Tuesday 10 February 2009

NLP, Paranoia v real skill development


When I first began exploring NLP in the 1990s I was taught "The Map is not the territory" and this made perfect sense to me. Years later I began to realise that although this is one of the basic presuppositions of NLP, there were indeed many battles in the commercial business area of NLP over perceived "territory" It always surprised me that field which claimed to promote excellence and building rapport should in many instances be so adverserial with a strong "Us or them factor" where during initial meetings with other NLPers the first question is

"Who did you train with"

Once such NLPers become more well known in their own right, their original trainers (mostly who would not even recognise them or remember their names) would proudly proclaim

"He's one of ours!"

As David Crosby once sang

"paranoia strikes deep. into your heart it will creep. it happens when you're always afraid. step out of line and the man comes to take you away. stop, hey, what's that sound? everybody look what's going down. its time we stop, hey, what's that sound? everybody look what's going down. stop, hey, what's that sound? everybody look what's going down."

A professional colleague of mine also made this observation about paranoia among NLPers, comenting that during one training he frequently kept hearing the phrase persona non grata, as a description to individuals who had "fallen from grace" and been cast out of "the circle of trust" (See Meet the Parents for full reference) IMO this kind of attitude and paranoia does little to advance good debate and promote new insights. The internut is full of quite ludicrous comments and postings about whose NLP is best and who trained with whom, totally disregarding the benefits of at times agreeing to disagree!

There are fortunately some "green shoots of optimism)with some independent thinkers who are focussed on advancing new ideas and processes. Most such folks do not have celebrity status and tend to be more maverick at a time when NLP appears to increasingly come under scrutiny from the public at large. I have never considered myself to be part of any club that would have me as a member and am truly grateful to those colleagues who have encouraged my own work and writings.

Such skilled individuals care title about celebrity endorsements and other such nonsense and are more concerned in how they can best use their skills to genuinely help others.

www.nickkemp.com

Monday 9 February 2009

Investing in quality


I have noticed as I have got older my tastes have become more expensive. As a collector of guitars, a truly excellent instrument would usually be at least 2k+ and even 2nd hand this could be three times this amount! Many such instruments are hand built and there is a waiting list for delivery, but there is a massive difference in the sound and playability as these are both investments and musician's tools as opposed to "guitar shaped objects"

When I first started creating the Human Alchemy series of CDs eight years ago, I ensured that the recording and the productionwer of the highest standards and that the CDs were pressed in a CD factory, which meant runs of at least 500 at any one time.

In creating the www.nickkemp.com I also made sure that I used the best web designers and professional photos in all instances. Although NLP purports the pursuit of excellence, in many instances this does not translate with many NLP sites and products very poorly designed. Similarly some trainers don't even use a PA when running groups and sometimes venues are chosen for price rather than comfort and to provide a good learning environment! One company that owned a bed and breakfast actually described the venue as "an international training centre!"

Price also does not guarantee quality and just as there are very expensive guitars poorly made, there can be very expensive NLP trainings and products that are poorly presented or poorly produced. To quote the old adage "Let the buyer beware" and in these economic times its worth really checking any purchases out and lookng beyond the sales pitch...

Thursday 5 February 2009

NLP Book Review on "Get the Life you Want"


This is the link for a review by Steve Andreas on Richard Bandler's "Get the Life you Want" NLP book.
I think it raises some interesting points about NLP, take a look for yourself!

click here

NLP is an excellent set of tools, but in recent times I have personally found that many "non NLP professionals" have been amazed at the manner in which it has been portrayed, often with very little attention to precise language and often in a very confusing way. Steve Andreas certainly in my view provokes some useful discussion in this article which I would recommend anyone interested in NLP to read.

Wednesday 4 February 2009

Diversity of clients in private practice


In running a private practice I see a huge diversity of different clients. As I have mentioned previously there is a whole world f difference working in this way than in NLP and similar workshops where any demo subjects have bought into the approach, by having paid to be on the event.
I have seen all manner of people from celebrities, to millionaires, international sports stars and people of all ages from 10 - 70. Its a fascinating line of work and its great to have a job that is of real benefit to other people, often whom arrive with real problems.

www.nickkemp.com

Tuesday 3 February 2009

Gerard Kemp Passes


Gerard Kemp, who died on January 6 aged 79, was a dogged and energetic Daily Telegraph reporter sent to some of the most dramatic troublespots during the Seventies.

Tall and burly, with the genial manner suggestive of a police sergeant, Gerry Kemp was ever ready to respond to a late night phone call by racing to an explosion in London or flying to the latest foreign crisis. He covered the sectarian strife in Northern Ireland and reported from Australia, Mexico and Nairobi. But his most dramatic dispatches concerned the explosion of violence in Jordan as King Hussein moved to crush Palestinian militants in September 1970.

On arriving in Amman, Kemp reported the blowing up of three hijacked airliners on the ground at the former RAF base of Dawson's field, minutes after the hostages on board had been evacuated. He was confined in the InterContinental Hotel for almost a week as it was engulfed in the battle raging between Jordanian troops, Syrian commandos and Palestinians. The water was cut off and Jordanian troops, manning a heavy machine gun on the roof, periodically came down to demand beer, while guests tried to cheer themselves up by calling out: "Waiter, there's a bullet in my soup."

Kemp stayed to report on King Hussein's ultimate triumph and the nervous re-emergence of civilians as order was slowly restored.

The son of a graphic artist, Gerard Kemp was born at Wolverhampton on February 27 1929 and went to St Chad's College, before joining the Army for national service. He started as a proofreader at the Walsall Times for £3 a week. On learning of a job going on the Daily Herald he did not inform his parents until he got it because they disapproved of the paper.

Moving to the Daily Mail, he started to interview showbusiness figures, though his encounter with Elizabeth Taylor in Rome, when she was making Cleopatra, came to an immediate close after he asked her to compare her various husbands. As a member of the paper's "Newsnight" team he demonstrated a sure talent for investigative work before leaving to become chief reporter on The Sunday Telegraph's "Close-Up" team, digging out material on illegal immigration, Mafia involvement in British casino gambling and the losing battle to restrict imports of pornography after Denmark lifted its ban.

Kemp was in Belfast on Bloody Sunday, covered the growing Loyalist reaction, and sat in on an IRA "court martial" at which two youths faced being kneecapped for robbing a shop. As civil unrest spread in England he had what he called "the Trot slot", reporting on extreme left-wing elements working to disrupt trades unions, constituency associations and other elements of "the capitalist society".

His ability to react to sudden events was demonstrated when he was the one reporter allowed down to the platform of the Moorgate Tube crash in 1975 which killed 43 people. "It was like a scene in a wartime film," he wrote in his pooled dispatch: "a horrible mess of mangled limbs and twisted iron, as rescuers worked in extreme temperatures to cut the passengers free."

Among his notable foreign stories was the trial in 1976 of the British Army Para-turned-mercenary Costas Georgiou, known as "Colonel Callan", executed for war crimes in Angola. He also covered an Organisation of African Unity summit in Kampala. On arriving at the airport he overheard security men praising Buick cars because they could fit three men in a boot. His big story there came when General Gowon of Nigeria was told that he had been ousted in a coup.

As the British economy slowed, the Telegraph started to grumble about his large Telexing costs and expenses, and he moved on to the Sunday Express, where he worked for another 10 years but without feeling that he received the same reporting opportunities.

Gerry Kemp loved black pudding, William Hazlitt and amateur musical productions. His two marriages, the first of which produced two sons and daughter, ended in divorce. He retained his sense of humour during his last years, which were spent in a wheelchair after a fall.

Daily Telegraph obiturary

He will be missed by many, including this son

Monday 2 February 2009

Jerry Schatzberg and Bob Dylan


Jerry Schatzberg took some of the greatest all time Bob Dylan photos from the mid 1960s including the famous Blonde on Blonde album cover. He recently ran an exhibition in London showing his work, when he met with Dylan during the Highway 61 sessions.

I first started listening to Dylan in the mid 1970s and even saw him live during this period

www.nickkemp.com

Sunday 1 February 2009

Snowed off


A day indoors, due to weather considerations

So, an opportunity to write, play guitar and generally have a catch up day, wile staying in the warm


www.nickkemp.com

NLP and developing genuine skills


When I first came across NLP in the 1990s I attended an event that had literally hundreds of attendees. There was a fair amount of "whooping", but fortunately also some good teaching, so we left with a basic awareness of NLP. We were not IMO 'practitioners" as indicated on our certificates, but certainly had some useful skills.

People attend NLP events for a variety of reasons and sometimes they can fall into the trap of believing that a few weeks training will equip them to leave the day job and set up a lucrative private practice. This rarely manifests for a number of reasons including the fact that in most instances the practitioner does not have the business skills to attract clients as well as not having the skills to properly work with client conditions.

One UK NLP training company claimed to have trained 50,000 practitioners and yet few individuals earn a sustainable income from NLP. Those who do make it beyond the "happy clappy" NLP online forums, establish their own reputations by creating new products and materials rather than attempting a karaoke version of imitating the trainer they first trained with! Many such skilled individuals take what they have learned from their original trainings and added their own insights to produce something truly useful for others.

I noticed that in recent years some people have begun to talk about "qualifying in NLP" and "graduating in NLP" as if NLP were an academic subject, which of course it is not! The NLP set of tools was created by the co creators modelling some of the best therapists who were around in the 1970s. Those who in my experience earn a reasonable living from using NLP skills tend to apply these skills in a specific niche. Unfortunately NLP has no real regulation and from the public's perception it can be regarded as a bit "new age" especially with some of the crazy comments online. The NLP skill set can produce some excellent results in learning and dealing with therapeutic issues, when practitioners learned their craft and put in the "fly time" to develop their own discrimination and professional skills.

www.nickkemp.com