Analyzing Language And Behavior In Top Performers

Analyzing language and behavior in Top Performers and its uses in the employment area Patrick E. Merlevede, M.Sc This paper has been written for the International Colloquium on New Technologies based Learning and Employment Support, held in Belgium from 17 to 19 September 1997. This colloquium was a joint project from the Laboratory for Applied Epistemology of the University of Gent and the Laboratory for Cognitive Sciences from the University of Mons - Hainaut. Introduction From someone's language in an interview, we can successfully predict how he or she will behave in a given situation. The main idea is to analyze the top performers in the company for the structure behind their excellence and to use this structure for the employment of other persons that have a similar job profile. Several series of tests have been developed in recent years for this purpose. This paper discusses the tests that are based on the Motivation Traits and Working Traits, coming from the field of Neuro-Linguistics. It will show how to use these tests to recruit people, to coach them and to train them, based on the knowledge from the company itself. The theory behind the model Neuro-Linguistic modeling is derived from the fields of Cognitive Science. It was started in the early 70's at the Santa Cruz Campus of the University of California, where scientists of the different fields worked side by side. Among other things, it applies research methodology from cognitive psychology and techniques from knowledge acquisition for building models. In fact, a "problem" of AI & Cognitive Science is that they try to make abstraction of physics or biology, by mapping human thinking on machines. For building applications, we can use the results of research without this "abstraction", since we intend to apply to humans anyway! However, following the example of AI and Cognitive Science, we stress on the structure of the cognitive processes. Neuro-Linguistic Modeling Definition: Neuro-Linguistic Modeling consists in using tools that have their origins in AI and Cognitive Science research with the goal of making a model of excellent behavior, for transfer to other persons. Its technology basis comes from combining linguistics, AI & Neurology, more specific: • the theories of transactional grammar as developped by Chomsky and as represented in Santa Cruz by people such as professor John Grinder; • the area of systems thinking, as started by Korzybski and extended by Bateson, known from the School of Palo Alto, but residing at Santa Cruz in the 70s; • the field of cognitive science with persons as Miller, whose models have been put into practice for Neuro-Linguistic Modeling. Based on structure, not content When companies hire people, manage them or train them, they mostly focus on the content. This content will be typically different from person to person, which complicates the situation. For instance, examples given in a training often do not apply to the particular situation the participant finds himself in, and it is difficult to find out how to convert the principle behind the example so that it can be applies. In stead, Neuro-Linguistics focuses on the structure that is the same. In the training, we will stress on the principles, and explore how to apply them with the participants. Below, we explain which structure elements are taken into account. For analyzing language and for bringing the person closer to the actual experience, we use 3 types of questions, based on 15 language patterns discovered by Chomsky (1965) and Grinder (1973). The first type of questions helps us to question unspecified nouns, the second type serves for finding out what is behind unspecified verbs and a third range of questions explores the limit of the world-view of the person for a specific context (modal operators). The language-patterns used by persons on

itself is a structure as well, and will sometimes be considered as being a part of the model. For analyzing behavior we combine a set of models, such as the13 meta-programs (with sub-classes as Motivational and Working Traits), 6 eye-movements, 6 logical levels and the 4 perceptual positions. Explaining these models goes beyond the scope of this paper, and I'd like to refer the reader to the book of Joseph O' Connor: "Introducing NLP" for more details. The expertise is analyzed using all the dimensions these models offer, both for an expert and for a less experienced person. By comparison, we find the meaningful differences between an expert(s) and the other person(s). The resulting significant parameters that are withheld are grouped according to the principles of the TOTE and SCORE models. These are 2 models for planning and problem solving. The TOTE model is based upon the feedback loop as worked out in 1960 by Miller, Galanter & Pribram in their book "Plans and the Structure of Behavior". Sometimes content is taken into account. In that case, it is considered like filling out the structure-model. The quality of a model is evaluated by the predictability of the results (will someone applying the model get the same results as the expert, within the scope of the model?) and by the simplicity of the model (can the model be explained in less tan 7 steps, does it only include the elements that make a difference, or does it involve complex steps?). Given the number of parameters to be considered, the complexity of modeling is quite high. Ways to handle the complexity is by making video-tapes of the interviews and the demonstrations given by the expert and the other subjects. Training a modeler requires at least the equivalent of 300 course-hours of theory and practice. In the rest of this document we will show some possible applications of modeling in the employment area, explain a typical project approach and give an example for programming. For the example we will only expand on some of the Motivational and Working Traits Possible Applications for Employment Support The basic instrument for deciding which patterns are withheld, is a contrast analysis between the successful persons and the less successful ones. This contrast analysis is based on the SCORE-model for problem solving, where we differentiate between symptoms, causes, outcomes and effects. The resources, used to get from the problem space to the solution space, show the patterns we are after. For this, we use the TOTE model to further analyze the person's actions. The quality of a model increases with the number of excellent examples taken into consideration, where practice has shown that 3 well-chosen examples are enough to get a good model of one person. Recruitment: Personnel Selection The principle of that we want to find similar patterns in the persons we want to recruit as the patterns the model(s) show us. The critical patterns are the patterns shown by all the experts and not present in the counter-examples. If critical patterns are not present in a candidate, this is a serious counter-indication to hiring him for this specific function, unless we have indications that it will take an acceptable amount of training and coaching for the person to use the desired patterns. Training: Transfer of excellence While training, we want to install similar patterns in the students as the patterns shown by the model. The contrast analysis teaches us which patterns have to be included in the training material. Often, the person already uses the patterns we want to install, only in other contexts than the work context we want him to use the patterns in. If this is the case, often exercises in which the patterns are used as a demonstration will be sufficient to switch on the patterns. Sometimes, some beliefs of the person will show up and help us find what stops him from using the patterns. If

beliefs form a blockade, the severity of the blockade will help predict the chances this person has to become successful in the context. Coaching/Managing: Here we want to adapt the person so that he shows more of the effective patterns, in which we focus on his weak spots, compared to model. In the coaching process, we use the person’s language and behavior structure as a "manual" on how to adapt the manager so that he will get the best results with this particular employee. If the coaching requires getting through some serious blockades, the line between coaching and therapy becomes a very thin one. In these cases, because of the boundary between professional and personal life, we would suggest the person to find therapeutic help or find a job better adapted to the patterns he is comfortable with. Also, while managing a person, we check if the performance parameters, as well as the other criteria used to evaluate the person are compatible with the patterns we want to see in the person's behavior. For instance, if I am managing an airline, and I want a co-pilot to correct the mistakes a pilot makes, I'd better know that the typical line of command makes it difficult or the co-pilot to give "negative feedback" to the pilot, unless I add a specific evaluation instrument that judges the co-pilot on the detection of a number of "deliberate" errors the pilot was instructed to make. Some companies will give the function of coach to another person than the manager. This often makes it easier to get through some barrier during the coaching process. I do advise that this kind of coaching is done with the same kind of ethical code one expects from a therapist. Typical Approach A typical project starts by identifying the context where the excellence is needed, together with the criteria used to decide upon the excellence of the behavior. The criteria of excellence play the role of an objective measurement instrument. This means that we often have to improve the criteria if objectivity is not sufficiently guaranteed. Based on this information, we proceed by selecting one or several experts as well as a group of counter-examples. Once this is done, we can start the actual modeling of the excellent language and behavior patterns. Modeling gives the best results if we can observe the experts while they are active in the context to be modeled. We often observe a difference between the patterns of a person talking about a context and the same person in the context. When life observation is impractical or too expensive, we simulate the context or we try to get information that is quite accurate involving Ericksonian techniques. To increase the accuracy of the modeling, we want to get 3 successful cases and 3 unsuccessful cases from each subject participating in the modeling. Use the results We can use the results of a modeling project in several area's of the human resources field, such as recruitment, training and management, but its effect will be the best if we combine the applications in several area's. In this section, we describe how to apply the results of the modeling in 3 typical area's: Work out profile & Use profile for selection From the model of excellence, we know which structural parameters and patterns are important for getting results in the context. In stead of focussing on the experience of the person, we use these parameters and patterns as the "job-profile". Also, we can derive specific profiling tools. Especially if the number of candidates or the number of positions to fill is large, we can derive a specific questionnaire that will test for the profile. The persons in charge of the selection are trained to use the profile and the profiling tools. Work out training material to pass on the knowledge of the model Again we start from the model of excellence and the contrast analysis. The training design focuses on bridging the differences between the current behavior and the desired behavior. This is applicable to new hirees as well as to the average performer.

The result of the training will be evaluated using the criteria of excellence, by measuring the criteria over a period before and after the training, thus given an objective measure for the result of the training. Educate the manager and coach We train the manager and the coach to use the model. Essentially, we teach the skills needed to detect the wanted patterns and how to get to them. Example: Excellence in Programming For this paper, we select an application of meta-programs (also called perceptual filters), one the current Neuro-Linguistic Models, to illustrate how it helps to make a good model for hiring, training and managing software programmers. Of course, as explained before, we will consider other parameters when building a complete model. Note: what is the "best" programmer for a company, may differ based on the demands the company has about a programmer job-profile, and on how they rate the results. As such, what is a good programmer for one company may differ with the profile of a good programmer for another company. Also notice that the typical job content has its influence: does the programmer also do the analysis, does he/she do the testing, … ? Modeling: find desired perceptual filters Modeling will give the answer to the following questions: "How do the perceptual filters of the person work? How does a person address structure, context and process? How does he sort and attend to information?" Also, we will fund out which kinds of filters are the most advantageous for the job. The way to find out which meta-programs are the best, is by testing some successful persons for their response to questions about these perceptual filters. From these answers, we can distinguish which filters are the most influential. Metaprogram Categories http://www.jobeq.com/categories.php The iWAM questionnaire measures an individual's attitudes and motivations within the context of the workplace. This test includes 48 metaprogram parameters, which are the series of mental filters which determine how one behaves what one pays attention to during observation. This page is an explanation of which metaprograms the iWAM measures. Each of the 48 parameters is measured and rated separately, but for simplicity we have grouped them here under 15 headers (some categories have the technical name in brackets): 1. Action Level The end of the 20th Century showed an incredible boom in venture capital investment. Almost anyone with an idea could find funding to start an Internet-based company. They were the good old days for entrepreneurs. This period valued enormously proactive behavior: the idea was to be first, start a company and execute the idea, before anyone else would. Getting funding sometimes was a matter of days, with the entrepreneur choosing the venture capital to work with. Compare this with the conservative attitude of most bankers. They wait until a company comes with a well-organized proposal with a high probability of success. Even then the banker will be asking additional guarantees. The total time to get a loan approved may become months. Some say that if the procedures are followed by the book, a bank will only give a loan to companies that don't need it. What's the difference between the two kinds of funding? Speed and Risk are two important parameters. Venture capital investment is very proactive; speed is the key. The expected market return and the number of investments was seen as the way to spread the risk: if one out of 10 funded companies succeeded and was introduced to the stock market, the VC investor is content. A banker is more reactive: speed is not important; certainty (no risks) is the key. A banker takes the time to thing through each aspect of the credit decision.

One can ask similar questions for each individual. Is a person proactive or reactive? How fast does the person start taking action? How much patience does this person have? 2. Priorities and Focus [Action Direction] Some jobs, such as sales, are goal-oriented. A salesperson will get a target volume of sales to obtain for the next year (or even week). Their income is often linked to this target, which serves as a motivator for a good salesperson. Other jobs such as a helpdesk are more focused on solving problems. The job of the computer helpdesk is done if all problems are solved. One might say that the "goal" is "no problems". In the first type of job, the action is oriented towards a goal. In the second type of job, solving problems is the key. The same categories can be applied to personal motivation. How well can a person maintain focus on goals? Are they able to recognize the problems which would interfere with obtaining these goals? How do they function in a "problem-oriented" work environment? 3. Decision-Making [Evaluation Reference] When Walt Disney set out to create Disney World in Florida, banks didn't like the idea. Walt wasn't really surprised; after all, he had had enough problems financing the first color movies and the movies that integrated sound. He didn't consider it as his job to come with ideas that would please his bankers. After all, what does the banker know about the entertainment industry? Often, entrepreneurs succeed because they keep believing in their idea, and whatever other persons do tell them, they keep going until they succeed. For other jobs, such as customer desk at a Marriott hotel or a complaints desk at Southwest Airlines, the opposite is true. What counts are the customer satisfaction ratings. Again both examples show 2 extremes of a metaprogram category: Walt Disney evaluates his plans for himself. He knows what he wants. This is called "internal reference". Marriot and Southwest Airlines refer to the customer's evaluation. The customer is always right. This is known as "external refercnce". An internal referenced person that is also independent may want to be left alone almost the first moment they are hired. They are better "managed by exception". If their internal reference is strong, they will decide which external source they accept as being "credible". A more external referenced person will prefer that their direct manager checks in with them almost daily. Some will need recognition, either from their boss or from their peers. As we did before, we can apply the distinction to individuals. What are the sources of motivation for a person? Does the person decide for himself or does he need others to give advice or even make the decision? 4. Procedures and Options [Task Attitude] We know a couple that owns a small training business. She is the main trainer, and is really able to adapt her training content to the individuals in the room. In fact, before starting the training, she is always considering how to adapt the materials so that they will fit the group as well as possible. He doesn't like that too much - he believes it's hard to sell the product if it changes all the time. Also, there is the time it takes to customize the materials, making it difficult to bring out standard course handouts, or to order a stack of workbooks from a printer. And of course, she refuses replacing the overhead transparencies with a standard PowerPoint presentation. We can find similar differences in other work areas. For instance, when an information analyst is typically faced with incomplete data and plays out alternative scenarios to cope with this, generating and testing different hypotheses. A bank clerk at the front desk has to follow procedures rigorously: there is only one correct way to register money that a customer withdraws from an account, for instance.

The contrast between these people reflects two possible task attitudes. Which of these persons is following procedures? Which one prefers to generate alternatives? 5. Point of View [Task Orientation] The higher one gets in the hierarchy of a company, the less time one has to work out the details. Often when a manager keeps focusing on the details, it becomes difficult to delegate, because one risks to be doing work that someone else could do. Instead of doing the work, it is the job of a leader to keep the overview: to see how the work of each person fits into the bigger picture, and how this whole delivers the results the customer wants. Other jobs require people that are willing to work the details. For instance, the bookkeeping needs to be correct to the last cent. A difference of one cent may not seem important, but can hide several larger mistakes that compensate each other "by coincidence". Similar distinguishments exist elsewhere. A computer analyst should have the overview, collect the pieces of the puzzle while a programmer needs to work out the details given all the pieces, which ends in writing a functional program. When working with information, what is the size of the pieces of information this person naturally thinks about? Does he or she tend to work with large, medium-sized or small pieces of data? 6. Body Language [Communication Sort] In this metaprogram category, we distinguish between the content (the words) of the communication and the non-verbal packaging of the communication. Indeed, we communicate using several channels at once. The literature often groups these channels into verbal and non-verbal. As long as the communication in the two channels is "compatible," the non-verbal aspect is not important. However, from time to time the communication is "incongruent," meaning what is said verbally is not consistent with the non-verbal signals that accompany the message. Certain jobs, like those in the legal sector are concentrating on the content: a judge should focus on the facts, not on how it is said. However, as the O.J. Simpson case and Bill ClintonMonica Lewinski showed, the non-verbal aspect plays it's role in winning or losing a lawsuit, especially if there is a jury. As is the case for other metaprograms, both jobs and people will differ in their preferences concerning use of verbal and non-verbal aspects of communication. How is this person's communication organized? To what extend is the content of the message dominating the communication? How much attention is given to the nonverbal part of the communication? Are non-verbal signals used consciously, as a part of the communication? 7. Social Contact [Work Environment Type] On Microsoft's Redmond Campus, each person gets a private office, yet there is place for sharing and collaboration. Other companies are known to put people together in huge open offices. Not only should these open spaces help to promote teamwork, savings are often cited as a key reason: an open space office can accommodate as much as 50% more staff in the same space as separate offices. Cubicles are an intermediate solution to get some of the space savings, while still giving some privacy to people. A question few people ask is: "What is the most productive office configuration for a certain type of work?" Once can distinguish between group space and individual workspace. Microsoft chose for individual space, because it knows that ITers are often more productive because they can better concentrate when they have a private office. Putting ITers in large open spaces can result in a productivity drop of 50% or more. On the other hand, marketing people often profit from being around with other marketing staff: it stimulates the creative cross-fertilization.

As you can infer from the previous paragraph, the work environment type metaprogram category examines to what degree a person wants to work alone or with other people around. Does he or she want social contact or not? 8. Distribution of Responsibility [Work Assignment Type] In the book "How to be a Star at Work," Robert Kelly indicates that star performers don't fight over who holds which responsibility individually, but rather take responsibility for areas that are left unclaimed - of course while doing the work within their own area of responsibility. When the Volvo car plant in Ghent, Belgium started to introduce teamwork, their aim was to increase productivity. When a group of 4 people feel collectively responsible for assembling a section of the car (for instance, the brake system), they won't complain when an improvement of the brakes requires that 5 screws be fixed instead of the previous 4 screws. However, if each person only feels responsible for one screw, the 5th screw looks like a 100% work increase! Of course, as you can read in Jon Katzenbach's "The Wisdom of Teams," not every task or group of activities is suited for teamwork. For instance, sales persons are typically individually responsible for their own sales area, and compete with other sales persons in the other areas. Especially when they are paid on commission, or get bonuses related to their individual sales results, it is difficult to transform their jobs into teamwork. For this category, we will test whether persons want sole responsibility for the work results or whether they want to share that responsibility. 9. Cycle Time [Relationship Sorting] Today, most people consider lifetime employment as something of the past. Given that the only certainty is that things will change, it's difficult to predict how a company will look like in 5 years, and even more difficult which jobs will be required. Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor indicate that between 1979 and 1999 the average person in the United States held 9.2 jobs from age 18 to age 34, and has as many as 3 to 4 careers during one's lifetime. Both a company and the employee need to take this new element into account. Some people have no problems adapting to change, they even like it and get bored if things don't change enough. The IT industry and other technological fields are on a track of rapid change. For instance, the most advanced PC you buy today will be considered outdated in 3 years time. Other people require more certainty and security, and would prefer their job to stay the same for years. Indeed, some jobs, like bookkeeping, don't change much over the years. This leads us to the following questions. What is a person's cycle time for projects, tasks, and jobs? Does a person want a fast cycle, moving from one thing to another quickly, or do they prefer things to remain stable for a long period of time? 10. Basic Motivations [McClelland's Motivational Types] According to David McClelland, author of "Human Motivation" and an expert in the field, people are basically motivated by three criteria: how much power they have, how much they are appreciated as friends by their environment and how successful they are (and are recognized for that). Certain kinds of jobs require certain types of motivation. For a manager in a large, hierarchical organization, being motivated by power seems advantageous to a certain degree. For other jobs and organizations, performance orientation is the key. The metaprogram category will help to answer the following questions: "What are the basic motivation factors for this person? Is it Power, Popularity, or Performance? In which hierarchical order does the person put these 3 criteria?" 11. Work Approach Some jobs require that the focus of the person starting something new is "just do it." This is often the best approach for someone who is self-employed or for an

entrepreneur starting a small company. This is often contrasted to "academic approach," where a researcher concentrates on the theory or on the concept. And then there is a third way: When the organization is becoming bigger, it becomes more important to work in a structured way. When you start something that will involve a lot of people, "just doing it" may end in chaos. A manager in a large organization has to concentrate on the structure and will delegate the doing to the other people. To some extend, each of us combines these 3 approaches, mostly spending the most time on the approach we prefer. This explains why entrepreneurs sometimes get into trouble when their organization starts to grow. After a while, they should switch from "doing it" to "organizing it," and failing to make this switch will leave the company "under managed." The same problem exists in the other direction, when a manager from a large organization becomes self-employed. Suddenly, all the structure is gone and the manager now has to do it. In short, this category addresses the following question: "When approaching a task or project, what is the internal process a person uses? The three parts of this internal process are: Use, Concept, and Structure. An additional question is: "How do they distribute their available energy and time over these 3 processes?" 12. Time Orientation [Temporal Processing] Different functions in the organization concentrate on different aspects of time. For instance, the production manager focuses on doing the work that needs done now, and solving the problems that prevent today's work to be done. The auditor will look if the bookkeeper has been doing their work correctly, and may give some advice based on what they learn from looking at this past. An organization's strategic thinkers will focus on the future. It's their task to work out what the company should look like within a number of years. Of course, if people with a different reference frame come together to discuss a project, this can lead to conflicts. The strategist may have a dream fro the future, which the bookkeeper might criticize, proving his point of view with facts from the past. The production manager might feel squeezed in the middle, left wondering what to focus on right now. She might wonder what the others are arguing about; given there are already enough current issues to address. These are the questions we address with the temporal processing metaprograms: When working on a project or task, or when thinking about or organizing something, in what time reference does this person tend to be? Is he remembering the past, is he thinking about the present, or is he planning or projecting the future? 13. Rules and Conformity [Norming] This category indicates one of the biggest differences between a large conglomerate and a small, entrepreneurial company. Inside a large organization, it's often important to try to be the person the company needs. Also, most large companies have quality systems in place, with procedures one needs to follow. It's the job of the manager to enforce these procedures. Given the size of the organization, it becomes difficult to tolerate deviant behavior. In a small entrepreneurial company, rules are less important, and often there are few written rules. Sometimes the organization even appreciates that persons bend the rules in order to get results. Rules tend to differ from person to person and managers have less need to communicate the rules. How does this person deal with the unwritten rules or the social contract in the work place? Does he feel the need to tell others how they should act? The metaprograms included in this category are: assertiveness, indifference, complacency, and tolerance. 14. Convincing Means [Convincer Patterns - Input Representation] Getting convinced requires that one has the information one needs in order to take the decision, and that one then processes that information. As a trainer, one learns to

use the different types of input representation in order to enable persons to learn. Some people like visual information: they need to see graphs, process charts, or maybe they want to observe a demonstration. Other people like to hear the explanation. A third type wants to read a book or a manual. The fourth type of persons needs to do exercises and learn via a "hands-on" approach. The same is true for convincing. The first metaprogram aims at answering the following questions: "How is this person convinced about something or someone new? How does he gather the data to be convinced?" 15. Convincing Process [Convincer Patterns - Interpretation Process] Of course, most of the time it's not enough just to "throw" the right type of information to a person in order to convince that person, even if some persons almost seem "automatically convinced" once they have the data they require. At the other extreme, you'll find people that seem never convinced: they will consistently reprocess the data, checking whether their previous decision is still the right one. Other types of interpretation consist of gathering a number of examples or observing the situation over a certain period of time. In short, the second metaprogram category linked to convincing answers the question: "What does a person do with the data to be convinced?" The key factors are automatic, consistency, a number of examples, and a period of time. 16. Environmental Priorities[Interest Filters] Consider the following parties involved in the building industry. Each one has its own interests. The team coach concentrates on the people he is helping. A carpenter may pay attention to the tools. The quality engineer is thinking about the system. The manager considers the information he has to distribute. For the bookkeeper, money is important. For the real estate agent, location is all that counts. For the future house owner, the timing is important: he wants to see the building finished in time. Finally, if you are the director that wanted to make a movie out of this, having enough action is key. The conclusion: there are a lot of environmental factors that motivate people at work. If all of these people would pay attention to only their interests, the happy ending may be difficult to find. The previous paragraph illustrated 8 types of interest filters. We can ask these distinctions for any job and for any individual. What does a person pay attention to in the environment? What does this person have to be working with to feel successful? The primary filter of interest is the filter which the person prefers the most. Back to iWAM Back to Research The following articles are in-depth studies of global trends among certain metaprograms: Article 1: Action Direction: Goals and Problems Article 2: Task Attitude - Options vs Procedures Article 3: Work Environment & Work Responsability Article 4: Rules and Conformity This page contains a description of each of the 48 metaprogram patterns that the iWAM questionnaire measures. The following descriptions help you interpret the results of your iWAM Profile Survey Graphic Report. If you have questions or concerns, please contact your LAB Profile Consultant. The first 16 scales, the operational factors, are presented as binary patterns. For each pair, the first scale is explained in normal type. The other scale is shown in italics. OF1: Action Level: This person has a tendency to initiate. This person has a lot of patience.

OF2: Action Direction: This person has a capability to remain focused on a goal and maintain that focus over time. This person is motivated by finding and correcting problems. OF3: Evaluation Reference: This person wants to decide for themself. They provide their own motivation. This person prefers to get the advice and opinions of others. OF4: Task Attitude: This person is always looking for a better way; an alternative. This person is highly efficient when following procedures. OF5: Task Orientation (Scope): This person works with and thinks about large 'chunks' of information. This person is detail oriented. OF6: Communication Sort (Interaction): This person is focused on nonverbal communication. This person is focused on the content of the message itself. OF7: Work Environment Type: This person wants to work with people around. They want to work alone. OF8: Work Assignment Type: These people want sole responsibility for the work they perform. This person wants to share the responsibility with others, and prefers team projects. The relationship sorting patterns indicate: So1: Sameness: This person wants everything to remain the same. So2: Evolution: This person wants things to evolve over time, and adapts to change easily. So3: Difference: This person must have change. The work approach indicates how one distributes the available time and energy over the following kinds of tasks: Wa1: Use: This person simply begins the task; they work best when they can get the first step out of the way immediately. Wa2: Concept: This person completely develops an idea or theory; needs time to think things through. Wa3: Structure: This person organizes the resources; establishes lists and identifies the relationships. The Temporal Processing patterns indicate how persons are oriented when thinking about time. TP1:Past: This person concentrates on the past and uses experience to help make decisions. TP2:Present: This person concentrates on the present, the 'now' and tends to be practical. TP3:Future: This person concentrates on the future and tends to be a dreamer. McClelland’s Motivational Criteria: Is this person motivated by these three factors? Mo1: Power: This person is motivated by situations where they have power, authority, and control over people and things. Mo2: Popularity: This person is motivated by situations where people like them, they can participate in taking care of other people, and they can be a part of the group. Mo3: Performance: (synonym: Achievement) This person is motivated by situations where they can achieve. They want to be noticed for what they have achieved. The Norming Patterns are related to the 'unwritten rules' for the culture. How do people interact and what is expected of each other. We indicate the high end of the scale in normal type and the low end of the scale in italics.

N1: Assertive: people know the policies and rules and are willing and able to tell others know what they should do. They are not ready to tell others what to do. N2: Indifferent: people have rules for their own lives, and these people don't involve themselves in other people's work habits. of other people. They care about others, and are concerned about other people's actions at work. N3: Complacent: They are willing to follow the rules and policies of the organization. When they know the rules, they are excellent examples of what the rules define as good conduct. They do not feel the need to conform to the organization's rules. N4: Tolerant: people know the rules and policies for themselves but do not feel it is appropriate for them to impose those rules on others. They are intolerant of the actions of others. The following 8 patterns indicate how a person is convinced. The first four represent the channels by which they gather information, and the second four are related to how the person massages that data to be convinced. Co1: See: people must be able to see something to get convinced. Co2: Hear: people must hear how, or hear about something in order to be convinced. Co3: Read: people must read information or instructions to become convinced. Co4: Do: people must actually do it in order to be convinced about something. Co5: Number of Examples: people must have the data a particular number of times for them to be convinced. Co6: Automatic: people only need a small amount or even partial information and they quickly project the rest of the information. Then, they decide based on what their projections. Co7: Consistent: people are never quite convinced. They need to get information every single time to remain somewhat convinced. Co8: Period of Time: people need to have the data remain consistent for period of time for them to be convinced. The Interest Filters of the person indicate what the person needs to work with or manipulate to feel successful. It is what must be in the environment. IF1: People: A High People person works best with people and their feelings. IF2: Tools: A High Tools person works best with tangible tools and instruments. IF3: Systems: A High Systems person works best with the process of things. IF4: Information: A High Information person works best with facts and knowledge. IF5: Money: A High Money person is concerned about money and keeping score. IF6: Place: A High Place person is concerned about the geographic or social/political position. IF7: Time: A High Time person is concerned about allotting time and keeping schedule IF8: Activity: A High Activity person focuses on activity and needs to manipulate activities. What are Metaprograms and why are they important? Metaprograms are the series of mental filters which determine how one behaves based on how one thinks and what one pays attention to during observation. For

instance: Do you focus on the information or on people? Do you like to look at the big picture or are you a detail-minded person? Think of it like the wiring in your brain. Every person is wired a little differently, and this affects the way they see and act in the world. Understanding how people are wired can have profitable rewards in the field of HRM. Among other things, metaprograms can be used to determine whether a person will be motivated by certain jobs, environments, or input. This is the reason that measuring metaprograms can be useful during recruitment, coaching, and training people. “Human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.”-William James How does jobEQ utilize Metaprograms? jobEQ’s most popular product, the iWAM questionnaire, measures 48 metaprogram patterns - far more variables than competing tests. Our feedback reports explain the results, and how they relate to and predict employee behavior. Instead of saying a person is either "proactive" or "reactive," these reports detail exactly how proactive and reactive a person is. Measuring items on a scale such as this gives you an incredible amount of information about the person and how he or she compares to others. Rather than just putting people into one of a few categories, the iWAM gives you more possible profiles than there are people on the Earth. Since everyone is unique, this makes perfect sense. Once you see exactly which metaprograms jobEQ measures, you will begin to understand how much they could affect a person's behavior at work. We have organized the metaprograms into 16 Categories, each of which can be accurately and objectively measured by iWAM.

NLP LOGICAL LEVELS 1. Spirituality/Purpose This can be seen as being part of a bigger system. What impact are they having on the community or culture in which they work? 2. Identity/Mission Who are they as an individual? What role do they play in achieving their purpose? How do they think of themselves? 3. Beliefs & Values Why do they do what they do? What do they believe in? 4. Capabilities/Strategies How do they get things done? What are their most useful capabilities, skills, strategies? 5. Behaviours What are their behaviours? How do they go about achieving things? 6. Environment Where, how and with whom do they demonstrate these behaviours? What are the external influences that play a part in what they do? Dilts' (neuro)logical levels In Neuro-linguistic programming, they were developed by Robert Dilts into the Dilts' Neuro-logical levels (also known as the logical levels of change and the logical levels of thinking) which are useful for assisting with or understanding change from an individual, social or organization point of view. Each level is progressively more psychologically encompassing and impactful. A belief, outcome may be considered from different levels:

• Spirit or strategic vision - What is my intention or purpose for this? • Identity - Who am I to be? • Belief and values - What are my beliefs? • Capability - What am I capable of doing? • Behavior - What am I able to do? • Environment - In what context does this behavior occur? Chunking The word chunking comes from a famous 1956 paper by George A. Miller, The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two : Some Limits on our Capacity for Processing Information. At a time when information theory was beginning to be applied in psychology, Miller observed that whereas some human cognitive tasks fit the model of a "channel capacity" characterized by a roughly constant capacity in bits, short-term memory did not. A variety of studies could be summarized by saying that short term memory had a capacity of about "seven plus-or-minus two" chunks. Miller wrote that "With binary items the span is about nine and, although it drops to about five with monosyllabic English words, the difference is far less than the hypothesis of constant information would require. The span of immediate memory seems to be almost independent of the number of bits per chunk, at least over the range that has been examined to date." Miller acknowledged that "we are not very definite about what constitutes a chunk of information." Miller noted that according to this theory, it should be possible to effectively increase short-term memory for low-information-content items by mentally recoding them into a smaller number of high-information-content items. "A man just beginning to learn radio-telegraphic code hears each dit and dah as a separate chunk. Soon he is able to organize these sounds into letters and then he can deal with the letters as chunks. Then the letters organize themselves as words, which are still larger chunks, and he begins to hear whole phrases." Thus, a telegrapher can effectively "remember" several dozen dits and dahs as a single phrase. Naive subjects can only remember about nine binary items, but Miller reports a 1954 experiment in which people were trained to listen to a string of binary digits and (in one case) mentally group them into groups of five, recode each group into a name (e.g "twenty-one" for 10101), and remember the names. With sufficient drill, people found it possible to remember as many as forty binary digits. Miller wrote: "It is a little dramatic to watch a person get 40 binary digits in a row and then repeat them back without error. However, if you think of this merely as a mnemonic trick for extending the memory span, you will miss the more important point that is implicit in nearly all such mnemonic devices. The point is that recoding is an extremely powerful weapon for increasing the amount of information that we can deal with". The S.C.O.R.E. Model Most NLP is oriented around defining a present state and a desired state, and then identifying and applying a technique that will hopefully help someone get to their desired state. The S.C.O.R.E. Model enriches that description by adding a few more simple distinctions. The letters stand for Symptoms, Causes, Outcomes, Resources and Effects. These elements represent the minimum amount of information that needs to be addressed by any process of change or healing. Symptoms are typically the most noticeable and conscious aspects of a presenting problem or problem state. Causes are the underlying elements responsible for creating and maintaining the symptoms. They are usually less obvious than the symptoms they produce.

Outcomes are the particular goals or desired states that would take the place of the symptoms. Resources are the underlying elements responsible for removing the causes of the symptoms and for manifesting and maintaining the desired outcomes. Effects are the longer term results of achieving a particular outcome. Specific outcomes are generally stepping stones to get to a longer term effect. Positive effects are often the reason or motivation for establishing a particular outcome to begin with. Negative effects can create resistance or ecological problems. Techniques are sequential structures for identifying, accessing and applying particular resources to a particular set of symptoms, causes and outcomes. A technique is not in and of itself a resource. A technique is only effective to the extent that it accesses and applies the resources which are appropriate to address the the whole system defined by the other S.C.O.R.E. elements. 'Dancing' S.C.O.R.E. Technique Think of a problem you are trying to solve. Lay out four locations in a sequence representing the cause, symptom, outcome and desired effect related to the problem. Physically associate into the experience and internal state related to each location. Pay special attention to the pattern of movement associated with each location. Starting in the 'cause' location, walk slowly through entire sequence. Repeat this process several times until there is a sense of a single movement from cause to effect. Go to a physical meta position and let your body lead you to a special movement representing the appropriate resource to bring into the S.C.O.R.E. sequence. Starting in the cause location, incorporate the resource movement into the other movement associated with that location. Walk through the other locations adding the resource movement to the other movements until you have reached the effect space. Repeat the movement through cause, symptom, outcome and effect until you have transformed it into a kind of 'dance'. What Triggers Motivation? Not all people are motivated in the same way. Some schools of thought maintain that it is impossible for one individual to motivate another. Essentially, all motivation comes from within. However, an understanding of what triggers motivation, and how to activate those triggers, could lead to a more effective presentation of the concepts of ecosystem management among landowners. Is it manipulation? The importance of understanding motivation traits lies not in being able to manipulate people into doing things they would not ordinarily want to do. Rather, it lies in being able to present ideas in such a way that minimum energy is required on the part of the listener to effectively hear the message. It lies in being able to overcome barriers created by how the ideas are presented, rather than barriers created by the ideas themselves. Thus, the listener’s energy can then be used to understand and evaluate the ideas being presented instead of being used to overcome barriers created by language that does not match the listener’s preferences. What are the motivation traits? Charvet (1995) describes six categories of motivation traits related to how different people trigger their motivation. These traits are related to what language will best capture the interest of people with different motivation traits. The traits and their patterns are as follows: Motivation Pattern - Motivation Traits Proactive vs. Reactive - Level – “Is about what will get you going and make you think.” Values -Criteria – “Those words which incite a physical or emotional reaction, HOT

BUTTONS.” Toward vs. Away From - Direction –- “Either they move toward a goal, or away from problems.” Internal vs. External- Source – “Does the person find motivation in external sources, or in internal standards and beliefs.” Options vs. Procedures- Reason.– “Is there a continual quest for alternatives, or is there a preference to follow established procedures?” Sameness vs. Sameness with Exceptions vs.Difference vs.Sameness with Exception and Difference - Decision Factors.– “Does the motivation come from a search for ‘difference’ or ‘sameness’?” Examples of Influencing Language This section gives examples of the types of language that might be most appropriate in presenting information and ideas to forest landowners with various motivation traits. Keep in mind that the purpose of using influencing language is not to “trick” or “persuade” someone to do something; the purpose is, rather, to present ideas in a way that focuses listener’s energy on the content of the message. Level What language might appeal to a proactive or reactive audience learning about fuels reduction? Since the majority of the audience may be equally proactive and reactive in a given context, both types of language may need to be used to influence them. Proactive – Wildfire is a real and present danger in your area. You can take positive steps to protect your home and surroundings. Create a defensible space now; don’t wait for the fire season. We can show you how to take control of the situation. Reactive – Have you considered what might happen if a wildfire occurred in your area? Think about this: if a wildfire should burn your property, your buildings could be replaced but how long would it take to replace your trees? Current research indicates that 100 feet of defensible space may be needed on level parcels, and up to 400 feet downslope on steep parcels. This may be the right time to analyze how you can create a defensible space on your property. We can assist you in developing a plan to increase your safety and to preserve the forest setting where you live. Criteria Criteria are not easy to illustrate because they are very personal. However, Charvet (1995) gives us the following description of influencing language for this motivational trait. “Unskilled sales people just pitch their product (usually using their own Criteria) without much regard to what their prospective customer actually wants…Many market researchers investigate people’s Criteria so that the exact phrasing of an advertising campaign can match what is most important to the groups they wish to influence…If you want to get and keep someone’s interest you will need to link what you are proposing with their Criteria. You will need to be careful to deliver what you promise when you use someone’s Criteria to persuade them. Otherwise their disappointment and anger will likely be directed at you.” Direction What kinds of Direction triggers would motivate a person to come to a resource agency or RCD for technical advice or financial assistance? Toward – New landowners might come because they have a goal, a mental picture, of what they want their property to look like. They may be looking for ways to realize their goal. A rancher might come because he wants to increase the quality of grazing for his cattle, or increase his hay production. A timber owner might want to increase the production and profit of his operation. Words and phrases that appeal to people with a Toward orientation in a given context include:

“attain; obtain; have; get; include; achieve; enable you to; benefits; advantages; here’s what you would accomplish” (Charvet, 1995) Away From – A homeowner may seek help with fuels reduction in order to avoid the possibility of having his property burned to ashes. Someone planning a timber harvest might want help in filing the paperwork in order to avoid a fine. A rancher might want to solve the problem of how to get rid of chaparral on his land. A farmer might want to know how to install a fish screen to prevent having his water supply cut off. Words and phrases that appeal to people with an Away From orientation in a given context include: “won’t have to; solve; prevent; avoid; fix; not have to deal with; get rid of; it’s not perfect; let’s find out what’s wrong; there’ll be no problems” (Charvet, 1995) Sometimes an Away From orientation may initially sound like a Toward orientation. For example, people may want “freedom,” which sounds like a toward orientation. However, what they may actually want is freedom from something, rather than freedom to do something. That makes the orientation “Away From.” It is crucial to ask Direction questions more than once to get an accurate idea of what direction actually motivates an audience (even a single person). The first response is usually Toward, regardless of their actual pattern. Agencies often tend to have a Toward orientation. They have a vision of how things could or should be and they have “good science” to back it up. Landowners often tend to have an Away From orientation. They want to avoid obstacles or solve problems that stand in their way. The important thing is not what they plan to do but why they are motivated to do it. Understanding the Direction of their motivation makes it easier to get and hold their interest. Source When presenting a new management practice, how could the information be phrased to an Internal or External audience to get their attention? Internal – You might consider the advantages of using this practice. If you try it, you can decide for yourself if it will work for you. Here is some information to help you make a decision. If you need more information, contact these people. External – Experts at the university have done studies to show that this practice will have quite an impact. Once you try this practice, your neighbors will notice the improvements and you will get good feedback. I strongly recommend you give it a try. These articles will show you what the experts think. Many long-time landowners have an Internal orientation toward their land and management practices. They want to make up their own minds about which practices to use. They are looking for information and will not be swayed by external pressure (in fact, it may make them resistant). Newer landowners may have a more External orientation, since they may feel less certain about their own knowledge. Since the majority of the audience will be either one or the other orientation in a given context, care in wording is essential in communicating with them. Reason What language would be most effective in explaining the steps in thinning a stand of timber to an audience composed of Options or Procedures people? Options – There are many ways to go about this. Here is why it is important. Let’s look at some of the alternative methods you might use. You may find it a challenge to combine several of them in ways that suit you best. You might come up with new ideas that work well for you. There are no rules for doing this; come up with the ways that work best for you. If you want to try something different, let me know and we may be able to make an exception in your case. Procedures – The correct three step procedure for thinning a stand to reduce the hazard of wildfire is: First, remove fuel by thinning crowded trees to leave at least 10 feet between crowns on level ground, and up to 30 feet on steep slopes. Second, prune shrubs, saplings and the lower branches of trees to more than the

recommended distance to allow for future growth. Finally, dispose of the shrubs and branches you have cut to reduce the fuel load. Audiences will be mainly either Options or Procedures in a context. It may be necessary to use both sorts of language to appeal to an unknown audience. Options oriented people will want to know what and why. Procedures oriented people will want to know how. Decision Factors The following influencing language for each of the four patterns in this trait is quoted from Charvet (1995). Sameness – The same as; as you already know; like before; identical Sameness with Exception – More; better; less; the same except; evolving; progress; gradual improvement; upgrade Difference – New; totally different; completely changed; switch; shift; unique; one of a kind; brand new Sameness with Exception and Difference – use both Sameness with Exception and Difference language Since the majority of the population has a Sameness with Exception orientation toward work, that influencing language may be most appropriate for general audiences. Specific questions may need to be asked to understand the orientation of an individual. Why is this important? It is possible, as described by Charvet (1995), to introduce ideas with language that appeals to people with each combination of motivation traits and patterns. The use of appropriate language can be effective whether “marketing” an idea or introducing a lesson in a classroom. Matching language makes it more likely that a message will be heard. What is the Best Way to Present Text-Based Information? Much of the information available to landowners will be printed material including both text and graphics. The design of this material will have a significant impact on its acceptance and usability. One effective form of presenting text-based information is known as structured writing. What is the purpose of structured writing? One structured writing approach described by Horn (1993), a pioneer who began studying the field in 1965, was based upon research designed to answer the following question: “How can we make learning easier and quicker for people in complex, information-rich environments?” What are the principles of sequencing and formatting? The most visible aspect of structured writing is its sequencing and format. The principles of sequencing and format are as follows: Principle Description Chunking Group information into manageable chunks. Relevance Place like things together. Exclude unrelated items from each chunk. Consistency Use consistent terms within each chunk of informa tion terms in both the chunk and the label organization Labeling Provide the reader with a label for each chunk of information. Integrated Graphics Use tables, illustrations, and diagrams as an integral part of the writing. Accessible detail Write at the level of detail that will make the document useable for all readers. Hierarchy of chunking and labeling Group small chunks around a single relevant topic.Provide the group with a label.

Why is this important? Research has shown the following benefits of structured writing, specifically the form of structured writing known as Information Mapping: 83% decrease in first draft development time 75% decrease in document revision time 54% decrease in number of words in documents 10% to 50% decrease in reading time 38% increase in use of documentation What are the NLP Presuppositions? NLP is largely based on practical experience rather than academic theories, and the NLP pre-suppositions - some unique to NLP, some borrowed from General Semantics, cybernetics, etc. - are extremely useful as a guide to the thinking behind NLP as a whole. Because they are usually each expressed in a single sentence they are sometimes misunderstood as being vague and/or idealistic. In reality they are all extremely pragmatic. Some of the best-known NLP pre-suppositions include: If you go on doing what you're doing now you are very likely to go on getting the same results as you are getting now Commentary: The pre-supposition here is that we are each responsible for our own lives. Though we may not be able to control what goes on in the world around us, we can always control how we respond to those events. If we always act/respond in the same way then the most likely result is that we will maintain the status quo. This is why making a decision on the basis that "that's the way we've always done it" is often the prelude to disaster. If you want something different you must do something different, and keep varying your behaviour until you get the result that you want Commentary: The second pre-supposition is that there's a solution to every situation if you're prepared to keeping on looking until you find it. This leads us straight into the third presupposition: The person with the greatest number of choices in a given situation is likely to get the best outcome Commentary: This is related to the idea of the BATNA (best alternative to nonagreement. If you go into a negotiation session with only one outcome in mind - and you don't achieve that particular outcome then you're up a dead-end street. If, on the other hand, you have several outcomes in mind (prioritised from "most preferred" to "least preferred", of course) then it is likely that you will achieve at least one of your outcomes. You cannot not communicate Commentary: People often imagine that they can avoid personal responsibility by simply saying nothing. This pre-supposition points out that we are constantly communicating, by what we do say, by what we don't say, and by a host of nonverbal signals. On this basis it may be obvious that there is more to be gained by accepting responsibility for one's actions, than by trying to stay aloof. The meaning of your communication is the response that you get Commentary: The pre-supposition here is that people will respond to what they think you mean, which may be an accurate or inaccurate interpretation of your intended meaning. (Please note, a "communication" is the 'whole' message - not only what you said but also all of the accompanying non-verbal signals.).

The value of this pre-supposition is that it points out that if we want people to respond appropriately to what we say then we need to talk to them rather than at them. That is, we need to be constantly aware of other peoples' responses to what we're saying, and adjust our communication accordingly, rather than just assuming that they will have understood what we meant them to understand. Everyone has all of the resources they need Commentary: This is one of the "dodgy" presuppositions in that it doesn't exactly match the presupposition it was based on. What Erickson actually said was that every client already had all the resources they needed to be able to deal with their "presenting problem". That is to say, at some level they already knew how the problem had come about and therefore already knew all they needed to resolve the problem. Which isn't quite the same as saying that we all have whatever resources (or capabilities) we need to get us out of ANY situation. Even if we accept the presupposition as it is usually stated, I suggest that we need to acknowledge two qualifications which I call Bradbury's corollories: In order to use a resource you must know that you have it, and know how to use it (though not necessarily at a conscious level) Let me illustrate what I mean by referring to the question of how children should be educated. Some people, taking the viewpoint that we already have all the resources we need, argue that children must be free to learn what they want, when they want, and that ultimately they'll learn everything they need to know. Those in the traditionalist camp point out, quite accurately, that this approach simply doesn't work and (here comes the non sequiter) that education must therefore be carefully structured and controlled. A third, and far more true-to-life approach takes into account all three parts of the NLP pre-supposition, thus: Children have all the resources they need in order to learn very effectively. (If they didn't how do they learn to walk and talk without taking "lessons"?) And they need to understand that they have this capability ... ... and how to use it. In other words, children do need help and guidance. Education, after all, is a living process, not a static event. First and foremost, they need to learn how to learn. Just banging the tools down in front of them and expecting them to get on with it is a total non-starter. By the same token, however, too much structure and control turns learning into a boring routine chore. And look what happens then! Every behaviour has a positive intention Commentary: This is possibly the most controversial of the NLP presuppositions, since it is so open to misinterpretation. What we actually mean is that every behaviour has a positive intention, as far as the person exhibiting the behaviour is concerned. This does not mean that the behaviour is the best possible choice (from an objective point of view). Nor does it mean that the behaviour will have positive benefits for anyone else. A classic example of what we might call the inverted positive intention is the behaviour of the bullying manager who gains re-assurance from hitting on the people under him/her.

The solution to this kind of inappropriate behaviour is to find a way of satisfying the intention by more acceptable means. A way, for example, of giving the manager reassurance in such a way that he no longer needs to bully his employees to get it. Every behaviour is appropriate in some context Commentary: Another way of putting this is: if we adopt a certain behaviour it's because once upon a time it worked. The trouble is that we often go on sing a certain behaviour even though it is manifestly no longer appropriate. Having said that, if we accept this presupposition then we also realise that the most effective solution is to find a new, more appropriate behaviour rather than holding a lengthy, pointless post mortem over the old behaviour (which is more likely to reenforce that old behaviour rather than driving it out). A map is not the territory it depicts; words are not the things they describe; symbols are not the things they represent Commentary: This may well be the single most important pre-supposition in the whole of NLP (originally developed by Alfred Korzybski, the founder of General Semantics). In very simple terms it means that we are always slightly separated from 'reality'. We draw maps, but the map is not actually the place it depicts and we need to be responsive to what is actually happening around us rather than complaining that things aren't as they "ought to be". Similarly, we need to understand that words are only a kind of shorthand for the things they describe. To get an inkling of what this means in practice, just look at the words on a banknote. What exactly does "promise to pay the bearer" really mean? What would an actual pound or dollar look like, as distinct from a coin or bank note which represents or symbolises some financial value? Your mind and your body are indivisable parts of the same system Commentary: The notion that our body and our brain/mind are separate entities was a developed within the medical profession around the 1930s and 1940s. If there was something wrong with your body - from a sniffle to malignant cancer - the only solution was some kind of physical treatment. Despite its position (literally) at the head of the central nervous system, in mainstream medicine it was received wisdom that, for all practical purposes, the influence of the brain/mind stopped at the neck. Somewhat ironically, this came about at the very same time General Semantics was investigating the idea that mental activity had a direct correlation to physiological activity. Only in the last couple of decades has practical, scientifically verifiable evidence come to light that shows beyond reasonable doubt that the immune system, for example, is integrally linked to brain activity so that, for example, mental stress can inhibit the performance of the immune system and thus lead to lowering of general bodily health. If one person can do something, anyone else can learn to do it Commentary: One of the key activities in NLP is the modelling of people who are recognised (by their peers) as being excellent in some field of activity in such a way as to identify what they do that gives them such remarkable results. When these differences have been identified they can be communicated to other people who can then learn to perform with a similar level of skill and excellence.

Having said that, the person learning the skill must have the necessary aptitude, and be willing to carry out the necessary self-development. In other words, whilst it is easy enough to model the activity of a world class sprinter, for example, a person who has only one leg, or is severely overweight or who refuses to take any physical exercise, is unlikely to be able to translate the modelled information into a personal skill. There is no such thing as failure, only feedback Commentary: When something doesn't go as we planned we tend to see that as failure. Depending on the seriousness of the situation we might then get angry, irritated, sad, depressed, worried, guilty or whatever. None of which serves any useful purpose. But what happens if we see the situation as feedback rather than failure. A real life demonstration of how not to do something? Instead of being wrong we've learned something. Instead of feeling bad we are free to form a new plan of action and try again. Cosy, rosy-tinted 'positive thinking'? Not exactly. Edison identified about a 1,000 materials which are not suitable as filaments for a light bulb before he found one which worked and worked well. A number of best-selling books (i.e. million sellers plus film) were turned down by more than two dozen publishers before they were accepted for publication. And always remember the poor talent scout at Decca records who rejected the Beatles as having no future in music! Change makes Change Commentary: It is a common saying that "the only person you can really change is yoursel". NLP goes one step further and also acknowledges that changing your own behaviour inevitably has an effect on the people around you. The underlying notion, derived from the field of cybernetics, is that when one element within a system changes, the whole system must change in whatever way is necessary to adapt to that change. There is a fascinating little experiment which demonstrates the truth of this presupposition. Groups of three people were seated in an otherwise empty room in such a way that they were each more or less facing both of the other two people. Nobody spoke, no one moved around, gesticulated or otherwise sent overt non-verbal messages. And yet ... In every trial, it took no more than two minutes max. for the person with the strongest feelings at the time, positive or negative, to engender the same emotion in the other two people. Genuine Understanding only comes from Experience Commentary: You can read all you like, and talk to as many other people as you like, and you can watch other people doing something on video, DVD or film - but you don't really understand something until you personally have done it. You will probably have noticed that all NLP pre-suppositions have a positive perspective. Most NLP books discuss some of the presuppositions.