In memory of Tom Climo

You may recognize the name as a regular contributor to DrBicuspid.com -- one who, more often than not, sparked energetic discussion thanks to his complex equations and strongly worded opinions about dental practice transition. Since Tom was only involved in dentistry a short time, you may not know much about the person he was. Since I had the pleasure of working alongside him on some of projects, I wanted to share my experiences with Tom.

I met Tom when I reached out after reading some of his columns about group practice. In short order, we bantered back and forth via email about group practice economics, dental software, and accounting, trading stories of our observations in the field. As a blogger, I once shared with him an article I posted to reinforce a point in our discussion -- and received the following comment:

My recommendation for what I have I mind by "analytic" is to refer you to Ludwig Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus to see the manner that an analytically sound format ought to look. Excuse the mathematical logic progression used by Mr. Wittgenstein, but you will see how one idea laps and rolls over to the next. You have a good mind, Jill, and I know you can write a better paper.

This was just the first of many recommendations Tom would share with me. Always directing me to read some historical canon to improve my writing. Always directing me to improve my analysis. And, not for a fee -- and not for the accolade -- but for his love of writing and his love for economic analysis.

Jill Nesbitt, MBA, is a dental group practice management consultant from Nashville, TN, who also serves as the chief operating officer for a multilocation group.

As we traded emails and discovered several areas of agreement, Tom graciously invited me to co-author a paper with him. We went on to publish a five-part series on assessing the profitability of associate dentists in DrBicuspid.com in October 2014 and we co-authored an article in the June 2015 Dental Economics on production as the key to assessing provider performance.

As we worked on these papers, I had the pleasure of getting to know Tom. Never short on stories, he shared about the trouble he caused as a youngster for his teachers in England and how his mother quickly eviscerated a teacher for flunking Tom with the admonition that he may be an unruly child, but he certainly wasn't stupid. The grade was changed.

Some work-related stories seemed so far-fetched, I doubted they were true -- did Tom really work with a group to design golf courses? [Editor's note: Apparently so, according to this book.] Did he really have Belgium partners "to place a coal-fired facility on the Black Mesa of the Navajo Nation, Kayenta Chapter"?

His favorite stories were about his kids. So proud of their independence -- even if it disagreed with his opinions. Although I never had the opportunity to meet his wife, son, or daughter, I laughed often at the pictures he painted of how his wife worked to keep everything running smoothly, while he was encouraging adventures and causing disarray. Tom shared the stories of his 17-year-old daughter quickly promoted to manager of an American apparel store thanks to her leadership and business acumen, all while dressed in goth style.

My favorite thing about Tom was his willingness to say what he thought. I believe that's why his DrBicuspid.com columns were the highest ranking articles for readership on the site for quite some time. Whether you agreed with his thought-provoking articles on how dental brokers will go the way of travel agents or found fault with his financial approach, he was always willing to be scrutinized for quality of analysis. He enjoyed the intellectual challenge and wanted to make a difference through his work. In today's culture of political correctness, he stood out.

Perhaps it's best that we hear it straight from Tom:

"Should I search for a cover-all description of my singular goal in addressing the dental industry, I would go with the statement screamed out by the then great Cassius Clay following his victory in the first Sonny Liston fight: 'I shook up the world.' "

I'll miss you, Tom.

Jill Nesbitt, MBA, is a dental group practice management consultant operating from Nashville, TN, who was for more than 15 years a practice administrator for a large single-office dental group in central Ohio and now serves as the chief operating officer for a multilocation group. She can be reached by email at [email protected].

The comments and observations expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the opinions of DrBicuspid.com, nor should they be construed as an endorsement or admonishment of any particular idea, vendor, or organization.