Scientific Definition
The original purpose of NLP: capture the precise structure of how an exceptional performer does what they do, so it can be transferred.
Plain-English Definition
The original purpose of NLP: capture the precise structure of how an exceptional performer does what they do, so it can be transferred.
Feynman Explanation
Don't admire experts. Model them. Then ship.
Core Principle
The original purpose of NLP: capture the precise structure of how an exceptional performer does what they do, so it can be transferred.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
The original purpose of NLP: capture the precise structure of how an exceptional performer does what they do, so it can be transferred.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Top-performer studies, sales playbooks, training program design.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
Don't admire experts. Model them. Then ship.
Examples
- Bandler & Grinder modeling Erickson (hypnosis), Satir (family therapy), Perls (gestalt).
- Top-performer studies, sales playbooks, training program design.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Model strategy and state, not surface behavior. The visible part rarely transfers.
Measurement Approaches
Pending editorial review.
Evidence
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
The Perverse Incentive Lens™
How this behavior is exploited — and how to redesign around it.
- Model strategy and state, not surface behavior. The visible part rarely transfers.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Interactive Mini Network
Click any neighbor to re-center the graph and follow the threads of connection.
Knowledge Graph Neighbors
Auto-linked to the rest of the Human Behavior Taxonomy by family, domain, dimension, and shared keywords.
Anchor a peak resourceful state to an imagined spot on the floor; step into it on demand before high-stakes moments.
Your capacity to learn, unlearn, and relearn faster than the environment changes.
Malcolm Knowles's principles of adult learning: self-direction, experience as resource, readiness, problem-centered orientation, intrinsic motivation.
Amishi Jha's research: attention is a finite, depletable, but trainable cognitive resource — short daily mindfulness measurably improves it.
Approach a situation as if you knew nothing.
Unusual or bizarre material is more memorable than common material.
Hierarchy of cognitive learning: Remember → Understand → Apply → Analyze → Evaluate → Create. Benjamin Bloom, 1956 (revised 2001).
Wallace J. Nichols: proximity to water reliably shifts the nervous system toward a calmer, more creative state.
Resourcing past memories with the state you needed at the time, so old triggers stop firing the old response.
Grouping information into familiar units to improve memory and processing.
Compressing many small patterns into one larger unit your mind treats as a single object.
Associating a neutral stimulus with a meaningful one until the neutral one triggers the response.