NLP At Work : The Difference That Makes the Difference in Business

James Lawley & Penny Tompkins (2000)Metaphors in Mind:
Transformation through Symbolic Modelling, The Developing
Company Press.
Michael Lissack & Johan Roos (2000)The Next Common Sense: An
E-Manager’s Guide to Complexity, Nicholas Brealey Publishing.

I hired a carpenter to help me restore an old farmhouse. After he
had just finished a rough first day on the job, a flat tire made him
lose an hour of work, his electric saw quit, and now his ancient
pickup truck refused to start. While I drove him home, he sat in
stony silence. On arriving, he invited me in to meet his family. As
we walked toward the front door, he paused briefly at a small

METAPHOR: THE KEY TO THE UNCONSCIOUS MIND 133

the deeper significance of the metaphor for you.

2 What metaphors would you use to describe:

❏ Your career?

❏ Your relationships?

❏ Your social life?

❏ Your past?

❏ Your future?

How do the characteristics of the metaphor manifest themselves in

these areas of your life? For example, if you say “Life is like a

dream,” what does that mean? Is it unreal? Dreams can be

intangible. Dreams have many meanings and the purpose of them

can be unclear. There are pleasant dreams and nightmares. Explore

the possibilities of the metaphor for you.

3 Think of a situation that you would like to influence. It could be a

presentation, a meeting, or a discussion with one of your

colleagues. Develop a metaphor that you can use the next time you

are in this situation.

4 Think now of the company that you manage or work for. Is there a

metaphor that expresses itself through the language and actions of

the employees? Set yourself the task of identifying any metaphors

that you hear being used in your company or in the companies of

any of your customers during a particular day.

REFERENCES