Telling the Story

Howdy,

Just curious before I begin "officially" ... how many of you out there are reading this and listening to my audiocast as well, I'd love to know. And, while you're at it would you mind dropping me a line about what you think of them ... either or both??? THANKS!

Now "officially" ...

Of course I've ordered the book ... if nothing else the guy knows how to market his stuff - after all he's become an expert in SCAMS (see the link above for more info.).

A friend and associate of mine who's been studying the MythoSelf(tm) work I do with me for years, author, speaker and trainer, Peta Heskell, "The Flirt Coach" (a well known persona in the U. of K.) sent me the above link and asked it might provoke a rage. Well to answer her directly, "No." I just don't care that much about the topic, however I do find what he's done fascinating ... and right in line with my story line, especially the line from yesterday about storying.

What's fascinating isn't what he's saying BUT - HOW HE'S SAYING IT. NOT what he's written BUT - WHAT HE HASN'T INCLUDED in his writing. This is what I'd call a "typical" journalistic trick to increase interest and "attendance" (remember I make a substantial part of my income delivering live programs - BTW they're DAMNED GOOD TOO! ...). What he's done is "Michael Moore-ish" in my opinion, one of the great scam artists alive today. He's gathered information and quotations and organized them to suit his purposes of delivering his polemic propaganda (I'm only here referring to this article as I haven't read the book ... yet.). In essence we don't really see an alternative opinion, fair game for an author - I think they have the "right" to present "THEIR" opinion. However his "trick" (as is Moore's) is to make his opinion SEEM MORE FACT THAN OPINION. This is the the great trick of all polemics.

What he's done (again I ask you to recall this is a serial about Social Ontology) is to gather quotes and "facts" about the coaching profession and organize them to make his point. In spite of the "FACT" that these of course are not "THE FACTS" but rather a selection of "FACTS" according to his sorting criteria, in other words sorted to make his particular point.

For instance in this case he quotes a famous and well regarded business theorist and author, business school professor Warren Bennis. He quotes Bennis as, in essence, disparaging coaching for executives on the basis of it being thinly veiled therapy delivered by people without the training or credentials to "do" therapy. However, this is NOT REALLY A CRITICISM OF COACHING, but of coaching doing something it's not. This is a critical point of distinction. And what's critical is that the author doesn't make it, nor does he provide the counter argument.

Now when you read the article you may say, "But Joseph he does, he does - look at that stuff he says about AT&T." I'd say yes that's true - until he dismantles and deconstructs it to further make his point. This is another GREAT TRICK! of so-called "journalists" ... really more like gossip columnists if you read critically. The choose to present the "FACTS" that they can and intend to dismantle and deconstruct that seem to offer the alternative position creating a sense of "balanced reporting" and then of course use that information only to further bolster their claims. Great propoganda technique, lousy journalism or documentation.

Michael Moore is a MASTER of this particular trick. Choose any film the guy has made or any book he's written and you'll see it's a favorite of his. One of the discoveries I've made is a "counter-film" called "Fahrenhype 9/11" with those that Moore interviewed and used to make "Fahrenheit 9/11" From the DVD cover:

FahrenHYPE 9/11 exposes the fallacies and misrepresentations in Michael Moore's methods. See how Moore deceived America by editing footage to promote his political agenda.

Hear from the people who found themselves in Fahrenheit 9/11 and feel betrayed.

[Note: Italics and bold are mine - JSR]

Then it lists some of these people who Moore used comments and footage from that was edited to protray what HE (Moore) wanted to say, NOT WHAT THEY WANTED TO SAY OR THOUGHT THEY WERE SAYING:

Ron Silver, Actor
Peter King, Congressman NY (R)
Ed Koch, Mayor of NYC (Former) (D)
Steven Emerson, Author "American Jihad"
Zell Miller, Sentor GA, (D)
Dick Morris, Political Advisor to Bill Clinton
And more ...

What's interesting is how clever Moore's editing was in showing just what he wanted his audience to hear and how that was organized to lead them to think a particular "truth" - not aligned with what the people he used to generate that line of thinking thought themselves. BRILLIANT PROPAGANDA!!! EXCELLENT POLEMIC RHETORIC!!!

What's important to you is to learn these techniques so that when they are being used you can and do recognize them yourselves - so that you are so much less suscepible to their influence. To notice the "story" and how it was created and is being told to create the effect intended.

Noticing WHAT'S IN the story AND WHAT'S NOT in the story is essential to you to make sense of your stories and what you're responding to on an ongoing basis!

This ability to critically listen to and analyze the "story" is critical to your becoming and remaining "free" of the influence of the story in a way that doesn't serve you. Learning to do this with the stories you are told and hear (or read) will ultimately lead to your becoming more able to listen to and analyze the stories you tell yourself (and others).

As a friend of mine says:

"Maybe it's okay to lie if you need to ... at work, or even with or to a friend, or in an exceptional case to your familiy or spouse ... but to lie to yourself is just stupid."

Another thing that's interesting here in the story reproduced from SCAMS is that the "original" coach quoted Thomas Leonard, who started Coach U (an online/telephone training and credentialing organization) has a very stringent set of requirements for "new" coaches with about two years of intensive training and supervision required to become a coach. That's a lot of training for folks who typically come to the program with undergraduate and master's degrees in Business to begin with and some twenty odd years of experience in business BEFORE they begin coach training.

BTW - what's interesting is that every "profession" of course began as an unmonitored, uncredentialed body of knowledge and work BEFORE they become "professional" in terms of credentials and licensure, and the major business profession, Management Consulting - of which Bennis is a practitioner is itself unmonitored and uncredentialed in any way, and these folks deal with billions of dollars of wealth/value and tens of thousands of lives in the decisions they work on with exectutives ... surely Warren Bennis knows this, don't you think?

So what's your story, eh?

Until we meet again ...

Joseph Riggio