Professional development in the dental field usually requires the attendee to sit, take notes and then return to the office and attempt implementation. Not so with CareerFusion — formerly CareerFlow. Attendees were given "homework" to complete before arriving. A small four-slide Power Point presentation along with a basic Word exercise was required by the faculty. Recommended reading was sent out and the last requirement was non-negotiable: enthusiasm.
The plane ride to Daytona Beach could very well have been chartered by CareerFusion. We identified each other by a green book that we all carried (Patti DiGangi's required reading of The Little Green Book of Getting Your Way by Jeffrey Gitomer). Many of us were familiar with our online personas through Amy's List or had met previously at an RDH Under One Roof conference. To say the atmosphere was collegial would be an understatement. That evening we were able to enjoy a cool breeze from the water and excellent food from the restaurant — although truthfully, by day three you get weary of the same menu.
Workshops focused on speaking and presentation skills. All attendees also completed personality profiles and were given in-depth evaluations to explore hidden talents. Sounds very touchy-feely but to be truly successful, I believe you have to possess vision. If you don't know what makes you tick or how you are perceived by others, it is hard to say that you have vision. Fran Pangakis utilized the Integrated Performance Management (IPM) to provide this service. Training in this system is offered by Bent Ericksen and Associates.
Corporate sponsors in attendance included Colgate, PreViser, Orascoptic, GC America, DenTek and Pennwell Group. Each sponsor gave a presentation to clarify products and strategy and stayed the full five days to answer questions and discuss career opportunities with attendees. Every day at lunch we met with a different company and gave them opinions on their product. These were mini-focus groups that gave powerful feedback as to the market representation of their products. For example, PreViser's representatives, Drs. Steve Rinaldi and Tony Stefanou asked us all how we perceived their current marketing campaign and what tweaks could be applied to their online assessment tool. Dental professionals are not shy with their opinions so I have no doubt that they got an earful.
The faculty of CareerFusion also gave candid talks about missteps in their own career and advice on how to avoid making the same mistakes. Knowledge of the ins-and-outs of the publishing world and how to present myself to meeting planners were my two big take-aways. We were all asked to sum up what we do in 30 seconds — since that's how long you have to make a good first impression. Do you know how hard that is to do? Especially for someone like me who would rather talk about the other person? It's brutal but I'm getting better at it.
Finally, the friendships and connections I made during this meeting are priceless. I look forward to working closely with so many of my new (and old) friends. If you are seeking to further your dental career, consider CareerFusion — you won't regret it. Investing in your own personal growth can be a hard decision but if growth is to happen you must seek out catalysts of change. As I told Beth Thompson on the last day, "This has been life-changing, but you knew it would be." She smiled at me but was gracious enough to not say "I told you so, Teresa!"
Thank you to the wonderful leaders of CareerFusion: Beth Thompson, RDH; Patti DiGangi, RDH; Debra Grant, RDH; Shirley Gutkowski, RDH; and Fran Pangakis, RDH. See you at CF 2009!
Teresa Duncan has a Master's Degree in Health Care Management from Marymount University. In addition to empowering team members to shine, she also speaks on the topic of fraud and embezzlement within the dental office. She is a Fellow and Educator for the Association of Dental Implant Auxiliaries. You can read her blog at www.TheDentalImplantBlog.com. Teresa can also be contacted by email at [email protected].
