NLP: Business as a foreign language
By Tony Dunk (August 2005 Issue)
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From the employment of baroque music to the use of codebreaking techniques, practitioners of accelerated learning techniques can become so focused on the process that it may limit their ability to fully develop practical applications. Similarly, for a community that prides itself on flexibility of communication, Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) practitioners continue to fail to find a language that will persuade business leaders of its effectiveness. Tony Dunk takes a critical look at the issues.
NLP is a contentious issue within our sector. Indeed, within Training Journal we have seen much debate with some seeking to question the fundamental tenets of NLP based on scientific method, while others oppose these views by robust and indignant responses that border on articles of faith. Let’s face it, the practitioners of NLP believe that the techniques they use work, so a challenge based on logic and reason is hard for them to accept.
If the debate cannot reach a conclusion, let’s ask a different question. What NLP outputs would make it credible in the business community? From a business perspective there should be less emphasis on how or why NLP works at a fundamental level, and more on what benefit it can bring to the organisation. Perhaps a parallel can be drawn with the development of another seemingly unfathomable discipline within the business sphere, IT.
Senior business managers have for years tolerated, yet been baffled by, the private language of IT professionals. The ‘techy’ community was tolerated because the business benefits were real, and quantifiable. Few senior managers professed to know how IT worked at the systems level, and IT departments were able to build impregnable fortresses of language and culture around their mainframe. They continued to thrive and to attract investment, however, because they produced business results.
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- Training Journal interview: Danah Zohar
- Worry - a wasted emotion?
- Relevance
- The challenge of the Outdoors
- Web conferencing: the future of training?
- Accelerated Learning: Myth or magic?
- NLP: Business as a foreign language
- Getting on track: what's new in fast learning
- Hot fashions in training
- E-xposing and e-spousing
- The most precious resource?
- Netcheck
- Distributing questionnaires