Is NLP Too Fluffy For Business?

That depends on whether you feel "fluffy" is important in business. NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) is fluffy, only in the sense that it deals with the human factor. If making your staff feel motivated, appreciated and valued is something that you are not interested in, then yes NLP is too fluffy for your business. NLP deals with the behaviours, that create our feelings and emotions and how we affect, inspire or motivate the people around us.

If you take a business model in its simplest form, it can be divided into 3 segments: Products, Sales and Admin. How each segment communicates and relates to each other will determine how successful the business will be.

On paper

The basic business model works well.

* Development to design to manufacturing is simple.
* Sales figures are always impressive.
* The admin side of your business is straightforward, and the company runs without any obstacles.

This is the interesting point, if it really was that simple, all organisations would not only survive, but excel.

What complicates things is the human factor in each segment. It is the employees that translate your vision, the simple plan from paper to reality. How well it is translated will determine whether your business succeeds or fails. This translation depends upon how your employees feel, what their abilities are and whether they feel their efforts are valued.

Why? Because people function from an emotional base. Their behaviours are made up from their beliefs, limitations, motivation and inspirations. Their thoughts change to feelings, which drive the actions that give the results.

NLP enhances all behavioural aspects of a person. Any company that has the human factor has behaviour, whether it is functioning successfully or not.

In conclusion, it is the fluffy stuff within every individual that determines whether your business is successful or not. When people feel valued, important and have a sense of contribution, they excel. If you want a truly successful business, you need to be able to understand and work with the human side of your business. In my opinion, NLP is the perfect platform to do that.