Leadership Dynamics

Infobox Company
name = Leadership Dynamics

type = For-profit, private
genre = Self-improvement
foundation = 1967
founder = William Penn Patrick
location_city =
location_country =
location = California, USA
origins =
key_people = Alexander Everett
area_served = National
industry =
products =
services = personal development
revenue =
operating_income =
net_income =
num_employees =
parent =
divisions =
subsid = Mind Dynamics, Holiday Magic
owner = William Penn Patrick
slogan =
homepage =
dissolved = 1973
footnotes =

Leadership Dynamics, also known as Leadership Dynamics Institute (LDI), was a private, for-profit company, owned by William Penn Patrick. The company focused on executive training, personal development and self-improvement. Leadership Dynamics was the first form of what psychologists termed "Large Group Awareness Training" [cite news
last = Kilzer
first = Lou
coauthors =
title = Desperate Measures Network of Behavior Modification Compounds Known as Teen Help Has Straightened Out Hundreds of Defiant Adolescents, But Its Methods Aren't For the Faint-hearted.
work = Rocky Mountain News
pages =
language =
publisher = E. W. Scripps Company
date = July 18, 1999
url =
accessdate =
"The first of the genre psychologists call "large group awareness training" was the Leadership Dynamics Institute..."] .

History

William Penn Patrick wrote a booklet entitled "Happiness and Success through Principle", in 1967, and founded Leadership Dynamics based on those principles. Every employee in the management of Holiday Magic were then expected to take part in the Leadership Dynamics coursework, which was described as having "overtones of strict military training techniques."

William Penn Patrick was the financial backer of the company, and also provided the financial backing for Holiday Magic and Alexander Everett's Mind Dynamics [cite book
last = Bartley
first = William Warren
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Werner Erhard: The Transformation of a Man, the Founding of Est
publisher = Potter
date = 1978
location =
pages = 177
url =
doi =
id = ] cite book
last = Lande
first = Nathaniel
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Mindstyles, Lifestyles: A Comprehensive Overview of Today's Life-changing Philosophies
publisher = Price/Stern/Sloan
date = 1976
location =
pages = 138, 143, 144
url =
doi =
id = ] . Patrick stated that students of the Leadership Dynamics Institute would be able to lead "a more creative and constructive life." Patrick utilized the principles of Everett's Mind Dynamics in his company.

Ben Gay, a high-level instructor at Leadership Dynamics, was President of Holiday Magic in the United States. Though he claimed Leadership Dynamics was a separate company, "..in no way related to Holiday Magic, Inc.", author Gene Church pointed out many inconsistencies in this statement [Church, Gene., "The Pit", Pp. 2, 8.
"Ben Gay stated that leadership Dynamics Institute was a separate company, in no way related to Holiday Magic, Inc. (It must have been a coincidence that Ben Gay was at that time President of Holiday Magic in the United States. A coincidence that the founder of Holiday Magic, William Penn Patrick was co-owner of LDI. Coincidence that instructor Jerry Booz was National Vice-President for Holiday Magic Ltd. in Canada, that instrutctor Sharoll Shumate was Regional Vice-President for Holiday Magic in the United States Northeast, and that instructor Vance Powell was Regional Vice-President for Holiday Magic in the United States Southwest.)"] . According to a lawsuit brought against Holiday Magic by the Securities and Exchange Commission, in order to advance to the positions of Instructor General, Trainer General, and Senior General within the company, employees were mandated to take part in the Leadership Dynamics training [ [http://www.mlmlaw.com/library/cases/mlm/ftc/hldymagc.htm 84 F.T.C. 748] , IN THE MATTER OF HOLIDAY MAGIC, INC., ET AL. ORDER, ETC., IN REGARD TO ALLEGED VIOLATION OF SEC. 5 OF THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION ACT AND SEC. 2(a) OF THE CLAYTON ACT, Docket 8834., Complaint, Jan. 18, 1971, Decision, Oct. 15, 1974, 248. Leadership Dynamics Institute.] .

In 1970, William Penn Patrick bought Mind Dynamics, and the Leadership Dynamics coursework soon became popular in the United States, Europe, and Australia. However, Patrick's businesses became involved in pyramid schemes, and Leadership Dynamics, Holiday Magic, and Mind Dynamics shut down in 1973.

Techniques

Michael Langone wrote in "Business and Society Review" that Leadership Dynamics was one of the first "transformational trainings"cite journal
last = Langone
first = Michael
authorlink = Michael Langone
coauthors =
title = Beware of `New Age’ Solutions to Age Old Problems
journal = Business and Society Review
volume = 69
issue =
pages = 39–42
publisher =
date = 1989
url = http://www.csj.org/infoserv_articles/langone_michael_busnewage.htm
doi =
id =
accessdate = ] . The extreme form of human potential movement training led to a series of lawsuits for the companycite book
last = Pressman
first = Steven
authorlink =
coauthors =
title =
publisher = St. Martin's Press
date = 1993
location =
pages = Chapter: [http://perso.orange.fr/eldon.braun/awareness/door2.html A Door to Door Mind Salesman]
url =
doi =
id = ISBN 0-312-09296-2] . This extreme training involved subjecting course participants to abusive practices such as beating, food and sleep deprivation, being placed inside of coffins, and degrading sexual acts.

Lawsuits against the company by former participants in the coursework alleged that students were sexually abused and tortured, including being placed in coffins or on crossesThe Role of Small Business in Franchising, Hearings Before the Subcommittee on Minority Small Business.", United States Congress. United States House of Representatives. House Permanent Select Committee on Small Business., 1973, P. 127, 137, 157, 203.] . Navarro and Navarro described the Leadership Dynamics training as utilizing a "harsh and hard hitting" form of group encounter therapycite book
last = Navarro
first = Espy M.
authorlink =
coauthors = Robert Navarro
title = Self Realization: The Est and Forum Phenomena in American Society
publisher = Xlibris Corporation
date = 2002
location =
pages = 55, 58
url =
doi =
id = ISBN 1401042201] . The non-fiction book, "" described some of these practices in great detailcite book
last = Church
first = Gene
authorlink =
coauthors = Conrad D. Carnes
title =
publisher = Outerbridge & Lazard
date = 1972
location =
pages =
url =
doi =
id = ISBN 0876900872 , ISBN 9780876900871 ] , and this was later made into a film, "Circle of Power" [cite video
people = Bobby Roth
title = Circle of Power
medium = Film
publisher = Media Home Entertainment
location = USA
date = 1983] .

Influence

Navarro and Navarro write that Werner Erhard later borrowed the "confrontational and abusive group encounter format" of Leadership Dynamics, and used it to develop Erhard Seminars Training. Langone also noted that many forms of transformational trainings were at the least, indirectly influenced by Leadership Dynamics.

While working for Holiday Magic, Lifespring founder John Hanley attended a course at Leadership Dynamics [cite news
last = Fisher
first = Marc
coauthors =
title = I Cried Enough to Fill a Glass: In One Lifespring Session, Trainees May Find Themselves Crawling on Their Hands and Knees, Wailing Like Infants and Tightly Hugging 200 Total Strangers - All to Get Control of Their Lives. Does it Work? Sometimes.
work = The Washington Post
pages =
language =
publisher = 1987 The Washington Post
date = October 25, 1987
url =
accessdate = ] . Chris Mathe, at the time a Ph.D. candidate in clinical psychology, wrote that most of today's current forms of Large Group Awareness Training were modeled after the Leadership Dynamics InstituteMathe, Ph.D., Chris., [http://perso.orange.fr/eldon.braun/awareness/choosingx.htm Choosing a Personal Growth Program: Ten questions to help you make an informed decision] , Chris Mathe 1999. [http://www.authenticleadershipcenter.com/Choosing.doc Alternate site] ] . Mathe cited Erhard Seminars Training, Landmark Education, Lifespring, Insight Seminars, PSI Seminars, New Warriors, and Impact as groups that were influenced by Leadership Dynamics.

References

Further reading

*cite book
last = Church
first = Gene
authorlink =
coauthors = Conrad D. Carnes
title =
publisher = Outerbridge & Lazard
date = 1972
location =
pages =
url =
doi =
id = ISBN 0876900872 , ISBN 9780876900871
*cite journal
last = Roggeman
first = Mark
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Oh Man, What Kind of Project Is This?
journal = Midwest Outreach
volume = 12
issue = 1
pages = Pages 8–10
publisher = Midwest Christian Outreach, Inc.
date = Winter 2006
url = http://www.midwestoutreach.org/Pdf%20Journals/2006/winter06.pdf
doi =
id =
accessdate =
* [http://www.rickross.com/reference/apologist/apologist23.html Report of the APA Task Force on Deceptive and Indirect Techniques of Persuasion and Control] , Margaret Singer, Michael Langone, Jesse S. Miller, Maurice K. Temerlin, Louis J. West, Harold Goldstein, November 1986.
* [http://www.havenministry.com/MankindProj.htm Mankind Project] , "Haven Ministries", cited document which describes history of the company.

External links

* [http://alexandereverett.com/students.html Spiritual gifts of inner peace & self-development] , current Web site of Alexander Everett