Organizational Applied Strategic Planning (OASP)

The quiet, facilitative environment in a retreat setting coupled with the ability to mastermind with other couples and teams made Applied Strategic Planning a life-transforming experience. Bob is an exceptional mentor who has the expertise and personality to guide individuals through this challenging process. If you commit to the work required, your personal and professional lives will be those of your dreams.

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 would like to tell you how much we enjoyed your workshop and our entire Texas experience! Teresa and I have already been implementing the three-appointment approach. We are all extremely excited and pleased with the responses we are getting - we feel invigorated and liberated somehow! I believe that I may have found the most inspirational information from your teachings in my six and a half years of dentistry! Dentistry doesn't seem so stressful when you're not putting pressure on people you don't know! Thanks for the experience!

Thank you seems to be such an inadequate statement for the time we spent with you (during the New Patient Experience Practicum). For me it personally answered a lot of questions, but created even more - as any good paradigm shift does. We can all look back at "watershed" experiences in our careers; this has been one for me. It's more than just the practical application of Bob Barkley, it's the philosophy alive! For that I am eternally grateful.

I want to sincerely thank you for the extremely positive impact you have had on our dental society. The Dallas County Dental Society has many great leaders and ambitions; however, they cannot be brought to fruition without a plan. Your ability to facilitate our setting and accomplishing of these objectives has been masterful. Any organization without a viable, ongoing strategic plan is like a ship without a rudder. Thank you for enriching our lives both individually and as an organization.

Since Retreat I, we have had four staff meetings and the word dentistry has yet to be mentioned! Very powerful meetings! Tears, hugs, the whole nine yards. This Wednesday, I hope to progress to writing our personal mission statements. I can tell that when dentistry is approached by the team, it will have a different angle. They have already, almost unconsciously, begun to see answers to questions through the prism of their closely held values. This path is more difficult than I had imagined. And, I'm not referring to how we practice dentistry. I feel like an ancient sailor who has sailed from port not really understanding what will happen, but sure of our direction!

Written the first year after taking the Applied Strategic Planning Series: Bob, the changes here are truly phenomenal! We are now in our beautiful new office, production and collection has risen over 50% and I swear we are not working as hard. I just stopped to listen the other day, and it is simply wonderful to hear and feel this new energy. People should be standing in line for this experience. Thank you my friend!

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.

Powerful, challenging; and this has had great impact in making positive changes in my life.