At this time of year, in the break between Christmas and New Year, when many dentists do emergencies and checkups, you start to think about the year ahead.
For many of us at this stage, it's a case of “Oh my God, how the hell am I going to do that again?”
That can be the overwhelming sensation at this time.
While there are still a few days left before we kick back into January, which is inevitably the longest and darkest month, even though it isn't physically. The best way to keep warm in January is to start executing your plan, and the best way to execute your plan is to have one.
If you are not in the space where you have a strategic system within your practice (if you are, you will have your plan sorted by now), then think of this.
Think of 3 or 4 projects in your work that are reasonable in size and could be completed within the next year. Try to think of the most important ones you can, things that would make your business better, things that would make your life better and dial down to those projects. This would only take you an afternoon during these holidays to set aside from your family and say, "Can I sit in a coffee shop or in a dark room in the house and write this down?"
Take your four plans (let's say we've agreed on 4) and break them into 12 sections. Each of those sections is something that has to be done each month in order to facilitate the plans. Draw yourself the swimming pool that I talked about a few blogs ago here. Vertical lines, horizontal lines and lanes and put the 4 plan titles on the left-hand side at the start of the lanes like the swimmers ready to start a race, divide the lanes into sections of 12 and decide what you're going to do each month on each of your projects, (or ideally to delegate) and fill in the boxes. If you want to be really clever, then make it visual, so that you can cross out or overlay things onto the boxes as you complete each of the plans or even build some Lego. This is what I've done in the clinic this year, to demonstrate to everyone the progress of our projects.
And then get into January and start to do it, it will make January feel better, it will make it feel easier, it will make it feel like you're making progress. Whatever the distractions are, though, finish the 4 projects and as you sit on the 28th or 29th of December 2026, you’ll find that you are extraordinarily better placed than you are today.
It works for only 10% of all businesses of any size in the world, either have a strategy or adhere to the strategy they have. You get to be one of those 10%, just by spending one afternoon between Christmas and New Year.
Colin Campbell, Chris Barrow, and an intrepid group of dentists will be cycling across the plains of Tanzania from Kilimanjaro in early February 2026. If you would like to support the charity, Bridge to Aid, and this extraordinary challenge, please click here.
Thank you for your generosity.
Insights from real Bootcamp delegates — in their own words…
“I knew the experience would be valuable, but I never imagined how profoundly it would change the way I see my career and my clinic...”
cintia fukuoka • Bootcamp Delegate 2025
From the moment I was awarded the ITI Scholarship in the UK and given the opportunity to join The Campbell Academy and attend the Bootcamp, I knew this journey would be special. What I didn’t expect was just how transformational it would become.
I was exposed to a completely different mindset: a strong team culture, a clinic that felt like a dream, and systems so well organised they ran like clockwork. Most impressively, everything functioned seamlessly without the constant presence of Colin, the owner and founder. For the first time, I saw what a truly sustainable, well-led practice could look like.
The most heartbreaking part of this journey was closing my own clinic—one I had built and cared for over 14 years—to seize this opportunity. My clinic depended entirely on me; it could not function without my presence. I was everything—clinician, manager, decision-maker—an entire army of one.
After my experience in the UK, at The Campbell Academy and the Bootcamp, I can say with certainty: there is no turning back. I have since enrolled in an MBA in Entrepreneurship for Dentists in Brazil, having finally understood that even a small dental clinic is a business. For it to grow properly, I must think not only as a dentist, but as a business owner.
Making such profound changes is frightening, especially when done alone. That is why I now have mentors guiding me, ensuring that each step forward is intentional and leads to progress.
As we say here: “After you see, you cannot unsee.”