Beautiful cars

A little bit of fog on the Tyne yesterday morning, as I left the hotel and headed to towards Bentley Newcastle for my presentation to the NEPD (North East Private Dentists Group), recently etablished to represent the interests of the more forward thinking of Geordie-based practices. I offer my special thanks to Richie Fretwell and Martin Anderson who “made the day happen”. And what a location! How original to choose the local Bentley dealership as a venue – you have to admit. Sparing no expense, the NEPD outsourced the AV requirements – so that all I had to do was walk in and plug in the laptop.

They also hired outside caterers to prepare a BBQ lunch and, happily, the fog cleared to a sunny day that made the location and arrangements shine. Around 40 people attended, 14 of whom were principals and I quickly had them working on assessments of their current business capabilities. The theme for the day was Team-Building and The Patient Journey. The nature of the group allowed me to play with the material and engage my audience in a “conversation” rather than just a presentation or a rant from me. And, of course, we were surrounded all day by those fabulous motor cars – and able to browse around them in the breaks.

During the day, a variety of other cars arrived, either driven by potential customers or the sales team – Maserati, Aston Martin and others – but the Bentleys stole the show – even though they have become footballers cars, they are beautiful. The whole event a metaphor for excellence – great fun. I even managed a test drive in a Range Rover Sport at lunchtime – and didn’t like it much – too cramped. Interesting conversation with the lady who does the marketing for Bentley Newcastle – she wanted my contact details to consider using other dealerships around the UK – and their factory in Crewe, which has full conferencing facilities and can host meetings and provide tours and test drives. Hmm… Oh – and by the way – saw a fabulous new dental web site yesterday – check it out at Riveredge Cosmetic Dentistry – absolutely marvellous.