a milestone in the evolution of training
trust that can really deliver change
organisation and individual in balance
the psychology to succeed

evolution in business models calls for evolution in business cultures. Learning from successful experience with extremely different cultures such as Cisco Systems and British Airways and evolving out from an NLP background, Orange Tree International has put together a deliciously simple and effective training formula that shifts the balance from imposition to empowerment.

"e-people is our shorthand name and trust is the essence of what we're doing..." says MD Lyndi Jackson. "The organisation needs mature individuals who can think for themselves and make elegant choices... If you teach people that empowerment comes from within and allow them to use these gifts then a trust is built that cannot be compromised - a trust that transforms employees from robots who can't grow the business to effective people who can - effective people who are allowed to have ideas, who act autonomously and with passion..."

employability is the core issue. "We ask people to look at themselves critically and to be responsible for the value they add in their work," says Jackson. "Within that context we look at the mission of the individual as well as the mission of the organisation. You can't achieve results if you don't have goals and you can't work for business results if you aren't aligned with those goals...."

"We are talking about a very subtle form of integrity here... and some kind of a shakeout, " she explains. "Your good staff get the green light to be great staff because they finally know what they are doing. They have a life plan, a career plan and a new level of alignment with the corporate plan.... No more helplessness; no more automaticity; no more excuses and being a victim.

essentially the purpose is to address next generation business styles. "We're looking to move people away from battery chicken affability that can't resolve problems and seems false to the customers, away from the tips and tricks philosophy of stuff like customer focus training and stress management... Our goal is to teach people about themselves and their very own powers and then ask them to be themselves in all their glory, to grow up a little every day, to reach the new levels of maturity that new frontiers are demanding..."

e-people is claimed to be more than just a concept, but how does it actually work? Surely we've heard it all before ? "Look at the computer," smiles Jackson. "It started as a vast piece of machinery filling a room. It took decades before we had the truly usable network. The next evolution is that we take it for granted, get it installed and under control in our personal lives and really embrace the change that is everywhere in our lives. This has implications for personal development, only the pace is much faster...

Companies that survive in a world of uniform product excellence will be the ones with a perceived edge in terms of attitude. It's interesting, when you think about, that the word fulfillment has two totally different meanings that can now come together...as in personal human achievement and the delivery of goods and services… The ultimate goal is doing the same job and receiving huge fulfillment in both of these areas. "

"We make it fun and there's plenty of serious purpose," insists Jackson. "We've found a new way to encourage the psychology to succeed and to do this we have to go deep. We're exposing people to a greater truth, which is always very liberating and inspiring. The workshops are tailored to the particular context and the actual people involved, to ensure a relevant and powerful experience. e-people has some neat corrolaries, which makes the concept easy to explain and great to work with. "There's the e as in enthused… effective… energetic… employable… excited… extra-ordinary… empowered… enabling…"

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range Tree International has evolved through the commitment, vision and talent of its founders and the approach is unapologetic. "People are most effective and happiest when they are energised from within as opposed to reliant on outside stimuli or constraints," explains Jackson. The human being has evolved and will evolve to match the possibilities we are creating. Those that do not move fast will be left behind and we think of e-people as the next generation: those who no longer squander their personal resources; people who can understand, act, influence, engender trust, build rapport on a breath of air, as we like to say.

"We aren't forcing any issues. We aren't pushing forgettable tricks that people soon give up on. e-people marks the end of dabbling with effectiveness and the beginning of serious science when it comes to empowerment. You can tire of hearing concepts like knowing who you are and where you are but just as goal mapping and "attitude" are the core issues in corporate survival, they will be so for the individual..."

"We see this as science plus art plus a little magic of our own," concludes Jackson. "Some healing, lashings of truth, plenty of thought, tons of new inspiration. e-people is the way we have found through the maze of human inhibitions, if you like…"

for further information please contact Orange Tree International
[email protected]

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