1. What is taught in “Business-Theater”?

We teach the businessmen the art of management of people at the most important, the personal level – at the level of emotions, feelings and subconscious. «Business-Theatre» develops skills that enable to successfully solve the most difficult task in the business – to seek from people desired, and more specifically, the desired mood, thoughts and actions. Possession of these skills is one of the secrets of the world elite and, through the transfer of which it remains so for many generations. Possession of these skills is an integral part of personal power in the team.

2. How did the idea of creating a “Business-Theater”?

The whole idea was born out of my own urgent need as a top manager of one of the leading Russian companies. It’s one thing to define the development strategy of the company, to establish business processes, etc. and It’s quite another to manage human beings in a large company, manage the whole team and each employee. And here I was faced with serious difficulties. Here is the standard example for most Russian companies: suddenly there is an unscheduled task that should be immediately done. I.e. employees had to postpone its main activity to do in an emergency basis other things that are, more often, are not even their immediate functional responsibilities. How to resolve this situation? Administrative resources, i.e. whip – Staff will work in a slipshod manner, and it will not be done as it should. Building on its reputation as a leader and, above all as a person? Yes. And it, in turn, is based on respect, affection and loyalty of subordinates. Have you noticed that we are talking about feelings: feelings of respect, affection and loyalty? These feelings need to somehow activate the people. Here’s the task! And their appearance depends on many things and, above all, the personality of the manager. In today’s terms, it is charisma. And such situations in the work of top manager are quite a lot each day: – To convince the president in the accuracy and timeliness of certain decisions; – To highlight the problem on the board of directors; – To convince opponents of the negotiations; – To speak at the launch of a new product; – Raise the “morale” of employees working away from the central office; – To talk heart to heart with subordinate who can’t cope with work, etc. In all these cases, for you face the task to manage emotions and feelings of others, and, consequently, their thoughts and actions. In all programs of MBA for personnel management there are qualities that must have a modern, successful leader. And everywhere there is a mysterious phrase that the leader must be charismatic. Where can I take this charisma? In the textbooks they write that or it exists or not. And nowhere you don’t get it, if God not yet awarded you. This situation did not suit me. Somehow reading a business magazine I found an article that exists the school for businessmen, where they become the charismatic personalities, and it all happens with the elements of clown’s art. I became interested in the presence with us in Moscow such a school, and found nothing similar. So was appeared the idea of creating a “Business-Theater”.

3. On what principles based your technique?

I’ll start with the basics. Let’s look at the issue. Only 7% of the information people receive from communion by the words, the rest will fall on facial expressions, gestures, posture, gait, tone and intonation of voice, and so on. Secrets of the management of people, what we train, just are responsible for 93%. What is reason of this situation? It is very simple – it is our inheritance from nature. We got out of nature, and we have in common with her much more than differences. The presence of logical thinking allows us to develop faster and to have a developed social structure. What else is thinking except logical? Imaginative! This way of thinking operates not with logical symbols (words and numbers), but with images, emotions and feelings. Each of us deals with computers and knows very well that the operations with images require more memory than that with figures. The same situation is with a human brain.

Logical thinking Imaginative thinking Information Imaginative thinking works always. It is the first to process the information, which enters the brain. Logical thinking controls the work of imaginative thinking but not in all cases. It bring us to the well-known truth that people are managed by emotions and feelings, and those who can manage its, is a master of the situation. And who knows this field better than actors? They give performance almost every day. And in spite on the fact that we know in advance that any performance or film is only illusion, we worry about the situation and have real and strong feelings. Strictly speaking, there are two groups of people who have good command of the art of managing emotions and feelings of people: the elite and the actors. But the first one will not ever share these secrets with us! Feelings and emotions – an energy that makes people move and manages them. How can harness this energy? Each of us has the tools – we are. Need to learn to use the tool! The question is – how to learn? People perceive the information by means of their organs of sense. Hearing and vision are two main means, which allow us to communicate. Our voice may effect upon other people ears. Our appearance (cloths, accessories, hair style) and, mainly, our body (bearing, gait, poses, gestures, mimicry, glance) effect upon other people eyes. It proves to be that we have two principle tools of communication – our body and our voice. According to this fact we have two basic courses in the “Business-Theatre” Training Program. They are the following: – “Course of Body and Movement”; – “Course of Voice and Speech”. After you get and mastered the tools it is necessary to gain knowledge to make use of them for effective communication taking into account the laws of human psychology. The latter is the task of the main course of “Business-Theatre” – “Course of Actor Skill”. When you graduated from three mentioned courses you gained the skill of effective communication. We should not forget that we live in a social community, which is characterized by definite “rules of games” originated from human physiology and psychology. These rules are especially critical in so called “high society”. If you have relations with its representatives or enter into business elite, then you need effective communication skill, which is rely upon these rules. This task may be achieved with the help of “Course of Etiquette”. To illustrate, one can draw an analogy with popular now skiing. Had learned skiing – is to pass three core courses, and learn how to run a slalom track with the light of the specific gates – it’s etiquette.

4. What is the difference from other methods?

Other techniques are offered by business schools and training companies. And the difference is that they provide only a logical point, the structure and the skeleton of the question, what students pass at specific workshops. In “Business Theater” students develop their personality and personal abilities that enable them to implement in daily life all this knowledge. For example, in the Harvard’s method of negotiation is such advice: determine the conditions of a partner tie with him emotional connection, go to the trust, etc. But this is just what that no one teaches seriously on the trainings! “Business-Theater” gives to the students these abilities and also other skills of managing yourself and other people, which are necessary in any business and life situations, including the negotiations. That the situation has become quite clear, it is possible to carry out the following analogy. Mother sends her son for the milk. She gives him a task and tells him how to carry it out. Come out of the apartment, down the stairs, turn left, then right, cross the street at the green light, go into the store and buy milk at a certain price and return back to the same way. The child receives all the necessary logical chain in order to successfully accomplish the task. But before it you must teach a child to walk! And this most important step in training is omitted. In the field of communication skills is situation that units walk, the others jump on one leg, hobble, crawl on belly, etc. Must say that what give training companies and business schools, and what gives “Business-Theater” – the two sides of one coin and the other side has not received adequate attention.

5. “Business-Theater” is targeted for whom?
First of all are businessmen, CEOs, senior civil servants, senior managers and middle managers in large companies. In addition, we have courses for sales managers that can benefit companies in terms of improving skills in working with major corporate clients.

6. Can you train a person, if one has not an acting talent?

Good question. My answer is simple: we can. We have all heard of the Stanislavsky system, but not everyone knows what it is and what gives. So just using it is the guarantee of the success of learning. By the way, that our programs are based on Stanislavsky’s system is a great advantage in comparison with European and American programs.

7. And is than “Business-Theater” can be useful for an MBA graduates?

It’s useful for the same things that for other businessmen and top managers. An additional benefit for MBAs is in the fact that obtained in the “Business-Theater” skills of managing people are in harmony with the knowledge given by the business schools, and it do increase the efficiency of their application. It is my understanding that you have got the impression that something about which we speak, stands alone apart from the business education system habitual for us. Consider the widespread in business schools model of education a person, a businessman: Area of activity. Business (MBA). Sports. Philosophy. Psychology. Effective communication skills.

It is represented as a sphere. At the very core of human models are answers to the questions – What is important to me? Who do I want to be? Where do I want to work? Etc. This is the philosophical core. Next is an area in which a person responds to questions – How do internally constructed I and others? What are the laws of interaction between people? This is the area of psychology. Then comes the separation of knowledge that are needed for different types of activities: sports, culture, science and business … In the field of business education there is a set of basic disciplines: marketing, investment analysis, etc. This is the area of MBA. But there is another area which is located between the area of psychology and area of applied knowledge and skills! This is the place in the education system, in which is located the training for the effective communication skills. It’s one thing to know the laws of interaction between people, and quite another to have the skills and abilities in real life to manage them! The situation now with the skills to communicate effectively resembles the situation with general education (ie, conventional literacy) at the time of parochial schools. Then people that can read and write, could not worry about a piece of bread. A similar situation now with the art of managing people.