Dear L.E.S's,

I am currently background checking individuals involved in the coaching field, and particularly those who have been previously inducted into est, Landmark (all iterations) or the W.E. 'consulting firm' Vanto.

While not universal, I am finding a consistent pattern of misrepresentation of credentials, which may take the form of:

1) academic credentials (either completely false, or stated in a deceptive manner)

e.g. "X obtained three advanced degrees at Harvard", with no description of what those degrees are, or when they were obtained.

2) misrepresentation of work and/or leadership experience

"X has a background in 'Finance'" -- this statement suggests to most readers that the party has significant training in this field, and has held senior leadership positions. Acting as Werner Erhard's does not constitute a "background in 'Finance'"

"X served as CEO of Y for ten years, before founding Z" -- this statement suggests deep experience in senior leadership roles. Managing a training division of est, or a bogus Erhard company is not a CEO role. And, none of this would qualify one to represent a "background in 'Management'.


3) academic background not commensurate with employment or leadership activity, and, particularly thought leadership activity, e.g. the production of 'proven' coaching frameworks.

Here I would summon the bios of the author's of a popular coaching manual, a 'bible' for many in the field.

Author 1: CPA
Author 2: Actor
Author 3: Actor
Author 4: B.A., Journalism, no stated work or leadership history

Coaching draws from many fields: Psychology and, more specifically, Behavioral Science, ie. Organisational Behavior -- See Robert Sutton; Neuroscience (an evolving focus), Management Science/Leadership Studies; Organization Development, and, I would even allow HR Management (work design, HR systems design)

CPA's, actors, and aspiring journo's are not the sort of people who, in the REAL WORLD, design human development frameworks, or leadership development frameworks.

4) gaps in employment history, or vague descriptions thereof.

See work done in this forum regarding 'Celebrity Coach' David Allen, and his "Getting Things Done".

GTD is a sophisticated framework that seems to have evolved in the course of Mr. Allen's history "in training", training what? training who?, training where?

///

If any of you have encountered similar misrepresentations, could you please share them, here, or send me a PM.

"X has a background in 'Finance'" -- this statement suggests to most readers that the party has significant training in this field, and has held senior leadership positions. Acting as Werner Erhard's does not constitute a "background in 'Finance'"

should read,

"Acting as Werner Erhard's accountant does not constitute a "background in 'Finance'"

///

I live in a non-English speaking environment, and have lost a lot of my capability.

bakkagirl Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Dear L.E.S's,
>
> I am currently background checking individuals
> involved in the coaching field, and particularly
> those who have been previously inducted into est,
> Landmark (all iterations) or the W.E. 'consulting
> firm' Vanto.
>
> While not universal, I am finding a consistent
> pattern of misrepresentation of credentials, which
> may take the form of:
>
> 1) academic credentials (either completely false,
> or stated in a deceptive manner)
>
> e.g. "X obtained three advanced degrees at
> Harvard", with no description of what those
> degrees are, or when they were obtained.
>
> 2) misrepresentation of work and/or leadership
> experience
>
> "X has a background in 'Finance'" -- this
> statement suggests to most readers that the party
> has significant training in this field, and has
> held senior leadership positions. Acting as
> Werner Erhard's does not constitute a "background
> in 'Finance'"
>
> "X served as CEO of Y for ten years, before
> founding Z" -- this statement suggests deep
> experience in senior leadership roles. Managing a
> training division of est, or a bogus Erhard
> company is not a CEO role. And, none of this
> would qualify one to represent a "background in
> 'Management'.
>
>
> 3) academic background not commensurate with
> employment or leadership activity, and,
> particularly thought leadership activity, e.g. the
> production of 'proven' coaching frameworks.
>
> Here I would summon the bios of the author's of a
> popular coaching manual, a 'bible' for many in the
> field.
>
> Author 1: CPA
> Author 2: Actor
> Author 3: Actor
> Author 4: B.A., Journalism, no stated work or
> leadership history
>
> Coaching draws from many fields: Psychology and,
> more specifically, Behavioral Science, ie.
> Organisational Behavior -- See Robert Sutton;
> Neuroscience (an evolving focus), Management
> Science/Leadership Studies; Organization
> Development, and, I would even allow HR Management
> (work design, HR systems design)
>
> CPA's, actors, and aspiring journo's are not the
> sort of people who, in the REAL WORLD, design
> human development frameworks, or leadership
> development frameworks.
>
> 4) gaps in employment history, or vague
> descriptions thereof.
>
> See work done in this forum regarding 'Celebrity
> Coach' David Allen, and his "Getting Things Done".
>
> GTD is a sophisticated framework that seems to
> have evolved in the course of Mr. Allen's history
> "in training", training what? training who?,
> training where?
>
> ///
>
> If any of you have encountered similar
> misrepresentations, could you please share them,
> here, or send me a PM.

YES, this often happens with these individuals.

Case study:

ajinajan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> A bit more background information on Steven
> Zaffron aka Stephen Robert Zaffron :
>
> STEVEN ZAFFRON WAS CONVICTED OF MAIL FRAUD PER
> WERNER ERHARD BIOGRAPHY OUTRAGEOUS BETRAYAL:
>
> Steven Zaffron = convicted of Mail Fraud in 1982.
>
> Steven Zaffron = served Werner Erhard as an Est
> Trainer in Erhard Seminars Training EST.
>
> Steven Zaffron = current CEO of Vanto Group
> formerly known as Landmark Education Business
> Development (LEBD).
>
> Steven Zaffron = current Landmark Forum Leader =
> highest level rank in Landmark Forum aka Landmark
> Education aka Landmark Worldwide.
>
> Steven Zaffron = given “lifetime” designation to
> perform “transformation” work for Werner Erhard
> forever.
>
> Steven Zaffron = member of the Board of Directors
> of Landmark and senior executive at Landmark
> Education aka Landmark Forum aka Landmark
> Worldwide = helped design the Landmark Forum
> course itself.
>
> Steven Zaffron = continues to work with Werner
> Erhard while working at Landmark Education aka
> Landmark Forum aka Landmark Worldwide and while
> working as CEO of Vanto Group formerly known as
> Landmark Education Business Development.
>
> From the book Outrageous Betrayal as quoted at:
>
> “[...] Another one of Erhard's new executives was
> an est trainer named Steven Zaffron […] Three
> years after first joining Erhard's staff in 1979,
> Zaffron had been indicted on mail fraud charges
> for participating in a scam to collect phony
> unemployment checks. Zaffron was placed on three
> years' probation [...] Zaffron [...] agreed to a
> plea bargain [...] shortly before Erhard conferred
> on him the coveted 'lifetime' designation to do
> Werner's transformational work [...]”
>
> Pressman, Steven, Outrageous Betrayal: The dark
> journey of Werner Erhard from est to exile. New
> York: St. Martin's Press, 1993. ISBN 0-312-09296-2
> , pg. 217.
>
> CONFIRMED ACCURATE INFORMATION PER 1982 ASSOCIATED
> PRESS ARTICLE:
>
> “San Francisco (AP) – A man whom prosecutors say
> masterminded scheme that bilked 13 states out of
> more than $400,000 in unemployment benefits was
> sentenced Monday to four years in federal prison
> for mail fraud.
>
> U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson imposed the
> sentence on David Adams Muncaster, 50, of Fairfax,
> who pleaded guilty June 7 to two of 41 counts
> against him. Three other people also were
> sentenced after having pleaded guilty to one count
> each.
>
> Rosalyn Linda Bonas, 40, who lived with Muncaster,
> was sentenced to 179 days in jail, with the rest
> of her three-year sentence suspended. Muncaster's
> former wife, Joan Loretta Sontag, 39, of South
> Lake Tahoe, drew a three-month term with the rest
> of her two-year sentence suspended.
>
> Stephen Robert Zaffron, 38, was given a one-year
> suspended sentence with three years probation.
>
> Assistant U.S. Attorney Ben Burch said the fraud
> allowed the four to “take extended vacations and
> live in luxurious surroundings.”
>
> The complaint, covering activities in 13 states
> and a period of time from November 1975 to
> November 1981, said Muncaster set up tax accounts
> for at least 10 fictitious employers in the
> various states, using private mail drops
> throughout the San Francisco Bay area.
>
> Then, the government said, he and the others,
> using false names, applied for Social Security
> numbers and used them in filing fraudulent
> interstate unemployment insurance benefits claims
> at 19 California Employment Development Department
> offices in the San Francisco area.
>
> Muncaster and the others would appear at these
> offices saying they were former out-of-state
> employees of the fictitious companies who had
> moved to California to look for work.
>
> California would process the claims and forward
> them to the states where wages were supposedly
> earned. These states would verify claims by
> writing to the fictitious employers' Bay area
> offices.
>
> Muncaster and the others would verify their own
> claims and states sent out more than 2,000 checks
> to the various addresses.
>
> B. M. McClanahan, postal inspector in charge, said
> the defendants rented 22 post office boxes at
> various places, established mail receiving service
> at 37 Bay area mail drops, obtained more than 90
> fraudulent Social Security cards and opened about
> 60 bank accounts for benefits paid on 130
> unemployment claims.
>
> The states involved were New Jersey, New York,
> Massachusetts, Minnesota, Michigan, Connecticut,
> Vermont, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Delaware,
> Wisconsin, Ohio, and Hawaii plus the District of
> Columbia.
>
> California has filed a civil suit on behalf of the
> other states seeking to recover some of the lost
> funds.”
>
> Associated Press. San Francisco. Four-year
> sentence given in 13-state mail fraud case.
> September 16, 1982. Nashua Telegraph. Page 15.
>
> [news.google.com]
>
> “Mr Zaffron is described in the book's executive
> summary as "a senior executive and board member
> with Landmark Education, where he spear-headed the
> design of the Landmark Forum".”
>
> Baker, Richard; and Nick McKenzie. (August 30,
> 2011) Department chops $80,000 'charisma' seminar
> Landmark Education and its offshoots have
> attracted global controversy for their group
> training programs. The Age, Australia.
>
> STEPHEN ROBERT ZAFFRON AKA STEVEN ZAFFRON
> MAINTAINED HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH WERNER ERHARD FOR
> DECADES, AUTHORING A PAPER WITH HIM AND MICHAEL C.
> JENSEN ON “INTEGRITY” IN 2009:
>
> Erhard, Werner and Jensen, Michael C. and Zaffron,
> Steve, Integrity: A Positive Model that
> Incorporates the Normative Phenomena of Morality,
> Ethics and Legality (March 23, 2009). Harvard
> Business School NOM Working Paper No. 06-11;
> Barbados Group Working Paper No. 06-03; Simon
> School Working Paper No. FR 08-05. Available at
> SSRN: [ssrn.com] or
> [dx.doi.org]
>
> NOTE THAT AT THIS TIME, STEVEN ZAFRON WAS
> ASSOCIATED WITH WERNER ERHARD RELATED COMPANIES
> LANDMARK EDUCATION AKA LANDMARK WORLDWIDE AND ALSO
> VANTO GROUP, FORMER KNOWN AS LANDMARK EDUCATION
> BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (LEBD), FORMERLY KNOWN AS
> TRANSFORMATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES.
>
> Landmark Education Business Development aka LEBD
> aka Vanto Group has as its CEO Steven Zaffron.
>
> Zaffron first became an executive for Werner
> Erhard and was an “est trainer” in Erhard’s
> company “Erhard Seminars Training” (Outrageous
> Betrayal by Steven Pressman, St. Martin’s Press:
> 1993, page 217).
>
> Currently, Zaffron serves the Landmark Education
> corporation as CEO of “Vanto Group”, formerly
> known as “Landmark Education Business
> Development”, and in addition, Zaffron has the
> highest-ranking “trainer” title in Landmark
> Education called “Landmark Forum Leader”.
>
> Interestingly, in a publication by Steven Zaffron
> as its author, “The Promise of Philosophy and the
> Landmark Forum”, Contemporary Philosophy, Vol.
> XXIII, No. 1 & 2, Jan/Feb & Mar/Apr 2001 Barbados
> Group Working Paper No. 01-01. -- Steven Zaffron
> acknowledges Landmark Education is a form of "
> Large Group Awareness Training " or LGAT. In this
> paper co-authored by Zaffron, the phrase “Large
> Group Awareness Training” is used multiple times
> in reference to Landmark Education. Example on
> page 52: “Dennison’s dissertation,7 which
> categorizes the Landmark Forum as a “large group
> awareness training” is a qualitative study based
> on interviews with Forum graduates. He also
> reports predominantly positive outcomes and in
> addition, briefly summarizes philosophical
> components of the Forum. The extensive research
> literature on “large group awareness training”
> published in the 1970s and 80s (summarized in
> Finkelstein, Wenegrat, and Yalom8) is framed in
> psychological more than philosophical terms,
> albeit there is some reference to the training as
> existential psychotherapy.” Two different academic
> treatises are cited as references in the paper
> co-authored by Zaffron (see page 59, endnotes 7
> and 8, Dennison 1994 and Finkelstein 1982) – and
> both have the phrase “Large Group Awareness
> Training” in their titles.
>
> RADARIS INFO ON STEVEN ZAFFRON CONFIRMS HIS
> INVOLVEMENT WITH TWO WERNER ERHARD RELATED
> COMPANIES – TEKNIKO LICENSING CORPORATION AND
> LANDMARK FORUM AKA LANDMARK EDUCATION AKA LANDMARK
> WORLDWIDE:
>
> Radaris
> [radaris.com]
>
> ORGANIZATIONS
>
> Name / Title
> Company / Classification
> Phones & Addresses
>
> Steven Zaffron
> Director
> Tekniko Licensing Corporation
> 1945 N Carson St, Carson City, NV 89701
> 353 Sacramento St, San Francisco, CA 94111
>
> Steven Zaffron
> Manager
> LANDMARK WORLDWIDE, LLC
> 2390 E Camelback Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85016
> 1209 Orange St, Wilmington, DE 19801
> 353 Sacramento St #200, San Francisco, CA 94111

from post

[forum.culteducation.com]

Query: Were the defrauded from the states unemployment benefits related to Landmark 'employees'?

Does this suit resemble the tack the French government took against Landmark?

bakkagirl Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Query: Were the defrauded from the states
> unemployment benefits related to Landmark
> 'employees'?
>
> Does this suit resemble the tack the French
> government took against Landmark?

Yes, they were.

Yes, very similar to what happened in France.

More info at Cult News, Why did Landmark leave France?

[cultnews.com]

I am extremely interested in this in that Landmark has small armies working as 'volunteers' in Japan. I will be discussing this a Japanese attorney shortly, and would like to have a history under my arm.