Frequently Asked Questions

I will help you establish whether your teams qualify or not in the initial consultation you must have with me before anything else. If your people have done enough inner work—through coaching, leadership development, mindset or emotional intelligence training programs—and are open to delving deeper into the mind, beyond emotions, in a very calm, dispassionate, and highly rational place, they are ready. If the idea of accessing a higher inner power for business solutions feels impossible or ridiculous, then they may need some more mindset coaching and training first. I may recommend excellent professionals and companies who do that if you’d like. I want to sell something that corresponds to a clear need.

What we do and learn in Socratic conversations is not doctrine. It is based on rigorous, dispassionate observation of realities in and out of our bodies. We learn to access and connect more seamlessly with the deep inner guidance that exists naturally in all human beings and everywhere in the universe, generally said to be of spiritual nature. We learn to listen to and follow a very subtle energy which is always guiding us to become better, wiser versions of ourselves, individually and collectively. Participants in Socratic conferences come from all religious and cultural backgrounds. The conversations are even more productive when there is cultural diversity in the room.

Under my guidance, we seek to clarify what, in your organization’s internal and external communications, is causing its current problems (misunderstandings, conflicts, low morale, reputation issues, etc.). We do not debate or take sides, but rather seek to understand and be understood, down to the level of each word. It is a vastly different behavior from that we are used to, hence challenging at first.

Like Socrates in ancient Greece, I mostly ask questions, but I also share my own knowledge when relevant. Participants reflect and offer answers that are beyond their immediate, impulsive thoughts. We examine the meaning of several words that we use all the time, like “economic system” or “sustainability,” and begin correcting our understanding of these words. We may abandon them in favor of more universal words that have the highest power to change us, and the world, towards peace and harmony, by aligning us collectively with true meaning. 

A Socratic workshop is a slow-paced, respectful, and reflective conversation. This will take about two and a half hours, including a midpoint break.

Smaller groups work best—5 to 30. It’s often the organization’s senior leadership team. But it can be a group of professionals from different organizations attending the same event.

I am only doing in-person workshops at this time. I am happy to travel when necessary.

It incorporates certain aspects of coaching, like questioning, reflecting, and guiding. But it addresses developmental needs that appear at more advanced stages of human personal/adult development than conventional coaching. Participants who already have a good level of self-awareness and emotional mastery benefit the most from my workshops.

Your teams, feeling empowered, liberated, and lighter, will continue implementing what they have learned and practiced at the workshop. The transformation will be significant even after only one workshop. The internal and external communication problems of your organization will start to dissipate. Your organization may change its overall strategy, making it considerably clearer and simpler. It will have more buy-in and a much higher chance of success. 

You may decide to have me again to facilitate another workshop for a particular department or group, or to clarify another complex topic than those we clarified in the first conference. I am here to help your organization as a whole return to growth and harmony.

Consider this: How much does your company spend on either (1) getting informed or (2) informing others? And how are those efforts working for you? Knowing how much is spent on communication activities that do not deliver the right message to the right people at the right time, the ROI could be quite significant. The success of your company depends on the trust of your customers, shareholders, and other stakeholders. That trust is earned by the alignment of your company’s words with verifiable facts and results.  

Even a small step towards true clarity will return more to your company than a million-dollar advert filled with buzzwords. And you can gain that clarity (and its full dollar value!) in a couple of hours of Socratic conversation with my guidance.

In my 40+ years experience working in individual and collective human “sustainable” development, I have made and corrected the mistakes I see most leaders still making today. The heart of it is in communication. Leading a corporation or a country today is like being the captain of a ship through a big tempest. No time to reinvent the wheel. And no time for vague buzzwords. Each commandment (made with words) must be understood exactly as meant. 

Read about the worldwide positive impact my work has had in key industries in my bio, and I am happy to answer any questions. But I suggest you try a Socratic workshop to see for yourself what it can do to your organization and beyond.

“Socrates (c. 470–399 BC) was a Greek philosopher who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no texts and is known mainly through the posthumous accounts of classical writers, particularly his student Plato. These accounts are written as dialogues in which Socrates and his interlocutors examine a subject in the style of question and answer; they gave rise to the Socratic dialogue literary genre.” Source: Wikipedia 

The name Socrates is derived from the combination of two Greek words: “sos” meaning “whole, unwounded, safe” and “kratos” meaning “power.” Source: Behind the Name, behindthename.com. 

I can help any industry with their communication problems. Yet most of my experience is in the food, agriculture, forestry, fisheries, mining and extractives, energy, tourism, or financial sectors, or in areas that serve the latter. Also, in any part of the “sustainability” industry itself, including consulting. 

Participants are typically highly educated individuals. Oral and written communication are their main leadership tools. They are science- and mission-driven. They seek feedback, mentors, coaches, and knowledge to improve themselves and their leadership. They are ethical and want to “do the right thing.” 

They are aware that they are having a communication problem because they are facing inner and outer misunderstandings and conflicts, and reputational risks. They have tried a variety of solutions that did not work and are ready to try something new and different. They have done enough personal development to understand that inner spiritual guidance does exist and are open to have a better dialogue with such guidance.