An Interview With Ken Babcock
Believe in Yourself First and Foremost — As an entrepreneur, you have to “bet on yourself.” When you are trying to do something genuinely audacious, folks will frequently say that you are “crazy” or “reckless” until you do it, and even then, once you accomplish something impressive they just say you are “lucky.” I’ve learned that waiting for the validation of so-called experts is fruitless — nobody will know what you can do until you go out there and do it.
Startups usually start with a small cohort of close colleagues. But what happens when you add a bunch of new people into this close cohort? How do you maintain the company culture? In addition, what is needed to successfully scale a business to increase market share or to increase offerings? How can a small startup grow successfully to a midsize and then large company? To address these questions, we are talking to successful business leaders who can share stories and insights from their experiences about the “5 Things You Need To Know To Successfully Scale Your Business”. As a part of this series, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Dr. Tiffany Jamison Rand.
Dr. Tiffany Jamison Rand is the founder and CEO of Polish Dental Center, a leading provider of general dentistry with multiple locations across Georgia. Dr. Rand graduated from Xavier University and received her DDS at the Howard University College of Dentistry. Polish has received countless accolades and was recently recognized on the Inc. 5000 list due to tremendous growth.
Thank you for joining us in this interview series. Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’?
I grew up in Atlanta and attended Xavier University of Louisiana, which had a robust health careers program. Early on, I knew that the dental track was for me. I began doing summer internships under my mentor, Dr. Gwen Kelly at her LA-based dental practice. From there, received my DDS from Howard University and completed my residency at Bronx Lebanon Hospital in New York. Dental residents address any and all issues that come into a hospital from the neck up — as you can imagine, those were some exciting times!
After residency, I joined my mentor in Los Angeles and worked under her as an associate dentist. It was a great learning experience, and I will always be grateful for her giving me a platform to start my career. I decided to move back to Atlanta and joined a large dental group. In 2011, I jumped in and went out on my own. I’ve spent the past ten years practicing dentistry and growing from a solo practice to a multi-location platform with dozens of employees.
You’ve had a remarkable career journey. Can you highlight a critical decision in your career that helped you get to where you are today?
2016 marked the most critical inflection point in my career when I opened a second office. Before that point, I’d opened a few offices, but I would buy and sell locations so that I was always the primary doctor. This shift marked not only the number of locations I owned, but more significantly, it was when I moved from being a primary doctor to a CEO — leading operations and personnel, focusing on the patient experience, and identifying efficiencies of scale.
What’s the most impactful initiative you’ve led that you’re particularly proud of?
I created the “I Love My Dentist” program where we work with our patients and the broader community to teach them the importance of dental health and how oral hygiene is an essential piece of an overall healthy lifestyle. So many people have fears around dentists and dentistry. I am proud we are doing our part to educate the community, reduce those fears by enhancing prevention instead of reaction to dental issues, and, most importantly, encourage people to make a dental appointment so they can be healthy. Thus, they can say “I love my dentist” instead of “I hate the dentist.”
Sometimes our mistakes can be our most excellent teachers. Can you share a mistake and the lesson you took away from it?
Early in my entrepreneurial journey, I made the mistake of deferring to other professionals based on my perception of their credentials or education. I’ve learned the hard way that as an owner and CEO, the buck stops with me and that it is critical that I fully understand every aspect of my business. So now, I take time to dive deep into every aspect of the company — everything from legal, accounting, marketing, and every other aspect. When I have questions or unknowns, I undergo research and make sure I’m reaching out to true experts in each field before moving forward. Rather than simply delegating or deferring, I work alongside the specialists to ensure that what we do genuinely works for my business.
How has mentorship played a role in your career, whether receiving mentorship or offering it to others?
Mentorship has been critical to my success so far. I’ve had remarkable mentors who have guided me my entire life. I’d start by saying I’ve been blessed to have two amazing mentors from day one — my parents who poured so much into me and set me up for success.
My mother was a deeply committed and involved parent who spent countless hours taking me from event to event and practice to practice to ensure that I had the confidence necessary to approach the world.
Dr. Kelly, my professional mentor, was and always will be an influential role model for me regarding the art of dentistry and quality of care. I’m so fortunate to have these wonderful mentors in my life.
Finally, I owe my success as a CEO to my father, who came out of retirement after many years as a very successful entrepreneur to get involved in my business so that I started on the right foot. He “held my hand” for five years and confirmed I knew every aspect of running and scaling a business. I am always in awe of his intellect and experience.
I try to repay those investments my mentors have made in me by being responsive and thoughtful to the requests I get from aspiring health professionals and young dentists. I’ve been where they are, and I try to take the time to be helpful.
Developing your leadership style takes time and practice. Who do you model your leadership style after? What are some key character traits you try to emulate?
I have a bias for action. My colleagues will joke with me and say that my style is “Ready — FIRE — Aim.” I’ve always found that the best way to confront a challenge or issue is to dive in. I’ve often found that junior professionals, especially women, spend way too much time simply “planning” or “strategizing,” and by the time it is time to act, that plan isn’t all that useful. That doesn’t mean I blindly rush in, but once I’ve got an idea of the direction I want to go, I am not afraid to pull the trigger, and I’m proud of that.
Thank you for sharing that. Let’s talk about scaling a business from a startup to a midsize and then a large company. Based on your experience, can you share with our readers “5 Things You Need To Know To Scale Your Business Successfully”
1. It Takes a Team — I’ve been fortunate to attract and retain a fantastic group of professionals who know what it takes to deliver quality dentistry in a way that delights customers. For example, my colleague Bianca is an absolute rock star — she’s been essential as we’ve jumped in and grown this platform. It’s great to know that when it comes to some problematic areas outside of my direct expertise, like IT, I can rely on my colleague to do a first-class job.
2. Talent > Resume — I’ve learned over the years that when it comes to specific roles, it’s essential to accept that certain individuals have genuinely unique capabilities and that you have to build around those talents. When it comes to sales, I’ll take someone with passion and enthusiasm over a highly-experienced professional with little drive. I’ve seen over and over again that large organizations fall in love with resumes and sometimes miss the potential for a truly great team member. So I’ve built Polish to be flexible so we can bet on high-potential talent that hasn’t always had a chance to prove themselves.
3. Diversity is a Super Power — I am incredibly proud that we have a woman-owned and led organization. I’ve been able to recruit dynamite professionals because I’m open to the reality that so many professional women need flexibility. I’ve hired employees who were seven months pregnant, and I’ve been on conference calls where multiple members of the team were also managing their children and households simultaneously. I’ve found it a considerable advantage to position my company as one that accommodates professionals of all kinds. This allows us to attract and retain the best possible team rather than just the professionals who can fit what I believe are outdated and irrelevant perceptions of what it means to be a professional.
4. Believe in Yourself First and Foremost — As an entrepreneur, you have to “bet on yourself.” When you are trying to do something genuinely audacious, folks will frequently say that you are “crazy” or “reckless” until you do it, and even then, once you accomplish something impressive they just say you are “lucky.” I’ve learned that waiting for the validation of so-called experts is fruitless — nobody will know what you can do until you go out there and do it.
5. A Supportive Spouse is Worth More Than Their Weight in Gold — I am unbelievably lucky that my husband is behind me 100%. It has taken incredible sacrifice to build Polish, and I am so happy to have a spouse who understands the investment of time, money, and energy it takes to develop and scale. My family is a tailwind that pushes me forward instead of against me and is something I’m delighted to have in my life.
Can you share a few mistakes companies make when they try to scale a business? Then, what would you suggest to address those errors?
1. Celebrating Early Wins for Too Long — While it’s great to make progress early, it is essential to leverage that momentum into further progress because the tide can turn at any moment. I am more than ten years in and still feel like I’m just starting. I often see young companies lose focus after achieving initial success, so I suggest a long-term and head-down approach to business, especially in the early years.
2. Lack of Focus on All the Numbers — Many young business people only focus on the sexy numbers like revenue or Instagram followers but they aren’t looking at what really matters like net profit and working capital. Many businesses fail not from a lack of revenue but because they don’t keep an eye on all the factors that drive long-term success. I learned from my father to keep an eye on multiple Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) so that I can honestly know how my business is doing at all times.
Scaling includes bringing new people into the organization. So how can a company preserve its company culture and ethos when new people are brought in?
The saying “culture eats strategy for breakfast” has been very accurate in my experience. We go out of our way to recruit team members who will fit in our culture — team members with high energy, low ego, and want to be a part of something that “matters.” No matter how attractive the resume a potential hire has, we know that if they don’t fit that model, we can’t bring them on because (1) they won’t last, and (2) they will make life miserable for the solid team we have today.
A key aspect of scaling your business is scaling your team’s knowledge and internal procedures. What tools or techniques have helped your teams be successful at scaling internally?
We have a very detailed process and materials we share with every new hire. In addition, I attend the onboarding of every key hire to ensure they know the Polish way of doing business. We have purposefully built this organization to contain the best elements of large corporate practices and your local neighborhood doctor and ensure that every new hire “gets it” when they join the team.
Because of your role, you are a person of significant influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most people, what would that be? You never know what your ideas can trigger.
I want everyone to know that they can do it. Whether it is jumping out and starting your own business or if it is growing responsibility within your existing workplace or home- it is possible. If I can inspire just one person to go ahead and jump through my work and example, I will be thrilled.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Feel free to check me out on my Instagram at @drtiffanyjamisonrand or @Polishdentalcenters. Linkedin Tiffany Jamison Rand
This was truly meaningful! Thank you so much for your time and for sharing your expertise!
About the interviewer. Ken Babcock is the CEO and Co-Founder of Tango. Prior to his mission of celebrating how work is executed, Ken spent over 4 years at Uber riding the rollercoaster of a generational company. After gaining hands-on experience with entrepreneurship at Atomic VC, Ken went on to HBS. It was at HBS that Ken met his Co-Founders, Dan Giovacchini and Brian Shultz and they founded Tango.
Dr Tiffany Rand Of Polish Dental On 5 Things You Need To Know To Successfully Scale Your Business was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.