PCW in Geneva

I just returned back from a terrific weekend teaching Level 1 Provocative Change Works in Geneva. This was organized by Jean-Pierre Briefer director of BrieF’R Formations and the organization was superb in every way. We had a good sized group and clearly all attendees had been well trained in both NLP and Ericksonian hypnosis. The quality of the attendees of course makes a massive difference to the flow of the workshop. We were able to cover the core elements of PCW and the feedback was excellent.

This is the first training I have run in Geneva and we have plans to run some future events there. I’m increasingly getting requests to PCW trainings in Europe and to date as well as Switzerland I have run trainings in Spain, Poland, Holland, Austria, Ireland and Hungary. I can envisage running European PCW practitioner courses in the near future as its pretty easy to travel within Europe. The venue for the training was also first rate and well located for meals.  As usual we recorded the entire training and some of this footage could be used for online study groups as these wewre really good sessions.

Switzerland is the thirteenth country for PCW and on average one new country requests PCW training each year. When events are this well organized it makes it much easier for the trainer.

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The reality of running trainings across the globe

Few people are likely to appreciate just how much work goes on behind the scenes when running trainings on an international basis. There are endless “spinning plates” and a real need to make best use of time to ensure that everything runs smoothly.
When booking flights, it’s smart to book at least two months ahead to get the best value. This means that all events need to be properly in place of course and that means having reliable hosts for all workshops! Fortunately, I have many longstanding hosts around the world who book trainings on an annual basis. We usually work 12 months ahead and generally run events at the same historic time of year. I have learned over the years that people are mostly creatures of habit, so having an annual slot works best. To date I have run my own trainings in 12 different countries and the trend is that two new countries are coming on board each year. My philosophy when booking flights is to get the shortest time from A to B. It’s easy to think that you will save money by getting a particular apparently cheaper flight to then spend more on food and drink waiting for hours in stopover airports.  Airports and flights can vary massively in quality of service and price. My favorites are Etihad and Emirates for long haul flights and my favorite airport is Tokyo, where the service is typically Japanese and second to none.

It’s important to plan evenly throughout the year, as travelling and working can be pretty tiring at times. It’s also crucial to cash flow all of this activity in a sensible fashion as costs can really crank if you are not careful. When travelling size and weight are critical and I have a policy of recording all trainings on video and audio, so that means taking equipment on every trip. This also means ensuring that I have universal chargers, mains leads, batteries and storage. Even a stripped down set up is around 20 kilos and that’s without taking any products. Make no mistake working internationally is equally inspiring and truly hard work. Like any business it requires constant attention and focus. One of the great things about presenting the PCW model is that it translates across all cultures and demographics.

It’s an absolute privilege to be able to teach in so many countries around the world. My absolute favorites to date are Japan and the USA. Japan in particular is a fascinating country quite unlike anywhere else. This year I’ll be back in Osaka running a three-day training on addictions, compulsions and bad habits.

japan group 2015

The Psychology of Pricing (some random thoughts and observations)

Pricing is a filter, no more, no less…

I have been involved in sales and marketing for over 30 years and remain amazed at how many businesses and business owners have poor awareness of pricing. A common mistake is to believe that the cheaper the price financially, the more customers you will attract. All pricing is a filter and different price points will filter in and filter our specific client interest.

Pound Wars and Celebrity attraction

In the UK there has been a surge in retail stores offering all items for a pound. The BBC ran a great programme on this called “Pound Wars” It was fascinating to see how both businesses and customers responded. Clearly the focus was primarily on the idea that “bargains” were on offer. In the world of personal development some businesses offer “free weekends” which of course are geared to upsell other courses. At the other end of the spectrum there is some quite extraordinary pricing. I have come across supposed “celebrity” trainings where a small number of attendees pay thousands for “coaching”. In one recent newspaper report about the trainer one of the very small group requested and was given a full refund as in his opinion the trainer didn’t deliver what was promised.

Practitioners, Coaches and Trainers

Of course as a business or a trainer you will never please everybody, but pricing will filter in a particular type of client. In coaching and therapy many practitioners also make the mistake of charging minimal amounts which they imagine is an incentive for potential customers. Often such coaches then are unable to invest in their own marketing and websites which means they find themselves in a catch 22 situation resulting in poor business success. When I run events in USA, Asia and Europe I always get coaches asking about how to get more clients. Many have a real lack of pricing awareness and have not factored in basic common sense in deciding how to price their time.
Many trainers in particular are totally delusional in how they price trainings and partly this is because they have never learned basic business skills. Years ago an NLP newsgroup owner attempted to run an overseas event and promoted it like a holiday brochure. Nothing wrong with this in principal of course, but it was a confused message and not especially well thought through. Some NLP and personal development trainers seem in my view a little too enthusiastic about imagined personal status and this reflects in how they price events and products. Yes, I am all for people promoting trainings in an attractive manner, but often businesses are presented as multi million pound concerns which of course is very far from the truth! Often although they may have worked for a company in the past as an employee, they have never run a business and had to deal with pricing. They also didn’t understand the difference between “working in the business” and “working on the business”

Cost v Price and always read the small print…

Anyone who knows me, knows that once I find a great supplier or host I will stick with them as well as recommending other customers. The “price” is the financial element to any exchange, “the cost” is everything that occurs in the trade. The price in isolation may be very attractive, but the overall cost can prove extremely expensive. For example, a company that cuts margins to attract potential customers can then find they can’t deliver as they have not factored in other elements that allow them to fully meet customer expectations.
I also always advise customers to read the small print. With online sales businesses can offer a seemingly great unit price, but then crank postage and packing to a disproportionate extent. The same strategy has been used in travel sales, although this has now been highlighted and companies have been forced to be more transparent in adverts. For personal development courses always read any “license agreement” to know what you are agreeing to…

Final Thoughts

Pricing is a filter, no more know less. It’s probably to once again remember the classic advice “Caveat Emptor” or “Let the buyer beware” The other common advice is “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true”

Nick and bear

Also see http://www.nickkemptraining.com/the-power-to-influence/

Common sense and delusional thinking in promoting events

nick kempI currently teach Provocative Change Works in twelve overseas countries and on average get two new hosting requests each year. As somebody who ran commercial events in 1980s and spent over 15 years in sales and marketing, I appreciate how much work goes into such activities. I am also aware that there is a massive range of skills and capabilities across the planet in terms of this activity. Some promoters have a great grasp of what is needed, while others are to be blunt totally delusional in their thinking!

There are many factors that are essential in making a training possible. I receive all kinds of requests to run trainings overseas and I have a check list of questions to ask promoters before agreeing to any presentation. Most of these questions are what I would consider to be basic common sense, BUT sense is often not that common! Here are some considerations –

  1. What experience do you have of successfully promoting such events?
  2. How do you intend to promote the event?
  3. Where and when do you want the event?
  4. What awareness do you have of the kind of training that I run?

Nick KempYes, these are pretty basic questions, aren’t they? That said, often enquirers will fail to have even addressed these considerations. Often people will attend a training and think “Wow, I could do that (and earn a lot of money), lets run one of these!” Of course they are only seeing the final realised vision of an immense amount of work. There are a great number of moving parts in creating a successful event.

Successful promotion requires an ongoing campaign with lots of delivery systems, NOT simply one medium of marketing. Years ago I remember an NLP trainer who boasted a massive mailing list and prided himself on this as a means to attract customers. I was therefore surprised when as a guest I discover that his five-day training had only attracted four attendees, especially as he had flown in from USA to London to run this. Of the four attendees, only one had paid full price.

Another “promoter” would drive me crazy by waiting until very late in the day to do any promotion and fail to use social media to maintain awareness. When I asked about numbers attending I would always get a vague response, which is extremely frustrating when as a trainer you are planning flights and accommodation. When I hosted Frank Farrelly for eight consecutive years, I would agree the fee with him, book the venue and arrange accommodation. As a host my job is to take care of this side of the business. If I fail to generate enough attendees to keep the event in profit, then that’s my risk as a promoter. I requested the appearance and if I get my marketing correct then I reap the potential financial benefits.

I am unaware of any host insisting that a promoter is paid above and beyond what was originally agreed in terms of payment due to additional unexpected demand for the training. I am however very aware of hosts trying to get the presenter to reduce fees because they didn’t generate anticipated numbers of attendees! The smartest hosts maintain good communication with trainers and keep them informed at every stage of the promotion. They also appreciate the need to maintain an ongoing campaign across many mediums of promotion and INVITE CO-OPERATION from colleagues and other training schools. Amazingly some promoters fail to welcome co-operation from referral sources and stubbornly insist on going it alone with quite delusional thinking. They often run events at a loss and would rather have loss of income than imagined loss of face!

The timing of running events is key. Certain times of year are better than others. I recently moved a date for a training as we discovered that Valentine’s Day was an issue for many folks. The rearranged date is proving far more successful. It’s crucial to pay attention to what is happening in the marketplace and like any smart business adapt accordingly. Sometimes in extreme cases a date may have to be rearranged, but this is a last resort. In hosting others and my own events in 20 I have NEVER CANCELLED a training, not one. Cancellations send out the wrong message and creative nervousness in possible future customers…

nick kempMost promotion is of course common sense BUT that’s not as common as you may imagine. Many NLP concerns are excellent and I have a long history of working with hosts in Japan who have proved to be the best organizers. At the other end of the spectrum I fired two European promoters as they increasingly managed to display an equal measure of delusional thinking and total arrogance! Fortunately, this is a rare occurrence and as a trainer I have to keep a close eye on how trainings are promoted and organized. In most instances it’s a real pleasure to work with really smart hosts who have an appreciation for the detail needed in making trainings possible which means building a really good relationship with their customers.

I am currently looking for additional hosts overseas to further promote PCW in 2017. Please e-mail me info@nickkemp.com if you are interested in hosting my trainings

 

 

Lessons from the recruitment sector & running a multi million pound concern

Many people will know me primarily for my work in the personal development sector and particularly from developing the Provocative Change Works model and working closely with Frank Farrelly the creator of Provocative Therapy. What a lot of folks may not be aware of is that for an extensive period in the 1980s and 1990s I worked at the sharp end in the recruitment sector. This started out as a humble telemarketing/recruitment consultant and ended up being a main board director for a number of years for a large multi-million pound business concern based in the north of the UK.

Early Days in Recruitment

Nick KempI first worked in recruitment in 1986 when I saw an advert for a company called “Express Employment Services” and applied for a job. I had the totally naïve idea that it would be a wonderful opportunity to help people find work, a bit like working in the job centre. The basic salary was a whopping 5k per year with promises of great commission potential. The training on day one consisted of the following – “Here is a box of cards of clients we would like to take on as accounts and here are a number of files of people who have registered for work. Ring these clients and sell them these candidates” There was no instruction as to what to say or how to go about this, and during the first week I unsurprisingly had zero sales on the board! After a few weeks without any sales training whatsoever I managed to generate a few client opportunities. I loved the buzz of the office but when your employer asks the question “If you have any other ideas about how you think we could make money?” any employee would start to be somewhat concerned! After a six month baptism of fire I decided to apply for positions with other recruitment concerns and was astonished at how much interest there was in people wanting to interview me. I had at this point not fully appreciated that this was a tough market and even 6 months experience was deemed to be advantageous!

One of the interviews was with The Brook Street Bureau who was looking for a manager to head up a new industrial branch in Leeds. The guy who interviewed me had been recruited by Brook Street from Manpower a large USA business and on a wet afternoon in Leeds he put me through my paces. In typically 1980s interview style he asked me to sell him something, which I then did obviously making a good impression. I became branch manager heading up four staff supplying staff to the distribution industry. My salary was immediately doubled and I was sent on a number of residential training courses in Birmingham. Looking back these trainings were very well intentioned but the actual training was not that great and did little to equip staff in their daily tasks. Brook Street were fanatical about administration and never have I seen so much paperwork in my life! Eighteen months later my boss who originally hired me approached me to work for an exciting new business he was heading up called Staff UK Ltd. I was to launch the Leeds operation and worked for the following few years becoming an area manager overseeing three branches. My Leeds branch was highlighted as doing exceptional business and I began to generate some serious income for the first time. My original boss fell out with the backers of the business and I began to have concerns over some of what I observed with the change of management of the company. On checking company’s house one afternoon I was shocked to be told “I’m very sorry but your company is in liquidation!” This was especially surprising as my division was generating significant net profit and only later did I realise that the rest of the branches were losing money like crazy and the whole business was about to be sold to The Meridian Group.

Developing a Multi Million Pound Brand

Fortunately over the years I had many people seeking out my services and I was employed to set up a new business called Aaron Personnel Ltd. This was to be an industrial business similar to my previous companies. Once again my salary was substantially increased and crucially I was now paid on a net profit basis for all my branches. By the late 1990s I had built up the division of my own business close to £4m turnover and I accepted the job of being a main board director for Leda and Co Northern Ltd the holding company. As one of three main board directors we were responsible for a business of 11m, but again I began to appreciate that the net profit from my division was the jewel in the crown on the whole concern, sometimes accounting for up to 45% of the whole group’s net profit!

I was now in real life running a multi-million pound concern on a daily basis and in 1998 remember receiving a close to six figure take home pay which wonderfully funded my interest in purchasing musical equipment. I would order all manner of gear from Chandler Guitars in Kew Gardens London! These were the golden years of sales, but often we were working 11 hour days with no lunch break. In the late 1990s I had become bored with the routine of the business and decided to leave to set up what eventually became Nick Kemp Training Ltd. After leaving Leda I had a spectacular business offer to be a national sales manager for a major UK business, but I had no interest in continuing to work in this sector and could see that it was time for something new. For a brief period I helped out a friend with his struggling graphics operation before deciding to focus full time of delivering trainings to the corporate sector.

Introduction to NLP and developing PCW

I became interested in NLP around this time and realised that most recruitment concerns were in the dark ages when it came to training. For the last 15 years I have been supplying training solutions to companies using the PCW model. My years in the recruitment sector taught me how to problem solve and work to deadlines. It also taught me how to “make money” and the importance building long term client relationships. Over this period I successfully negotiated a number of multi million pound contracts, managed numerous staff and learned key lessons in how to “work smart” with clients and remain focused on best use of time and energy. In 2006 I first started seeing private clients for coaching and therapy and became and still am the representative for the international Just Be Well Network running two clinics in the UK. I have learned that there is no substitute for hard work and that any successful business concern is the result of a great deal of effort, the occasional lucky break and excellent strategic thinking. These days I am lucky to decide who I want to work with and who I want to work for, with opportunities all over the globe. It’s been quite a ride, but an invaluable experience and of course none of us ever stop learning! I recently launched a new online learning platform and I am delighted that with 48 hours of the launch it’s 75% subscribed with attendees from Asia, USA and Europe.

Corporate Training and key considerations for successful business

These days I advise companies on recruitment policy and remain amazed at how many businesses simply don’t get the need to be pleasant to staff and keep them motivated. Such businesses will never survive long-term  in the marketplace despite their often delusional claims to the contrary! Its very easy for a business to develop a really poor reputation by not paying attention to professional recruitment and staff attention. Recently I came across a business that is losing money and good will at an alarming rate to the extent that longstanding staff (people who have worked 10+ years or more) simply walk with their feet without even a job to go to!

This problem solving experience has been invaluable about learning the importance of meeting and exceeding client expectations. Smart businesses listen to their customers and their staff. Smart businesses also appreciate that to quote an old Japanese proverb I have frequently quoted

“No one of us is smarter than ALL of us”

 

Nick and bear

The Rise and Fall of Personal Development Groups in 1970s/1980s

Talking to Meditation Groups in 1970s and 1980s

During late 1970w and 1980s for a period of time I studied the growth of different personal development groups. This was a period when there was great enthusiasm for meditation and other approaches. Of course in recent times there has been a resurgence with Mindfulness which is now accepted as a credible set of tools.

An example of the Credibility Factor and making a service irresistible

It’s interesting to look at how many of these groups caught the imagination of the public, how they were organized and what they delivered. Just as with the old Betamax v VHS tape argument, the best quality doesn’t always win the day, it’s how a product or service is marketed and how it is perceived by the public at large. It’s not enough to make something attractive, it needs to be irresistible if it is to really catch on. Of course the same principals apply for all products and services and you can be sure that the world’s current three top brands Apple, Google and Coca Cola, all appreciate this factor.

One of the best known meditation groups in this period was Transcendental Meditation or TM. This swept across the planet in 1970s and 1980s and many people learned what was called “the TM technique” An army of enthusiastic brown suited mostly men talked in hushed tones about this new “science” and people flocked in droves.

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (1918–2008) introduced the TM technique and TM movement in India, in the mid-1950s. The organization was estimated to have 900,000 participants worldwide in 1977, a million by the 1980s] and 5 million in more recent years. What is not known so much is that prior to the George Harrison association TM was a much smaller concern and that specific celebrity endorsement acted as a catalyst for group growth. Other notable celebrities deemed to have practiced TM include Mick Jagger, Jim Carrey and Hugh Jackman. These associations mean that the group is deemed credible by the wider public at large. When Maharishi passed away in 2008 at the approximate age of 91, his spokesman admitted recently that the guru’s assets were worth between £300million and £600million

Divine Light Mission

Another notable group that grew during this period was The Divine Light Mission. To quote Wikipedia

“The Divine Light Mission (Divya Sandesh Parishad; DLM) was an organization founded in 1960 by guru Shri Hans Ji Maharaj for his following in northern India. During the 1970s, the DLM gained prominence in the West under the leadership of his fourth and youngest son, Guru Maharaj Ji (Prem Rawat). Some scholars noted the influence of the Bhagavad Gita and the Sant Mat tradition, but the western movement was widely seen as a new religious movement, a cult, a charismatic religious sect or an alternative religion. DLM officials said the movement represented a church rather than a religion. When Shri Hans Ji Maharaj died in 1966, he was succeeded as guru by Prem Rawat, then just eight years old, despite rival claims from other family members. Although Prem Rawat was accepted as his father’s successor, because of his age his family retained effective control of the DLM. In 1971, Rawat defied his mother by travelling to the UK and the US, where local branches of DLM were established and rapidly expanded. By 1973, DLM had over a million followers in India and tens of thousands of followers in the West, along with dozens of ashrams and hundreds of centers.”

The group was very well organized and when I moved to Leeds I spent some time talking to longstanding members. Members met regularly and were encouraged to devote their affections to the head of the group. Essentially the “behavioural frame” for the group was evangelical and members were encouraged to follow the dictates of the guru. There’s nothing wrong with this and the tradition of Light and Sound meditation of course is very old, so this is a repackaging once again of an established practice. These days there are many Light and Sound based meditations all seeking to attract followers, but none have caught the public imagination in the same way as DLM. A DVD of DLM which included demonstrating the techniques to accessing “The Knowledge” (also known as Light and Sound energy) was released in 1971 under the less than unassuming title “Lord of the Universe”

The Rajneesh/Osho Movement

Again to quote Wikipedia

“OSHO (11 Dec 1931 – 19 Jan 1990) was an Indian mystic, guru, and cult leader who garnered an international following.

A professor of philosophy, he travelled throughout India in the 1960s as a public speaker. His outspoken criticism of socialism, Mahatma Gandhi and institutionalized religions made him controversial. He also advocated a more open attitude towards sexuality: a stance that earned him the sobriquet “sex guru” in the Indian and later international press. In 1970, Osho settled for a while in Bombay. He began initiating disciples (known as neo-sannyasins) and took on the role of a spiritual teacher. In his discourses, he reinterpreted writings of religious traditions, mystics, and philosophers from around the world. Moving to Pune in 1974, he established an ashram that attracted increasing numbers of Westerners. The ashram offered therapies derived from the Human Potential Movement to its Western audience and made news in India and abroad, chiefly because of its permissive climate and Osho’s provocative lectures. By the end of the 1970s, there were mounting tensions with the Indian government and the surrounding society.”

In the early 1980s I interviewed local members of this group who ran a centre called Sangeet in central Leeds. They were highly organized and had a terrific insight into how to connect with the public with very well presented products that still sell well today. They also ran a vegetarian restaurant and were active in promoting themselves festivals throughout the UK. Rajneesh renamed himself Osho in later years. This was another example of a group catching the public imagination. The leader was known for being highly controversial once again proving Oscar Wilde’s view that “The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.”

Just with DLM the focus of the group was on the personality of the leader and like DLM the members were highly evangelical.

Final Thoughts

These three movements all caught the imagination of the public at a time when there was no social media and internet. They were highly organized and appreciated the values of putting “a human face” to the group identity. Crucially the focus of attention was happy to be in the public eye. Personally I don’t think that the actual substance of the teaching was that great, more VHS than Betamax, but as an example of organization and promotion there’s a great deal others can learn from these movements. Over the last 30+ years I have come across some really excellent personal development skills, many of which had dreadful awareness of how to connect with the wider public at large.

It’s not about creating “an unwieldy organization” or creating a fleet of Rolls Royce’s (Osho was known for this) BUT if you don’t capture the imagination of the public, organize time in a sensible manner and really ensure that all information presented to the outside world is of the highest standards, then the chances of growth are poor. Amazingly some groups don’t invest in creating good easy to read, common sense websites and regardless of supposed “hits” the growth in members will be severely limited. The enthusiasm is admirable but ultimately to communicate a message effectively requires an awareness of how to market and gain the public’s trust and confidence. Smart concerns of any sort will get customer feedback, pay attention to changing public trends and communicate in a manner that makes the product or service attractive. Like any service that connects with the wider world customer care is key, good manners are essential and attention to detail is vital!

To quote a great Japanese proverb

“No one of us is smarter than ALL of us”

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Bob says “That was ZEN now is MEOW!”

Why discussion and cooperation is smart for NLP rather than “let’s fight” mindset! by Nick Kemp

Observations since 1990s from Nick Kemp

I just returned from an excellent PCW evening where I was hosted by The Performance Partnership in London. David Shepherd has been running this training company for over 23 years. We had a very interesting conversation talking about our respective experiences of NLP over many years and made a surprising number of similar observations. I of course stopped teaching certified NLP trainings a number of years ago to focus on my own Provocative Change Works model which I now teach in 13 overseas countries as well as the UK.

I am forever grateful for my original NLP training and I have many good friends from around the world who are highly successful NLP trainers. Over the years I blogged about many of my frustrations about the behaviours of many NLP folks and how this has in my opinion done the field no favors’. The field seems full of individuals who ‘want to be right” about “how NLP should be taught” and little wonder that from an external perspective it’s all pretty confusing for the public. In 2010 I was hosted by Steve Andreas in Boulder Colorado along with a number of other well-known international trainers.  Steve placed a sign at the front of the room on day one that wonderfully read “No one of us is smarter that ALL of us” This is a sentiment I fully endorse.

Let’s start with the positives and interest in discussion and debate

I changed the order of this article, so we start with talking about the positives that I see going on in the world of NLP. In recent years I have noticed a more sensible trend towards cooperation and discussion. I think there are many reasons for this including the fact that the old habit of “let’s fight” has only made trainers and practitioners look supremely daft. This is a shame when the NLP tool kit when used well can produce some really excellent results. My observation is also that since the global economic crisis, there has been a definite shift towards better discussion and cooperation and that can only be a good thing. The old attitudes of status seeking and dismissing other’s views seems to be on the decline.

In 2003 I set up a highly popular NLP resource site nlpmp3.com, offering mp3 interviews from many different schools of NLP. I was more interested in different takes on NLP rather than the ‘we know best” or this is “pure NLP” approach. The site had interviews with Steve Andreas, David Gordon, Sue Knight, Doug O Brien, Richard Gray, Richard Bandler and many other notable known figures. This was a free resource for anyone interested. I noticed that the best and most skilled trainers had a good sense of humour and were respectful of each other’s views.

In 2008 and 2010 I was asked to and agreed to attend the IASH conferences in the USA which showcased a number of NLP trainers from different schools of thought. It was refreshing to be able to discuss and debate issues and I started to teach more internationally after attending these events. I was also asked and agreed to contribute to the book “Innovations in NLP” which had contributions from many practitioners and trainers from many different schools of NLP, with all proceeds going to the NLP Research and Recognition Project.  I have heard all manner of comments about Frank Bourke’s initiative and my own view is that anyone who is able to get $800K grant to assist with helping people should be applauded. It’s very easy to criticize and point out limitations in any project, my response is “so what are you doing?”

Recently I was asked to join “an international NLP leadership initiative” I thought “Why are they asking me? I don’t even teach NLP”

I think it’s nice that there is now an interest in discussion, but wonder how there will be any common agreement when the two co-creators have different views and many believe that often NLP schools have wildly different commercial interests and an invested financial interest in not changing existing ways of working! That said for once it looks like the tide is turning and there is cooperation between many folks in the field. In recent years I have met some terrific people in the field in Japan, USA and Europe. We may have very different views, but there’s always some respect and useful humour so we don’t all take ourselves way too seriously…

NLP and militaristic metaphors, let’s fight!

Ok, now for the not so good news from days gone by! These are my observations and history of some of what has been problematic in the field.

Originally I was a member of The Society of NLP, until I became increasingly frustrated by “The us and them” attitude that was promoted by the hierarchy. This often aggressive approach didn’t even make good commercial business sense and from the outside it all looked supremely daft. In many of my early NLP trainings I began to notice the use of an increasing number of militaristic metaphors including “We are losing the battle” “the enemy has surrendered” Looking back I realised that this was all done for commercial reasons. Of course there had already been a series of legal battles to decide “who owns NLP” which in my view did little to present NLP in a credible light. See http://users.telenet.be/merlevede/nlpfaq35.htm  and http://www.neurosemantics.com/nlp/the-history-of-nlp/the-lawsuit-that-almost-killed-nlp

As somebody who comes from a sales and marketing background I found that a lot of what was presented as NLP was pretty confusing for members of the public. One NLP group set up a micro site proclaiming that “NLP is not therapy” while at the same time issuing “advanced therapeutic specialist certifications” (there were no “therapeutic certifications, only the advanced ones!) These were often then presented to the public as “qualifications” granted after just 5 day’s training. When I questioned this the response was “it’s not therapy, its applications of therapy” This is almost as daft as suggesting that people don’t need to consciously understand because everything is being unconsciously installed!

Many of the training seminars I encountered were great entertainment, so not in my opinion the best learning experiences. The style of many of these was very evangelical and Jon Ronson in a 2012 article commented

“Doing NLP [Neuro-Linguistic Programming, I felt very coerced. I couldn’t walk to the toilet without ten Richard Bandler acolytes wanting to know what I was doing, so I felt suffocated and coerced” (See http://therumpus.net/2012/11/the-rumpus-interview-with-jon-ronson/)

Of course this is one person’s view but my own experience is that groups with hundreds of people can be extremely chaotic and confusing for attendees. Often telesales teams would promise the earth to gain particular customers, to the extent that individuals who had not even attended a practitioner training would jump straight into a master practitioner training and be understandably confused! Another tend would be when attendees would complete a practitioner, master practitioner and trainer trainer courses to become “a certified NLP trainer” in just a few weeks!

Some of the hilarious personal attacks I have encountered over the years…

I have always had a policy of not responding to the kinds of negative personal attacks over the years. This is because they are always done by attention seeking folks with way too much time on their hands! Here are two great ones –

“Nick Kemp is better than Richard Bandler and Paul McKenna put together”

I supposedly posted this on a newsgroup!

There is however one small problem it’s complete nonsense, complete fabrication and never happened!

If I were ever going to give such examples (not that I would anyway) I would certainly choose different examples and they wouldn’t be from the world of NLP.

However here is my favorite and most bonkers assertion

“I tried to have a reasonable conversation with him when we were both at the same training event recently but he literally ran out of the room when he saw me walking over to him.”

Anyone who knows me knows that I am not in the habit of any form of running!

I certainly have never “run out of any room” in my decades of organizing and attending trainings! The reality is that I met the poster once very briefly when he paid to attend an event I was hosting. Other than a brief 2 minute exchange I have never spoken to or met this particular individual.

If I am asked about this kind of nonsense I have a policy of simply commenting “I think people can make up their own minds” and leave it at that.  This quote has been attributed to Voltaire (there is disagreement as to whether this is true!) and I totally agree with the sentiment

“I Disapprove of What You Say, But I Will Defend to the Death Your Right to Say It”

Final Thoughts

Fortunately some good collaborations in the world of NLP and this does give me some hope for the field. One of the benefits of tougher economic times is that the trainers and practitioners with genuine skills continue to thrive, whereas the others move onto looking for other ways to earn a living!  My discussion with David was quite fascinating as although we had trained with different NLP schools we made similar observations about some of the craziness that occurs in the field. When I spoke to my old mentor Frank Farrelly about this he pointed out that the exact same behaviours occurred in the field of psychotherapy, but that’s the subject for another article…

Nick kemp

The Apprentice and when business thinking is not that smart…

The new series of “The Apprentice” has started on the BBC and although I cringe whenever watching, but find it quite fascinating. Of course the programme is primarily filmed for “entertainment” rather than for business education, but the poor thinking from the candidates is fairly typical of what I see in real life!

Two key areas for many businesses are sales and customer care and yet many companies fail to appreciate the basics in both these areas. In respect of sales the golden rule is be able to get attention, because without being noticed, a business is unlikely to generate any client interest. Smart businesses will appreciate in this internet 4G era it’s more important than ever to be on the radar in these mediums. Since April this year Google has penalised all sites that are not “Google friendly” and despite this being widely advertised many companies still have failed to adjust their sites. Some IT companies who were aware of this change have actually charged their clients a second time for websites they failed to make “Google friendly” the first time! Here’s the link to check if your site fits the current criteria

https://www.google.co.uk/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/

Using great photos and video is also a very good idea, yet many businesses fail to do this in both respects. I currently have two almost identical businesses I work with. The first one I suggested using video ten years ago and have still not embraced this medium. The second one started using video within a week of me making the suggestion! Again every company has the total right to decide how it presents itself, but I would respectfully suggest that ignoring these mediums is not smart.

In terms of customer service smart businesses pay attention to customer feedback and adjust their services accordingly. With “The Apprentice” a smart candidate would make a point of watching previous episodes to be better prepared for the tasks. In the same way smart businesses who their client’s needs and appreciate that these can change over time. The less than smart ones insist that they are “always right” and fail to adapt and adjust. These companies ultimately die out and are overtaken by the competition. The most successful businesses pay close attention to these principals and grow accordingly. There are countless examples of this success on the high street and online and of course business is all about learning how to engage with and maintain customer interest.

Nick Kemp