I’m noticing a new level of myopia in business and in training. When I started out learning about NLP, Provocative Therapy and hypnosis I made sure that I attended a significant number of courses carefully chosen. I was amazed in 1999 when people boasted of being “Master Practitioners” having attended 17 days training back to back. Some went onto to then complete another 9 days for “Trainer Training”, so from ZERO knowledge they were now “provisional trainers” who could run their own courses and “certificate others” Of course this is essentially a pyramid selling model by any other name…
In Provocative Change Works I ensure PCW students complete 10 days training with case studies to then have the opportunities to become “practitioners” This is the minimum requirement and simply being in a workshop for 10 days does not mean certification. Amazingly some folks having done a single level 1 three day training, they now have nothing left to learn from these level 1 trainings. This is what I would call “myopic thinking” and that’s being polite…Frank Farrelly always commented “How can somebody be a master of anything in a few weeks?” and refused to entertain the whole certification route for his work. He talks about this on the DVD “A Provocative Approach” so if you see anyone claiming to be “certificated in Provocative Therapy” it’s not endorsed by Frank.
With PCW after one practitioner training I sometimes have people ask “How do I become a trainer in PCW?” which of course is myopic thinking in the extreme. It seems that “application and integration” get completely forgotten and of course a great deal of “certification chasing” is for imagined status enhancement and I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions as to why so many folks seek after that. Maybe it’s me, but I increasingly see a lack of willingness to actually spend time with proper study and integration of skills. The best trainers encourage discussion and debate, while in stark contrast some simply ensure that everything is what I would call “conveniently mysterious” and all discrimination goes out the window. Recently on an online platform the request for minimal evidence was reframed into “insisting on scientific studies” This is myopic thinking once again, but this time for commercial gain.
Finally this myopia also extends to marketing in business and especially in IT. I have blogged on this (some may say ranted!) before, but its another great example of myopic thinking. Often websites are set up without proper hosting, infrastructure and often have “news” and “blog” sections lamentably out of date. Again there’s no consideration for a long term view. Any smart business owner and trainer appreciates the need for constant reflection, refinement and skill development. That takes commitment and a willingness to “play the long game”
