Hi, I’m Jody
I am an entrepreneur, a teacher, and a lifelong student of what makes a life work. I share what I have learned with people who want more meaning, more understanding, and more joy in their work and their days. Most of my work is with private practice dentists and doctors. I also love speaking to young people who are still figuring out who they want to be.
MY PERSONAL MISSION, SINCE 2002
To grow personally, professionally, and spiritually, and to drive positive change in the world. One person, one activity at a time.
I see things other people miss. And I can teach other people to see them too.
WHY I DO THIS
That is what I do. I help people see their lives and their businesses with new eyes, and from that new vision comes the kind of change most people have given up on. It works because the message starts and ends at the heart. That is where real leadership lives. That is where trust is built. And that is where the breakthroughs happen. I built strong teams in my corporate career. I built an extraordinary practice with Melanie. Now I spend my life teaching what I learned along the way. I hate watching people struggle. I love helping them thrive.
"Jody has a unique gift for seeing not only what a business can be, but what it should be, built on relationships, trust, and alignment with deeper values."
Terri Chaplin | Former Sales Colleague
Keynote Speaking
Massive change in your life and business doesn’t usually come from learning a new technique. It comes from changing how you see.
Mindset and paradigm shifts create the kind of openings that lead to real breakthroughs. Jody takes the stage with honesty, humility, and vulnerability. He tells stories, speaks straight, and meets audiences where they are. The result is a room that leans in, lowers its guard, and walks out seeing what they could not see before.
Leadership Coaching and Training
Pugh Leadership Academy
Dentistry is the easy part. The business is where they leave you on your own.
PLA is where I do the work I was born to do. We help private practice owners figure out the stuff nobody taught them. How to hire people who actually fit. How to run a team without feeling like a babysitter. How to make the numbers work without grinding yourself into dust. How to lead a huddle on a Monday without dreading Sunday night. Keynotes, courses, coaching, whatever fits. This is the side of dentistry dental school skipped. We teach it.
The Job Board for Private Practice
Private Practice Dental Jobs
Where private practices and the people who only want to work in them find each other.
PPDJ is the one place built for both sides of the private practice hiring conversation. Associate dentists, hygienists, assistants, office managers, and front desk stars who want a private practice job and only a private practice job. Practice owners who want team members who have chosen this world on purpose. The fastest way to find your right fit people.
Private Dental Practice in Bonita Springs, Florida
Melanie Pugh DMD PA
This is where it all came together.
I had a whole career before dentistry. Building teams. Leading cultures. Getting results. Melanie and I started this practice in 2006 with two simple beliefs. Do good work. Take care of people. The first few years I spent learning the industry. Then I got to work, applying what I already knew inside a whole new world, and dentistry taught me the rest. Today Dr. Pugh leads alongside three incredible associate dentists who share the same convictions we started with. What I teach today came from both sides of my life. The corporate years gave me the foundation. This practice is where you can see how it works.
Real situations. Real leadership. Real private practice.
THE VLOG
I post regularly on the real questions private practice owners are asking each other. The ones I see in the dental social media groups, the ones that come up at conferences, and the ones nobody seems to give a straight answer to. Team conflicts. Going out of network. Building culture that lasts. Growing a practice without losing your mind. No fluff. No scripts. Just the honest answer, the way I would give it to a friend. Interviews with industry leaders doing things the right way are coming soon too.
-
A Dentist Asked: How Do I Drop 200 Patients? Our Honest Answer
-
The Hidden Culture Killers in Your Practice
-
Start From Scratch or Buy?
The Private Practice Community
A community built on respect. No trolls. No know-it-alls. No smart-alecks.
Our private Facebook group is where private practice dental professionals connect, ask real questions, and support each other without the noise that ruins every other online community. One rule. Treat each other the way you treat your best patients. With respect, with empathy, and with genuine care. If that sounds like your kind of people, come find us.
Read & Watch
Jody Pugh on Substack
Breakthroughs on leadership, faith, and building a life that matters.
When something is worth writing down, this is where I put it. Leadership lessons I learned the hard way. Reflections on faith and family. Stories I want my kids to have someday. If any of that sounds useful, come join us.