Title: Leading With NLP
Author: Joseph O'Connor
Publisher: Thorsons, 1998
ISBN: 0722537670
Price: £9.99

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Leading with NLP is my first attempt at discovering the tools, tips and strategies that lay behind this popular training technique.

The plus sides?
Joseph O'Connor has a very relaxed style of writing which held my interest at all times. His writing also has a very holistic approach, with good use of anecdotes, analogies and statistics to reinforce the learning material and engage the reader. It is clear that the author is extremely experienced
in the field of personal development and confidently provides a wide range of NLP concepts, tools and tips on paper.

The down sides?
I wasn't entirely sure that it was sufficiently well signposted for me to clearly gauge or confidently use NLP in practise. I feel that I would have to re-read the book in order to create my own 'top-down' interpretation of the benefits and uses of NLP, in order to apply them clearly. I also felt that a lot of time was spent on case-histories whereby NLP strategies were applied to companies lacking in strategic direction:- without any actual follow-up proof that these strategies had worked or had provided measureable results to the benefit of the companies involved.

In saying that, would I reccommend this book? Well, as an introduction to NLP for the intrigued reader, the answer would be - yes. As a reference tool for anyone who wants to know more about designing effective training plans - another yes.

Ian Matthews
imatthews@skillsplease.com