Chris Barrow’s Blog

Back to work today, with the following order of priorities:

1. ezine

2. podcast

3. blog (this one!)

4. catch up on client emails

5. catch up on operational emails

6. catch up on voice mail from last week

7. generally review “to do” list

8. think about Wednesday’s management meeting and what I want to achieve

9. think about the month ahead and my professional priorities for the month

10. plan my goals for the month.

There you go – an instant Top 10 list.

That lot will take all of my working day – I began at 6.30am local this morning and plan to work through until 5.00pm.

I will take a break at lunchtime – go for a run and take a soak in the bath.

By the end of the day I will be back “in the zone” with regard to my business, my team and my clients.

and I haven’t written a blog entry, recorded my podcast or written my ezine this week.

Because we have been on tour with Better Practice in Dentistry and I have been presenting to audiences all over the UK on Pricing and Selling Dentistry.

There is no doubt that the tour has been a great success on each day and has created many new enquiries for The Dental Business School.

All because of a Strategic Alliance with Dr Roy Higson and the team at Stockport Dental Seminars, who have the best mailing list in the business.

It took me 4 years to develop the relationship and now its paying off.

And I am being very well paid this week as well.

Massive interest in the DBS and a clear indication that dentists around the UK are finally “giving up” on the Governments Health service proposals and looking to convert their patients to private treatment.

I am truly exhausted after 4 weeks “on the road” and looking forward to some sleep!

Covey calls this harvest time – it cannot be sustained for more than a month – but it sometimes has to happen.

I am working with a personal branding coach at the moment – exercising my intellect on Chris Barrow as a brand and how that would look – or whether the brand should be the schools.

Please don’t give me your feedback – I’m confused enough!

However, the process has created some good conversations and the latest was a reflection on ALL those personal development programmes I have read, listened to and attended over the years.

Did Covey’s 7 habits, Sullivan’s Unique Abilities, Robbins’s unleashed power, Gerber’s E-myth work?

Well at one level, yes – I have incorporated the “best of the best” into my routines and habits, with the effect that I regard myself as a highly effective business owner and individual.

And at another level, no – because I’m still finding life very difficult. Mountains, valleys, missiles and all that jazz.

So I realised in the last few days that maybe my expectations of these programmes was too high.

Did I expect a perfect life when I mastered them? Was the promise of a perfect life held out to me?

My moment of understanding was when I accepted that these programmes are not designed to deliver the perfect life (sorry Thomas, you were a little over ambitious there I think) – they were designed to give me a set of strategies and tactics that would enable me to deal with the chaos that my life “is” and always will be.

Managing chaos.

That’s what life is – and each year the chaos gets more complex.

2006 will be my most chaotic year.

And all that I have ever learned from personal development programmes will equip me to survive.

Oh – and by the way – my programmes do the same – managing the chaos of dental practice and coaching practice ownership.

Ping.

Last night I finished the Reading workshop and drove up to Birmingham.

My usual hotel was fully-booked and so I spent the night at the Ramada in Solihull – a finalist for “worst hotel of the year so far”. At an investment of 110 pounds I was able to check into my poorly decorated and minute room, in which three of the four lights were faulty.

You know when you “know” it’s going to be a bad night?

I “knew” at reception, when the duty manager and receptionist managed to avoid making eye contact and ignore me for a good 2/3 minutes whilst they read through some paperwork – the fact that the receptionist had food stains down the front of her jacket didn’t help.

The hotel doubled as a pub in which a large group of overweight, foul-mouthed Brummies watched England play Poland in World Cup soccer and entertained themselves in the quiet moments with jokes about flatulence and gay drinking preferences.

Leaving my half-finished pint of Fosters, I wandered back to my room, asking reception to deliver an iron so I could press some clothes.

That was at 8.45pm. My phone calls at 9.30pm, 10.00pm and 10.30 pm explained, calmly, that I had a 5.00am alarm call the next morning and would appreciate the delivery of the iron before i could sleep.

It arrived shortly after 10.30pm, after they had found the lost key to the cupboard.

Usually, I rise at 5.00am, make a cup of team and write emails in my room. Not this morning – I dressed and left the place at 5.30am and drove to the Renaissance, where our workshop will be today.

The staff at 5.45am greeted me with smiles – the overnight duty manager – Bob – asked me if I would like a drink and the cleaning ladies opened the kitchen and made me coffee and biscuits.

We chatted about the corporate party that was held here last night, leaving the place looking a disaster area – but it didn’t matter, because I was in the hands of “people who listen and people who care.”

Sometimes, the road warrior lifestyle is just horrible. Sometimes, you turn a corner and meet some really nice people.

Just about to kick off our third workshop of the week.

Last night I was in tucked up in bed and lights out before 9.00pm – absolutely trashed.

Up at 5.00am this morning to write the ezine – a good night’s sleep has done me the power of good.

Small room today – about 25 people – more fireside and less cabaret – a nice change.

Yesterday I went too far with a client in the workshop – told him his attempt at an elevator speech was c**p in front of his team – his body language told me he was angry and humiliated. I apologised publicly at the end of the day.

Sometimes I go too far – but its from a place of genuinely caring and wanting success for my clients.

Sorry – last week was so frenetic that my blogging habit fell through the cracks.

We have just returned from the Dental Showcase and are moving into week 3 of 4 on the workshop trail. Today in Edinburgh.

I’ll start blogging again now and tell you some interesting stories I’ve witnessed in the last few days – about the future of UK dentistry, about customer service and about the future of coaching.

I’ve also reached the final stages of designing my 2006 calendar, with some radical changes for the first time in 10 years, not the least of which is a record 14 weeks vacation next year, whilst aiming for our best ever year measured by revenue and profit. How’s about that for a compelling design?

Looking forward to meeting 20 coaches in Reading on Friday to show them “how I do it” – and delighted that two coaches from North America will be joining us as guests – both my clients in The Coaching Business School – one a technology coach and the other working with beauty salon owners – but they have adapted my Dental Business School material to their own markets and are winning.

to my good friend Guy Levine (www.levineit.com) who patiently sat with his recording equipment in my Manchester apartment and helped me to record the 45-minute audio that we are handing out at The Dental Showcase later this week. And who then worked with Barbara on turning the recording into a packaged CD.

I forgot to include his efforts yesterday and he rightly emailed me to tell me!

Last night at 5.00pm I saw my brand new business card for the first time, as well as the folder designed to hold the CD and card – they look absolutely beautiful and I am thrilled – thank you again Cathy Johnson (www.cathyjohnsondesign.com).

The Dental Business School will deliver client workshops in Manchester, Leeds and Belfast this week.

In addition, Barbara and I will spend tomorrow (Tuesday) in a management meeting, focusing on our 2006 calendar and work schedule. I plan some radical changes in my working habits for the first time in a decade.

Friday will see us all at The Dental Showcase – the biggest professional and trade exhibition for dentists in the UK. In fact Barbara, Steph and Simon will be there for 3 days from Thursday and I’ll be hoping to make an appearance on Friday and maybe Saturday.

For the first time, we are sharing an exhibition stand – with our good friends Yvonne Wallace and the team from Designer Dental. With the help of Cathy Johnson we have prepared an audio CD pack as a handout, featuring a 45-minute introduction to The Dental Business School, nicely packaged with my business card.

So as busy week ahead and I’m really looking forward to it – connected with clients and marketing our little socks off.

The marketing campaign we have planned for the next 3 months is arguably the biggest in the history of the school – add to that my request for help in looking for a sales manager (as featured in last week’s ezine) – I’m taking lead conversion more seriously than at any time in the last 10 years.