Orthotown May 2019 - 10

embrace progress

fashion. Her dual major in finance and marketing
enabled her to gain employment right out of college.
She graduated with many honors and worked in the
industry for two years.
Then she remembered my promise. One day, she
approached me and said that after working in the fashion
industry for two years, she had determined that she
wanted to become a fashion lawyer.
I felt much more secure by then-Fordham University,
with the help of Diane von Furstenburg, had created a
Fashion Law Institute, and Stephanie was determined
to be enrolled in one of the first classes. Not only had
she found her niche, but the college fund had recovered
and the family felt better spending the necessary funds
for her to pursue her dream and desire.

But then, a sobering
reality check
And here is where many similarities to our profession
and readers may appear. Always a straight-A student with
honors and achievements, at law school Stephanie found
herself surrounded by dozens of similar overachievers.
(Sound familiar?) Her first semester was eye-opening-
competing with absolutely brilliant students, she found
herself in the middle of the pack, which in law school
gets you almost nowhere.
The second semester and year were more fruitful, as our
daughter worked herself up the ladder of success and landed
an internship in one of the larger firms in Manhattan.
After that summer, she-like those of us in dental school
and residencies-could focus on the business at hand and

Is Dr. Grob spot-on, or
should he be told off?
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10

MAY 2019 // orthotown.com

was able to take elective courses in the chosen specialty
of law or dentistry. Within the past year, Stephanie has
graduated, passed her bar and become sworn in to the
legal profession in New York.

Here's what we can
learn from our kids
Libby, my youngest, showed us the importance of
understanding the millennial generation, a large part of
our practice demographics.
* She is constantly connected.
* She is part of the group that wants it now.
* She orders most things online and has them
delivered.
Randall, my first, shows us the importance of systems.
* He understands that procedures are necessary to
run an effective business, hold people accountable
and train staff.
* He works to build teams so that he has free
time-or at least can trust that the tasks are being
accomplished.
* Systems make it possible to hire, train and
implement the business procedures and deal with
multiple employees and turnover.
The takeaways from Stephanie's experience show
us that:
* Things don't always work out immediately as
planned.
* Sometimes you need to do things you don't want
to do in order to find your niche.
* If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.
* Your previous experiences, even if not your final
goal, may help you in the end.
* Don't burn bridges.
Which is to say: Congratulations-now that you've
achieved your goal, you get to work like a dog for the
rest of your life! Professional work, if you haven't already
noticed, is kind of piecework ... just in nicer clothing. n
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Orthotown May 2019

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