Here’s my desk this afternoon as I begin the process of transferring from Windows to Mac.

Kim tells me I have already gone over to the light side, even though there is much to do.

Happy New Year!

Yesterday I took my youngest daughter Ellie over to Liverpool to see the Ancient Egyptian collection at the World Museum.

Before I get to that and, as an aside, I was astonished at the miles of cars queueing on the M60 to get into Manchester’s Trafford Centre Mall – I have never seen traffic as heavy in that area and suspect that the bargain hunters are out in force before the darkness falls on the economy. If we are all “consumed out” by the 5th January, does that mean that the wallets will disappear from the High Street? Hmmmm….

Back to Liverpool and the Egyptians.

Not the most exciting display for kids I have to say – largely due to the absence of dead bodies (always a winner – look at the success of Bodyworlds) but interesting for adults because of over 1,000 day to day artifacts and trinkets that gave an insight into everyday life along the Nile.

Those Egyptians loved:

1. Their Gods (in the way that we love our soccer teams);
2. Their Pharaohs (in the way that we “love” our politicians – my favourite exhibit was a papyrus letter from an elderly general to a court official more or less stating “who the hell does this Pharaoh think he is anyway?”);
3. Their symbols, badges, icons and mementos – in the way that we love our brands.

Commiserations to Aer Lingus for having systems that get in the way of good business.

Its 27th December and I am driving from Falmouth to Manchester with Annie.

I’m about to visit with my kids and Annie is due to board a flight to Dublin and spend a few days with her best friend, who has just given birth to a girl.

Annie and Clare haven’t seen each other for a year and so it will be an exciting trip.

We have a 350-mile drive to the airport – and it all goes swimmingly until 35 miles away, when the M6 just clogs up with post-Christmas traffic and we are stationary and watching the clock ago around faster then my wheel rims.

After some cross-country rallying, I arrive at the Ryan Air check-in desk just 15 minutes late but I know the rules – there is NO CHANCE that we will get her on the flight.

Choices:

1. pay a £75 re-booking fee to get her on the 9.30pm flight that evening or
2. find another carrier to Dublin earlier that day.

Its 12:30 pm on Christmas Eve and my last professional task of 2008 is to thank you for following this blog.

In 2009 I intend to continue with reflections on life – its successes and failures and the vulnerability of the human condition.

I will probably ramble on about customer service as well!

My wish for you is health and peace of mind.

Send every single adult patient a Happy New Year card to arrive on Monday 5th January 2009.

Make an irresistible, time-limited offer:

1. free tooth whitening for life if you become a member of our plan before 31st January;
2. two for one tooth whitening – BOGOF for you and a friend;
3. free hygiene visits for one month only;
4. an amnesty on patients who haven’t attended for over a year;
5. bring your kids to a kid’s day in February half-term.

The latest revelations around financial fraud in Wall Street seem to have sent a final shudder through the corpse of the financial markets.

Its difficult to imagine how one can have confidence in the financial regulators who are supposed to watch over our pension funds and investments, when the story of mismanagement around “Bernie” and his $50bn unfolds with the same level of incredulity that accompanied the horrific mistakes that led to the death of “Baby P” or Mr Menendez.

Does anything work any more?

I feel less well protected and represented than perhaps at any time in my adult life.

We still are obliged to do business with banks that have recklessly gambled our deposits away, chasing unrealistic returns by investing in low quality lending and ridiculously exposed hedge funds. Pulling people out of branches and eliminating customer service from their agenda as I bemoaned last week.

Has a single bank chief executive been called to account?

We have an unelected Prime Minister who is making financial decisions to submerge the country in debt for generations – without any ratification from the electorate.

Has a single voter been asked their opinion?

It seems “OK” to bail out banks with endless loans from the taxpayer – and then to idly stand by and announce 30,000 pre-Christmas job losses at Woollies and predict 50,000 jobs gone in the Royal Mail, 70,000 jobs in the City, 150,000 jobs in estate agency.

It seems OK for the Barclays CEO to calmly predict 2.5 million unemployed in 2009 and worse to follow – and then be driven home in his limo after presiding with his fellow “experts” over the second biggest financial system collapse in the last 100 years.

In the middle of all that, I invest many hours and miles in meeting with dental practice owners – genuine “real” people and teams who are doing their level best to provide customer service and clinical care – to operate healthcare businesses on a sound financial footing – and to accept the responsibility for their contribution to the communities they live in.

I tell you – I’m feeling very revolutionary this morning – if this were Paris in the 19th Century I think I’d be leading a march.

I’ve maintained a solid resolve in these last 6 months that “a recession is a period of time when we have to work harder for our money” and I STILL BELIEVE THAT TO BE TRUE.

But I also believe that this credit crunch, recession, downturn, slump – call it what you will – is going to bite deep and hard after New Year – and you had better be ready:

• careful analysis of overheads and fixed costs
• a contingency plan for what you will do if sales drop by 45%
• a campaign to get as many patients as possible to become members of your practice plan
• a robust marketing system that is turned right up to full volume on 1st January – marketing as if your life depended on it.

The fittest will survive – but I predict casualties.

My highlight of the last few months was the good folk of my home town Manchester vigorously throwing out the proposal to introduce a congestion charge – transparently a plan to provide inward investment for a costly and unnecessary extension of a public transport system that would have provided jobs and revenues “for the boys”. Us Northerners were not fooled – and expressed our democratic opinion, much to the chagrin of the Council and their industrial drinking partners.

Democracy does work – when its allowed out. People are not as stupid as politicians (and bankers) would have you believe – but ignoring their feelings is a dangerous game, whether you are Gordon Brown or Robert Mugabe.

I’m going to enjoy Christmas and the New Year – and then get my battle gear on for 2009.

I recommend you do the same.

I think there’s a revolution coming.

Friday morning in a cold a frosty Yorkshire and my last day of a week of travel to Bolton, Stoke, Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle, Wetherby and Leeds (again) before I drive back to Cornwall tonight. It will be a long drive home and a late finish but I’ll be smiling inside after a fascinating series of conversations.

Some reflections:

 

Patient returns to reception desk after check up.

Receptionist says “so that’ll be another appointment in 6 months then?”

Patient “aye”

Receptionist “do you want to book a hygiene or are you not bothered?”

Patient “aye – I might as well”

Receptionist ” morning or afternoon?”

Patient “afternoon”

Receptionist “2 or 4?”

Patient “4″

Receptionist “that’ll be 10th June”

Patient “oh – right”

Patient is handed appointment card.

Receptionist “thanks very much then love”

Patient wanders out of door.

I must remember to drop a line to Ashley Latter and share with him the new sales question I learned this week:

“Do you want to book a hygiene or are you not bothered?”

Priceless.

Poor lady on reception is doing her best, of course, in the absence of a system.

• I’m equally cheered by the beautiful practices I visited in Newcastle and Yorkshire this week – no names no pack drill (I have to be careful nowadays) but it lifted my spirit to see that there are principals out there who are thriving and reinvesting in their teams and their practices – with full appointment books!

 

 

 

 

A week ago I called in to HSBC in Altrincham to query the receipt of some standing order payments that were missing from my account (yes – I had checked on-line first but there was insufficient information).

I have long-since given up on telephone banking with HSBC – a pointless exercise as I just cannot be bothered trying to establish rapport with someone in a different time-zone and culture who I just know isn’t really called “Dave”.

So I walk into the branch – at least I think it’s still HSBC?

Lots of ATM’s all around four walls – to pay in and take out.

Lots of posters trying to flog me HSBC Plus.

I very chirpy DJ broadcasting live from HSBC Radio with the very latest in easy-listening (i.e. Val Doonican singing Paddy McGinty’s Goat).

And one solitary young man in a suit who looked as if he needed a note from his Mum to explain why he wasn’t at school.

I swear to God he looked 12 years old – and completely overwhelmed with the demands of a legion of elderly ladies pulling shopping carts and asking him about their bill payments.

I wandered around the back of the disco to find a counter with two windows, one person serving behind and a long queue of real people waiting to talk to a real person.

Gives up and walks out.

Monday morning I call into Lloyds TSB in Falmouth to pick up some information for Annie.

Similar deal:

1. open plan floor with a lady trying to re-organise her standing order payments in full view and hearing of a queue of people. I’m next in line and find it embarrassing to have to listen to her personal financial conversation;

2. Behind us another elderly lady is shouting through the porthole at the counter staff, trying to transfer some money from her current account to her savings account – shouting (as we do) because she cannot hear properly and the teller is the other side of a plate glass wall – no attempt to get up and come around to listen to her;

3. a guy in working clothes and a woolly hat is explaining that he has dropped his credit card whilst working as a landscape gardener and the card has been gobbled up by his power mower and fired into a river!

There is just no privacy whatsoever.

Does anybody know of a bank that employs any bank managers – the old fashioned kind?

a job!

I’ve had the usual last minute rush of emails from dental principals asking my opinion on their various and nefarious schemes to pay bonuses that will reward without offending.

Often a question asked by principals who are concerned about current cash flow as well as the spectre of a January tax payment (and their own kids demands for Yuletide satisfaction).

My opinion?

Whether I walk down Falmouth High Street, around Altrincham town centre or through the city centres of England, there are two over-riding features:

• businesses closing down (large and small) and
• businesses making irresistible offers to extract some, any, cash from my pocket.

So I suggest that the best Christmas present you can give your team this year is an explanation of what you intend to do about keeping them in a job in 2009.

Perhaps a PowerPoint over mince pies and sherry.