ASP Retreat I

Regarding "Attracting, Selecting, and Retaining High Achievers: A Hiring Program" November 25, 2012 Dear Bob and Angela, Sandy and I want to thank you for the enormous assistance you provided in helping us find an administrator for our Dermatology practice. Your formula to find an eagle to lead our office was a seasoned, systematic approach. It allowed us to identify and select a candidate that was a wonderful fit, taking into account technical abilities, aptitudes, experience and personality. During the process, we also learned a lot about ourselves, and as a result, how to better interface with this eagle. Working with you was also extremely enjoyable for us. Both of you were genuinely enthusiastic, friendly and fun to deal with during each step of the process. Our new administrator has now been with us for 3 months, which has given us time to assess her abilities and potential. We are very comfortable that you have helped us choose wisely, and that we selected an administrative leader who will help our practice grow and make our lives easier. We thank you very much for your committed, knowledgeable and kind help.

The Strategic Planning process gave me the opportunity and encouragement to focus on my mission and values and how I will express that with my goals. I have discovered that the course is just the beginning of an exciting, ongoing process.

I was extremely pleased with the quality and appropriateness of your course. The New Patient Experience Practicum has had a dramatic impact on us already in terms of how we see each other and how we are beginning to see our responsibilities and obligations to our patients. Over the last few months of intensely studying Bob Barkley's and now your work, I have begun to feel that it is my moral obligation to do this type of examination process, because it is truly the only way that I can adequately begin to understand the complexities of my patients' needs, wants and desires. The course has been clarifying and affirming to us all and has become one more critical step towards creating a truly values-driven practice. The Saturday clinical in-office session was particularly helpful; it allowed us to see how all the pieces fit together. We look forward to working with you and your staff in the years ahead.

The Applied Strategic Planning experience was way beyond my expectations! A new vision for our practice's future ...that I helped create has had an incredible impact on me (and our entire team) personally and professionally. You gave us so many tools to carry back to the office to rectify problems, attain goals and for follow through. A big positive impact was to connect with other offices throughout the country ...this program attracts the best! There was never a moment during the retreats that I lost interest. I didn't want the last retreat to end! I hung on every single word that was said by Bob and Irene. You are both truly a blessing in my life! Thanks from the bottom of my heart.

Bob, you are a rare individual with a wide array of talents that will prove invaluable to any organization that is fortunate enough to choose to work with you. Although, you knew very little about the laser industry, you quickly came up to speed through your exceptional listening and synthesizing capabilities.

Your passion for the critical importance of vision and strategic planning just radiates from you and is highly contagious. You can certainly prove that by seeing the folks here at Incisive. We always feel better about who we are and what it is we're doing, especially after spending time with you. Simply put, you resonate beautifully.

I wish you continued success as you grow your true calling of Applied Strategic Planning and as you transform organizations and their people into the best they can become. To say you're a dentist who is trained in strategic planning may be the understatement of the decade! You may be a dentist who has and is helping others have an exemplary practice, but you are a born visionary! I firmly believe that any entrepreneurial organization that wants to thrive in today's turbulent times would benefit from Applied Strategic Planning under your capable leadership. Thank you, Bob!

For me, the overall A.S.P. Series was a process that was long overdue for the USA Section. As I stated at Retreat II, this planning technique was entirely different from the others I was involved with. With our continued diligence, I have great faith that this will be of enormous benefit to the Section. In addition, it was a great learning experience for me personally. I believe this will make a difference to me in my practice and in the way I conduct my life.

My involvement in the Environmental Scan was most meaningful part from the retreats. Such work! However, what I learned about everything that will have an effect on the College, the profession of dentistry, and me personally was incredible. That and working with such an energetic, professional committee was a great reward.

For the College, this process set an agenda with a mission and goals for us to proceed in a productive and efficient manner. As we proceed, the Section should gradually strengthen and rise in prestige and influence. For me personally, it helped me to align and realign my life’s priorities. Professionally, it became a method of reexamining the way I conduct my practice and my professional goals.

The first retreat was a great intro to the ASP process and how it differed from other SP processes. It tied together the books we had read by Covey and Sinek, as well as the Organizational Health Survey and other resources you provided us to make sense of what we were going to do and to inspire us to exert the energy to get it done. The Values audit helped us define our core values and how to create a new Mission for the Section.

As we proceeded from the first retreat forward, it was exciting to take all our work and formulate a strategic business model, and then the integrated action plans to give us an actual roadmap and timetable for achieving our goals.

Thanks, Bob, for a wonderful life experience. I believe it will be valuable for the Section and for me personally.

I wanted to thank you for such an enlightening weekend. I’ve been using the Awareness Wheel (positive conflict resolution tool) often and its working! My husband is learning to use it in his business w/employees with great success. The ‘dance’ you and bill do in the workshop is very comfortable and you compliment each other well.

Bob you have assembled the most extraordinary group of people for the NSC. They genuinely care about one another and are generous in their support and willingness to share.