3rd Generation NLP & Sustainable Development

Personal and Organizational “Fitness for the Future”

 

Sustainable development has to do with a system’s general state of health and readiness to respond to and care for its environment so that it is able to continue to grow and evolve through time.

 

This program will explore the skills, tools and practices available from Third Generation NLP that help to promote sustainable development on both an individual and organizational level.

 

With Robert Dilts (U.S.)

 

July 28 to 30, 2010

 

Investment: € 550

 

Content

Sustainable development has to do with a system’s general state of health and readiness to both respond to and care for its environment so that it is able to continue to grow and evolve through time. Sustainable development is intimately related to personal and organizational longevity and is founded on the ability to respond appropriately to both dangers and opportunities that arise, in many cases unexpectedly or spontaneously, as a person, group or organization moves into the future. As Arthur C. Clarke so eloquently pointed out,“The Future just isn’t what it used to be.”

Sustainable development is related to Ashby’s Law of Requisite Variety, which states that systems need a degree of variability in order to effectively adapt to the changes occurring in the world around them. From this perspective, a system becomes more durable by expanding its range of choices and resources. This is typically achieved by increasing the diversity of behaviors and mental models the person or organization uses to engage their environment.

Sustainability also involves developing a certain degree of persistence and stamina. In general, sustainability is a result of being in alignment and integrity with oneself and one’s environment, and promoting the connection between mind, body and the system or “field”. Energy management, resilience and ecology are key for creating sustainability, flow and effectiveness within individuals and organizations in times of crisis and transition. This is achieved through consistent exercise and practices rather than through techniques or one-time interventions. Thus, sustainable development relates more to ongoing behavior patterns in individuals or organizations than to particular events or interventions. As the old adage states,“an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

Sustainable management is the expression of skills and practices that support sustainable development. When resources are acquired and in place ahead of time, a person or organization is able to rise to the challenge instead of scrambling to deal with unnecessary problems. Sustainable management involves being prepared for the problems, goals and situations of the future that we may have not yet even imagined or anticipated. Having resources already in place reduces the need for ‘crisis management’.

In his groundbreaking work The Fifth Discipline (1990) Peter Senge claimed there were five disciplines which need to be practiced by everyone in an organization in order for it to truly become a sustainable entity or “learning organization”. These five disciplines can be considered the essence of sustainable management:

1. Awareness and examination of mental maps and assumptions. 2. Attaining and encouraging personal mastery.

3. Developing vision and creating the future.

4. Encouraging team learning.

5. Developing the ability for systemic thinking.

In the almost 20 years since Senge initially formulated these five disciplines, NLP has evolved many tools, models and methods to evolve and support them and make sustainable management more practical and attainable. The expansion of self-awareness, for example, through the ongoing examination of mental maps and assumptions (i.e., meta cognition) is one of the greatest strengths of NLP.

Becoming more aware of the thinking strategies, beliefs and other “programs” that support us or limit us is a key element of true sustainable management.

Attaining and encouraging personal mastery has to do with developing both our “inner” as well as “outer game” and achieving a balance of both intellectual and emotional intelligence. This comes from the integration of our cognitive mind with our somatic mind and their connection to the larger “field” of relationships around us.

State management and finding one’s inner zone of excellence are the foundations of this practice.

Developing vision and creating the future have to do with building the skills relating to leadership and creativity.

Leadership can be viewed as the ability of individuals and organizations to anticipate and commit. It also has to do with being able to recognize and address the “shadows” cast by the vision.

Creativity comes from our capacity for generativity. Generative processes are those which promote evolution and growth. To “generate” means to create something new; a primary focus of Third Generation NLP.

Encouraging team learning is closely connected to what is known as generative collaboration in Third Generation NLP. Generative collaboration involves transforming a “heap” into a “whole” and creating a team in which the whole is truly greater than the sum of its parts. It is a function of supporting one another to move forward in new ways and create something unprecedented.

Developing the ability for systemic thinking has to do with focusing on the field of relationships instead of the content of a problem or situation. This involves learning to become sensitive to the “field” and developing methods for tapping into a larger “field mind”.

This program will explore the skills, tools and practices available from Third Generation NLP that help to put these five disciplines into practice in order to promote sustainable development on both an individual and organizational level.

Trainer

Robert Dilts (U.S.)

Date

July, 28 to 30, 2010

Language of Instruction

English

Requirements

none

Program combinations

You can book 3rd Generation NLP separately or as part of the following program combination, subject to a discount:

• Master Training (with Generative Trance by Dr. Stephen Gilligan)

Investment

3rd Generation NLP & Sustainable Development: € 550