Costa Coffee this morning for a chat with Paul (we seem to manage that about twice a year).
Always good to catch up, exchange observations on the state of dentistry, share a bit of gossip and compare current and future business plans.
The simple fact is that I wouldn’t be where I am today were it not for a phone call to my home back in 1996 on a Saturday morning.
Paul called and introduced himself (I had a vague notion of who he was), explaining that Tony Kitchen from Aesthetic Dental Laboratory in Harrogate had recommended my services as a business coach.
Paul had the vision (perhaps enjoyed the risk) of hiring me as his coach when nobody had heard of me in UK dentistry – he was one of my first dentist clients and I had a chance to meet the team at St Ann’s and see how private dentistry could be done at the highest level.
Perhaps more significantly, he also asked me to lecture on his courses and so, for the next couple of years, I would make my way to either Mandec or The Ramada and take the Friday afternoon sessions, sharing my thoughts on marketing for new patients.
Many of my foundation clients in the late 90’s came from Paul’s courses and for my first two years in the business of dentistry, my relationship with him was mission critical.
We have stayed in touch ever since, with a mutual respect and the ability to laugh at each other’s idiosyncrasies and the scrapes we sometimes get into.
Like myself, Paul is experienced at what he does, a master of reincarnation, he never gives up and understands that business and life are never linear, always a roller coaster and there to be enjoyed.
I’d feel privileged if folks said about both of us that “you may not agree with everything he says and does but his legacy is that he has changed the lives of many dentists in a very positive way, not just by teaching them but also by encouraging them to believe in themselves.”
Surely there can be no finer work?
As for this morning – we agreed that there has never been so much danger in the business of dentistry and so much opportunity.
As for Paul’s abilities – read what John Skelton of Genesis Dental Care has to say:

As CEO of Genesis Dental, a small corporate group of dental practices in the north of England, I have seen the immense benefits of Paul Tipton’s training courses.  Having been NHS-based for many years, early last year, I decided to focus our efforts on growing the private side of the Genesis group.  I had known Paul Tipton and his work for many years and decided to employ Paul to put on a 10 day course for 24 of my key dentists at weekends so as to avoid lost time at work. I paid half of Paul’s fees to bring the costs down for the dentists and could not have been more pleased with the outcome.  With the course now completed, 6 months on, I have measured an increase in the Genesis’ groups private income from approximately £60k per quarter to £320k per quarter.  The majority derived from the dentists who attended Paul’s course.  For a small corporate like us, this has been an invaluable help in the expansion towards our goals.