NLP Training, Techniques & Products for learning NLP

Recently I was watching a replay of that great 1983 movie "Risky Business" staring Tom Cruise and a whole bunch of other great actors that were in the movie game way back then but you'd never seen before and you have the moment "oh yea, that's that guy .. Jesus he looks so young there". Indeed Tom Cruise at times has a complete baby face on him and it was good fun letting yourself go and be grabbed by the momentum of the movie.

Do you know what I mean?

Over the last year I've been paying particular attention to the fixed patterns of behaviours that we all operate in. It's like a we all hit a certain age and suddenly specific ways of sitting, standing, communicating, etc become fixed in .. indeed I had immense fun the other day just spending some time at a client group meeting noticing their own unconscious anchors and specific postures they each had (I've been to enough meetings with this client to notice on que exactly what these were for each team member) .. it was like watching a great pianist play, except the keys were all the people in the room and the music was LIFE.

Have a look for yourself next time you are around a group of people who have great familiarity with each other and you'll notice something else aswell … (when you figure this out feel free to post a response below, hint it refers to anchoring).

So you may be wondering, what the heck has any of this got to do with NLP?

Two things:

Firstly your ability to stay outside of the walking unconsciousness each one of us spend alot of time in each day (Yes, even NLPers do it, they just either don't notice it or fail to realise that habitual conversation and unconscious behaving is a TRANCE.) to notice really notice all the beautiful and fantastic things that are going on right now and particularly to notice the patterns of behaviour that are occurring all around you.

Secondly, as both Richard Bandler and John Grinder were true exemplars of when they first started collaborating with NLP is willing to ACT as IF and had (in the best sence of the word) the arrogance to do just get out there and go passionately after that that consumed their imagination and to fly in the face of conventionalisms, psyco-analysis and the many other disciplines and no doubt peoples opinion they were sure to burn through at the time in search of the experiences and information they were after.

If you find yourself in life going "I couldn't do that" or "so and so wouldn't approve" then be sure to employ the great line from Risky Business, where Miles (Curtis Armstrongs) is giving some words of life wisdom to his stuffy teenage friend Joel (played by Tom Cruise) who's worried about having a party at his house and going after a girl he fancies.:

Miles says: Every now and then say "What the fuck."

Because "What the fuck" gives you freedom. Freedom brings opportunity. Opportunity makes your future.

If you can't say it, you can't do it! (And for most there is enormous truth in that!)

Watch a short version of that clip below.

So be willing to live off peast as they say in boarding, more on the edge, cultivate and appreciate an NLP Attidute in life sometimes of "What the fuck" and remember if you can't say it, you can't do it!

NLP doesn't live in a box, nor in a training room.

The place where you'll find NLP at it's best is where people take it and apply it into real world scenarios that benefit all of us in the field and beyond.

My good friend Katiushka Borges is Senior Advisor for Capgemini UK, and fellow NLP professional who I admire for her skill and applying NLP to a fastinating job role. She is a communications specialist, journalist, psychological profiler, NLP Master business trainer, CXO executive coach and ‘half a geek’.

Kat plays a key role for organisations in helping profile the most senior people in business to help her clients in their business relations and she relies heavily on her unique understanding of the NLP Toolset.

Recently she wrote a very interesting article on the new generation of Chief Information Officers coming up in the business world. For those of us who use our NLP skills in the business or wish to use your skills more this is an article you won't want to miss.

Be sure to leave your comments below.

"Model the power to influence. The new generation of CIOs."

by Katiushka Borges, Senior Advisor for Capgemini UK

"I’ve been working for at least 20 years trying to understand what make business leaders succeed by choosing to ‘put myself in their shoes’. I have tried all sorts of fine pairs, styles and shapes to understand what makes them tick. Early this year, I decided to try on ‘the shoes of the most influential CIOs’ that are now leading the way. What an exciting experience!

These new CIO shoes felt like a glove with wings, so I decided to walk the path of this new generation of amazing CIO leaders and pay respect to them as they can inspire us all!
Please take a look at their leadership styles, and notice what has changed from the role of IT Director to the new influential CIO.

How can we understand what is in the mind of a CIO? What drives this new generation of influential leaders?
It is not only about IT, it is about business. We all can see how the role of the CIO has become an even more strategic, and exciting position to be in. They are passionate about technology and how technology can drive the business forward.
Their leadership roles now also involve diverse forms of communication from informal social events and lunches, where they are keynote speakers, through to more formal newsletters, meetings and events; apart from the two-way dialogue with people in the company. The have stepped out from their offices to show us the way forward.

What has changed?
CIOs sit at board meetings and what they have to say is listened to, by the CEOs and other board members, who know that linking technology with business growth is the way to go!
They seem to be focusing more on technology and innovation than ever before, and they are managing all the functions more holistically across the companies they work for.

How can we build a portrait of common qualities and preferred communication styles to identify what drives them to succeed?
I went inside their heads, like the experience of opening a portal…a door or a window into their minds. If you have seen the film ‘Being John Malkovich’, you know what I mean.

Once I put their shoes on, I applied a ‘Strategic Personality Profiling (SPP)’ method I developed over the past 20 years with the motivation to understand “the difference that makes the difference”! SPP is based on rigorous research criteria and systemic analysis of publicly available data (press, video and podcasts), language patterns, values and beliefs.

I used some of the principles of Modelling Excellence, based on what Richard Bandler and John Grinder (creators of NLP) developed around what makes people excel at what they do, and how that can be duplicated.

How can we see through their eyes, listen through their ears and tap into their minds?
I wanted to understand their driving force, their ways of looking at technology and how they are now behind the wheel of business growth.
Please come with me on this journey to understand what makes them, in my opinion, the business leaders of today.

5 key findings:

1- Empowering leadership styles
Every move in their career has allowed them to better integrate lines of business and functions to drive efficiencies. They like to support and empower their teams towards collaboration and success.

2- High achievers
They are successful not only because they have achieved every goal they set out to achieve but also they have moved out of their comfort zone to engage, communicate effectively and manage complex organisations. They love challenge.

3- Strategic Innovators
They have driven business innovation and taken the step of strategically aligning IT to the business; by not only delivering at an operational level but also by keeping projects on track.

4- Well balanced communication styles
They shared preferred communication styles, such as Kinesthestic (can do approach – hands on –make ideas tangible - grab and deliver – fix and solve – material results) and Auditory Digital (Auditory in a Visual sense, which means they connect ideas in their head like a flowchart that integrates both audio and visual components into events - information in a structured way).

5- Valued board members
Excellent at understanding the importance of sitting at a board table and talking business. Self-assured of the role they need to play in driving business growth in a holistic way, by connecting all the dots and all aspects of the business.

10 Key personality indicators to model their power to influence

The key qualities, including values and beliefs they share:

1. Proactive, honest, determined, hard-working, and confident.
2. Intellectually active, their minds are quick and agile.
3. Business and customer focused.
4. Energetic and rigorous thinkers. Every action should be considered thoroughly and every move should have a very clear purpose.
5. They bring expertise and knowledge from other sectors to drive business change, with an understanding of what can and cannot be done.
6. Good at translating ideas into action with unity of purpose.
7. Great skill in commanding attention when they present their thoughts to others. Creative use of metaphors, communication is important to them.
8. Ability to influence others and get them aligned to focus and work towards a common goal. They coach and empower their teams.
9. Focused on ways of using technology to grow the business and reduce costs. Strong drive to excel and succeed.
10. Innovative and strategic. Open to listen to new ways of doing things that bring ‘material results’.

Walking in someone else’s shoes is not easy. However, keeping a pair of ‘fine shoes’ like these handy, might help us understand ‘the difference that makes the difference’. Voila. Vive la difference!"

Any comments or questions, please add a comment to this blog or email katiushka.borges @capgemini.com