It's official: The Booker International Global Cultural Detective® Coaching Program is officially open and accepting registration applications. I filmed the video clip above (the entire video interview series, in English and German, is here) to help Rita describe her concept in a language that, as Malcolm one said, we can all understand :-)
I'm very excited about this program because it will combine the cumulative wisdom and insight that has been gleaned and developed for interculturalists, on a global level, for more than a half-century. It will describe the language and methods of intercultural communication so that managers, leaders and activists can access effective ways to build interpersonal bridges across cultural barriers.
To most people, intercultural studies is the stuff of academia: it is stale, obscure, dated and in some ways archaic. Stuff for eggheads and useful idiots. After all, we realize that the science of intercultural communication has it's developmental origins in US military culture. And that in today's world, it's uses have been sometimes questionable.
So right now, I can hear you asking, "Well Bookerman, how in the heck are you gonna prevent the misuse of powerful tools like NLP from being misused or put in the hands of psychopaths?"
I'll tell ya how! By using the same protective tactics that I learned from the same guys for the purpose of non-violent conflict resolution: time, distance and shielding.
Time = using extensive screening of potential candidates. No place for beginners, extremists or lollygaggers here.
Distance = practicing complete transparency through mega peer review. Telling everybody we know about what we are doing, openly inviting serious inquiry and welcoming informed comment and questioning.
Shielding = practicing corporate social responsibility. Seeking not just to do good, but to do well, without causing harm.
Now that you've read the elevator speech, check out the trailer to the movie :-)