Beware of snake oil

Recently I sat through a day seminar with a dental guru.While there were lots of things to be amused by, ultimately the day was very unsatisfying.The reason?This guru was peddling an entire, fully formed philosophy of dentistry. The philosophy was built around this particular dentist's personality and strengths.His message was: "Here's how to practice dentistry."The problem with that is that, if you don't have his personality and strengths, then you simply cannot do what he does. Totally impossible.The speaker in question is extremely charismatic. I can only imagine the carnage that would ensue if a dentist with a reserved personality tried to practice as the guru does.Every dentist has strengths and weaknesses and a successful practice must revolve around the strengths.To use a tennis analogy: If you have a fantastic forehand, build your game around that, not your weak backhand.When I consult I always look at building on strengths.When I lecture I don't present a fully cooked philosophy, I present ideas. Take the ones that are useful (the ones that fit in with your game plan) and leave the rest.That's why I am proud to say that I am not a guru. I'm an ideas person.