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The Landmark Forum

Landmark Education (LE) was founded in 1991 and purchased the rights to a training course known as The Forum fromWerner Erhard and Associates (WEA). This was re-designed and named The Landmark Forum. It has had several major revisions since then, as well as ongoing gradual evolution. Many completely new courses and seminars have also been developed.

Landmark Education sells courses to individuals and has a subsidiary - Landmark Education Business development - which provides training and consultancy to organizations.

The organisation provokes passionate opinions both in favour and against.

Supporters of Landmark characterise the organisation as a straightforward business selling highly effective training courses which empower their customers to reach their full potential in all areas of life.

Some commentators have described The Landmark Forum as a large group awareness training (LGAT), a view shared by a Ph.D. dissertation by Denison Charles.

Detractors have associated Landmark with psychological multi-level marketing, "cult"-like behaviour, brainwashing, and hypnotism, whereas supporters point out that such comments are both vague and ill-informed.

Landmark Education Corporation became Landmark Education LLC in February 2003.

Operation

Landmark comprises an international employee-owned corporation with more than half its offices in North America. All the stock is owned by employees with no single individual holding more than 3%. No dividends have ever been distributed, and all profits have been used to either expand the operation or to subsidise the courses in countries such as Kenya, South Africa and India, to render them affordable to the local population.

Some of these forebears which people have cited include Heidegger, Richard Rorty, Sartre, and Westernized and popularized Zen.

Landmark operates by inviting guests of seminar participants to attend The Landmark Forum, encouraging them to "transform" their lives and to recruit their family members, friends and acquaintances using word-of-mouth marketing.

Landmark Forums have taken place in at least 26 countries : Japan, Israel, India, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Romania, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, United Kingdom, South Africa, Kenya, Jamaica, United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand.

Landmark offers three principal courses, collectively called "The Curriculum for Living":

1. The Landmark Forum, four days in duration, focusses on completing one's past
2. The Advanced Course, five days in duration, concentrates on planning a future, defining one's self in a way to "create the life you love"
3. The Self Expression and Leadership Programme (SELP) emphasises enrolling others into one's visions. Each participant (including the program leader and the coaches) takes on a project in some community in their life (not related to Landmark). Commonly this might be a sports or social club, an extended family, a church group or a charitable undertaking. Many millions of dollars have been raised for a large variety of charities worldwide by fund-raising initiatives created within this program.

It also offers a free "Special Introduction" to the Forum and (according to Landmark Education's own website) more than forty other for-payment courses, seminars or programmes.

Some course participants (1%) become 'assistants' for the corporation, with the apparent legal status of volunteer unpaid workers (in France, this practice has been judged illegal by the Labour Ministry). People who assist work with the staff and receive further training in Landmark practices and general leadership skills.

Stated attitudes of Landmark

Landmark Education claims that "A fundamental principle of its work is that people ? and the communities, organizations, and institutions with which they are engaged ? have the possibility not only of success, but also of fulfillment and greatness."

It also claims that "In independent research, graduates of Landmark?s programs report major positive results in the following areas:

• The quality of their relationships.
• The confidence with which they conduct their lives.
• The level of their personal productivity.
• The experience of the difference they make.
• The degree to which they enjoy their lives."

Landmark states that it intends its courses for mentally healthy people.

Coaching has long figured in the Landmark repertoire.

Third-Party Studies

A study by Daniel Yankelovich, chairman of DYG, Inc., (Analysis of The Landmark Forum and Its Benefits) stated that: "

• More than 90% of participants report practical and enduring value for their life - well worth the time and cost.
• More than 90% of participants report a better understanding of relationships and their role in them.
• Nearly every participant received unexpected benefits - ranging from the ability to control weight to achieving personal and professional goals."

A survey by Harris Interactive concluded that: "

• One-third experienced a significant increase (of 25% or more) in their incomes after completing The Landmark Forum. Of that group, 94% said The Landmark Forum directly contributed to the increase.
• Seven out of 10 people said they worried less about money and became more effective in managing their finances after completing Landmark's programs.
• Participants found they were working fewer hours, suggesting they achieved greater balance in their lives."

The University of Southern California carried out a Case Study into the work of Landmark Education Business Development (LEBD) at BHP New Zealand Steel. They concluded: "The set of interventions in the organization produced impressive measurable results:

• Safety performance improved 50%
• Key benchmark costs were reduced 15-20%
• Return on capital increased by 50%
• Raw steel produced per employee rose 20%"

(full report available from USC)

A study commissioned by Werner Erhard and Associates concluded that that attending a Landmark Forum has minimal lasting effects, positive or negative, on participants' self-perception. (J.D. Fisher, R. C. Silver, J. M. Chinsky, B. Goff and Y. Klar Evaluating a Large Group Awareness Training: A Longitudinal Study of Psychosocial Effects Springer-Verlag, 1990, ISBN 0387973206).

Dennison Charles's Ph.D. research involved interviewing Landmark Forum participants and reported predominantly positive outcomes.

Criticisms of Landmark

Common Criticisms

• Aquaintances of Landmark Forum graduates are sometimes disconcerted and alarmed by what they perceive as an excessive enthusiasm and zeal to sign up outsiders. They may also fear that the "assisting programs" are exploitative. To put these concerns into perspective, there are less than 1% of graduates participating in assisting schemes at any time, and the majority of these commit themselves to spend three hours a week over a three-month period.

• Despite Landmark presenting itself as "not therapy", some participants claim that some of its practices or exercises resemble psychotherapy. (Landmark does attempt to screen partipants and make sure that applicants with histories of psychiatric disturbances may not take part.)

• Some observers find Landmark jargon pervasive, confusing and irritating and that it creates an us-them divide with the outsid world.

• Critics claim that Landmark attempts to forestall potential criticism by setting up (or 'creating') an atmosphere of trust and by disparaging reasoned questioning on part of the participants as "cynical", and that this methodology somewhat resembles brainwashing by putting listeners on the defensive and the leaders on the offensive.

• Landmark does not have a very forward approach to its origin as est, a group with a history of much controversy. Its publicity materials do not mention est nor does the topic come up at the introductory meeting.

• Some former members have cited Landmark as 'manipulative' in ensuring that graduates take more courses and recruit others to take Landmark training.

• Some former participants regard themselves as cult victims and have made allegations of destruction of the individuality of attendees.

Ther have been allegations that some participants' confusion/enthusiasm has led to mental illness issues and legal action. (See Das Forum: Protokoll einer Gehirnwäsche: Der Psycho-Konzern Landmark Education [The Forum: Account of a Brainwashing: The Psycho-Outfit Landmark Education] by Martin Lell, Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, Munich, 1997, ISBN 3423360216.)

In France, Landmark Education has been filed as a cult by the State (through the Harry Rosenberg, brother of Werner Erhard, heads Landmark Education.

• Charlene Afremow has conducted courses from the earliest appearances of Werner Erhard in the personal training field.