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Program Your Success by Sue Knight
Executives are learning that using all five senses can help them achieve the results they want, writes Margaret Coles. It sounds like a typical Californian concept but it is being taken seriously in our most down-to-earth industries. Neuro-Linguistic Programming is claimed to make the difference between being average and being excellent. It is an approach to communication and development that helps people to modify their thinking and behaviour in order to achieve results they want. "Neuro" relates to the fact that we experience the world through our five senses, "linguistic" refers to the use of language to communicate and "programming" to the way we organise ideas and actions - terms from the past - to produce results. It all begins with understanding how behaviours affects outcomes and why we act as we do. For example, we can more readily achieve rapport with other people by observing from their use of language, which of the five senses most influences their thinking. People who think visually will feel more at ease with someone who sees what they mean and can picture the scenario. Sue Knight, an NLP business trainer, says that most of us fail to capitalise on the subtleties of language. "If you ask someone to do something and they say they can't, most people would ask: 'Why not?' That invites the other person to dredge up all the reasons which makes it even more difficult for them. "If you ask: 'What would happen if you could do it?", you're inviting them to think about the possibility of doing it. It's a very simple change but a very different question gets very different results. If they genuinely think about the question they'll start to imagine themselves doing the thing, and that is a big step towards doing it." Knight explains that we run programs, like a computer, that will always get us a particular result - and not necessarily the one we want. Once we become aware of what we are doing, we begin to have choices. "Instead of blaming other people and feeling frustrated, you can learn how to manage yourself so as to feel the way you want to feel. "Business development is tied to personal development. You're the only person you can change: you can influence others only by developing yourself," says Knight. Paul Kiss, managing director of Abbey Underpinning and Foundations, ground engineers, did the first actual NLP courses with Sue Knight 2.5 years ago, because "I've always been one for trying new things and learning," he says. "I thought Sue's supposition that my business was a reflection of me was rubbish." "Sue says that example is the best influence so, after the course, as a little experiment, I went into our yard, which was a real mess, picked up a cement bag that was blowing about and put it in the skip. A few minutes later someone else followed suit, and a bit later the yard had been cleared. NLP frees up your thinking. For instance, I now run my business by consultation. I have weekly one-to-ones with the key managers, and they do the same with their people. It lets me get a handle on the business but also builds good relationships. As a result, people sell more and work better, which has made the business stronger." Kiss found the NLP practice of outcome thinking particularly valuable. "You use all five senses to imagine an outcome you want, and that lets the unconscious mind develop the goal and motivates the conscious mind to try harder and recognise opportunities," he says. He uses the practice before meetings with "so-called difficult clients", and it has helped him to develop a "virtual business plan that includes measurements of such things as staff and client feedback." He says: "NLP has transformed the business. We've become a lot more professional, it's a lot nicer to work here and I don't work so hard. It's had a big impact for the better on my life. I'd say this is the ultimate in personal development." Brian Chernett, managing director of the Academy for Chief Executives, a forum for the exchange of views, uses NLP for training. "The thing that got me hooked was a technique called anchoring," says Chernett. "I used to get nervous before one-to-one meetings, worrying about how I could deliver added value. I brought this up on an NLP course and was taught the technique, which involved thinking of an occasion when a one-to-one meeting had gone really well and "anchoring" the memory to touching my left ear lobe. I could then recapture that happy state by touching it again. It really worked and now I can do it without touching my ear and I'm never nervous in meetings." "NLP makes interviews easier; you can do away with lots of personality tests because you have better use of language and listening skills, and a better understanding of people." "It has changed my life. I'm far more sensitive to my wife and family, and to the people I work for and manage."
Sue Knight is an international consultant. Her work
consists of writing, one to one coaching, talks and leadership
consultancy. She is author of several books including
NLP at Work, NLP Solutions and Leadership from the Heart
manual of exercises for leaders. You can up to date news
of her work and thoughts on her web page www.SueKnight.co.uk.
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