thus establishing and running your own practice can prove challenging.

This is why as a “Young Dentist” (not sure I can say that for much longer) I decided to embark on a 2-year MBA so that I could gain the necessary skills to run, manage and understand the practice(s) I work within.  So how have the past 6 months been? Eye opening, tiring, difficult, inspiring – all of the above!

Term one: When the going gets tough…

The College eased us into our first year, as we were introduced to the programme and I was looking forward to learning about Managerial Economics (that’s tough stuff), Financial Management and Accounting (even tougher stuff), Marketing Management (the fun stuff) and Organisational Behaviour (that’s scheduled for next term)!

It wasn’t too difficult to get back into the mindset of a student with the fancy iPad Airs we were handed and it certainly eased the blow when we were thrown into the accounting element of the programme. And oh boy, I now have a newfound respect for my accountant – it’s HARD! Do you know what a ‘deadweight loss’ is? What ‘gearing’ means? How do you work out EBITDA? Neither did I!!

It wasn’t long before we had our first group project, focusing on using KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) to assess which of the UK supermarket chains an institutional investor should put their money into. It was a bit different to deciding if a tooth is hard to extract or not, but that’s why I enjoy doing my MBA, it’s completely different to what we do as dentists.

Term one concluded with this comment from my tutor. “If you think this term was difficult, wait until term two – You haven’t seen anything yet Nilesh!”  *Queue dramatic music*.

Term two: …the tough gets going!

It started on a positive; I passed my Harvard Quantitative Methods online course, however, I sometimes found myself asking, “Why am I doing this again?” Exams were looming and we had a lot of coursework due! But just before the Summer break my enthusiasm was reignited as we got stuck in with marketing and had to pitch a marketing plan for a product of our choice.

My group worked on a new Instagram based geo-tagging app called ‘Loci’, as we decided this might be easier to sell and promote to the crowd. We created a teaser video for our presentation, which we sent out to all group members via WhatsApp and delivered subtle messages to spark the interest of the audience. We used guerrilla marketing and had everyone downloading the app, giving anyone who did, some chocolate as a reward! Unfortunately though we were defeated!

So what have I learnt so far?
The MBA has broadened my horizons and made me think outside the box. We have had sessions on how to negotiate, about price structure and how to develop our knowledge further in team management. I certainly feel it’s becoming even more beneficial when I’m bringing the newly collected information back to the dental environment.

About the author

Dr Nilesh R. Parmar BDS (Lond) MSc (ProsthDent) MSc (ImpDent) Cert.Ortho was voted Young Dentist of the Year at the 2014 Dental Awards and Best Young Dentist in the East of England in 2009 at the Dentistry Awards. He is also voted 18 in this year’s Dentistry Top 50. He was shortlisted at the Private Dentistry Awards in the category of Outstanding Individual 2011 and received Highly Commended for Best Dentist South at the 2013 Dental Awards. 

Nilesh has a master’s degree in Prosthetic Dentistry from the Eastman Dental Institute and a master’s degree in Clinical Implantology from King’s College London. He is one of the few dentists in the UK to have a degree from all three London Dental Schools and has recently obtained his Certificate in Orthodontics from Warwick University. His main area of interest is in dental implants and CEREC CAD/CAM technology.

Currently studying for his MBA at Imperial College, London, Nilesh runs a successful seven-surgery practice close to London and is a visiting implant dentist to two central London practices. Nilesh has a never-ending passion for his work and is famed for his attention to detail and his belief that every patient he sees should become a patient for life. He offers training and mentoring to dentists starting out in implant dentistry, more information can be found on his website www.drnileshparmar.com.

Twitter: @NileshRParmar

Facebook: DR NILESH R. PARMAR

Corsodyl Mouthwash, aka Chlorhexidine Gluconate.. do you use it? Why?

Recently, I have had alot of my patients coming to see me worried about stains on their teeth. Now, these are my regular patients, they do not have gum disease, and their mouths are generally spick and span (they see a dentist every 6 months). BUT some of them have fallen prey to some very slick advertising and started to use Corsodyl mouth rinse. This isn’t always apparent, but after looking at the stains in their mouths, I can usually identify Corsodyl stains from a mile off…

So whats the deal with Corsodyl, what makes it so difference to normal mouthrinses, like Listerine, Aquafresh, Colgate Plax etc..

Well, Corsodyl, has the active ingredient of Chlorhexidine gluconate (CG for short). Now this stuff, has got a VERY good track record on treating active gum disease. What this stuff does is actually stick to your teeth, gums, tongue and inhibit bacteria. Its fancy scientific classification is… “ a cationic bisbiguanide.” The CG opens up bacterial cell walls and kills them, less bacteria in the mouth, less inflammation, less gum disease. Thats the basics of it.

However, there are side effects, these include discoluration of fillings and teeth, staining of your tongue, altered taste sensation, metallic taste and increased calculus/tartar formation. This is not a good thing. Interestingly, looking at the Corsodyl website, staining of the teeth is listed as a side effect, the recommendation is to brush your teeth really well to remove the staining. This does not work!

 A famous Corsodyl advert I see on the Tube

The great ad campaigns from Corsodyl; If your eye bleeds, you’d see your optician, same thing for your teeth! Has led to alot of patients, self medicating CG mouth rinses. You can also go crazy, with mouthrinses, toothpastes, floss, and all other bits and bobs that go in your mouth under the Corsodyl brand.

In my opinion, as a dental professional, Corsodyl is a great product but should only be used, if your dentist recommends it. There are lots of scientific studies, making CG a gold standard, for treating gum disease. But if you do not have gum disease should you be using it? If you notice a small amount of bleeding when you brush your teeth, ( which is very common!) dont self-medicate, come along and see your friendly dentist, and ask him/her do I need to use Corsodyl? Or are my gums bleeding because I need to brush better….