It was as if we were being cooked in a cauldron of ever increasing commitment to be fully here now. I wanted to get out, I wanted to stay in. I was fascinated by it, and at times disgusted as well. commons/1984/may/14/mr-ashley.įull disclosure: I never worked for Programmes. In fact, Exegesis got such lousy press it led to hostile questions in the UK Parliament. Given Exegesis' damn-the-torpedoes brand of full-frontal experiential education, toxic media reportage and ensuing notoriety were all but guaranteed. By normal, conventional standards it was a rash and scary thing to do. If anything, I thought Exegesis did not go far enough still, of what use would the most brilliant training be if it was so shocking that the authorities banned it?Īctive in England and Wales from the late-70s to the mid-80s, with headquarters in Bristol and London, whoever was lucky - or doomed - enough to do the Exegesis Seminar, and had the nerve to endure it to the end either went through hell and came out transformed, as we used to say, or merely wasted time, money and the opportunity of a lifetime – and didn't. I cheerfully disagree.Ī man needs a little madness or else he never dares to cut the rope and be free. The British media were extremely prejudiced about Exegesis and slammed it as a scam and worse. Was it abusive? Did it go 'too far'? I never witnessed that. Once the seminar commenced its four long days in a hotel room, you quickly realized the trainer was not like anyone you had ever met. Exegesis seminars were much smaller, more intense and confrontational than est trainings. The year was 1981.įounded, inspired and controlled by the charismatic Robert Daubigny, a master trainer, Exegesis copied the style and content of Werner Erhard's est training – and pushed further. They quickly proceeded to revolutionize telephone marketing in the UK. It was these men and women who launched Programmes in Bristol and later London. Without Exegesis, Programmes would never have existed. Fact: all or almost all the staff seen here are graduates of the controversial - some would say notorious - Exegesis Seminar. If a history of cults in modern Britain were to be written, these people would be in it.

Never mind marketing – this is about a phenomenal group of people whose story has never been told. No wonder they quickly won Britain's top phone marketing award. These people could sell anyone practically anything, legal or not: they worked insanely hard and made their company the industry leader in about two years.

was the UK's sales sensation of its time. Staff of Programmes Ltd, London, England.

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