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Thinking Business
a blog by Chris Barrow
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Embracing compassion in technology and AI for effective Training and Development
The rapid rise of technology and artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping how dental businesses should approach training and development (and, properly embraced, is making T&D easier!). While these tools offer powerful ways to enhance learning, they also risk alienating team members if used without care. Compassion must guide the integration of technology and AI in training programmes to help individuals adapt, grow, and feel supported amid change. Technology can deliver per

Chris Barrow
Feb 242 min read


Taming orthodontic chaos. How technology buys time, and how to turn that time into private growth through marketing and hospitality.
I walked onto the stage at the Dental Monitoring conference with a simple promise. No pictures of teeth. No before-and-after galleries. No clinical fireworks. Just the business of dentistry, and why the next two years will reward the practices that use technology to buy time, then spend that time wisely. The brief I’d been given was blunt and practical: tame NHS orthodontic chaos, create time, and turn that time into private growth. I’m not arrogant enough to pretend I can fi

Chris Barrow
Feb 233 min read


Ride for a Cause - join the London to Brighton Cycle Challenge 2026
Are you ready to take on a rewarding challenge that pushes your limits and makes a real difference? On 13th September 2026, we invite 15 passionate riders to join us for the iconic London to Brighton Cycle Ride. This 55-mile journey is more than just a ride — it’s a chance to raise vital awareness and funds for the Mouth Cancer Foundation, supporting people affected by mouth cancer. Whether you’re an experienced cyclist or looking to challenge yourself for a meaningful cause,

Chris Barrow
Feb 204 min read


Unlocking success: How sleep management can transform your Dental Practice
Possibly the most important aspect of your well-being - sleep Are you getting enough sleep? I suspect that for many readers the answer will be a "NO!". Sleep is often seen as a luxury or a hobby, something to enjoy when time allows. For dental practice owners and managers, this mindset can lead to burnout, reduced focus, and lower productivity. But what if sleep was treated as a vital management tool? Setting a fixed bedtime and waking time for just 14 days, and protecting th

Chris Barrow
Feb 192 min read


From One Practice to Seventeen: The Coastal Dental Growth Model
In the latest edition of Two Reds are Better than One , we woke up super early, to interview Franck Page, the owner of Coastal Dental Care in Australia's Gold Coast, and Julia Riese, the Group Director of Marketing & Operations. Franck, who graduated in 1993, quickly became a part owner of a dental practice within a year. His passion for practice ownership has led him to expand his group to 17 offices, a wholesale dental business, two labs, 83 clinicians, and 300 staff member

Chris Barrow
Feb 181 min read


Habits after Africa.Why successful routines beat self-discipline every time.
Replacing unsuccessful habits with successful ones. Since I got back from Africa, I’ve been reminded of a lesson I first heard from Strategic Coach in Toronto: there is no such thing as self-discipline. There are only successful habits and unsuccessful habits. And if I’m being honest, over the last six months I’ve become far too familiar with the unsuccessful ones. Not in an obvious, dramatic way. More in the quiet, incremental way that happens when life is busy, the weeks ar

Chris Barrow
Feb 173 min read


Here we go again.....
After the Africa trip - this morning begins a 6-day week of delivery. Podcast recordings, blogs, articles, filming training videos and delivering presentations. Face to face meetings, Zoom calls and workshops. As they would say in cycling - full gas. I count my blessings.

Chris Barrow
Feb 161 min read


Social media with purpose. How Peak to Plains helped train dental therapists in Tanzania, and why this is only the beginning.
I'm back from Africa, and you would have to have been living in a box not to see all the content that has been posted. The next time someone comments that social media is a modern day curse, I'll remind myself that, so far, it has helped us to raise over £80,000 to provide urgently needed training for dental therapists in Tanzania. On Monday some of the cyclists from Peak to Plains were able to visit day one of the volunteer programmes (they are still out there today and some

Chris Barrow
Feb 131 min read


Why Team Performance – Not One-Off Leadership Moments – Will Define Dental Practices in 2026 - a guest post by Mark Topley
Culture inspires. Leadership sets direction. Consistency is what delivers results. Dentistry is having a long-overdue conversation about leadership. Across the profession, practice owners and managers are investing in culture days, leadership workshops, and training on difficult conversations. Teams are being encouraged to speak up. Principals are learning to delegate. Everyone agrees that communication matters. This is progress. Real progress. For years, the assumption was t

Chris Barrow
Feb 127 min read


One scooter, big impact: practical support for Asha Nepal
This is where something as simple as transport becomes transformative Some charities change lives through big, visible projects. Others do it through steady, frontline work that rarely makes the headlines, but matters every single day. Asha Nepal is firmly in the second camp. Based in Kathmandu, Asha Nepal is devoted to preventing trafficking and abuse of girls and supporting survivors of violence to rebuild their lives with safety, independence and dignity. Their work centre

Chris Barrow
Jan 302 min read
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