A pet loathing of mine is corporate training that pretends to deep understandings of the human condition... motivation seminars and so forth.
Extreme case in point:
In December 2005 an apparently happy and stable 34 year old woman, Rebekah Lawrence, attended a "high intensity" personal development course. The course was promoted as a "journey to the core of the human spirit" and was run by a company called People Knowhow.
In the two days that followed the four day course, the woman demonstrated changed behaviour and aggressive attitudes to her workmates... before falling - naked - out the window of the office building.
Teachers of the course had no formal qualifications in psychology or counselling. They learnt how to administer the course... and away they went and facilitated it. The facilitator for the unfortunate lady's course had a qualification in computer science. That's it.
Personally the idea of some spit and polish corporate dweeb (probably younger than me) insisting he or she has something profound to "empower" me with - based on some course he or she has done - makes me want to break out the punching bag.
Is this not the essence of a fast food values system. One that worships material success, and spurns genuine experience?
You can't do a four day course on life.
The facilitator told the inquest in Ms Lawrence's death that "the purpose of the course was to change the state of mind of each participant".
I assume this meant a change of more penetrating depth than making them feel a bit brighter with some gentle entertainment and witty repartee.
In another context we would slam this stuff as the cult fodder. But capitalist values combined with vacuous new age mumbo jumbo gets excused a great deal.
Want a "journey to the core of the human spirit"...? Then go trekking around Katmandu, work in a third world orphanage, run a marathon. Do something genuine. Watching Oprah doesn't cut it and neither does this sort of crap.
Now it seems very likely that Rebekah Lawrence had some undiagnosed issues, and that People Knowhow cannot be blamed directly for her death. But if you are going to put someone through a course that stressful (it IS regarded as a course that can cause personal distress) you had better be qualified to do more than program computers, and it had better be for more than some corporate soft skills hogwash, and there better be support afterwards.
What a sad waste.
Related article here.
Extreme case in point:
In December 2005 an apparently happy and stable 34 year old woman, Rebekah Lawrence, attended a "high intensity" personal development course. The course was promoted as a "journey to the core of the human spirit" and was run by a company called People Knowhow.
In the two days that followed the four day course, the woman demonstrated changed behaviour and aggressive attitudes to her workmates... before falling - naked - out the window of the office building.
Teachers of the course had no formal qualifications in psychology or counselling. They learnt how to administer the course... and away they went and facilitated it. The facilitator for the unfortunate lady's course had a qualification in computer science. That's it.
Personally the idea of some spit and polish corporate dweeb (probably younger than me) insisting he or she has something profound to "empower" me with - based on some course he or she has done - makes me want to break out the punching bag.
Is this not the essence of a fast food values system. One that worships material success, and spurns genuine experience?
You can't do a four day course on life.
The facilitator told the inquest in Ms Lawrence's death that "the purpose of the course was to change the state of mind of each participant".
I assume this meant a change of more penetrating depth than making them feel a bit brighter with some gentle entertainment and witty repartee.
In another context we would slam this stuff as the cult fodder. But capitalist values combined with vacuous new age mumbo jumbo gets excused a great deal.
Want a "journey to the core of the human spirit"...? Then go trekking around Katmandu, work in a third world orphanage, run a marathon. Do something genuine. Watching Oprah doesn't cut it and neither does this sort of crap.
Now it seems very likely that Rebekah Lawrence had some undiagnosed issues, and that People Knowhow cannot be blamed directly for her death. But if you are going to put someone through a course that stressful (it IS regarded as a course that can cause personal distress) you had better be qualified to do more than program computers, and it had better be for more than some corporate soft skills hogwash, and there better be support afterwards.
What a sad waste.
Related article here.
