The Dentist Driving a Culture-First Revolution Across His Expanding Group

The dental industry is ripe for disruption. As Kaival Patel, founder of the Karna Health Group, passionately declared, "I want to feel like I've changed industry...Are we remembered in a certain way that we've changed? Something about dentistry." His ambitious vision comes across clearly in my exclusive interview with this trailblazing dental entrepreneur.

By stepping back from clinical work to focus on strategic management and culture-building across his group of practices, Kaival aims to transform the wider profession. What unique insights can we gain from his approach?

Let's dive in across four key topics:

1. From Dentist to Business Owner Early on, Kaival was focused mostly on honing his skills as a dentist rather than thinking about the business side. But in 2015, he and his wife Shreena bought their first practice, soon realizing they needed to significantly upgrade their business acumen. As the group expanded over the next few years, Kaival decided to stop clinical work altogether to concentrate fully on managing and growing the dental group.

This transition meant stepping back from dentistry itself - a difficult identity shift after having invested so much time in becoming a dentist. However, the intense focus on strategic leadership proved essential for Kaival to scale up the business effectively.

2. Culture First Central to Kaival's approach is fostering a vibrant, positive team culture centred around concepts like positivity, empowerment and respect. He shares creative initiatives like the "Kana Cup" which rewards teams for living out these values in their day-to-day work. This focus on culture ultimately drives better patient experiences and business outcomes.

As Kaival notes, you can systematize processes, but *"you can't necessarily write down and transfer to a new place" *the emotional impact of team culture. Newly acquired practices require significant coaching and role modelling to fully embody the values. But over time, the practices transform.

3. Data-Driven Growth While passionate about culture, Kaival equally stresses the need to keep close tabs on the numbers. By digging into key metrics each month, rather than just year-end reports, he can spot issues early and course correct. Understanding cash flow and profitability has been vital for sustainable expansion plans.

Kaival highlights that the numbers alone aren't enough. You need to understand the story behind them. Still, combining data with qualitative insights from staff and patients provides a powerful framework for growth.

4. Planning the Future Given the scale of Kaival's current group, he's considering options for external investment to facilitate further acquisitions. But he's keen to maintain control of the company's vision and culture, which he's worked hard to establish.

Further down the line, an exit to new leadership is certainly plausible. As Kaival notes, the decision will come down to when the journey stops being enjoyable and invigorating on a day-to-day basis. For now, he remains passionate about pushing the boundaries of what a dental business can achieve.

Kaival's unique framework offers much wisdom for anyone leading a team or managing a growing company. What parts of his approach most appealed to you? I encourage you to connect with him directly to continue the conversation.

https://www.youtopia.co.uk/dentist