PCW in business and the Farrelly influence

My background is in business and when I met Frank Farrelly almost 20 years ago, I immediately realised that the value of his approach in a business context. Many people might imagine that any approach termed “Provocative Therapy” would not be relevant to a business context, which is not the case. Frank ran many workshops for a business audience and a lot of this footage remains in the archive of his work which is in my care.

Provocative Change Works for problem solving

PCW is essentially about problem solving and of course business is all about problem solving. In PCW we are looking for “the difference that makes the difference” and this approach has the flexibility and precision to produce some really excellent results. The model is primed to provoke or stimulate change and asks the question “what do we want more of?” and “what do we want less of?”

In the 1990s set up and ran a multi million pound business concern and a lot of this experience provided great insights into some of the problem solving strategies that form the core of PCW. The model is highly effective on an individual basis as well as a group basis. I continue to run trainings for the corporate sector as well as working on a regular basis with senior business owners and managers. Both fully appreciate the conversational nature of the approach and that its evidence based. As Frank Farrelly would always say ‘Show me the evidence!”

PCW is excellent for working with groups as well as individuals as it cuts through all the theory and instead looks at what works. When I worked in the corporate sector there were all manner of trainings that were designed to motivate and empower staff, but in most cases they were too theoretical and never translated into real life situations. In recent times I’ve worked with some really high ened international companies and receieved great feedback on the effectiveness of the model

The Power of influence, form and content

There’s an old saying – “You never get a second chance to make a first impression”

This is especially true in business and for any business wanting to attract and engage with customers. This means paying careful attention to every aspect of how the business message is communicated to the wider world. Essentially there are two main factors to consider –

The form – how you frame communications, how things “look” and “sound”

The content – The actual information that is communicated – use of language

Often here we are identifying “the elusive odvious” and ensuring that the intention of what we want to communicate is aligned with how the message is dlivered.

These days online presence and social media play a big part in connecting with the wider world.

PCW is a superb set of skills that assists with business success and below are some of the many testimonials from business owners about the PCW model.

Business testimonials

“Everybody enjoyed the course immensely and I would like to thank you for guiding us through a very useful and insightful two days.

Great feedback and lots of good work done after the course as well.”

Jacqueline de Rojas

Vice President McAfee UK and Ireland

“We wanted to help our staff consider that there is more than one response to a given situation, and help them explore a range of possibilities in terms of reactions. Alongside that is the awareness of the power and effect of language to help increase rapport, not only with colleagues, but with our customers.

Feedback from Nick’s work was impressive, in the highly regulated world of insurance we do have to operate to a script when talking to customers to meet FSA requirements; however we are now looking at the specific words we use.

Additionally our staff are more aware of their ‘state’ as a major factor in improving our ability to perform tasks, and how to seek to control this.”

Sue Lewis
Operations Manager Towergate Partnership Ltd

“I’ve been in the retail business for eight years and have had a lot of success until this year, when retail hit a low point. After a major upsizing last year, sales weren’t covering overheads and the business couldn’t’ have survived. I brought in the services of Nick Kemp for advise on areas that we could change to get customers back through the doors again.

After a friendly, informal chat over breakfast outside of my shop, Nick suggested loads of things to attract more customers into the shop, like simply adding more colour to the window! This alone increased customer traffic dramatically.

After seeing Nick and implementing just a few of his ideas, within ONE week, the business completely turned around! And to think, I’ve only implemented about 10% of the ideas so far! Now, it’s a case of finding out just how much money the shop can make! Fun times!

If you are looking for a way to increase sales and efficiency in your business, I can whole-heartedly recommend Nick Kemp as a Business Consultant.”

Julie Lingard
MD AQ/AQ Fashion

“As a thought leader in the IT Security industry most would consider being a good speaker as key, whilst true – the ability to listen and engage customers utilising their language & style is the true skill. Nick Kemp has truly opened my eyes as to how conversational skills can really change the way I interact with people. It has without doubt improved my communication skills in business and given me new confidence!”

Greg Day Director

“Our Business is one of the most progressive companies in the UK at exporting beverages. We are the single largest exporter of British ales in the UK, trading in over 50 countries and over 150 importers.

As we look to grow our business, communication on the phone is a huge part of making this growth occur through sales and effective relationship building.

One day with Nick Kemp has completely revolutionised the manner in which we talk to our customers and suppliers.

We achieved all the goals for the day but the session also acted as a good team building exercise as it was hugely interactive and great fun also.

I would have no qualms recommending Nick to any business no matter how small or large, it will be a game changer ”

David Davies

Managing Director at Sovereign Beverage