Eric Nuss | From the Dugout to Dental Ops: A Championship Mindset for High-Performance Practices

I'll never forget standing in the third base coaching box, watching my team fight through the bottom of the ninth. Down by two, bases loaded, two outs. The pressure was crushing. Every parent in the stands was holding their breath. My star player stepped up to the plate.

But here's the thing – I wasn't worried. Not because I knew he'd get a hit (baseball's too unpredictable for that), but because I knew exactly what he'd do: follow his pre-at-bat routine, trust his training, and execute his approach.

He struck out. We lost the game.

And you know what? That was one of my proudest coaching moments. Because he did everything right. He controlled what he could control. He trusted the process. He didn't try to be a hero – he tried to be excellent at his role.

Fast forward to today, and I'm standing in a different coaching box – working with dental practice leaders. And I'm seeing the exact same championship principles that built winning baseball teams transform struggling practices into high-performance organizations.

The Championship Framework: From Baseball Diamond to Dental Practice

After years of coaching youth baseball and now consulting with dental practices, I've discovered something remarkable: the same principles that create championship teams create exceptional practices. It's not about copying plays from a playbook – it's about understanding the underlying psychology of peak performance.

The Three Pillars of Championship Performance

1. Process Over Outcomes

In baseball, I learned this the hard way. Early in my coaching career, I was obsessed with winning. Every loss felt personal. I'd get frustrated when my players made mistakes, even when they were giving maximum effort.

Then I read "The Power of Positive Coaching" by Jim Thompson, and everything changed. Thompson argues that focusing on outcomes you can't fully control creates anxiety and inconsistent performance. Instead, champions focus on executing their process perfectly.

Your Culture Is Your Competitive Advantage

Here's something most practice owners get wrong: they think culture is about having nice break rooms and birthday celebrations. That's not culture – that's perks.

Real culture is what your team does when no one's watching. It's the standards they hold themselves to. It's how they respond when things go wrong.

How to Put Values Into Play

Championship teams don't just talk about their values – they live them in every interaction, every decision, every practice. Here's how to move from values on paper to values in practice:

Define Your Non-Negotiables: What behaviors are absolutely required? What actions are absolutely prohibited? Be specific. "Professionalism" is too vague. "We never speak negatively about a patient or team member, even in private" is clear.

The Long Game: Building Sustainable Excellence

Championship teams aren't built in a season. They're built through years of consistent execution, continuous improvement, and unwavering commitment to values.

The same is true for exceptional dental practices. You're not trying to have one great month. You're building a system that produces excellence month after month, year after year.

Your Next Play

Standing in that third base coaching box, I learned that success isn't about avoiding failure – it's about having a system that lets you execute with confidence regardless of the outcome.

Your dental practice is your coaching box. Your team is your roster. The question isn't whether you'll face challenges (you will). The question is: do you have a championship system in place to handle them?

Start today. Pick one area where you're focused on outcomes instead of process. Define what "perfect execution" looks like in that area. Train your team on it. Measure it. Refine it.

That's how you build a championship practice. Not with one dramatic home run, but with consistent, disciplined execution of proven principles.

And when you do strike out? You'll know you did everything right. You controlled what you could control. You trusted the process. You didn't try to be a hero – you tried to be excellent at your role.

That's not just good coaching. That's championship leadership.